Lone Ranger Elders and the Fractured Body of Christ
When pastors isolate themselves from accountability, the church bears the wounds.
The church is not a playground for personal visionaries. It’s not a stage for entrepreneurs cloaked in ecclesial language. It is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 3:15), the dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:22), and the bride of Christ purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28). We shouldn’t tinker with that.
And yet, our landscape is filled with what I can only call spiritual freelancers—men who bear the title “elder” but live as if they are exempt from the structure, order, and mutual accountability Christ ordained for His church.
They say things like:
“We’re not part of a denomination—we’re just following the Spirit.”
“We don’t have outside accountability; we’re autonomous.”
“Our elders are accountable to God alone.”
That last one should send a chill down the spine.
A Body Without Joints
Let’s be clear. Scripture teaches a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5), mutual submission (Eph 5:21), and real accountability (1 Tim 5:19–20). Elders are shepherds, yes—but they are also sheep. They are not above discipline, correction, or the wisdom of the broader body of Christ. No man is above rebuke. Not even Peter.
Paul opposed Peter to his face when he was out of step with the gospel (Gal 2:11). Can you imagine someone doing that in your average modern church plant? We don’t breed Pauls anymore—we breed brands.
There’s a kind of ecclesial crossbreeding happening today. Men claim the mantle of elder without taking on the yoke of accountability. They gather a board of yes-men or sideline their fellow elders until leadership becomes functionally a one-man show. The congregation watches, the Scriptures are quoted, the charisma flows—but Christ is dethroned in practice.
The Drift Into Dysfunction
This is not just a matter of personality or style. It is theological. Ecclesiology isn’t a side doctrine—it’s Christology applied to the church. Christ is the head. Elders are under-shepherds. They must serve His agenda, not their own.
When elders answer to no one, they subtly (or not-so-subtly) shift the authority of the church away from Christ and onto themselves. The local church becomes detached from the catholicity of the Church. Accountability is reduced to podcasts and platform apologies. And wounded sheep are left wandering.
It doesn’t always start as rebellion. Sometimes it starts with zeal. A man plants a church in a hard place. He’s been burned. He doesn’t trust others. So he keeps it small, keeps it tight, keeps it “clean.” But over time, his instincts for self-preservation lead to isolation. His boldness becomes brittle. He doesn’t answer to anyone—and that begins to feel like freedom.
But it’s not freedom. It’s danger. It’s the slow death of mutual edification and the erosion of Christ’s glory in His body.
Confessional Wisdom
The historic Reformed confessions warned against this. The Second London Baptist Confession (1689) affirms the need for associations between churches: “As each church…has need of mutual help, so churches ought to hold communion amongst themselves for their peace, growth, and edification.” Our forefathers were not suspicious of authority—they were suspicious of unchecked authority.
We need more of that.
True Reformation doesn’t isolate; it reforms under the authority of Scripture, within the household of faith. It insists on shepherds who shepherd one another, churches who stay connected, and decisions that are weighed by a multitude of counselors (Prov 11:14).
Shepherds Who Bleed
If you’re a pastor or elder reading this, let me exhort you: Don’t lead in the dark. Don’t build a ministry that no one can speak into. Don’t settle for loyalists when you need brothers.
The best shepherds are the ones who’ve bled. Who’ve been corrected. Who’ve repented publicly. Who’ve submitted to others for the good of the flock. Christ builds His church with men like that.
And to the congregant—pray for your elders. Encourage accountability. Discern the difference between confidence and control. And if you’re in a place where the elders answer to no one—raise your voice.
The sheep belong to Christ. And He does not entrust them lightly.