Politics is the science of organizing life together. Normally it has to do with civil government, but interoffice, boardroom, and family politics are also commonly acknowledged. Once it is clear what a church is, the question naturally follows of how a church should be organized and led. These questions of the congregation's responsibilities and the role of the deacons and pastors are the subject of this chapter.
The fundamental responsibility under God for the maintenance of all aspects of public worship of God belongs to the congregation. Whether in settling disputes between Christians (Matt 18:15–17; Acts 6:1–5), establishing correct doctrine (Gal 1:8; 2 Tim 4:3), or admitting and excluding members (2 Cor 2:6–8; 1 Cor 5:1–13), the local congregation has the duty and obligation to promote the continuance of a faithful gospel witness. No body outside of the whole congregation has this same degree of responsibility. While leaders within a congregation have their own special responsibilities before God, even the smallest of congregations which takes upon itself the task of providing and listening to the regular preaching of God's Word, and of practicing baptism and the Lord's Supper, necessarily takes upon itself responsibility for the right practice of membership and discipline, even over those who are called to be its leaders.1
While congregations may and do err in fulfilling these responsibilities, the responsibilities do not cease to belong to them. No other body, either inside or outside the local church, may finally remove these obligations of duty from the congregation as a whole. Toleration of erroneous teaching (particularly in regards to the gospel), neglect of baptism or the Lord's Supper, and carelessness in admitting or dismissing members are all the responsibility of the local congregation.2
As with any gathered body of people, the church must be led. Universally and locally, the head and chief shepherd of the church is Christ.3 Christ did not establish any sort of leadership structure, explicit or implicit, for the universal church during his earthly mission. Thus, between congregations of Christians, relationships are purely voluntary in nature.4 Inside the local congregation, however, the New Testament's teaching is clear. The church is established with a simple order of leadership. Before turning to the specific offices established for the church in the New Testament, five biblical principles of such leadership should be considered for those who serve in leadership.
Church leaders should be explicitly qualified. Not all Christians are qualified to serve as leaders or overseers in the church. In Acts 20:17–38; 1 Tim 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; and 1 Pet 5:1–4, characteristics are laid down for under-shepherds or elders of the flock. Distinctive among these qualifications is the requirement that those who serve as overseers be "able to teach."5 Furthermore, as representatives of Christ, elders or ministers have a special obligation to reflect the character of Christ. Such character will include a care for the flock, a willingness to serve, a lack of greed for money, a refusal to lord it over the flock, an exemplary life, blamelessness, being the husband of one wife,6 and the ability to manage a household well. A minister is not overbearing, quick tempered, or given to much wine. And a minister should not be violent or willing to pursue dishonest gain. In these and other ways listed in Scripture, the leader in the congregation should be explicitly qualified.
Church leaders should be reputable with outsiders. Those who lead the church should not be men who bring the gospel into disrepute but men whose lives hold the gospel up as the glorious light of hope and truth in the world. God's heart of love for the world shines most clearly through pure lives. In order for the whole church to be oriented to its purpose, its leaders' interactions with the authorities, with neighbors, and with employers should commend the gospel to them. Paul said that overseers must not be lovers of money (1 Tim 3:3) but lovers of strangers (which is the meaning of the word "hospitable" in v. 2). In order faithfully to represent the Lord of the church, church leaders must have both God-centered and other-centered lives.
Church leaders should also possess a keen sense of accountability, knowing they are under authority themselves. Their lives as public leaders leave them open to public rebuke and correction.7 The shepherds of the flock must realize they are stewards, not owners. Therefore they serve as undershepherds of God's flock, subject to his rule. This includes a realization of an ultimate accountability to Christ. James stated that teachers will be judged more strictly in the end,8 while the author of Hebrews promised that church leaders will give an account to God for their work.9 As John Brown said to one of his ministerial pupils who was newly ordained over a small congregation:
I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small, in comparison with those of your brethren around you; but assure yourself on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ, at his judgment-seat, you will think you have had enough.10
This eschatological reality should have present implications in a minister's life and work. Those who lead others well must themselves first follow well. They must be submitted to Christ so that they can say, like Paul to the Corinthians, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1). Peter also reminded the church's undershepherds of their future appearance before Christ, bringing to mind the reward and the accounting they will give one day for their present work.11
Church leaders should exercise authority. While this observation may seem obvious, some dislike using words like "leader" or "authority" in the context of a local church. Perhaps they assume it implies a Diotrophes-like love to be first, or they associate it with un-Christlike boasting.12 Yet Paul explicitly told Timothy, "If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task."13 He told the Romans that those who are set over others (proistamenos) should use their gifts and abilities for the church.14 He also exhorted Timothy to honor those "who direct the affairs of the church."15 The writer to the Hebrews spoke about "leaders."16 All these words imply both the responsibility and initiative that should mark the actions of church leaders.
