House Church Talk - Alexander Strauch on Biblical Eldership

[Dan Beaty]

David and Gary,

The concept of plural eldership was introduced to me in the seventies.
Shortly after that I too, at 29 was ordained an elder in our local assembly,
along with about 4 other men. At the time, we still had a "pastor" and the
elders were to be his helpers.

The concept I thought we were working towards was more of a co-equal
eldership, but I still understood this in more of an official sense. In any
case, the concept of single pastor was so deeply rooted in the minds of the
people that no studies in Scripture could change them.

Even for myself, it took a crisis in my Christian experience to open my eyes
to the reality that true elders, as you have shown are merely the older men
in any congregation. That may have been in part due to the fact that we have
not really been brought up to respect age as were previous generations.

Partially too is the fact that many older men have not always taken their
role as example setters and mentors seriously. Fortunately I did have older
men in my life who invested in me and passed down some of their life
experiences to me. Others as well in our group had caring hearts, but some
times I feel that the "official" concepts of eldership kept them preoccupied
more with the administrative and business aspects of the church.

Last night I recieved a phone call from a brother who was born in Eastern
Europe. He told me that when Christians from there visit the US they are
literally "shocked" at the megachurch phenomenon. He felt that the
oppression on the church in Eastern Europe has brought the people closer to
God and to each other.

Dan Beaty
Columbus, Ohio USA
www.livingtruth.com