Next week is a special one for our church family — we’re ordaining our brother Chris Uttke as a pastor and elder at Epiphany Church. We’ll gather at 6 p.m. on November 9th (no morning service!) to worship, celebrate, and share a meal — yes, Skip’s smoked chicken is back.
Before we lay hands on Chris and pray, I want us to pause and write to you about what this really means.
What is an elder? Why does it matter who fills that role?
Peter writes,
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession.”
— 1 Peter 2:9 (CSB)
That means every believer has direct access to God through Jesus Christ. You don’t need a priest, pastor, or spiritual middleman to pray for you. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you.
That’s why at Epiphany you’ll see people praying for one another, laying hands, prophesying, encouraging, and asking God to heal. We don’t relegate “ministry” to the stage — we expect the body of Christ to be alive and active.
Men and women minister — both are gifted, both are empowered, both are called to teach, serve, lead, evangelize, pray, and build the kingdom.
So yes — everybody gets to play.
But that doesn’t mean every role in the church is the same.
Why We Have Elders at All
Ephesians 4:11–12 says,
“He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.”
The word equip means “to give the right tools for the job.”
Leaders don’t exist to perform for the congregation — they exist to train the congregation.
A healthy church looks less like a concert and more like a construction site — everyone has a role, and leaders help you build.
Paul calls these leaders “overseers” or “elders” (1 Tim 3; Titus 1). The Bible uses those words interchangeably — presbyteros and episkopos — mature men who shepherd, teach, protect, and guide the local body.
And in a Congregationalist church like ours, that means elders aren’t corporate executives or denominational bosses. They’re servants chosen by the congregation to lead through example, teaching, and prayer — always accountable to the Word and to the people they serve.
Elders provide the spiritual oversight of the church — guarding sound doctrine, providing pastoral care, setting vision, and ensuring everything we do aligns with Scripture and the Spirit’s leading.
That’s why Paul told Titus to appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5) — wherever there’s a church, there must be shepherds.
The Calling: Fire in the Bones
Paul writes,
“This saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work.”
— 1 Timothy 3:1 (CSB)
The word aspires means to long for, to reach toward something holy.
That’s what eldership is — not a promotion, not a committee role, not a résumé line.
Eldership is not simply volunteering for a few years to be a trustee of a nonprofit. It’s not showing up for budget meetings or fixing a building — though those things matter.
Eldership is a spiritual calling to carry the weight of souls, to shepherd people through prayer, presence, and teaching.
An elder bears responsibility for the health of the flock — not as a manager of programs, but as a pastor of people.
He goes after the wandering, prays for the sick, restores the fallen, and keeps watch over the doctrine and direction of the church.
It’s long obedience in the same direction — steady, prayerful, humble, and faithful.
Before someone is ordained, they’ve already been serving this way; ordination simply confirms what God has made evident. They have to show they are safe, stable, holy people who love God and their nieghbors.
Jeremiah said,
“His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.”
— Jer 20:9 (CSB)
That’s the nature of calling. You don’t chase it for attention; you carry it because you can’t ignore it.
The Qualifications: Character Over Charisma
Paul doesn’t emphasize charisma or leadership style — he emphasizes character (1 Tim 3:2-7).
- Above Reproach: Not sinless, but trustworthy — the same person at home and in public.
- Faithful at Home: A “one-woman man,” steady and loyal.
- Self-Controlled and Gentle: Leading with humility, not force.
- Able to Teach: Handling the Word with accuracy and grace.
- Proven Over Time: Not a new convert, but tested and faithful.
When leaders like that serve, the church becomes a healthy household — not a machine, not a show, but a family that grows together in love and truth.
If elders are called to lead through shepherding and teaching, deacons are called to lead through servant ministry — and throughout Scripture and church history, that includes both men and women.
The first deacon recorded in Acts 6, Stephen, wasn’t simply handling logistics. He was “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” a powerful preacher whose witness led to his martyrdom — the first recorded in church history. His ministry shows that deacons are not assistants to the elders but ministers of the gospel in their own right.
Historically, deacons have carried the presence of Christ into the daily life of the church — bringing communion to those who are shut-in, assisting in baptisms, praying for the sick, and strengthening the body in word and deed.
Paul writes,
“Deacons, likewise, should be worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. They must be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons.”
— 1 Timothy 3:8-10 (CSB)
At Epiphany, we believe both men and women may serve as deacons — people of wisdom, grace, and spiritual maturity who model what it means to lead by serving.
They help organize benevolence, raise up prayer teams, steward the church’s finances, care for the hurting, and stand beside the elders in advancing the gospel.
Deacons are not behind-the-scenes helpers; they are visible examples of the gospel in motion — ministers who show what grace looks like with hands and feet.
So why are elders described as male if ministry itself is shared by men and women?
Paul says:
“An overseer must be the husband of one wife.” (1 Tim 3:2)
“For man is the head of the woman, as Christ is the head of the church.” (Eph 5:23)
This isn’t about worth or ability; it’s about symbol and calling.
Throughout Scripture, women serve powerfully — Deborah, Phoebe, Priscilla — yet the pattern of priest, apostle, and elder remains male. God uses the family structure as a living parable of Christ and His church.
I love how Gregg Allison puts it in Complementarity: Dignity, Difference, and Interdependence.
Just as in the home, there’s a mantle for fathers to take responsibility, there is also in the church.
But just like in a healthy home, women shouldn’t have to second-guess what they can or can not do.
There’s freedom, dignity, and partnership — not restriction. We don’t build fences around women’s ministry; we open doors for their gifts to flourish.
For complete clarity, at Epiphany Church we ordain women to ministry — as ministers or deacons — through a full process of discernment, affirmation, preparation and examination. We want them to be licensed through our Congregationalist Conference, recognized beyond our local church, and we believe they should serve in every ministry they are gifted for: from prayer ministry and teaching to worship leading and prophecy. If you are gifted by God for it, and your life lines up with the scriptures, we want you to do it, under the leading of the elders.
It is the ordained elders/overseers who carry the unique charge to guard doctrine and spiritual direction, taking special care to ensure that all teaching — whether by pastors, ministers, or laypeople — stays aligned with God’s Word and Spirit.
In a Congregationalist family, this balance matters. Elders lead under Christ; deacons serve beside them; and the whole body ministers together in mutual submission and love.
A Family That Grows Up Together
When we planted Epiphany, I told our first members straight up:
“If this church is going to survive, we’ve got to grow up. Get your house in order. Stop smoking weed, get counseling if you needit, get your marriage and your money right, really get healthy, stable and Godly. We need you.”
That wasn’t legalism — it was discipleship.
We welcome people from every background, but we expect to change together under the grace of Jesus.
Elders and deacons help guide that growth. They’re not perfect, but they’re living proof that grace can mature people.
That’s why ordaining Chris matters — we’re not elevating him to a throne, but recognizing what God has already built in him: a long obedience in the same direction.
At the end of the day, elders and deacons aren’t celebrities or executives.
They’re servants, appointed to keep the family healthy and the mission clear.
“He himself gave some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ … until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son.”
— Ephesians 4:11-13 (CSB)
That’s the goal — that everyone would grow, serve, and stand firm in Jesus.
Because in the family of God, everybody gets to play — and elders and deacons are simply those who help make sure we all stay in the game.
Join us next Sunday at 6 p.m. for Chris’s ordination service — a night of worship, family, and smoked chicken — as we celebrate the faithfulness of God and the beauty of His design for the church.
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