Finally, church leaders should edify the church. Genuine leadership not only requires a man to act with initiative and responsibility in an attempt to effect good, it also requires the accomplishment of that good. The ability to achieve the intended ends corroborates an individual's gifts and calling to leadership in the church. Leadership does not fundamentally depend on a self-proclaimed leader's own sense of internal calling and purpose. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul repeatedly submits the putative gifts of the Spirit to the simple test of edification. He asks whether good fruit has been born in the church. Is the fruit of this person's action a church being built up? If this is the fruit of their actions, then they should be regarded highly, for the sake of the church and ultimately for the sake of Christ. All these characteristics should be present in those who lead a congregation.
Scripture provides for two specific offices in the local congregation: deacons and elders.17
Deacons
In modern translations of the New Testament, the word diakonos is usually translated "servant," sometimes "minister," and occasionally "deacon." The word can refer to service in general,18 to rulers in particular,19 and to caring for physical needs.20 Women clearly serve this way in the New Testament.21 Angels also serve in this way.22 Sometimes the word refers specifically to waiting on tables,23 and though such service was despised in the Roman world, Jesus regarded it differently. In John 12:26 Jesus said, "Whoever deacons me must follow me; and where I am, my deacon also will be. My Father will honor the one who deacons me." Again in Matt 20:26 Jesus said, "Whoever wants to become great among you, must be your deacon." And in Matt 23:11 he said that "the greatest among you will be your deacon."
Jesus presents himself as a type of deacon.24 Christians are presented as deacons of Christ or his gospel. The apostles are similarly depicted (Acts 6:1–7), and it is how Paul regularly referred to himself and to those who work with him.25 He especially referred to himself as a deacon among the Gentiles, the particular group he was called to serve.26 Paul called Timothy a deacon of Christ,27 and Peter said that the Old Testament prophets were deacons to Christians.28 Angels are called deacons.29 Even Satan has his deacons.30
The clearest picture of the diaconal office in practice is found in Acts 6, where the first deacons were set aside. Based on that account, three aspects of a deacon's ministry may be noted.31 First, deacons must care for physical needs. Some of the Christians "were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food" (v. 1). In v. 2, the apostles characterized this service as "waiting on tables," or literally, "deaconing tables." Caring for people, especially for other members of the congregation, contributes not only to their physical well-being but also to their spiritual well-being. It encourages the recipients of this care, it embodies God's care, and it acts as a witness to those outside the church. As Jesus said, "This is how the world will know that you are my disciples, by the love you have for one another."32 The physical care presented in Acts 6 demonstrates that kind of Christlike love.
Behind the physical care lies a second aspect of a deacon's work, one which benefits not just those in need but the whole body also: deacons must strive for the unity of the body. By caring for these widows, the deacons helped make the food distribution among the widows more equitable. This was important because the physical neglect was causing a spiritual disunity in the body (Acts 6:1). One group of Christians was complaining against another group, and this seems to be what arrested the attention of the apostles. The apostles were not merely interested in rectifying a problem in the church's benevolence ministry. They wanted to prevent a fracture in church unity and a particularly dangerous fracture between two ethnic groups. The deacons were appointed to head off disunity in the church. Their job was to act as the shock absorbers for the body.
At a third level the deacons were appointed to support the ministry of the apostles. In Acts 6:3, the apostles acknowledged that caring for physical needs is a responsibility of the church. In some sense, therefore, they themselves owned this responsibility. But in v. 3 they determined to turn this responsibility over to another group within the church. Thus, these deacons were not only helping the widows and the body as a whole; they were also helping support the leaders whose main obligations lay elsewhere. By their ministry to widows, the deacons supported the teachers of the Word in their ministry. In this sense deacons are fundamentally encouragers and supporters of the ministry of the elders.
