Elders - It's a mixed bag!

Dear Pastors

Let me begin with this. I believe in the role and ministry of Elders (or whatever equivalent name you have in your church/denomination). Acts 14:23, 1 Peter 5:1-4. Further, I believe both men and women are eligible to be Elders.

What I am less convinced about is how Elders (Eldership or Elder Board) function in so many churches around NZ. It seems to me that with the advent of greater legal, financial and other compliance requirements in our modern day together with a lot of talk about Governance, (often modelled after the commercial sector) that we are now left with a rather convoluted understanding of Biblical Eldership. This is made all the more challenging because there is no prescription as such set out for the role and function of Elders in the NT. Sadly, my observation is that it so often leads to Elderships that are confused about their role at best and dysfunctional, acrimonious, and to be honest out of their depth at worst. Or they give the appearance of functionality but are in actual fact impotent.

Today I would like to offer what I understand from the New Testament what I see the role of Elders. It’s not hard but it is essential. But first let’s work with the assumption that we all agree with the qualifications to become an elder as outlined by the Apostle Paul in 1Timothy 3:1-7 even though we may interpret this passage slightly differently.

So with that said, let me summarise the role of Elders (and a summary it is) as I understand it.

• Elders are spiritual ‘overseers’ of the congregation (Acts 20:28-31). In this role they prayerfully discern with the Pastor what God is saying to the church? Together they are to discern truth from error and together take responsibility for the health and growth of their congregation.
• Elders ask (insist) the Senior Pastor is accountable to them for his/her personal lifestyle, family relationships and ministry performance. The Pastor of the church is by definition also an Elder as the Bible doesn’t seem to differentiate between the role of pastor and that of elder……not really! Note: This is a contestable interpretation and position to hold - I know this all to well.
• Elders work tirelessly for unity and peace in the church and when that is disturbed they apply the teaching of scripture to resolve it as soon as possible. (Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1)
• Elders are people of prayer and some if not all are available for pastoral care and for healing ministry to God’s people.(James 5:13-16).

Essentially that’s it. Everything else is important but secondary. So day to day operations of the church is not their role, all the business, financial management, legal, compliance and HR is not their role. In my view that should be done in other ways and by other people (the ‘ways and means’ people in the church. Acts 6:1-7). There are of course a number of different ways this organisational stuff can be done these days. As a side note I recommend more churches should ‘outsource’ this time consuming work to specialist people/agencies.

To conclude. I contend that too many Elder Groups are ‘bogged’ down in the secondary stuff and lose sight and energy for the four key roles mentioned above resulting in many churches not benefiting from high quality and the loving ministry of dedicated elders/shepherds/overseers.

Finally, my friend Brian Winslade, Senior Pastor of Hamilton Central Baptist Church has written a very helpful little book on this subject. All details at www.oikosbooks.nz

Blessings

Alan

P.S. And just in case you missed some detail about the historic meeting last week in Singapore, below I have listed the four specific commitments in the joint statement that Presidents Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un signed:-

The two signed a joint statement in which "President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

The document makes four specific statements: (1) the two nations will commit to establish new relations; (2) they will "join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula; (3) the DPRK "commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula"; and (4) the two nations commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, "including the immediate repatriation of those already identified."

According to the agreement, the US and North Korea "commit to hold follow-up negotiations" led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a high-level DPRK official "at the earliest possible date" to implement the outcomes of the summit. The two nations will cooperate "for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and the security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world." Excerpt from Jim Denison’s Daily Article.

I believe this is the global church’s opportunity to pray like it has never before that these commitments WILL become reality.

Alan Vink is currently the Executive Director for LeadershipWorx. Prior to this role he has been the Executive Director of Willow Creek Association NZ (WillowNZ), a Baptist pastor (23 years), Bible College teacher, and church consultant.