Biblical Church Order
Acts 14:23 says Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Notice the elders were appointed by apostles, more than one elder in each church. Scripture never mentions a chief elder. In the New Testament, “elder” and “bishop or overseer” are the same role. In the early 2nd century, they begin to separate
Acts 20:17 says From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.
Again, we see plural elders.
Acts 20:28 says, Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.
Here, the elders are called shepherds or pastors and also called overseers or bishops.
1 Peter 5:1–2 says, As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Paul was also an elder, but not of a local church. He was a traveling elder. As an apostle, He asked the elders to pastor or shepherd the local flock. They were to do this for the right reason. They weren’t forced to do it. They weren’t motivated by money. They were not to lord it over those in their care but were to be examples.
Titus was a traveling deacon, also an apostle. Paul’s letter to Titus 1:5–9 says The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination. As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
There’s a lot here. First, we see Paul, the traveling elder and apostle, directing Titus. But Titus was acting in an apostolic role too, able to appoint elders in multiple local churches. Titus appears to be an apostolic deacon, while Paul is an apostolic elder. Paul tells Titus to appoint elders (plural) in every city. Carefully consider the qualifications for an elder. Blameless. That can’t mean they have never sinned, but they are walking straight now. Husband of but one wife. Not just teaching his children, but having the result that they are believers who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination. The elder or bishop must not be self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money. Hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, disciplined. He must hold firmly to the current understanding taught by the apostles.
Notice that elder” and “overseer,” or bishop, are used interchangeably for the same office.
Then there’s 1 Timothy 3:1–2. Here Paul is directing the work of Timothy in the same way that he directed Titus, so Timothy also appears to have been an apostolic deacon. Paul again describes the qualifications of an overseer or bishop. The bishop is the same role as elders. Combined with Acts 20, this shows the terms overseer, bishop, elder, shepherd, and pastor all refer to the same office.
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