Does the silver bullet argument challenge the very idea of eldership itself?

If every believer has sonship status, and sonship status means equal authority with no hierarchy, then how can there be elders at all? Any elder — male or female — has authority and hierarchy over other believers. If sonship is violated by someone being an elder over you, then eldership itself is illegitimate. Some egalitarians do try to strip elders of authority, but Mike calls this 'completely untenable' given scripture's teaching on the authority of elders, apostles, and Jesus.