Report of the Committee to Answer Kutztown BFC Request

              Occasions arise when certain functions of the church need to be fulfilled in the absence of the pastor. In many of these, e.g. leading prayer meetings, visiting members of the congregation, leading committees, counseling members of the flock, there seems to be no question of the ability and qualification of the Elders, for these are aspects of service which most would agree need not be restricted to one holding a position of leadership.

              Yet there are other areas of service which seem less certain. Among the most questionable are baptism and the administration of the Lord’s Supper. It was the question about the ordinances, particularly, that prompted the Kutztown Board of Elders to request clarification from the 110th Annual Conference. In essence, the question is whether there is any biblical basis for a distinction between the Ministers and the Elders of the Bible Fellowship Church or any evangelical church. In addition, the role of the Elders compared with that of any other layman needs to be examined.

Elders and Their Pastoral Function

              In any discussion of roles and duties of what are commonly referred to as Pastors and Elders, it is necessary to note that our denomination views the office of Elder as the standard level of leadership and authority within the church. Even as the Apostolic age was concluding, the aging John and Peter clearly identified themselves as Elders in addition to their rightful claims of apostleship (2 John 1, 1 Peter 5:1). Apart from Paul’s need to refer to his Apostleship in 1 Corinthians, references to authority within the assembled body of Christ are made to Elders. The monumental event of the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15 describes the participation of Elders along with whatever number of the Twelve may have been present. After the selection of Matthias, no apostles were chosen to replace the original group who had been witnesses of Christ’s appearance, and as they died, the sole remaining established office of authority was and is the Elder (Presbuteros, Episkopos).

              While there are many New Testament uses of the noun translated Elder or Bishop, there is only one reference to the noun translated Pastor (Poimen), that being in Ephesians 4:11. In this passage Paul is explaining how God granted the church gifted men in order to properly evangelize, train, and teach the church. The result of this spiritual nurturing was to equip the believers to do works of service for each other, ultimately for the glory of God.

              While the noun Pastor (Poimen) appears only in Ephesians, the verb shepherd (Poimaino) is used in Acts 20:28, Paul’s farewell address to the Elders of Ephesus. The Elders, made overseers by the Spirit, are told they are to shepherd the flock as part of their tasks as overseers. This grave task, as further described in this passage, included guarding against heresy (28:31) and more personally, helping the weak (28:35). Peter also turns to the Old Testament metaphors of shepherd and flock to emphasize his urgent appeal recorded in 1 Peter 5:1-4. In this letter, apparently intended for circulation among several churches in Asia Minor, Peter calls upon all the Elders of all the churches to conduct their shepherding duty seriously in their role of overseer.

              Clearly these references in Acts and 1 Peter indicate the expectation that it was the Elders who were to do the shepherding or pastoring of the church “of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” (Acts 20:28) It is important to see that the Pastors listed in Ephesians 4:11 were not so singular and distinct as to be a rarity in the early church. Rather, they were members of that select group of men present throughout all the assemblies of believers in every part of the Empire, the Elders. However, there was something special to take into consideration. It is evident from the familiar passages on Elder qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 that those chosen for office of Elder were gifted with certain qualities or characteristics.

              Our own experience, observation, and knowledge of history tell us that not all of these characteristics or qualities are equally present in all Elders. Paul, instructing Timothy on church polity, informs him that Elders who excelled in directing the affairs of the church, especially in teaching and preaching, were deserving of greater respect and probable remuneration. All Elders must do shepherding, and all Elders must be able

to teach, but to those whom God has especially gifted in these areas, either by pleasing personality features or intellectual abilities, the work of pastoring becomes a more prominent feature of life.

