Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Appointment ofElders

church. In 1 Timothy 5:17, the elders are the ones who “rule” the local church. The word “rule” is the Greek word prohistemi, which means lead, manage, or direct. So in vitally important matters such as select ing, examining, approving, and installing prospective elders or dea cons, the overseers should direct the entire process. (In all New Testa ment cases of initial elder or deacon appointment, the apostles or an apostolic delegate initiated and supervised the appointment process. See Acts 6:1-6; 14224; Titus 125.) If the elders do not oversee the ap pointment process, disorder and mismanagement will ensue, and people will be hurt. Moreover, if the elders do not take the initiative, the pro cess will stagnate. The elders have the authority, position, and knowl edge to move the whole church to action. They know its needs, and they know its people. So they can, intentionally or not, stifle or en courage the development of new elders. The reason some churches can’t find new elders is that no one is really looking for them. Although the New Testament provides no example of elders ap pointing elders, perpetuation of the eldership is implied in the elders’ role as congregational shepherds, stewards, and overseers. Perpetuat ing the eldership is a major aspect of church leadership responsibility. It is absolutely vital to the ongoing life of the church that the elders recognize the Spirit-given desire of others to shepherd the flock. If a brother desires to shepherd the church and truly exhibits that desire through appropriate action, and if he is morally qualified, then the elders are obligated to see that such a person is not frustrated in his desire. Such a brother needs to be officially made a member of the church eldership team. For this reason, a good eldership will be praying and looking for capable men to join them and will be conscientiously training and preparing men for future leadership. What Paul told Timothy applies to the eldership: “And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Ideally, long before the church examines a prospective elder, he will have prepared himself and been trained by the elders and watched by the congregation. When this has occurred, the process of examining and approving the candidate moves quickly and in an orderly fashion. Kenneth O. Gangel, professor and chairman of the department of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary, is right on target when he says, “The key to reproducing leadership is to clearly plan for

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