Should Elders Insist on Unanimity?

I always chuckled a bit at people who say that elder boards are good because they prevent rule by one man, but then demand unanimity which gives the rule to one man.

[Jim]

Should the elder always agree with himself? Or is it OK to be schizophrenic?

If your pastor talks to himself a lot, is that the same thing as having a board of multiple elders?

Trying to be a little bit serious here, I have recently been wrestling with the idea of our “low church” bodies using readings to put someone else on the podium and make it less likely that the church would be concentrated on one person. But really, avoiding a church being controlled by one person is as simple, and as difficult, as avoiding hiring a domineering person as pastor. There are some leaders who do a great job sharing the sandbox, and some who are very poor, and sometimes only time tells, and sometimes even there’s a quorum who happen to like that. It’s hard.