According to the New Testament concept of eldership, elders lead the church, teach and preach the Word, protect the church from false teachers, exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine, visit the sick and pray, and judge doctrinal issues.
We, then, must also view apostolic, Christianized elders to be primarily pastors of a flock, not corporate executives, CEOs, or advisers to the pastor.
Depending on the context, then, presbyteros can mean: (1) "older man" or "old man," as in 1 Timothy 5:1 "Do not sharply rebuke an older man [presbyteros]." (2) a title for a community official, an "elder," as in 1 Timothy 5:17: "Let the elders [presbyteroi] who rule well be considered worthy of double honor.".. the strict sense of advanced age is eliminated from the meaning of elder when referring to a community leader certain connotations such as maturity, experience, dignity, authority, and honor are retained
shared leadership is often more trying than unitary leadership. It exposes our impatience with one another, our stubborn pride, our bull-headedness, our selfish immaturity, our domineering disposition, our lack of love and understanding of one another, and our prayerlessness. It also shows how underdeveloped and immature we really are in humility, brotherly love, and the true servant spirit.
According to Paul's required qualifications for eldership, a prospective elder must have enough knowledge of the Bible to be able to refute false teachers.