Toward a Restorationist Theology of Leadership: Eldership Implications

For several decades, Restoration studies have noted deficiencies in the treatment of the theology of leadership and of practical ecclesiology. This paper responds to the lack of research linking ecclesiology to organizational design and to the theology of leadership in the Church of Christ tradition by building upon the ecclesiological framework composed of theological tradition, church metaphor, worldview, and organizational leadership perspectives. Elder role and congregational structure are considered in light of these perspectives, showing the ecclesiological framework as a broad scale and functional approach to these issues. This paper concludes that democratic congregationalist and corporal congregationalist church structures are most in line with Church of Christ theological emphases. Elder function is collocated within these structures as pastoral leadership, emphasizing the spiritual development of both individual members and the local body.