This servant role was made a regular office in Christian congregations. By the time Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, he could instruct Timothy on the qualifications for what had become the formal office of deacon. When Paul's list of qualifications in 1 Tim 3:8–13 is combined with the qualities of the individuals selected in Acts 6, it becomes apparent that deacons should be known as being full of the Holy Spirit. They minister to physical needs, but their ministry is a spiritual ministry. Deacons should be known as being full of wisdom. They should be chosen by the congregation with the congregation's full confidence. They should willingly and diligently take on responsibility for the needs of their particular ministry. They should be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulgent in much wine, not interested in dishonest gain, and steadfast in the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. Deacons should be tested and approved servants who are the husband of but one wife. And they should be individuals who manage their own children and household well.
In addition to the office of deacon, the New Testament provides for the office of pastor, elder, or bishop. Most fundamentally, the elder is a minister of the Word. The presbeut33 root occurs 76 times in the New Testament. Nine occurrences refer to people of chronologically advanced age.34 Four times it refers to ancestors of the Hebrew nation.35 John used the word presbuteros 12 times in Revelation to refer to the heavenly elders.36 This word also refers to the Jewish nonpriestly leaders in the Sanhedrin or in local synagogues 29 times (all in the Gospels and Acts). The remaining 20 uses refer to elders in churches: in the Jerusalem church;37 in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch;38 in Ephesus;39 in the towns of Crete;40 and other general references.41 John the apostle referred to himself twice as "the elder."42 The Jews of Jesus' day had lay members of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem called elders. Local synagogues also had bodies of ruling men called elders.
In the New Testament the words "elder," "shepherd" or "pastor," and "bishop" or "overseer" are used interchangeably in the context of the local church office.43 This is seen most clearly in Acts 20, when Paul met with the "elders"44 of the church in Ephesus (v. 17), as he called them. Paul said to these elders: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [or bishops].45 Be shepherds [or pastors]46 of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood" (v. 28). In Eph 4:11, Paul said that Christ "gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers." The word Paul used for "pastor" is poimen,47 the word for "shepherd." Similarly, in 1 Pet 5:1–2, Peter addressed the elders, telling them to pastor or shepherd [again, this is the verb] God's flock, serving as overseers or bishops. In 1 Pet 2:25, Jesus is called the "Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." The root of the word translated "overseer" here (episkop)48 occurs 11 times in the New Testament. In Titus 1:5–9, Paul provided a list of qualifications for a particular office similar to the one he gave in 1 Tim 3:1–7. In both places the officer described is called an episkopos, that is, a bishop or overseer. But in Titus 1:5, Paul also said that he left Titus in Crete in order to ensure presbeuterous ("elders") were in every town. Then in v. 7, he refers to the same person as an episkopos. Clearly, the New Testament refers interchangeably to elders, shepherds or pastors, and bishops or overseers in the context of the officers in the local church.49
Paul laid out the qualifications for elders in 1 Tim 3:1–7 and in Titus 1:5–9. Elders are to be blameless and above reproach, not overbearing, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to much wine, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, well reputed (particularly among outsiders), upright, holy, and disciplined. He is the husband of one wife, not a lover of money, not a pursuer of dishonest gain, a good manager of his family (his children obey him), and not a recent convert. He loves what is good, holds firmly to the gospel, and is eager to serve.50
All of the qualifications listed here are repeated elsewhere in Scripture as applicable for all Christians, except for not being a recent convert and being able to teach. The essence of the elder's office is found in teaching—ensuring the Word of God is well understood. Such a ministry of teaching would show itself in the commitment to that task among the members of one's own congregation. Anyone serving as an elder should have a better-than-average grasp of the basics of the gospel as well as the great truths of Scripture, especially those that are under assault in one's own day. An elder should also have a particularly solid grasp of those truths which distinguish his own congregation from others (e.g., baptism for Baptists). And he should be an example of care and concern for the congregation as a whole.
