Pastors/Elders* are servant-leaders at Cornerstone who shepherd, teach, and lead the church as undershepherds of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:1- 4, Acts 20:28-32). Elders keep watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17), manage the church of God (1 Timothy 3:4-5), teach the Word (1 Timothy 3:2), preach the gospel (2 Timothy 4:1-2), rule the body (1 Timothy 5:17), protect from wolves (Acts 20:28-29), pray for healing (James 5:14), contend for the faith (Jude 3), rebuke false doctrine (Titus 1:9), equip the saints for ministry (Ephesians 4:12) and set an example to the believers (1 Peter 5:3)—for which they are held to account by God (Hebrews 13:17).
Deacons are lead-servants at Cornerstone who use their gifts and talents to organize and administrate the ministries of the church to allow the elders to accomplish their God-given calling of shepherding and teaching the church.
*The New Testament uses three main terms to speak of what we typically call a “pastor”: elder (Titus 1:5; 1 Tim. 5:17), overseer/bishop (1 Tim. 3:1-2; Titus 1:7), and pastor (Eph. 4:11). These terms, instead of indicating separate offices, are actually used interchangeably, giving us three different facets of the same office:
- Overseer/bishop indicates the role of oversight
- Pastor indicates the role of care
- Elder indicates the necessity of spiritual maturity