Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

The Acts of the Apostles

similar concern for the weak in body and in material necessity, always remembering “the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”’ The elders, then, like Paul, are to be characterized by hard work. They are to be employed in order to support financially their families and help the needy. They are to give considerable time to shepherding God’s church. By doing these things, they will be examples to the congregation of the type of life God intends for all His people. At the conclusion of Paul’s fervent exhortation, Luke records a touch ing farewell scene: And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they were accompanying him to the ship (Acts 20:36-38). Paul was not a church hireling; he was a true spiritual shepherd. These elders had worked intimately with Paul and been inspired by his amazing, single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ. Prayer, then, was the only fitting conclusion to their gathering. As they “knelt down and prayed,” the elders looked to God alone for strength and guidance for the future. We can imagine that as a mighty man of prayer, Paul prayed for the spread of the gospel in Asia, for protection from false teachers, for the growth of the church, and for the Ephesian elders’ labors and trials. Although Paul didn’t command the Ephesian elders to pray, he could not have set a clearer example for them. It is God’s intention that those who guard His flock utilize, as Paul did, persistent prayer—the greatest means of spiritual protection (Acts 624). Summary of the Elders’ Work The work of the Christian elders that Paul describes is “to shepherd the church of God.” These elders are not board elders; they are shep herd elders. As shepherd elders, they are called to guard the flock from its archpredator—-the false teacher. Moreover, shepherd elders are called to be spiritually alert and to constantly admonish the congregation about the subtle dangers of false teachers and their divisive, false doc tn'nes. Like Paul, Christian elders are to guard the gospel and teach the

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