The qualification to be "the husband of but one wife" and to "manage his household well" does not mean that an elder must be married or have children.51 Rather it appears Paul assumed that most men would be married and have children and that those family relations provide a natural ground for assessing a man's ability to lead. Paul also assumed that the elders would be men. Inherent in creation, Paul argued in 1 Tim 2:12–14, exists a divine order which precludes a woman from being called "to teach or to have authority over a man" in the church.52
Plurality of Elders. A common discussion about New Testament elders is whether each local congregation was governed by only one elder or multiple elders.
Before Jesus established the church, the Jewish towns of Palestine were accustomed to being governed by multiple elders. Thus, in Luke 7:3, the centurion sent several elders of the local Jewish community in Capernaum to Jesus to plead on his behalf for help. Deuteronomy also refers to multiple elders in the context of their role as town leaders, whether that involves retrieving people from cities of refuge, solving murders, or dealing with disobedient children (19:12; 21:1–9,18–21). Jewish synagogues similarly followed a pattern of plural leadership. Arising during the Babylonian exile, synagogues functioned as the religious and civil gathering for teaching God's law and, consequently, leading the community. Ten adult males were required to establish a synagogue for public worship. Various offices facilitated the work of synagogues, including the office of ruler.53
The evidence suggests that New Testament congregations also were generally led by more than one elder. Five New Testament authors refer to the office a total of 20 times.
James, Peter, Paul, and Luke also referred to the office of elder in the church, and each of them apparently presumed a plurality of elders per congregation.54 James instructed his Christian reader to "call the elders [plural] of the church [singular] to pray over him" (Jas 5:14). Peter wrote as an elder to the "elders [plural] among you" (1 Pet 5:1–5). Unless Peter was saying, "from one old man to others," then he assumed a plurality of elders existed within each congregation. Paul greeted "the overseers" (plural) in the church (singular) at Philippi (Phil 1:1). And he exhorted the elders of the church at Ephesus to be "overseers" (plural) for the "flock" (singular) to which God had called them (Acts 20:28). Writing to Timothy and Titus, Paul again mentioned elders in the plural. He reminded Timothy of the body of elders who laid their hands on him (1 Tim 4:14). A little later he referred to the elders (plural) who direct the affairs of the church (singular) (5:17). And then he referred to accusations—not against "the elder"—but against "an elder" (5:19; presbeuterou, without an article), which would be consistent with the assumption that Timothy had multiple elders in his one congregation.
Paul also left Titus in Crete in order to "appoint elders [plural] in every town" [kata polin, read distributively, "in each town"] (Titus 1:5), again probably meaning that Paul intended each church in Crete to have a plurality of elders. Finally, Luke's narrative in Acts gives evidence for a plurality of elders in each local congregation. The church (singular) in Ephesus had multiple elders (Acts 20:17). At the end of Paul's first missionary journey, "Paul and Barnabas appointed elders [plural] for them in each church [singular]" (Acts 14:23). And references to the elders of the Jerusalem church always occur in the plural.55 Therefore, the direct evidence in the New Testament indicates that the common and even expected practice was to have a plurality of elders in each local congregation.56
Senior Pastor? Another question that naturally arises these days is whether the New Testament supports the position of a senior or sole pastor. While no direct New Testament evidence points to this distinction, four glimpses can be found for a leading teacher among the elders, even in these early congregations. First, some men in the New Testament, like Timothy or Titus, moved from place to place yet served as elders. Other men would have remained in one location, perhaps like the men appointed by Titus in every town (Titus 1:5). In other words, Timothy set a precedent by coming from outside the community to act in a leadership role, even while other leaders were already in place. Apparently, outsiders are not excluded from joining a community in order to assume primary teaching responsibilities.
Second, some men were financially supported for full-time work with the flock,57 while other men simultaneously remained in their vocations and performed their work as elders. Paul often did this when establishing the gospel in a new area. Could every elder in the new Christian congregations in the villages of Crete have been fully supported?
Third, Paul wrote to Timothy alone with instructions for the Ephesian church, even though the book of Acts clearly points to a plurality of elders in the Ephesian church. Apparently, Timothy played a unique role among them.
Finally, Jesus addressed his letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2–3 to the "angel" or "messenger" (singular) of each of these churches.
