The words used in Acts 20:28-32 regarding the eldership of the church leads us to believe that rulership is involved. “Feed the flock among you” and ‘appointed you to be overseers’ and ‘draw away many after themselves’ are such expressions that involve rulers. The warning of Paul in the passage certainly alerted the elders at Ephesus that ‘from your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things.’ By drawing others to themselves, they were drawing men away from Christ who shed His blood to purchase the church. It is a shame for such to happen. This would be the first wave of division from Christ, and it would come from within the eldership. Could it have been avoided and how?
In 1 Peter 5:1-4, we read a sobering thought from an elder who was as well an apostle, Simon Peter. He warned to shun ‘lording over God’s heritage’ and reminded elders that each one has to account for himself to the Chief Shepard! Yes, the way to avoid ‘lording’ in the rulership of the church rests within each of the elders recognizing his accountability to the Lord. It is not ‘his church,’ rather the church is the Lord’s heritage. It’s not ‘his rule,’ rather the Lord’s rule ought to be honored by all. It is good to be reminded of this. It is an effort for brethren to have to remind an eldership not to go too far. There are many ways to ‘lord it’ over the brethren besides rude speech.
[Editor’s Note: A correctly functioning eldership is a balancing act between assuming the God-given responsibility to rule (Hebrews 13:17) on behalf of Christ as well as for the welfare of the flock of God and bullying a congregation with extra-biblical mandates or even with unnecessary harshness. ~ Louis Rushmore]
