Missional Church: Jesus and the role of pastors & elders

Get a little back ground on the discussion in part 1 and part 2.

In the first post I wrote about one view of church includes this about pastors and elders:“The Senior Pastor/ Head of Staff/ Lead Pastor (choose your title) is in charge of the church. Elders are assigned ministries to represent. The staff follows instruction and does most, if not all, aspects of the ministry.”

In the missional church, Jesus alone is the head of the Church (universal) and church (local).The church belongs alone to Jesus because…
… Jesus himself calls the church his church in Matthew 16:18 where he says to Peter, “… and on this rock, I will build MY church.”
… the church centers and rests on Jesus, not ideas, platitudes, moralisms, or religious concepts. Paul demonstrated this when he writes in Ephesians 5:23, “… as Christ is the HEAD of the church” and in Ephesians 2:20, “…Jesus Christ himself as the chief CORNERSTONE.”

This means that the missional church sees its pastors, not as head of the church, but as servant leaders under the authority of Jesus Christ for the redemptive mission of God in a local body of believers. There will always be a lead elder (pastor) that serves as the “first among equals” with the other elders/pastors as modeled in scripture with Peter in Acts. Paul does this as he appoints and guides elders in each city to be under-shepherds.”

The role of pastors is most clearly outlined in Ephesians 4:12 that says the role of the pastor is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Therefore pastors are equippers, trainers, coaches, teachers to help Christ-followers live out their calling, not the paid purveyors of programs.

Missional elders are the discerning body for the local church. They are not elected representatives that vote on issues to reach decisions by majority rules. I believe elders function best as ones who seek the Holy Spirit’s will for a local church to further and protect God’s Mission and calling for the church. 1 Timothy 4 & 5 and Titus clearly outline the qualifications of elders. Those passages also speak of the respect we are to have for elders, especially those who lead and preach in the church.

James 5:1 and 5:14 includes prayer, anointing, healing, and witness to the redeeming work of Jesus as functions of the elder, too.

In conclusion, Jesus is the head of the church. Pastors are elders who equip through servant leadership and preaching/teaching. Elders are those who discern what God’s mission and direction is for the church.

Thoughts? Disagreements? Support? What say you?