              It can be concluded, then, that the man titled today as Pastor is one who is a qualified Elder, but has recognized gifts particularly strong in the areas enabling him to specifically engage in shepherding responsibilities. The close connection of Teacher to Pastor in Ephesians 4:11 shows that a strong ability for teaching should be one of those recognized gifts, along with the ability and desire to guide and compassionately nurture the flock. Again, as way of reminder, it must be stressed that these characteristics must be present to some degree in all Elders. As all Elders share equally in the overseer (Episkopos) responsibilities, the New Testament references give no indication at all that there is a “first among equals.” However, as the structure of the visible church has developed, along with the accepted expectation of the “clergy” in Western societies, it is obvious that those pressures have brought about a more distinctly defined pastoral role. But these developments should not obscure the understanding of the biblical role of the total Eldership or cause the segregation of their Biblical functions simply because of applied titles.

       The New Testament teaches that each local church is to be led by a plurality of Elders (Acts 14: 23, Titus 1:5). That group of Elders is responsible for the spiritual government of the church, usually understood as the authoritative preaching of the Word, the administration of the ordinances, and the exercise of church discipline (See Article 18 of the Articles of Faith). Although one or a few of the Elders may be more gifted and dedicated to these tasks than the rest of the Elders, there is no reason in principle preventing any of the Elders from participating in preaching, baptizing, serving the Lord’s Supper, or overseeing discipline.

The Ordinances

       The New Testament ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are to be respected as the institution of Jesus Christ himself. They bear witness to the gospel and to the public identification of the believing participant with Christ and His people. As such they are, under normal circumstances, a distinctive part of church life. Not only is the person witnessing to a relationship to Christ and His church, but the church, by administering the ordinances, is testifying to their agreement with the individual’s profession of faith. Accordingly they are regularly conducted by the leaders of the church, i.e. the Elders.

              Nonetheless, the ordinances are not validated by the office or character of the one who administers them. In a certain sense, Jesus Himself is the minister, and the human servant is only important in that he administers the ordinance as Jesus commanded. We reject any understanding of the ordinances that includes the unique sanctity of the one who administers them or any intrinsic merit in the ceremonies themselves. For that reason the ordinances could, in unusual circumstances, be validly administered by any believer. However, the normal setting for the ordinances, which have both personal and corporate elements, is the church.

References to Pastoral Responsibilities in the FAITH AND ORDER

              Specific references are made in the Faith and Order to the responsibility of Ministers in several areas. On page 39, the Minister is seen to be in charge of the observance of the Lord’s Supper. On pages 41 and 45, he is involved in marriage ceremonies, and he is designated the chairman of the Board of Elders on page 79. The sample forms for baptism (page 192), admission of members (page 193), dedication of children (page 194), marriage (page 195), and dedication of a building (page 200) mention the Minister in charge of each ceremony. Interestingly, Ministers are not mentioned in the form for funerals (page 198).

Conclusions

              We find that the office of Pastor is drawn from the group known as the Elders. He is specially gifted in teaching and shepherding, and possibly in other ways as well. His being set apart for a career in ministry results from the desire of the church to have some who are freed from the need to support themselves and their families in order to devote themselves to prayer, study, preparation of their sermons, and care of the flock.

              We conclude that being set apart as a Pastor does not entitle that individual to exclusive administration of any of the responsibilities assigned to Elders in Scripture.

              We believe, further, that administration of the Ordinances and a number of other responsibilities is not necessarily limited to Pastors and Elders.

              Nonetheless, we conclude that, given the scriptural authority of the Elders, they are the ones who should ordinarily administer the Ordinances and carry out other functions in the care of the flock. Exceptions should be handled by action of the Elders. Others may be entrusted with these responsibilities, but only by authorization of the Elders.

Resolutions

RESOLVED, that this report be the answer of the 111th Annual Conference to the request from the Board of Elders of the Kutztown Bible Fellowship Church.

Study Committee on the Duties of Pastors, Elders, and Laymen to Answer Kutztown BFC Request: Randall A. Grossman, Chairman; George K. Monroe, Secretary; Alva C. Cassel, L. James Roberts, Jr. and David A. Thomann