MONDAY
This week we come to the conclusion of 1 Peter. WhooHoo! We made it.
1 Peter 5:1 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
The “so” here indicates that Peter is building on his idea from the end of chapter 4. This idea is that the judgment of God begins in the household of God, with the people of God. This suffering sorts out who is a genuine believer and who isn’t. This thought leads him into an exhortation to the elders of the local churches he is writing to.
He begins his exhortation by identifying himself with his audience with three phrases. First, he exhorts them as “fellow elders.” Peter seeks to express his solidarity with his readers as he considered himself as a fellow leader of the church. They each led a local body of believers. Second, the phrase “witness of the suffering of Christ” probably doesn’t mean that he is an eye-witness of Christ’s suffering, although he very well could be. More likely it is referring to Peter being a fellow witness, along with the elders he is writing to, of the gospel that they are proclaiming to the world. The reason this understanding is preferable is because Peter is here trying to express solidarity with his audience. He is not emphasizing his apostolic authority. Third, they are also fellow partakers “in the glory that is going to be revealed.” The suffering they are all now facing is the path to glory, just as the life of Jesus revealed.
The church at this early point in church history certainly didn’t have the formal structure that was later developed in the second century. Yet, Peter will in this section use three words that are common to the church world today: elder (5:1); shepherd (5:2,4); and overseer (5:2). Later on in the history of the church, as the structure became more formalized, elders referred to the governing leaders of a local community. Shepherds became the pastors or the priests. Overseers became the office of a bishop. In the Roman Catholic tradition, Peter held the seat of the pope and passed that authority on to subsequent bishops of the Roman church.
In terms of clarifying our ecclesiology (theology of the church) it is important to note that these three terms are here used synonymously. Elders, pastors and overseers are one and the same position in Peter’s mind—in fact pastoring and overseeing are the functions of the office of elder. They are the leaders of a local community of believers.
Today we have entire denominations based on these terms. The Greek word for “elders” is presbuteros—Presbyterians. The Greek word for “overseer” is episkipos—Episcopalian. These distinctions are certainly not in Peter’s mind as he writes this letter. Yet, we have unfortunately pressed these distinctions so far as to form different denominations.
Furthermore, there is no sense in which Peter thinks of himself as holding the authority that the church would later ascribe to the pope. Referring to himself as a fellow elder certainly doesn’t connote papal authority. I’m not picking on Roman Catholics, I’m simply describing why we have a different church structure than they have.
All that to say, I don’t see any real issues with the church later solidifying layers of leadership and further offices. That makes sense to maintain unity as the church began to spread and grow. However, they are not biblically required. At LifeBridge our leadership model is simplified to only what is biblically required. The board of elders oversees the church community. Pastors are serving elders who perform the day-to-day duties of shepherding the church. Overseer is another name for elder. Deacons, which aren’t mentioned here but are elsewhere, are represented by our leadership team and the vision partner ministry teams.
*Let me explain why I say, “for the most part.” Whereas all elders perform the duty of shepherding the church, all pastors don’t necessarily have to be elders. We can designate someone a pastor who doesn’t also hold the office of elder. An ordained pastor can shepherd a certain segment of the church community, i.e., youth pastor.
Reflection
Ecclesiology can sadly cause some serious divisions in the church. So, whereas here I am explaining why we have the church structure that we do, it is, for the most part, not worth being divisive about. We should still be able to worship together and be unified even with our various ideas of church governance and structure.
So, for reflection time today, commit to unity in the body of Christ even amidst different church leadership structures.