None of these examples present an explicit command, but they describe the common practice of setting aside at least one individual from among the elders potentially from outside the congregation's community, supporting that individual, and giving him the primary teaching responsibility in the church. Nevertheless, the preacher, or pastor, is fundamentally one of the elders of his congregation. Working together with that senior pastor, the plurality of elders aid both him and the church by rounding out the pastor's gifts, making up for his shortcomings, supplementing his judgment, and creating support in the congregation for decisions, leaving leaders less exposed to unjust criticism. A plurality also makes leadership more rooted and permanent, and it allows for more mature continuity. It encourages the church to take more responsibility for the spiritual growth of its own members and helps make the church less dependent on its employees. As the elders lead and the deacons serve, the congregation is prepared to live as the witness God intends his church to be.
Elder Ruled or Elder Led? Two churches which both have a plurality of elders may still be very different. Who may serve as elders? How are they recognized? How long do they serve? Must they be recognized by any group outside the local church? What is their authority individually, and what authority only resides in the eldership as a whole? Are decisions made by consensus, unanimity, or a majority? Perhaps most importantly, what is their role and authority relative to the congregation's authority?
Some Christians argue that the elder is called to rule or direct the affairs of the local church, based on passages like 1 Tim 5:17; Titus 1:7; and Heb 13:7,17. The congregation's responsibility, they would say, is only and always to submit to them.58 This position is called elder rule. Advocates of elder rule don't claim, of course, that the eldership will always be correct; they simply say that it will be God's responsibility finally to assess and judge them. The elders are clearly called to teach and lead; the congregation to submit and follow.
Still other Christians consider those same passages about the leadership responsibilities of the elders and say that Scripture also gives certain responsibilities to the congregation as a whole. They point to the same passages that have been mentioned earlier, passages affirming the congregation's oversight in matters of membership (2 Cor 2:6–7), discipline (Matt 18:15–20; 1 Corinthians 5), and the right preaching of the gospel (Gal 1:7–8; 2 Tim 4:3). The final responsibility of the congregation does not contradict or undermine the elders' general leadership, but it provides an opportunity to confirm it when it is right and to constrain it when it is in error. This position is called elder led.
Rather than seeing a senior pastor as being in competition with a group of elders, or the elders and the congregation disputing about limits of authority and responsibility, this last position, which is my own, posits that they can all work well together. The congregation recognizes and submits to the elders. On matters that are important and clear, the elders and congregation should normally agree; and when they do not, the authority of the congregation is final. On matters that are less clear, the congregation should trust the elders and go along with them, trusting God's providential work through them. Churches always benefit from clearly delineating and agreeing upon everyone's responsibilities and obligations.
While members of a church must agree on their own structures of authority, churches with different polities may still partner together in a number of areas. Polity disagreements may preclude planting churches together, but it does not preclude partnering for pastoral fellowship, education, evangelistic work, Bible translation, or various social ministries. Certainly it is never appropriate for churches to remove their affections from one another over differences in polity. In a healthy local church, a biblical polity will bring peace to the congregation as well as to that congregation's fellowship with other evangelical churches.
1 1 Tim 5:19–20. For more on congregationalism, see Mark Dever, A Display of God's Glory 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: 9Marks Ministries, 2001), 31–43.
2 Much of the New Testament's evidence from this comes in passages that address churches neglecting these duties.
3 Eph 4:1–16; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 5:4.
4 This voluntary nature of relationships between congregations, however, does not mean that decisions made concerning one congregation's relations with another are simply indifferent matters.
5 1 Tim 3:2.
6 Meaning not never divorced but rather faithful to his wife. There is no convincing reason to believe that Paul had in mind preconversion divorce or adultery any more than he would elsewhere have considered being disqualified due to other preconversion sins like lying, murder, or blasphemy.
7 1 Tim 5:19–20.
8 Jas 3:1.
9 Heb 13:17.
10 Cited by Alexander Grossart in Works of Richard Sibbes, ed. Alexander Grossart (1862–1864; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1979), 294.
11 1 Pet 5:4.
12 3 John 9; 1 Cor 1–3.
13 1 Tim 3:1.
14 Rom 12:8.
15 1 Tim 5:17.
16 ἠγουμένοις; Heb 13:17,24.
17 See Mark Dever, A Display of God's Glory (Washington, DC: 9Marks Ministries, 2001), 5–30. For a longer, careful treatment of these two offices, see Benjamin L. Merkle, 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2008).
