There are two words used to refer to leaders in this chapter: overseers and deacons. In the New Testament the word ‘overseer’ is interchangeable with the word ‘elder’. The distinction between them is best understood as follows: ‘elder’ describes the man for who he is—a mature Christian who is in a position of leadership in a local church—and ‘overseer’ describes what he does—the Greek word means that he ‘watches over’ God’s people. Peter uses it in this way when he tells elders