An Elder is gifted by the Spirit to navigate and shepherd the Flock, but selection of an Elder goes beyond giftedness. The character, reputation, family life, abilities, and passions of an Elder are also vital to his leadership for the church.
- “Temperate”—a man who demonstrates a balanced emotional life and avoids the extremes.
- “Prudent”—a man who shows good judgment, common sense and not given to frivolous activities (does blogging count?).
- “Not addicted to wine”— an Elder should not be addicted to alcoholic drink, but just as important he should not demonstrate an addictive personality.
- “Not pugnacious”—not given to physical violence, brawling, or abusive speech and he avoids silly arguments that lead to fights or division in the Body.
- “Gentle”—a man who demonstrates patience, forgives easily and is considerate to everyone.
- “Not Quarrelsome”—a man who will defend the Gospel, defend the flock, and do so in a peaceable manner.
- “Not Greedy”—an Elder must be free from love of money, not allow money to distort his mission to the church, or seek eldership for personal gain or financial profit.
- “Not young in faith”—a man who serves as Elder must not be a new believer and been saved long enough to have developed and demonstrated a maturity of wisdom that is able to lead the church. Notice Paul’s example from his first missionary Journey where he did not appoint Elders among the newly formed churches for close to 2 years in some cases (Acts 14:21-23).
- “Not self-willed”—an Elder puts the needs of others above his own, he does not try and get his way, and demonstrates humility in his service.
- “Not quick-tempered”—anger is not always a sin, but a man who does not allow anger to come quickly, even when hurt or wronged by another will make a good Elder.
- “Loving what is good”—an Elder is not only loyal to moral and ethical values, he takes pleasure in doing good deeds.
- “Just”—a man whose decisions are fair and honest and submits sacrifices his rights and his needs for the good of others.
- “Devout”—an Elder is devoted to God in worship, refuses to compromise the Gospel, and does not give in to social or political pressures.
- “Self-controlled”— able to control himself under adverse or tempting circumstances, an Elder demonstrate constraint in the physical pleasures of life.
- “Above reproach”—a man who has no questionable conduct that would bring accusations against himself or against the church.
- “Hospitable”—a man who demonstrates a personal warmth and strong affection for all people
- “Good reputation with those outside”—notwithstanding those who would persecute the church, an Elder must have an ethically upright testimony, demonstrate peace, and shows love toward the lost.
- “An example to the flock” — even through his imperfections, an Elder must be the spiritual big brother and lead by his voice and by his example.
- “Husband of one wife”—literally an Elder is a “a one-woman man.” If single, an Elder is is not flirtatious and lives a sexually pure lifestyle. If married, he demonstrates total satisfaction with, and affection for, his wife
- “Manages his own household well”—an Elder demonstrates spiritual leadership of his family and does not allow his personal affairs or finances to get out of control. If an Elder cannot manage his own household, he cannot manage the household of God.
- “Children under control with dignity”—if an Elder has been given children, they should demonstrate obedience and respect. He must not be harsh or brutal with his children so as to cause them to rebel. He must be a man who leads through loving discipline, gives, consistent training, and biblical correction.
- “Able to teach and be taught”—an Elder need not have any formal education, but he must be able to read, understand, disciple, teach and preach the Scripture. He must demonstrate that has the gift of teaching, is being led by the Spirit and open to being taught by others.
- “Holding fast the word of truth”—a man who holds firm to the doctrines of the Apostles and does not compromise the Scripture with false tradition or denominationalism.
- “Exhort with sound doctrine”—a man who encourages others with his teaching and does not place guilt or works on the Family.
- “Refute those who contradict”—an Elder must stand against and stop false teaching that would harm the flock or distort the Gospel.
- “not compelled to serve“— a man who serves as Elder must do so with a passion to serve and not be forced into leadership by others. An Elder must lead from a pure motive, a clear gifting from the Spirit, and a recognized calling rather than a desire for reputation or prominence.
When Paul lists the qualifications for elders, it is significant that he combines requirements concerning character traits and heart attitudes with requirements that cannot be fulfilled in a short time but will only become evident over a period of several years of faithful Christian living…
Those who are choosing elders in churches today would do well to look carefully at candidates in the light of these qualifications, and to look for these character traits and patterns of godly living rather than worldly achievement, fame, or success. Especially in churches in western industrial societies, there seems to be a tendency to think that success in the world of business (or law, or medicine, or government) is an indication of suitability for the office of elder, but this is not the teaching of the New Testament. It reminds us that elders are to be “examples to the flock” in their daily lives, and that would certainly include their own personal relationships with God in Bible reading, prayer, and worship. Just as Paul could say, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1; cf. 2 Tim. 3:10–11), and just as he could command Timothy to “set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:12), and just as he could tell Titus, “Show yourself in all respects a model of good deeds and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured” (Titus 2:7), so the pattern is to be continued in the lives of all church leaders today. It is not optional that their lives be examples for others to follow; it is a requirement.
Grudem, W. A. (1994). Systematic theology : An introduction to biblical doctrine. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, pg 918-919
Finally, after looking at the Scripture and how it applies to our churches today, I wanted to leave you with a good quote from Richard Baxter. The terminology he sues is a bit different than my own, but I think the following sentiment is a good summary to what we need in our Elders.
The ministerial work must be carried on purely for God and the salvation of souls, not for any private ends of our own. A wrong end makes all the work bad as from us, how good whatsoever it may be in its own nature. It is not serving God, but ourselves, if we do it not for God, but for ourselves. They who engage in this as a common work, to make a trade of it for their worldly livelihood, will find that they have chosen a bad trade, though a good employment. Self–denial is of absolute necessity in every Christian, but it is doubly necessary in a minister, as without it he cannot do God an hour’s faithful service. Hard studies, much knowledge, and excellent preaching, if the ends be not right, is but more glorious hypocritical sinning. The saying of Bernard is commonly known:
“Some desire to know merely for the sake of knowing, and that is shameful curiosity. Some desire to know that they may sell their knowledge, and that too is shameful. Some desire to know for reputation’s sake, and that is shameful vanity. But there are some who desire to know that they may edify others, and that is praiseworthy; and there are some who desire to know that they themselves may be edified, and that is wise.
Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor, Index created by Christian Classics Foundation., electronic ed. taken from the 1974 Banner of Truth ed. edited by William Brown., 111 (Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation, 1996).
Keeping in mind this outline for Elder selection, we will look at some biblical guidelines for how we can apply all that we have learned about Elders to the modern church.
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