Plurality of Elder Leadership Versus One-Man Authority in a New Testament Church

Abstract

The thesis of this paper is that churches should be led, taught, and governed by a plurality of elders, leading the church as a group without a defined single-man authority over them. Chapter 1 contains the thesis statement, along with a brief discussion of the content and the methodology used in this paper. Chapter 2 reviews church history, from the point in the second century when the church departed from the biblical model of church government until the present day. Chapter 3 provides the exegesis of scriptural passages and examines the pattern of church government and explores whether there is just one or multiple models found in New Testament churches. Chapter 4 presents practical arguments for alternate models of government, based on personality preferences and time management issues. Chapter 5 presents the conclusions formed from the preceding analysis, thereby defending the thesis statement.