I don’t really like the term ‘lay elder’. It implies a clergy/laity divide that I think is scripturally unwarranted and harmful to ministry. I think ‘teaching elders’ and ‘ruling elders’ similarly creates a bifurcated, two-tiered ministry that is biblically unwarranted and destroys meaningful parity between the elders. Ideally, we want some terms that imply parity among elders.

Some run with ‘staff elders’ to differentiate them from ‘non-staff elders’. I’m not wild on that because it implies a professionalisation of ministry that is unhelpful. I toyed with trying to get ‘full-time elder’ to stick at one point. I was aiming to get us away from implying the pastor is distinct from the elders (which means I’m not wild on the pastor/elder distinction too; all elders are pastors). Not only did ‘full-time elder’ not take hold, on reflection it unhelpfully suggested other elders are only part-time – like eldership is their side hustle or a hobby to be fitted in as and when – rather than accurately portraying they are just as much elders when they do their secular job as they are in elders’ meetings. I haven’t yet found a helpful term, but perhaps the most helpful distinction is the most basic factual one: ‘paid elder’ and ‘unpaid elder’. No distinction is authority, no distinction in ability, no distinction even in terms of how much eldering one does; just the brute reality: a distinction in who gets paid for eldering and who doesn’t.

But as a paid elder, I wanted to give a shout out to all those unpaid elders. Those elders who do what I do without the coin. Sure, paid elders are freed from secular work so they can spend more time focusing on the teaching of the Word. That is the point of setting aside elders. That is usually what we mean when we talk about a ‘pastor’ distinct from the elders in reality. But other elders still teach the Word, they just have less time available to dedicate to it. Apart from a distinction in the amount of teaching that takes place, there is no distinction between the elders. They are all equally elders, pastors and overseers. They are all equal in authority and all equally qualified on the same biblical terms. The burden for the church that the pastor feels is a burden for the church the other elders feel too.

I am so grateful to those men who labour in the unpaid ministry of eldership. They are men who are elders all the time; they are no less full-time than the man often called ‘pastor’. They are involved in overseeing the ministry of the church. They are involved in the decision-making and shepherding of the church. They are at all the same elders’ meetings, officers’ meetings and members’ meetings as well as taking responsibility for particular pastoral matters, mainly in those scenarios where they are closest to the people requiring pastoral care. They are not less important, less involved or less engaged. They are men who labour in ministry alongside their secular work.

Because, in many churches, the pastor is viewed as the focal point (rightly or wrongly), elders are often viewed as having a bit-part to play. It is assumed they do less. It is assumed their word carries less weight. It is assumed that they are simply there are a support to the pastor and his vision rather than as co-equals who have absolute parity with the pastor, who is himself one of the elders. I think such thinking is a travesty.

Unpaid elders are wonderful servants of the local church. They are dedicated to the good of the church, the good of God’s people and are qualified for the role to the same extent as your pastor. Not only do they serve faithfully in ministry and carry the burden of leadership, they do all this for no material benefit and alongside their secular work. Sure, there may be some advantages to that setup. But let’s not pretend that is quite some service and it is often criminally underrated by churches.

So, here is to the unpaid elders. The lay elders, the non-staff elders, the part-time elders; call them what you will. Honour them, cherish them, thank them. They are worth their weight in gold.