Who Are The Elders?
In the modern church the most important role in most congregations is that of the person who does most of the preaching on Sundays, the traditional pastor. Beside the preaching and providing most of the direction for the community, this person is expected to perform baptisms, the dedication of babies, weddings, and funerals whenever the occasion calls for them.
However in the New Testament book, the Acts of the Apostles, no such person is found. Of course, the apostles who were personally chosen and trained by Jesus were front and center in this history of the Early Church. After that, we see prophets and evangelists in action and important in establishing the churches.
The congregation at Jerusalem was organized and led by the 12 apostles. The second major center was North in Antioch of Syria, and was led by prophets and teachers, which were mentioned by name in Acts 13:1. This group was led by the Holy Spirit to send Saul and Barnabas out as missionaries. Saul, also called Paul preached the Gospel with Barnabas and later Silas, on many journeys across the Mediterranean Sea.
Whenever converts to Christ came together in any area, Paul appointed elders to lead them. This practice goes all the way back to Moses, who had taken upon himself more responsibility than was necessary. The Lord instructed Moses to gather seventy men of the elders — the older men of Israel, so He could impart the Holy Spirit's gifting of Moses to them. These unnamed men were to share the load with Moses. (Numbers 11:16)
Many historians believe that this was less of an office, but more of a charge. The appointment of an elder did not make one an elder. He was already an older man, but he was to be blessed and ordained to fulfill the duties that were already his.
Examples of this are found in both Acts 20:25-35 and 1 Peter 5:1-4. In Paul's last address to the elders at Ephesus, he charged them to:
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
(Acts 20:28 NASB)
In the older English language, the words "shepherd" and "pastor" were interchangeable. Thankfully, modern English translations have clarified the fact that the elders of the churches in Acts were the same people who were elsewhere referred to as "pastors," in Ephesians 4:11. Another source of confusion is the fact that the work of the "overseer," later took on the official sounding title of "bishop."
It is this simple: This same body of elders were held responsible of "shepherding," tending God's flock, and "overseeing," watching over them to protect and lead them by example.
Peter affirms this in his first letter:
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
(1 Peter 5:1-4 NASB)
Somehow we often miss the picture of the church as a family. The adults are the responsible ones. They are the ones who provide for the younger ones.
In all of this my hope is to encourage all of you seniors, men and women in the body of Christ. You have not only an opportunity, but a duty to put your years of experience to good use. In our society you might not get the respect that elders in the early church received. Maybe you have not earned it! Maybe you thought you should stay out of the way and let the "official" leaders make all the calls. Or maybe you are acknowledged as an elder in your church, but you are asked only to study the financial numbers in the budget or in the unfilled pews.
Please consider this: Somewhere in your circle there are younger people who could use your help. Maybe they don't even know it. It might be up to you to reach out to them and show some love and concern. Pray for them and seek the Lord's help for opportunities to serve them.
We all know it is easy to criticize and complain about the failures in Christianity. It is not as easy to share another's load as did the 70 elders of Israel. However, I believe our response to Christ's example and charge to us will elicit His response with the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that call!
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- · Todd Buiten
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I like this. I like it because it is true. I like it because it shows God's great mercy and love. I like this because it is needed as much today as it ever was
After leaving the institutional church almost three years ago, I was first wracked with doubt about my place in the kingdom. After all, who was I to speak for Almighty God? I had been trained for decades to believe that only those who were ordained by the church had the authority to be considered as elders. Yet when those same elders pushed me away from the fellowship of believers, I knew that this couldn't be right. What I experienced was not Biblical. It had all of the hallmarks of the kind of self-righteousness that we reject as Christians. Jesus didn't die to fill in the gaps in our own righteousness. He died to substitute His righteousness for ours
I've never been much of a guy to follow the rules. My instinct is always to do what is best, not what is easy or expedient or expected. When it came to church, it was one of the few places that I deferred to authority because I thought that it was God-ordained. But when I saw my church behaving more like a cult than an assembly of believers then it was time to question things. What I discovered is exactly as you describe, Dan. Being picked as an elder from a slate of candidates does not make one wise or experienced or even qualified in the Biblical sense. Those things come from the school of hard knocks as it were. Those who have learned the hard lessons have not only the duty to share them with those who are younger, but it's a joy to do this as well
This line really gets to me...
Please consider this: Somewhere in your circle there are younger people who could use your help
My experience over many years, especially these last few, is that younger people crave the affirmation that they get from older people. The younger generations are so extremely critical of themselves and their peers that it's a wonder that they can function at all. So they crave affirmation. Lots of us older folks lament that every kid gets a participation trophy for just showing up to an event, but when I see the kind of response that I get when offering a simple word of encouragement to a younger person then I think that maybe I understand a little. So often as I was growing up there was somebody there to help encourage me, so when this is missing for young people today then they will grasp at anything that comes along, even if that's a meaningless award
The best thing that we can do today as elders is to build trust. I have a number of young people that I know who listen to me not because they are forced to but because they want to. Because they know that I'm quick to encourage, they pay attention to me when I'm more forthright about my concerns for their lives. I've found it easy to establish trust because they seldom get any unconditional love from anywhere. Those of us who are older can provide that for them at no cost to us
So please, to those reading this... your time spent getting to know a younger person is not in vain. Whether that kid comes from a great Christian home with loving parents, or they come from a troubled home with nothing but bad influence, every kid needs to know that their choices do not define who they are. Every human being, by the nature of being created in the image of God, deserves a minimum level of respect. If the young person in your life knows that you have their best interest at heart then you can share anything with them, especially the Gospel. After all, if there was ever a story of unconditional love and acceptance, Christ's suffering and death is it
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Tod,
Thanks for bringing this up:
"So please, to those reading this... your time spent getting to know a younger person is not in vain. Whether that kid comes from a great Christian home with loving parents, or they come from a troubled home with nothing but bad influence, every kid needs to know that their choices do not define who they are. Every human being, by the nature of being created in the image of God, deserves a minimum level of respect. If the young person in your life knows that you have their best interest at heart then you can share anything with them, especially the Gospel. After all, if there was ever a story of unconditional love and acceptance, Christ's suffering and death is it"
Wouldn't it be wonderful if seniors could see themselves an army of God's warriors in their manner of praying and giving of themselves to younger people who are hungry for compassion and love?