Preacher as an Elder
August, 1998
----- The Question -----
CAN A MINISTER OF A LOCAL CONGERATION ALSO BE AN ELDER IN THAT CONGERATION?
----- Andy's Answer -----
Technically, YES. Notice in 1 Peter 5:1 quoted above that Peter was an elder, yet he was also an apostle, 1 Peter 1:1, which meant he also preached regularly to others.
However, there is another side to this. Since Peter was an apostle, he was inspired by God, are all preachers/elders inspired by God? No. Knowing that it is easy for an "eldership" to become tyrannical, it would not be good to have a man with a "conflict of interest" where he is responsible to watch himself. What do you when your preacher does something wrong, yet he is also an elder, who are usually the ones who hire/fire the preacher? Does he rebuke himself? Does he fire himself? If you have a man who is power-hungry, he is set up for good.
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