In our local churches today, steeped with the traditions of men, we now have a false distinction or dichotomy that an elder is different from a pastor and a bishop.
One is called a senior pastor with other pastors under him, we also have another set of men called elders doing another set of function in the church. This is unbiblical and wrong.
Actually, an elder in the Bible is an overseer/ bishop and is also a pastor of the church. Elder speaks of the person's maturity. Bishop or overseer speaks of the same person's responsibility. Shepherd or pastor speaks of the very same person's ministry.
Elder --- refers to his maturity. Bishop/Overseer ---refers to his responsibility. Pastor/Shepherd ---refers to his ministry. This is very clear in Acts 20:17 to 28. Notice and observe very carefully:
Ac 20:17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the ELDERS of the church.
The apostle Paul called for a conference of elders. He wants to meet with them for some final instructions. And then, some time later, speaking to the very same persons, he told them this:
Ac 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you OVERSEERS, to SHEPHERD the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Notice, the elders in verse 17 are also recognized by Paul as overseers/bishops and shepherds of the Church of God!
Paul even makes this clear in other portions of his letters. In Titus 1:5-9, he wrote:
Tit 1:5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint ELDERS in every city as I commanded you--
6 if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination.
7 For a BISHOP must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,
8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,
9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
7 For a BISHOP must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,
8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,
9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
Paul gave instructions to Titus to appoint elders in every city (verse 5). And then he proceeds to outline the qualifications of an elder (verses 6 to 9). In doing so, he conveniently shifts to call elders as a bishop of their respective churches (notice verses 5 and 7).
Why is this so? Because an elder is also a bishop biblically speaking.
The apostle Peter also has this to say about this issue. In 1 Peter 5:1-2, he wrote this:
1Pe 5:1 The ELDERS who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2 SHEPHERD the flock of God which is among you, serving as OVERSEERS, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
You see, elders in verse 1 are called to shepherd/pastor and serve as overseers/bishops of the flock of God in verse 2, affirming what Paul said in Acts 20:17 to 28 that an elder is a bishop/overseer and a pastor/shepherd at the same time.