18 Acts 1:17,25; 19:22; Rom 12:7; 1 Cor 12:5; 16:15; Eph 4:12; Col 4:17; 2 Tim 1:18; Phlm 13; Heb 6:10; 1 Pet 4:10–11; Rev 2:19.
19 Rom 13:4.
20 Matt 25:44; Acts 11:29; 12:25; Rom 15:25,31; 2 Cor 8:4,19–20; 9:1,12–13; 11:8.
21 Matt 8:15 [Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39]; Matt 27:55 [Mark 15:41; cf. Luke 8:3]; Luke 10:40; John 12:2; Rom 16:1.
22 Matt 4:11 [Mark 1:13].
23 Matt 22:13; Luke 10:40; 17:8; John 2:5,9; 12:2.
24 Matt 20:28 [Mark 10:45; Luke 22:26–27; cf. John 13]; Luke 12:37; Rom 15:8.
25 Acts 20:24; 1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:3,6–9; 4:1; 5:18; 6:3–4; 11:23; Eph 3:7; Col 1:23; 1 Tim 1:12; 2 Tim 4:11.
26 Acts 21:19; Rom 11:13.
27 1 Tim 4:6; 2 Tim 4:5.
28 1 Pet 1:12.
29 Heb 1:14.
30 2 Cor 11:15; Gal 2:17.
31 Thanks to Buddy Gray, a pastor in Birmingham, Alabama, for pointing this out to me in the text.
32 John 13:35, author's translation.
33 πρεσβύτ.
34 Luke 1:18; 15:25; John 8:9; Acts 2:17; 1 Tim 5:1,2; Titus 2:2,3; Phlm 9.
35 Matt 15:2; Mark 7:3,5; Heb 11:2.
36 Rev 4:4,10; 5:5,6,8,11,14; 7:11,13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4.
37 Acts 11:30; 15:2,4,6,22,23; 16:4; 21:18.
38 Acts 14:21,23.
39 Acts 20:17.
40 Titus 1:5.
41 1 Tim 5:17,19; Jas 5:14; 1 Pet 5:1,5.
42 2 John 1; 3 John 1.
43 See Benjamin L. Merkle, The Elder and Overseer: One Office in the Early Church (New York: Peter Lang, 2003).
44 πρεσβυτέροθς.
45 ἐπισκόπους.
46 ποιμαίνειν.
47 ποιμήν.
48 ἐπίσκοπ.
49 So concluded R. B. C. Howell, pastor of First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee: "The only officers appointed by God to preach, and administer ordinances, and whose commission has come down to our times, are called indifferently, elders, bishops and presbyters; all of which names, when referring to office, convey the same idea" (R. B. C. Howell, "Ministerial Ordination," in The Baptist Preacher, ed. Henry Keeling [Richmond: H. K. Ellyson, 1847], 137).
50 For this last qualification, see 1 Pet 5:2.
51 It would seem odd that any qualification for elder would rule out Paul himself from serving as an elder.
52 Much helpful material on this has been published by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. See John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1991); and Wayne Grudem and Dennis Rainey, eds., Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002).
53 Examples of the "rulers" of synagogues mentioned in the New Testament are Jairus in Mark 5:22 (plural rulers); Acts 13:15 (plural); Crispus in Acts 18:8 (singular).
54 John alone referred to the office exclusively in the singular. He referred to himself as "the elder" in his second and third letters (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Apparently, he was known by this title. Assuming he wrote to people outside of his own congregation, the title may have suggested not so much an office as his wide recognition.
55 Acts 11:30; 15:2,4,6,22–23; 16:4; 21:18.
56 The Anglican scholar and pioneer missiologist Roland Allen came to this same conclusion: "St. Paul was not content with ordaining one Elder for each Church. In every place he ordained several. This ensured that all authority should not be concentrated in the hands of one man" (Roland Allen, Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? [London: Robert Scott, 1912], 138–39).
57 E.g., Phil 4:15–18; 1 Tim 5:17–18. The "especially" in 1 Tim 5:17 would be better translated as "I mean." Paul was restating and clarifying here, as he did when he used the same word in 4:10. Paul did not advocate a separate class of elders who did not teach but who only ruled.
58 A recently published example of this position is Ted Bigelow, The Titus Mandate (self-published, 2011).