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An aptitude for teaching is a qualification for the office of bishop. Folks who can't teach should not pastor.

 

Maybe it's just a case of semantics, but in some respects, I don't see why a person (or group of persons) that has a significant leadership position in a local church cannot be considered an "elder."

This is exactly what my church, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship (LCF) ( www.lighthouseministries.org ) has. If you go to our website and click on the "About Us" button, then hit the "Elders." This will take you to a list of LCF's "elders."

Not all of them "preach" from our pulpit on a regular basis, but most of them probably could preach if they were called on to do so.

Four of them are on LCF's staff. Bro. Al Henson is our Founding Pastor who was called by God to found what was then called Lighthouse BC about 40 years ago. About 10-12 years ago God called him to found Compassionate Hope Foundation ( www.compassionatehope.org ) which he now does rather than occupy LCF's pulpit as Pastor.

"Elder" John Yancey, who formerly pastored Hope Christian Fellowship (HCF) in another part of Nashville, is now LCF's Lead Pastor once LBC & HCF merged to form LCF back in January, 2009.

"Elder" Kevin Thomas was once LBC's music and choir director. Now he serves as our "elder" for Worship & Administration.

"Elder" Jeremy Mack is LCF's "elder" for Youth & Family Development. His wife Michelle is LCF's Administrative Assistant [i.e. Church Secretary].

"Elder" Todd Jacobs, a part-time staff member, is now our Worship Leader. Both he and "Elder" Kevin Thomas alternate in leading the musical portion of our corporate worship services.

"Elder" Dereje Befekadu is the pastor of our Ethiopian congregation that meets separately from LCS's worship services in a separate building on our church campus.

Our remaining "Elders" are men who don't normally fill our pulpit. These are men who just care enough about LCF to help in many of our outreaches for our community.

These men are all "elders" at LCF, and I thank God for all of them!

 

To my knowledge, the origin of this mistake is John MacArthur--I don't remember which book. But MacArthur is not a Greek teacher nor scholar. However, such is MacArthur's reputation that his mistaken interpretation has been followed by people who should know better.

Any Greek teacher should know the Granville Sharp rule and its application only to singular nouns. Any student who has finished second year Greek (usually a syntax course) should know the rule and its application. However, if a pastor has only taken the two years in undergrad, or if it has been a long time since he took seminary Greek, the mistaken plural application will sound good to him, and he may follow MacArthur.

By the way, please note that the GS rule is not just for poimen, but for any series of singular nouns that meets the criteria. For example, it applies in Titus 2:13, where following GS we learn that "the blessed hope" is the same as "the appearance in glory," and "our great God and Savior" is Jesus Christ.

 

The way I see it is the same as any thing God tells you to do. If God has led you to a specific thing keep at it until He leads you to something else.