Elder Position Paper - Lesson 4

This next lesson is very cleverly named “General.” I couldn’t find another place to put two points, so I just put them here under “General.” Maybe it’s good that this is such a short lesson because these are very controversial topics and I can’t answer them here. You’ll need to do your homework elsewhere to make the decisions on these two points. These are issues that—at least the first one should be in your bylaws. 

I. General Issues in Church Leadership

The first issue is gender. Will you only have men be elders or will you have men and women be elders? The verse is 1 Timothy 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” Exercising authority is the general truth. The specific application is to teach the requirement for an elder. First Timothy 3:2 states that he has to be the “husband of one wife.” This is not a topic we can settle here, but you’ve got to settle it. 

There are really good resources. I spent—if you’re a complementarian, then you’ll probably like my position. I spend pages and pages talking about it. There’s a book called First Timothy 2:12 that does that. Also, there are other good books out there for the egalitarian position. 

This has to be in your bylaws. Don’t settle this on the moment. Make sure people know the biblical basis for your decision and why you made it. I remember I was preaching through 1 Timothy and I came to this passage, 2:12, and it so happened I had to leave right after church to get on the plane to go to a conference. I said, “I’m really sorry I can’t hang around to answer your questions, but let’s talk about women in leadership positions in the church.” When I was all done, suddenly about ten young girls rushed the stage. I went, “Oh, man I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but I don’t want to miss my plane.” They said, “Thank you. We’ve never known why there was this division of labor between men and women at the elder position. Whether we like him or not, at least now we know why.” Make sure that people understand that. My position on 1 Timothy 2 and 3 is set by the end of chapter 3. This is how one is to behave in the church of God.

I think the instructions in chapters 2 and 3—this my personal opinion—don’t relate to things outside of the elder position. They certainly don’t apply to university faculty who can teach and stuff like that. But this isn’t an issue of how the leaders conduct themselves in the church. So, just do your homework. Make a decision, make sure you can defend it biblically, and then let your people, especially the young girls in your church, know why you made the decision. It can’t be based on tradition. It has to be biblical.

The other thing I want to mention out of the general category is the issue of an honorarium. I like the word ‘honorarium.’ It’s actually a better translation than ‘salary.’ We certainly think that in the first century, church people would move in and move out of leadership. I don’t know why we think that but we’re pretty sure that’s what happened. The idea was that for a period of time you’d let your business go, or let your land fallow, or whatever it was. Then you would focus on leading the church and then things might happen when you have to go back to your work. That’s why I like the word ‘honorarium.’ It’s really what the Greek word means. But when you’re full-time in the church, focus; the church has the responsibility to lift the financial burden off your shoulders so you can actually do the work. First Timothy 5:17 says that the elders who rule well should be considered worthy of “double honor.” Double honor refers to respect and an honorarium, “…especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages’” (1 Tim. 5:17–18). People who are involved in ministry, especially full-time ministry, have a right to be paid. 

First Timothy 5:1–3, “So I exhort the elders among you…shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you not for shameful gain…” Some people that were doing this leadership thing to make money—“…not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” An elder in 1 Timothy 3 is not to be “a lover of money.” In Titus 1:7, he must not be “greedy for gain.” 

All leadership is worthy of respect—or maybe I should say leadership should be worthy of respect if in fact they meet the qualifications so they’re all worthy. But when there are those that should be paid and—you will, as a church, need to decide when that happens—whether part-time or full-time, that’s your decision. 

Your church leadership responsibility is to financially care for the people that are committing significant amounts of time to leading and to serving in the church when doing so becomes a financial burden on them. I have a real pet peeve on this: there are so many churches that like to keep their pastors poor. That’s just unbiblical and sinful. I don’t know what else to call it. Of course, some small churches can’t afford significant stipends. I understand that. But many churches can afford them. I think sometimes they’d like to keep the pastors poor so they can control them. I’m sorry to be cynical. But I’ve seen people just eke out of living. They’re trying as hard as they can to be effective preachers and pastors. They’re trying to serve the people and do everything leadership is supposed to do. Then their wife is working 60 hours a week or they’re doing second jobs. They can’t focus on the work because they’re simply not being provided for. I know why we have parsonages, and I think maybe at a certain time in our history that may have been a good thing. But if you say “Well, I will cut the pastor’s salary and give him a free house,” all that means is that when he turns 65, he has no savings because most of our savings in America is tied up in our houses. Then you say, “We’re done with you. Thanks. You go.” Then the pastor says, “I can’t even afford an apartment because I’ve been in a parsonage my whole life.” 

Now that’s my opinion. But are you valuing the people who were leading you so that it’s not a financial burden for them to meet their calling? I won’t say more about that.

II. Reflection & Application

In reflecting on these two general issues, this is a bylaws issue, especially with the gender question. Check your bylaws. Have a healthy discussion. Bring in people with different opinions to explain things if necessary. Please don’t let tradition be a decider. You can’t say, “Well, we’ve always had men.” But that’s not a reason. Churches in the South used to have slaves. That doesn’t make it right. It’s just traditions. Sometimes they’re biblical traditions, sometimes they’re not biblical. In this discussion, make sure you are not looking at the history of the church and traditions. Make it based on the Bible. 

As for determining salary, there are websites and ministries out there that will help compute, based on where you live, the amount of training that you have using different factors. They will give you fair salaries even for a non-profit. Make use of those. Treat your people with respect. That means paying them enough money so they can do their job and they can live.