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MÁRK BIRINYI THE OFFICE OF THE ELDER AS A MODEL OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP Elders are tasked with a dual responsibility: to serve as exemplars of personal holiness and as stewards of the church’s spiritual life. The directive in Acts 20:28—to “pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock” encapsulates this dual mandate. Beyond administrative oversight, the elder’s role is intrinsically pastoral, involving the guidance, teaching, and correction of the community with humility and love. Fee and Stott’® contend that pastoral care is the primary function of the elder, a task that requires both spiritual depth and humility. Bavinck" emphasizes that this pastoral function is inseparable from the communal nature of the church, where every member is called to mutual service. From a Catholic perspective, documents such as Pastores Dabo Vobis (1968) stress that authentic leadership involves serving the people by modeling the life of Christ. A recurrent theme in both biblical and historical texts is the warning against idolizing church leaders. Elders must guard against transforming their office into an object of veneration; instead, their leadership should be characterized by transparency, accountability, and service. Scholars such as Wright and Wells” have noted that excessive veneration of leaders disrupts the essential dynamics of mutual accountability within the church. This concern was echoed by reformers such as Luther and Calvin,” who insisted that ecclesiastical authority must always be exercised within the framework of communal accountability. THE OFFICE OF THE DEACON: PRACTICAL SERVICE AND HUMILITY The origin of the diaconate, as recounted in Acts 6:1—6, represents a pivotal moment in early church organization. Delegating practical tasks to deacons not only relieved the apostles of administrative burdens but also established a model of distributed ministry that addressed both spiritual and material needs. Marshall and Moo” argue that the establishment of deaconship was a deliberate strategy designed to embody the values of the gospel by attending to the needs of the vulnerable. Greenleaf reinforces the view that effective leadership is best demonstrated through service instead of through the exercise 10 G. Fee: 1 Timothy / Titus; Stott: The Message of Acts. 1H. Bavinck: Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1: The Christian Faith. Baker Academic, 2004. 2 NT. Wright: Scripture and the Authority of God. SPCK, 2004; D. Wells: No Place for Truth: The Challenge of Orthodoxy. Eerdmans, 1999. 8 Luther: Small Catechism; Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion. 4 Marshall: Acts: An Introduction and Commentary; D.J. Moo: The Book of Acts. Eerdmans, 1996. R.K. Greenleaf: Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness (25th Anniversary edn.). Paulist Press, 2002. = 15 + 28 +
