Believers are brothers and sisters in Christ which produces intimate relationships with one another. The reality of this strong, familial community supersaturates the New Testament. The New Testament writers most commonly refer to believers as brethren . The terms brethren , brother , or sister occur approximately 250 times throughout the New Testament. Plural eldership is most compatible with this family character.
Elders are leaders from among the family.
With this perspective, the Biblical eldership structure protects against self-promotion since the elders are viewed as part of the priesthood of all believers and contribute to the family of believers through leadership functions and gifts. Finally, the shared leadership structure promotes the New Covenant priesthood through manifesting Christ as the true and only head of the church. Plural leadership can help shift the focus from the gifts and influence of the leaders to the absolute Headship of Jesus Christ. With shared leadership it is much more difficult to exalt one man's gifts since each elder has diverse gifts and varying strengths and weaknesses. Elders, then, are part of the New Covenant priesthood and not the priesthood.