Developing Servants for a Servant-Kingdom - Mark 10:43-45
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Lincoln Community Bible Church Developing Servants for a Servant-Kingdom - Mark 10:43-45 |
The Leadership of Lincoln Community Bible Church Jay Newland - Teaching Elder/Pastor
Jay's great passion is to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to be a godly husband and father, and to shepherd the local body of believers at Lincoln Community Bible Church with a focus on expository preaching and biblical counseling. Jay is married to Suzan (since 1993) and has four sons, Russ, Nate, Cal, and Will.
Trae Martin - Evangelistic Elder
As one of three Elders at LCBC, Trae's desire is for believers to gain knowledge of God's will in spiritual wisdom and understanding through Bible study, reliance on the Holy Spirit, and prayer. He currently teaches 1 Peter on Wednesday nights. Trae and Robin have been married for 19 years and have five children, Cameron, Jennifer, Mary Grace, Molly, Micah, and currently foster a one year old.
Chuck Bethancourt - Administrative Elder
When Chuck and his family relocated to the Lincolnton area, he found many Evangelistic churches but was unable to find a church that had strong verse-by-verse expository teaching. Chuck joined with several like-minded families to establish Lincolnton Community Bible Church. Chuck is the Worship Leader that focuses on contemporary songs that are solid in God's Word along with a mix of Hymns. His greatest desire is to see more people live their lives in God's Truth and he is truly grateful to the Lord when a song has helped people to be reminded of that Truth. Chuck has been married for 22 years to Pam. They have three children, Weston (post-teen), Charlie (teen), and Rebekah (pre-teen).
What is an Elder? Pastor Jay Newland answers that question in this “Statement on Biblical Eldership.” Lincoln Community Bible Church is a local church body led by a group of biblically qualified elders, which we believe is the clear biblical pattern for church leadership (1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9 provide the biblical qualifications for elders). The Greek word, presbuteros, is used nearly twenty times in Acts and the epistles in reference to this group of leaders who have responsibility to shepherd and oversee the people of God in a local assembly. For example, Acts 14:23 states that Paul and Barnabus “appointed elders . . . in every church” in Lystra and Iconium and Antioch. In Titus 1:5, Paul's comment to Titus reveals the importance he placed on elder leadership: “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.” Peter also clearly knew that elder leadership was the form of "church government" in the New Testament church. As he wrote to churches dispersed through several Roman provinces, he exhorted the elders to "shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God . . ." (1 Peter 5:2).Another clear directive in the New Testament is that there is to be a plurality of elders leading the local church. For example, in Acts 15, we read about the Apostles meeting with the elders of the church in Jerusalem to deliberate over doctrinal controversy. In James 5, James instructs the sick believer to call for the elders of the church to pray for him. When passing near Ephesus, Paul summoned the “elders of the church” of Ephesus to meet with him (Acts 20:17, 28). 1 Timothy 5:17 again refers to a plurality of elders leading and teaching the church in Ephesus: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” The consistent pattern in the New Testament then, is that each local body of believers is shepherded by a plurality of elders. This is not merely one suggested form of church leadership out of many options--it is the pattern for church leadership that the NT writers describe. Nowhere in Scripture do we find a local church body ruled by congregational rule or by a single elder—it is always a plurality of elders. So, LCBC follows that biblical pattern of church leadership. What, then, are the responsibilities of an elder? Understanding a few Greek words helps answer this question. The Greek word presbuteros is the Greek word that is translated “elder.” However, there are two other New Testament terms that refer directly to the role of an elder. Those two terms are episkopos (which is translated “overseer”) and poimen (which is translated “pastor”). Noticing how these three terms are used almost interchangeably in Scripture is helpful. For example, 1 Timothy 3 details the qualifications of an episkopos (translated, "overseer") and Titus 1:6-9 refers to the qualifications of a presbuteros (translated, "elder"). However, both of those two lists of qualifications are clearly parallel—they both are clearly referring to one and the same office. In Acts 20, we find all three terms used interchangeably. In verse 17, Paul assembles all of the elders (the Greek term presbuteros is used) of the church to give them a farewell message. But later, in verse 28, speaking to that same group of elders, Paul says, "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (here the Greek word episkopos is used) to shepherd (derived from the Greek word poimen) the church of God.” 1 Peter 5:1-2 also uses the terms in such a way that it is clear that all three terms refer to the "office" of elder. These interchangeable terms provide major insight into what the role of the elder is—to oversee and to pastor (shepherd) the flock of God in the local church. Simply put an elder is a pastor (shepherd) and is an overseer. In his role as an overseer, he is to supervise and manage the church. In his role as a pastor, he is to shepherd the sheep. That shepherding role includes teaching and exhorting the flock, and it includes guarding the church from false teaching. The elder is a servant of the flock. He is to work hard, be gentle and generous like the Lord Jesus Christ and live at peace with the congregation (Acts 20:35; 1 Thess 5:13). In response to this leadership, the flock is follow the guidelines set forth in Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable to you.”
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Jay became the teaching pastor at LCBC in the summer of 2010. Jay graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Finance. He worked in various business and management roles until 2002, when he and his family moved from Missouri to California for him to begin studies at The Master's Seminary, led by Dr. John MacArthur. After graduating from The Master's Seminary in 2006 with a Master's of Divinity degree, Jay came to Twin City Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC, where he served as a pastoral intern and lay elder.
Trae was raised in Texas and came to know the Lord at an early age. While living in Houston he attended Grace Fellowship Bible Church and came to appreciate expository teaching. He and his family relocated to North Carolina 13 years ago and helped start Lincoln Community Bible Church. 
Chuck was raised as a Roman Catholic in New Orleans. When he was thirty-six years old, by God's grace he came to an understanding of the truth of the Gospel and was Saved. He attended Northshore Bible Church in Covington, Louisiana with his family and grew in love and understanding of God's Word.