Leadership

Lead Pastor-

Glass City Church's Lead Pastor is Jeffrey Lavalette. Jeffrey has been in ministry since 2002 and in January of 2008 began sensing a call back to Toledo. Upon further discernment and the confirmation of Godly counsel, he discovered God's call to plant in Toledo, where he was born and raised.

 Jeffrey loves to read and some of his favorite authors are John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Mark Driscoll, John Calvin, Wayne Grudem, and J I Packer.

He has been married to his wife Ashley since August of 2006 and together they have three dogs- Samson (Chocolate Lab), Joey (Golden Retreiver/Charpei), and Gracie (Chihuahua/Terrier).

 

Elders-

Nolan Hensel was ordained as an elder in October of 2011.  He has been with GCC since the beginning and has extensive experience in Youth Ministry as well as working with at-risk youth in several settings.  Nolan is married to his wife Erin who has also been a huge help to GCC over the years.  They have a son named Paxton and another baby on the way.

 

Deacons-

Josh Kaiser was ordained as a deacon in October 2011.  Josh is married to his wife Varalyn and they both feel called to plant an additional campus of GlassCityChurch in the Toledo area in the years to come.  

 

Joel Berry was ordained as a deacon in October 2011.  Joel and his wife Kelsey serve as the musical worship leaders of the church. 

 

Eldership At Glass City Church

 

What are Elders?

 

Throughout history there have been times where the church has claimed much authority, giving itself the ability to forgive sins and save sinners based upon financial donations. We know that this type of authority was not given to the assembly of believers. In reaction to this, some churches have fallen to the other extreme, leaving the church with no authority and without any form of government.

The goal with having elders is to be somewhere in the middle, carrying out the authority given to the church but not granting the church more authority than it has been given. All the way back in Deuteronomy chapter 1, God is preparing the Hebrews to enter into the promise land. In that context, God tells Moses, “Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads” (1:13).

The idea behind this was to give headship and authority to a plurality of men rather than Moses being the only one with that role. This is how God created order within his people. The office existed for the sake of taking care of Israel in an orderly fashion, rather than abusing power for political gain.

In Acts we see a similar setup. In chapter 15 Paul and Barnabas were faced with pharisees who claimed it was necessary to have gentile Christians circumcised. In verse 6 it says, “The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.” So here we are seeing a form of leadership that existed all the way back to Deuteronomy. We know that there was a plurality of leadership in the form of elders in every church planted because of Acts 14:23. We also know that Paul commanded Titus in Titus 1:5 to appoint elders in every town for the sake of creating order in the churches.

The Bible uses two words to describe the office of elder. The Greek words are πρεσβυτερος (presbuteros, where we get the word presbyterian) and επισκοπη(episkope, where we get the word episcopalian). The first word is translated into English as elder and the second is translated as overseer.

We believe these words to refer to the same office. In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul lays out the qualifications for overseers and one of them happens to be that he should be able to teach (vs 2). In 1 Timothy 5:17 it says “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” In chapter 3 it was the overseers who were teaching, here it is the elders.

Again in 1 Peter 5:1-2, Peter extorts the elders to shepherd the flock of God, exorcising oversight (The word oversight coming from “overseer”). The terms for the office of elder and overseer are essentially the same thing and we see this in many more examples in the Bible.

This brings us to the question, what is an elder? An elder is a pastor who takes care of the flock of God by willingly and joyfully exercising godly oversight over his congregation by all means to encourage, strengthen and give life to the body. It is the duty of the elder to be a pastor within the church. In Acts 20:28 Luke records “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God...” The words “pay careful attention” and “care for the church of God” are the duty of the overseer/elder which is far different from the methodology of some churches where elders meet once a month to make a large decision and yet give little care to the health of the church through the rest of their time in office.

On the contrary, in Hebrews 13:17 it says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” Elders have a very weighty calling by being intricately involved in the lives of the church. The more research I have done to answer this question, the more I have realized that my own view of ecclesiology is faulty. The Bible uses the term pastor (πιομην) in the form of an office one time (Eph 4:11). In most churches today, we place much emphasis on the pastor and recognize the him to be the head guy, the leader, the ultimate decision maker (and usually the one who teaches on sunday mornings). I have found very little support for this. Instead 1 Peter 5:4 says that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and verses 1-2 explain that all elders should shepherd the flock of God. Ποιμαινω in verse 2 is the verb meaning “to shepherd.” It comes from the noun ποιμην which is how we translate “pastor.” So literally here we see Peter commanding the elders to pastor the church. This commission was first given to Peter in John 21:16 when Peter was asked by Jesus, “Do you love me?” Peter answering yes, Jesus tells him to tend (ποιμαινω, literally pastor) his sheep. Peter calls himself an elder in 1 Peter 5:1, “As a fellow elder...” The Apostle John also calls himself an elder in 2 John 1 and 3 John 1.

