The danger about articles like this is the fact that it assumes that the office of "elder" in the New Testament is supposed to make decisions *for* a local congregation. But that's not historic presbyterianism AT ALL! https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/easy-shepherd/

As Charles Hodge notes in his "The Church and Its Polity," ruling elders are "the representatives of the people." They are not a top-down office, but a grassroots ground-up office. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Church_and_its_polity.html?id=ENUCAAAAQAAJ

Further, Hodge argues that presbyterianism is distinctive in that 1) the people elect their own church officers and 2) the people also have controlling influence in the government of the church through those ruling elders as their representatives.

is the right of the sheep to have ruling elders as their representative shepherds who speak their concerns. Ruling elders are not "yes-men" to the ministers - they are the protectors of the flock from tyranny within the body of Christ.

Articles like this one from TGC, while likely well-intentioned, perpetuate a view of ruling elders that creates space ripe for spiritual abuse, authoritarian tactics, and a stripping of the rights and power of the people of God at the hands of sacerdotalism.