Elders and their Work - Part 1
Elders and their Work • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 36:11
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· 32 viewsWhat is the job of an Elder, and who can serve as one?
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Elders and their Work
Elders and their Work
This is Part 1 of a two part study looking at Elders and their Work.
Jimmy McMillan is stepping down after 23 years of service.
Ric Allen and Terry Bowden will continue in their roles as Elders of East Side.
They have put 3 names up for consideration before the congregation:
Jerry Dever
David Miller
Allen Paris
I have already received a few questions in the question box that we’ll answer today. If you have any other questions, put them in the box in the back and I’ll address them next week.
Elders: What do they do?
Elders: What do they do?
Of all of the words used for an elder in the Bible the one that is most descriptive is a shepherd.
What does a shepherd do?
Guidance in following Christ, praying over the sick, checking in on members, Firstfruits, making decisions about the direction of the congregation, managing logistics of the organization.
Shepherd selection is not a popularity contest, it’s a calling. Congregations need elders who are gifted to shepherd the flock.
We often consult “the lists” and find people who can check off the boxes with little consideration for if that person has been gifted by the Holy Spirit as a shepherd of God’s people.
A shepherd/elder should be about the work of representing and imitating the Good Shepherd in the congregation in which they serve.
Acts 20
Acts 20
Paul had a deep connection and love for the church at Ephesus.
He spent 3 years working there, then wrote them a letter, then wrote two letters to their preacher Timothy.
Knowing he will soon be arrested, and will never see the elders of this church he loved again, he sends for them.
Acts 20:25-31
25 “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.
26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.
27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.
28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.
30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock...”
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock...”
Shepherding is a difficult job. Who looks out for the elders? Who shepherds the shepherds? They do.
They do. Timothy did as well, so just as I minister to the congregation I also minister to the elders, but they have a responsibility to look out for each other physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
Shepherding the flock can be difficult because sometimes the flock doesn’t want to be shepherded.
Sheep never have the same view or understanding as the shepherds.
Occasionally the shepherds will ask a congregation to do something uncomfortable. Know that they have the best interest of the flock in mind.
“…the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”
“…the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”
This should go without saying, but I’m pretty sure it’s gone without saying my entire life.
The congregation does not choose elders. Elders do not choose elders. The Holy Spirit himself chooses elders.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard that preached. I know I didn’t point it out when we went through Acts. Much time in prayer has been spent by the elders, ministers, our families to seek the will of God and the moving of the Spirit in this process.
We ask you to join us in seeking the Holy Spirit’s will on behalf of our elders.
“So be on your guard!”
“So be on your guard!”
This language about “savage wolves” and “wolves in sheeps clothing” seems to be trotted out whenever someone does something we don’t like. Stop it!
It is the role of the shepherds to protect the sheep.
This is the ministry of love and concern for those in the elders’ care. As Lynn Anderson put it they should “smell like sheep.”
They are to lead the congregation in truth , guard against false teaching, and be on their guard in order to help the sheep as much as possible.
It is an active role. It’s not an emeritus title, it’s work. They must constantly search the Scriptures, listen to the Spirit’s leading, and be aware of what the congregation is doing.
This includes your personal lives. They need to speak truth into your life, not only concerning themselves about what happens in the building.
Shepherds who are shepherds in title only but aren’t present with the sheep put the flock in a dangerous position.
People think the shepherd is on duty but no one is looking after the sheep. That is when wolves move in. No one seems to notice this until it is too late and the damage has been done.
1 Peter 5
1 Peter 5
Chapter 4 talks about suffering for being a follower of Christ (if you’re not suffering, or have never suffered, maybe it’s not really Christ you’re following?)
1 Peter 5:1-7
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
“Be shepherds of God’s flock...”
“Be shepherds of God’s flock...”
This is not your church. This is God’s church bought with the blood of Christ. Elders are called to be undershepherds to the Chief Shepherd.
Be mindful that there is something at work bigger than you here. Peter is basically reminding us this is serious business.
“…because you are willing...”
“…because you are willing...”
“…eager to serve;”
“…eager to serve;”
There should be no superiority complex here… “not lording it over” the congregation. It’s a huge responsibility that requires a servant’s heart, and a great deal of humility.
The idea here is that the shepherd is a concerned guide, not a severe ruler.
They are exhibiting the behavior they wish to see in the congregation. Living out the image of Christ. They’re called to be examples for us to follow.
“...clothe yourselves with humility...”
“...clothe yourselves with humility...”
All of you. That means the sheep and the shepherds. All of us must show humility toward one another.
All of us will fail. We must be honest about that. We need to be humble and recognize our shortcomings.
Congregation, submit to the elders. Elders, be examples to the flock of how to clothe yourself with humility toward one another.
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
The church should never have God stand in opposition to it. Yet I wonder if this is the problem with some congregations. I wonder if occasionally this is a problem with our congregation.
We need to be people of humility so God can lift us up. So God can work in us and through us in this community. So that God can be willing followers of the Chief Shepherd by humbly submitting to our shepherds.
And finally a reminder to cast all our anxiety on God because he cares for us. He wants us to walk with him because he cares for us! Remember that!
Acts 15
Acts 15
Acts 15 gives us a look inside the only elders meeting in the New Testament.
Acts 15 shows the members, elders, and apostles wrestling with a monumental issue facing the early church. We can all learn how to honor God by looking at this event.
Please pay attention to the use of the word “elder” in this passage, as well as the events themselves.
Acts 15:1-21
1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.
4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?
11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me.
14 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.
15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—
18 things known from long ago.
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Elders and the Congregation
Elders and the Congregation
Notice that the apostles and elders are always mentioned together as one unit throughout this text.
Paul and Barnabas were apostles (Acts 14:14), and when faced with a question regarding the policy of the church they went to meet with the apostles and elders. (Acts 15:2)
When the question was brought up about what the Gentiles needed to do, it was not the consensus of the congregation was not sought. The apostles and elders met to consider the question. (Acts 15:6)
They considered input from the parties involved, and evidence of what God was actively doing among the people. (Acts 15:7, Acts 15:12)
They consulted the Hebrew Scriptures to see what God had said in the past concerning the direction of his people in the future. They considered the past with an eye to the future. (Acts 15:14-15)
Ultimately, it was their job to discern where the Holy Spirit was leading the church, and to communicate their decision to the church.
Elders and their Work - Part 2
Elders and their Work - Part 2
1 Timothy 3
1 Timothy 5
Titus 2
James 5
Prayerfully read through these texts this week, prayerfully consider Jerry, David, and Allen this week. Next week we will look at the origins of elders and consider what Paul and James (both players in Acts 15) had to say about elders.