Someone once asked me if the way we do church leadership is ‘by committee’ because we have five elders who lead our church instead of having a single pastor. It struck me as an odd question, but it is a good one. Often, when you get a group of human beings together and give them all leadership, you get to choose how your organization will die – death by committee or death by chaos.

How is elder rule different?

For one thing, the elders are not a committee.

com·mit·tee (kə-mĭt’ē)
n.
A group of people officially delegated to perform a function, such as investigating, considering, reporting, or acting on a matter.

A committee is given a specific task. They do not rule anything. Committees DO things, they don’t decide things.

The elders are not given a specific task. They are granted oversight of the local assembly, and that requires more than just a committee and a task list. It requires spiritual gifts and insight; it requires a diversity of gifts and talents.