It is fair to say that most of the Apostles were probably considered elders as well and so we can use Peter and John (and others) as reflections of how elders ought to minister. In the commandments to shepherd the flock of God, we are essentially being told to be like Jesus because he is the Good Shepherd as John 10 tells us. Ultimately, what can be said of elders, is that they ought to imitate Jesus. They ought to care for people as he did, they ought to nurture the church as he did, etc.

In concluding remarks for this section I will quote a text that would prophesy Jesus' shepherd-like ministry in Ezekiel 34:11-16: “For thus says the LORD God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the LORD God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

In John 10, we see Jesus mentioning that “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (vs 11). This ought to be the heart of an elder.

 

Why Elders at Glass City?

 

Having elders at Glass City Church would serve to have a plurality in male leadership. This does two things for Glass City, 1) Multiple elders will provide enough men who can tend to all the sheep with the goal of not neglecting a single one, and 2) It keeps the authority in the hands of many instead of one which will protect the church from heresy and keep all leaders in check from falling into sin. Also, when large decisions need to be made, having a body of elders allows for these decisions to be agreed upon without involving every member of the church. Establishing elders in the church will promote order (Titus 1:5) as well as organization.

 

The Qualification of Elders

 

We are given a list of qualifications of elders in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. These qualifications let us know with certainty that not everyone should be an elder, for there are many who do not fit these qualifications. The qualifications are as follows:

1. The elder must be above reproach (vs 2). This means that the elder would live in such a way that no reproach or blame could be put on him. He must be so far from being accused of something that no one could legitimately accuse him of it.

He must be the husband of one wife (vs 2). This is also translated “a man of one woman.” It is not necessary that an elder be married, but rather if he is married he must be married to one woman. If he is not married, he must keep himself pure for his future wife.

Sober minded (vs 2). The Greek word used here, σωφρων, hints at having a safe and sound mind which has been brought under control.

4. Self-controlled (vs 2). The King James Version accurately translates this as “Of good

behavior.” Either way, both the ESV and the KJV imply behavior that is controlled.

5. Respectable (vs 2). Elders must be worthy of respect.

6. Hospitable (vs 2). Elders must be good at showing hospitality, willingly opening their homes to others.

7. Able to teach (vs 2). Elders must have the capacity to teach the Bible. The implication here is that they must know the scriptures to be able to teach. This type of teaching doesn't only imply the teaching on a Sunday morning for corporate worship, but it also includes instruction to the saints in the form of advice, sharing wisdom, instructing children, etc. In the context of 1 Timothy, the elder should have at least enough Bible knowledge and discernment to correct false teachers (1:3, and Titus 1:9).

8. Not a drunkard (vs 3).

9. Not violent, but gentle (vs 3).

10. Not quarrelsome (vs 3).

11. Not a lover of money (vs 3).

12. He must manage his own household well (vs 4). To do this he must do the second half of verse 4, “With all dignity keeping his children submissive.” The reason for this is verse 5, “For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?”

13. He must not be a recent convert (vs 6). The reason for this is because “He may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (Second half of vs 6).

14. He must be well thought of by outsiders (vs 7). A man that has a good reputation with outsiders will not “fall into disgrace.”

More qualifications from Titus 1:

1. Must not be arrogant (7).

2. Must not be quick-tempered or easily angered (7).

3. He must be a lover of good (8).

4. He must be holy, probably meaning that he strives for holiness (8).

5. He must be disciplined (8).

 

This guide is to be used with discernment. The truth is that God's word does not tell us to what degree an elder should be hospitable. Instead it simply says that he should be hospitable. This text also says that an elder should not be a new convert, but it does not say how long he should be a Christian before he becomes an elder. So we are left with some gray area in certain respects. I believe these areas are meant for the church to decide on a case by case basis.

 

The Calling of Elders

 

In Acts 20:28 we see that it is the Holy Spirit, ultimately, who selects elders. We also know from 1 Peter 5:2 that leaders of the church should shepherd the flock of God willingly and not “under compulsion.” With this, we believe the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the one who gives a man a desire to be an elder. 1 Timothy 3:1 says, “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” The word for “aspires” (ορεγομαι) literally means to stretch oneself or to reach out towards.

The verse indicates that the elder should have a motivation within himself to be an elder, that it doesn't require anyone else to motivate him to serve. The man who “aspires” in this context longs to do the work of an elder/overseer. In other words the man who wants to be an elder should experience a desire that is sustained by the Holy Spirit and not by any other means.

If someone wishes to be an elder within Glass City Church, he should function first as a member. The reason for this is for the rest of the elders and congregation to get to know the person who aspires to the office of overseer. In chapter 1 Timothy 3:10, Paul suggests that the deacons should first be tested with time and allow them to prove themselves. This should also be the case with elders. Once this man has been around for some time (enough time to be proven blameless), he will be allowed to serve in the office of overseer only if the current elders agree. If they believe that he does not fit the qualifications listed in scripture, they must reject him from the office. If the man is accepted to serve in the office, the elders and the pastors should bring him before the congregation and lay hands on him and pray as we see in 1 Timothy 4:14 and 5:22.