Committees?

[rpm13000]

Is there a biblical basis for committees in the church? For a long time I have had a problem with committees, because of past experiences. I am cool with one committee, the search committee. I have always felt that if they did their job, and sought God in staffing a church, the staff should make the decisions involving the church. I think the staff spends more time in prayer and seeking direction than a large majority of the church.

Also, could you define an elder as in 1 Timothy 5:17?

[Mike Miller]

The Bible does not mandate nor prohibit committees. Committees can either function well or poorly, but because of the Bible's silence about them, we can't take a biblical position on their use. However, according to the Bible, the church is a body with many members, and the pastors/elders cannot possibly do all the work. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to group people with certain gifts/skills into teams in order to accomplish the church's work most effectively. When committees are staffed well, they can really help the church, but when they are staffed poorly, they can be nothing but trouble.

In Scripture, the terms pastor (the Greek word for shepherd), elder, and overseer (or bishop) are used interchangeably. For example, in Acts 20:28, Paul tells the Ephesian elders to care for the flock (shepherding or pastoring) over which God had made them overseers (or bishops). Similarly, in 1 Peter 5:1-2, the elders are told to shepherd (pastor) the flock, exercising oversight (the same word for overseer or bishop). Therefore, elders/pastors/overseers are those people called and entrusted to lead and care for the local church.