In today’s churches, it’s almost unthinkable to imagine a congregation without a single pastor leading from the front, delivering the sermon, and overseeing the flock. But what if that very model, so familiar to us, is actually foreign to the New Testament?
That’s the provocative argument made by Dr. Tom
Wodsworth, whose doctoral research and video series challenge everything we
assume about early Christian leadership. Drawing from biblical texts, cultural
context, and historical developments, Wodsworth presents a case for reimagining
what Christian gatherings—and the role of elders—are supposed to be.
Let’s unpack the essentials.
1. Worship Services
Are Foreign to the New Testament
Wodsworth begins with a bold claim: the concept of a "Christian worship
service" does not exist in
the New Testament.
While the modern church treats Sunday morning
gatherings as formal worship services, this practice is absent from the
vocabulary of early believers. The Greek words for worship (e.g., latreia,
proskuneo) are never used to describe
Christian assemblies. Instead, these gatherings are repeatedly defined by one
purpose: edification.
“Let all things be done for edification” (1
Corinthians 14:26, WEB)
Rather than offering sacrifices or performances to God, believers met in homes to build one another up in love, knowledge, and spiritual maturity. The shift from mutual encouragement to stage-centered worship, Wodsworth argues, mirrors pagan and Jewish temple models more than anything in apostolic Christianity.
2. Plurality of Elders
Was the Norm
One of the clearest takeaways from Scripture is that every local assembly had multiple elders—never
just one.
·
Acts 14:23:
“They appointed elders in every assembly.”
·
Titus 1:5:
Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders (plural) in every city.
·
Acts 20:
Paul calls for the elders of
Ephesus, not just the pastor.
·
James 5:14:
“Call for the elders of the church…”
Nowhere in the New Testament is a single elder
or “senior pastor” given unilateral oversight. Instead, leadership was shared
among respected older men who guided the assembly collaboratively.
This matches what we see not only in Jewish tradition (city elders, clan elders, temple elders), but across many ancient cultures—from Greek gerousia, to Roman senators (senex = old man), to tribal councils in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The idea of governing by a council of elders is a human universal, not a novelty of Christian doctrine.
3. Elders = Overseers
= Shepherds (Pastors)
Wodsworth makes a compelling case that the New Testament uses the terms elder (presbuteros), overseer
(episkopos), and shepherd/pastor (poimēn) interchangeably.
·
In Acts
20:17–28, Paul calls the elders
of Ephesus and tells them that the Holy Spirit made them overseers to shepherd the flock.
·
1 Peter 5:1–2
urges elders to “shepherd the flock of God” while “exercising oversight.”
There is no separation between these roles. What many churches today call a “board of elders,” a “bishop,” or a “pastor” were originally just different aspects of the same function. The early church had no professional clergy—just mature men shepherding the group as servants and teachers.
4. Elders Worked
Within the Assembly, Not Outside of It
Today, elders often function like board members or administrators who meet
in back rooms to handle budgets, maintenance, and HR issues. But in the first
century, the assembly was their workplace.
Elders were most active during the gathering itself—watching,
shepherding, listening, correcting, and teaching as needed. These were small
home meetings, not 800-member auditoriums. Everyone had a voice, and the elders
ensured that all things were done in love, truth, and order.
“If a revelation is made to another sitting
by, let the first keep silent” (1 Corinthians 14:30, WEB)
This participatory model allowed the body to function organically—with every member contributing, and elders guiding the flow, not monopolizing it.
5. Elders Were
Primarily Teachers
Though not every elder had the gift of teaching, many did—and those who
taught well were given special honor.
·
Titus 1:9:
Elders must be able to “exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who
contradict it.”
·
1 Timothy 5:17:
“The elders who lead well are worthy of double honor, especially those who
labor in word and teaching.”
Their teaching wasn't limited to sermons—it included discussion, exhortation, and correction within the gathering. Some elders were more gifted or active than others, but none were monopolistic figureheads.
6. How Did the
One-Pastor Model Arise?
If the early church was led by a council of elders, where did the
one-pastor, one-pulpit model come from?
Wodsworth names Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 110) as the likely
originator. In his letters, Ignatius insists that nothing be done without the
bishop:
“Let no one do anything that has to do with
the church without the bishop… Regard the bishop as the Lord Himself.”
—Letter to the Smyrneans
This shift marked the beginning of a sacralized and centralized church leadership model, which grew over the
centuries. By the fourth century, bishops were seen as mediators between God and man—displacing Jesus’ unique
role as the High Priest.
The Protestant Reformation, surprisingly, did little to change this. Luther kept the one-pastor model, and most modern churches—whether Baptist, Pentecostal, or Presbyterian—still reflect this inherited structure.
7. Oratory Can’t Make
Disciples
Wodsworth critiques our overreliance on preaching as the primary means of discipleship. Trained
in homiletics himself, he admits that most sermons are forgotten by the time
people reach their cars.
“Having one speaker dominate every assembly
frustrates the apostolic directive of building up one another.”
Discipleship requires dialogue, feedback, and correction. It flourishes in small groups, where people can speak, ask questions, and even be gently corrected by others. When we reduce church to a sermon-and-song model, we silence 99% of the body of Christ—and elders become event managers rather than disciple-makers.
8. Where Do We Go
From Here?
Wodsworth offers six practical takeaways for those wanting to reclaim the
biblical model:
1. Don’t
Just Rename the Board
Changing titles (e.g., deacon to elder) won’t
fix anything. Structure must match function.
2. Clear
Your Mind of Modern Church Culture
Stop assuming the church is about buildings,
services, and performances. Return to the biblical purpose: edification.
3. Acknowledge
the Weakness of Oratory
Preaching has its place—but it can’t form deep
discipleship alone.
4. Think
Small Groups
Growth happens in small, interactive settings,
not massive, silent pews.
5. Pursue
One-Anothering
Encourage every believer to contribute—to
teach, sing, pray, confess, exhort, and serve.
6. Rebuild
a Culture of Elders
We must restore the cultural value of wise, godly older men—respected not for age alone, but for virtue, humility, and spiritual wisdom.
Recovering a
Forgotten Way
The early church wasn’t built around pulpits or priests—it was built around people. Real, fallible, Spirit-filled
believers gathered in homes to edify one another under the watchful care of a plurality of wise elders.
If we want to recover the vitality and
effectiveness of those first-century assemblies, it won’t be through better
branding or bigger buildings. It will be through reimagining church as a gathering of believers, not a performance for spectators.
To quote Wodsworth:
“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but
to serve… whoever wants to be prominent among you shall be your servant.”
It’s time we follow that example—not just in theology, but in how we do church.
Want
more?
Check out Wodsworth’s full video series on and dig deeper into the
early Christian assemblies. You’ll never look at “church” the same way again.
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