Leadership at New Life Croydon
We recognise that the leadership structure of a local church is not a fundamental doctrinal issue and we believe that God blesses churches with different kinds of leadership structures. New Life Croydon enjoys great relationships with churches with a wide variety of leadership models.
The leadership model we have in place at New Life has existed for many years now and is based on our understanding and application of scripture. According to the New Testament there are only two offices in church leadership: elders and deacons. All other terms used describe either spiritual gifts or are adjectives describing the function of elders or deacons, which we will deal with below.
New Life is led by a team of elders
We believe that in the New Testament, local churches were under the rule and direction of multiple elders and never just one person. (Acts 11:30, 14:23, 15:6 & 22, 20:17, Phil 1:1, 1 Tim 5:17, Titus 1:5, James 5:14). From reading the New Testament and depending on which translation of the Bible you are using, we can see that there are a number of different words used to describe church leaders including elder, pastor/shepherd and overseer or bishop. These terms should be understood as different names for the same office, see for example Acts 20: 17, 28.
Elders are overseers of the church who have a responsibility to shepherd or pastor the church family. Having a team of elders also helps with accountability and transition. New Life is therefore led by a team of elders who meet regularly to talk about the life of the church, pray and make necessary decisions.
There is no senior leader at New Life
What makes New Life’s leadership structure unusual is that within the team of elders, there is no designated senior leader or pastor.
No elder is exalted as a person above another but differences in level of gift, divine anointing, capacity and experience are recognised. (1 Tim 5:17) As well as not having a ‘senior pastor’ we don’t use titles for elders, so people are encouraged to call elders by their name. (Mth 23:8-12)
The Role of Elders at New Life
We believe that the responsibilities of those who serve as elders are set out in scripture and could be summarised as follows:
- Overseeing & Directing the Life of the Church (Acts 20:17-38, 1 Tim 5:17, 1 Pet 5:1-2) ‘Elder’ literally means ‘older one’ – one that is recognised as senior in understanding, experience and character. Elders are responsible for hearing from God and setting and implementing the vision, mission and direction of the church. Elders have a responsibility to discern what is happening in the life of the church and to respond accordingly. Elders provide leadership and oversight in every area of church life by working closely with the various staff, leaders and volunteers who serve in the different areas of New Life. A good way to understand this role of an elder is to think of him as a father to the local church family. Their role of ‘ruling’ (Acts 14:27, 1 Tim 5:17) is therefore not dictatorial, but is like a father who settles disputes and makes decisions on behalf of the whole family. Rule implies the role of a guardian and protector, rather than king or dictator.
- Shepherding the Congregation (Acts 20:17-38, 1 Pet 5:1-4) There is a clear Biblical mandate for elders to shepherd and pastor the congregation, who the Bible describes as being like sheep. Elders are called to guard, feed, lead, and care for the flock God has placed in their care. Elders have a responsibility to shepherd the church as a whole but also to ensure that individuals receive the pastoral care they need. Although a lot of pastoral care is delegated to other leaders, the elders still have an overall responsibility to care for the congregation. Elders will get involved in both reactive (responding to needs) and proactive (positive discipleship) pastoral care and always seek to be accessible to the congregation.
- Declaring & Teaching Sound Doctrine (Acts 20:30-31, 1 Tim 5:17, Titus 1:9-11) Elders are responsible for determining what the church believes and teaches on key doctrines. A key responsibility of an eldership is to provide spiritual food for the church through good quality preaching and teaching. The New Testament specifically warns against a rise in false teaching in the end times, so elders ensure that the church is receiving good, balanced, Biblically based teaching.
- Setting a Godly example. Peter writing in his first letter says that elders need to set an example. (1 Pet 5:3). It is significant that the qualities of elders listed in 1 Tim 3:3-7, Titus 1:5-8 focus on godly lifestyle and Christlikeness. Elders are called to be servant leaders who lead by example in every area including Christlikeness, prayer and use of spiritual gifts.
- Praying for the Flock Elders have a responsibility to give time to pray for the church. (Acts 6:1-4). There is also an expectation that elders need to be available to pray for individuals in need. (eg those who are sick) (James 5:14)
How do elders make decisions?
New Life Croydon is an independent, autonomous local church which means we are not officially linked to any denomination or church network, though as said previously, we enjoy excellent relationships with other churches in Croydon and further afield. This means we are not answerable to any outside leadership structure or individual, except Jesus! Our elders are ultimately responsible for all decision making at New Life.
Our eldership operates on a principle of unanimity for key decision making, which means the elders never vote when making decisions. However, there is agreed delegated authority on less important day to day decision making.
Why are there no women elders at New Life?
We have a longstanding position based on our understanding of scripture that the role of an elders is limited to men, although we recognise that other churches have come to a different conclusion.
From our reading of Paul’s advice to Timothy, we see that the role of governing and exercising authority in the local church is restricted to men (1 Tim 2:11-15). We also can’t find any clear examples of women elders in the New Testament church. However women are highly valued at New Life and are actively encouraged to be involved in every other area of leadership and ministry in the church, including speaking in our Sunday services.
The Qualities of an Elder
When choosing new elders, our existing elders prayerfully consider a number of qualities needed to be an elder including being:
- Men of Character When Paul writes to Timothy and Titus regarding the qualities of an elder the major focus is on character. (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim 3:1-7)
- Men of Maturity Timothy specifically says that an elder should not be a ‘recent convert’ (1 Tim 3:6) which clearly implies a demonstrable level of spiritual maturity.
- Men of Sound Doctrine. Paul writing to Titus and Timothy says that elders need to be doctrinally sound (Titus 1:9) and able to teach and encourage others. (1 Tim 3:2) It’s usually agreed that this is not necessarily referring to public speaking, but the ability to pass on sound Biblical counsel and wisdom in a one to one setting or to small groups.
The Role of Deacons at New Life
As well as elders, the New Testament recognises a second tier of leaders called deacons. (Phil 1:1) The word deacon means servant, so our understanding is that deacons were a recognised second tier of leaders working under the elders to care and minister to the flock.
Like elders, deacons need to be people of proven character ( 1 Tim 3:8-13,) full of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3)who are servants of the local church, but as their role does not involve ruling in the church, it could be argued that they can be women. This argument is strengthened by the case of Phoebe in Rom 16:1-2, who served in the church at Cenchreae. She is described as a ‘servant of the church’ and many commentators and some Bible translations suggest she was a recognised deaconess.
We have more recently formally recognised deacons at New Life. Deacons include those who lead various ministries in the church, those who serve in key areas of responsibility and others who assist the elders in the pastoral care and ministry of the church. The assistance that deacons provide frees the elders to focus more of their attention on prayer and the studying of God’s word (Acts 6:2) so we are very grateful for them.
Trustees at New Life
Because New Life is also a registered charity, we have a group of trustees who ensure that the charity is run properly and that New Life is complying with all relevant legislation. They carry the ultimate legal responsibility for the church. Our board of trustees is made up of a smaller group of elders and a small number of individuals in the church with relevant expertise.
Everyone is called to serve.
For us at New Life, leadership at every level is about servanthood and not status. (Mth 20:20-18, 1 Peter 3:1-3) The New Testament reminds us that every believer has a part to play in serving the body of Christ, the local church (Rom 12:4-8, 1 Cor 12:11-30).
We are grateful for the hundreds of people at New Life who serve in different areas of church life and where possible we encourage everyone who considers New Life to be their spiritual home to get involved in serving. (1 Peter 4:10-11) God also sees all those who serve faithfully in the local church and has promised to reward them accordingly. (Heb 6:10-12)