Elder Update 1.25.26
1 Peter 5:1-3 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
The New Testament terms elder, pastor, and overseer all reference the same office and provide a description of God’s design for leadership within a local church. TCBC is led by a plurality of Elders / Pastors who serve through various God-given gifts (Acts 14:23; 20:17; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1; 1 Timothy 3; 5:17; Titus 1:5-9). This shared plurality of oversight functions through mutual strategic submission according to giftedness. Meaning, practical oversight isn’t split into equal portions, rather adjusted according to need and gifting. Sometimes we’re asked, “Who is the leader of the leaders?” The answer isn’t fixed on one elder. It changes. We believe this is an exemplary pursuit of the body leaning wisely into the gifting of its parts (1 Corinthians 12).
One elder whose gifts and leading increasingly shepherds TCBC is Jeremy Bledsoe. God has gifted Pastor Jeremy with a unique capability to shepherd through care and counseling. In the day-to-day, across all of our ministries, Jeremy leads our elders in this critical shepherding. Consequently, as we move forward we have deemed it consistent and wise to acknowledge Jeremy as one of TCBC’s Lead Pastors. The change of our in-house terminology / title doesn’t change Jeremy’s day-to-day ministry, rather it aims to more accurately reflect his leadership in pastoral care and counseling.
Praise God! Every gift that blesses TCBC is from our gracious and merciful Father. May we be faithful and grateful as we steward each of them.