The Elders of the Church and Their Pastoral Care
The Elders of the Church and Their Pastoral Care
Not so long ago I was asked about the work of pastoral care to which the elders of the church are called. I gave the matter some thought, turned to the Church Order of Dort and came up with the following brief and preliminary comments.
Three-fold Care⤒🔗
A close examination of Article 22 reveals that the elders of the church are to be involved in three-fold pastoral care.
1. Member Care←⤒🔗
a. Conduct←↰⤒🔗
Elders have a responsibility when it comes to what the members of the church believe. The doctrinal views of the members are not matters of indifference. No, the elders who rule, together with the elders who preach and teach (the ministers), are to keep watch over the doctrine of the members. They are to examine those who wish to join the church, as well as those who wish to profess their faith before the church. They also are to ask the members about their beliefs from time to time and to discuss doctrinal matters with them. A lot of this takes place during the annual visit that elders make to the members.
This insistence on right doctrine is not a human invention or a matter of maintaining control over the members. Rather it is rooted in the NT concern for the truth. Paul is eager to see "the truth of the gospel" remain with the believers in Galatia (2:5). He also warns the Ephesian elders that people will come who will act like savage wolves. They will distort the truth and seek to draw the disciples away from the truth (Acts 20:29, 30).
This high regard for the truth and for it to dominate in the life of the church is a vital concern expressed throughout the Bible
Still, apostles like Paul and Peter were concerned with more than just truth or doctrine, they were also concerned about whether the believers put it into practice. More than once the Lord Jesus warned the people about the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. In the same vein the NT writers often warn the members about hypocrisy and adopting an unbiblical lifestyle.
In this regard it is noteworthy that almost all of the epistles of Paul first deal with doctrinal matters and then proceed to the application of those doctrines in the ordinary lives of the believers. Romans consists of doctrine (chapters 1-11) and then of application to life (chapters 12-16). Galatians consists of doctrine mostly in chapters 1-4 and then proceeds to apply it concretely in the chapters 5 and 6. Ephesians 1-3 are more doctrinal in nature, while the chapters 4-6 bring it into practice.
From this and more we can only conclude that lifestyle matters. What you do with what the Bible teaches matters. How you apply it matters.
Yes, and it should matter to the elders too. They are spiritual guardians.
b. Visitation←↰⤒🔗
The elders are to be involved in the lives of the members in a pastoral manner. How this is done and organized often differs.
In some churches with many members a decision may be made to have so many elders for so many members. Perhaps one elder will be responsible for the spiritual care of 20, 30, 40 or 50 members.
It will be his task to get to know them. Their past and background, their family life and connections, their work situation, their health and well-being, indeed, all their needs, should become known to him.
If as an elder he knows the people or members under his care, he will also be in a better position to comfort them when they are sick, dying, lonely, or in any trouble.
The comfort that he brings, however, should be based on the Bible and should be accompanied by prayer. Often parts of the book of Psalms (16, 23, 27, 91, 121, etc) will be read and discussed because they are so full of comfort.
As he gets to know the members in his care, the elder will also come across members who need to be instructed or taught. It may be that they do not know their Bibles as well as they should, or they are struggling with certain biblical teachings, or they are attracted to certain wrong ideas and practices. Whatever the case may be, they should be able to go to their elder and receive the guidance and instruction that they need.
It can happen that an elder comes to the point where he feels that a certain doctrinal matter is beyond his understanding. In such cases he can either refer to the member, to the minister/pastor or to other resources.
At times the work of an elder may become very difficult. Especially if he meets members who are straying, he will have to deal with them and confront them with the errors of their ways. These errors may be in the area of doctrine or a wrong understanding of what the Bible teaches or in the area of conduct or behaviour. Often in the case of the latter, the sin that needs to be confronted will be of a sexual nature.
Still, as hard as this may be, an elder needs to have the courage to deal with problems of doctrine and life. Concern for the wellbeing of one of his members and for the glory of God must dominate his approach. He must not neglect his responsibility seeking to be popular or become known as a man-pleaser.
c. Discipline←↰⤒🔗
Sometimes, however, words of admonition are not enough. The guilty party does not change. What then? Ignore them? Tolerate them? No, they need to come under the discipline of the church.
But how can sinners discipline fellow sinners? They can because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself commands His followers to exercise discipline among one another. In Matthew 18 He tells believers what to do with fellow believers who sin. He outlines the steps that they are to follow.
Notice that these steps end with the church. "Tell it to the church" He says in verse 17, and by "church" is usually meant "the elders of the church" or "the ruling body of the church."
What kind of offenses do the elders or does the church deal with? Again, they relate to both doctrine and conduct. The Church Order refers to "the unbelieving and ungodly." This is a rather broad category and includes sins of doctrine and sins of lifestyle.
Whenever a sinner repents there is thankfulness in the church and there is joy in heaven. On the other hand, there are also those who refuse to repent, who dig in their heels, who reject every admonition, and who continue to walk down the road of error and disobedience.
If these members refuse to repent then the church will need to deal with them in terms of their place in the congregation and in the kingdom of God.
How will it do so? It will need to admonish them repeatedly. If that fails the elders will need to go a step further and refuse them (if they are communicant members) access to the sacraments. This means that they will not be allowed to celebrate the Lord's Supper any longer. Should these people receive children, they cannot have them baptized. In short, the unholy in the church will be denied the use of the holy things.
Should these drastic measures fail, the church or the elders will have no alternative but to remove or excommunicate these members from the church and place them outside the kingdom of God. Needless to say, such spiritual power weighs heavily on the shoulders of the elders.
2. Congregational Care←⤒🔗
a. Stewards←↰⤒🔗
Elders are also stewards. What is a steward? In the ancient world a steward was a man who was placed in charge of an estate. His master might go away on a journey and leave him behind to manage servants, houses, fields, crops and money. Upon the return of the owner, the steward would be summoned and asked to give a complete account of all of his dealings.
The same imagery applies to the elders. God places them in charge of His people. They have to care for them and watch over them. They are in charge. Only, a day will surely come when God or His Son will demand an accounting from them. Just how did the elders do their work? Did they do everything in a decent manner and maintain good order in the church of God?
b. Shepherds←↰⤒🔗
Another image that figures prominently in the NT is the image of a shepherd. Shepherds are responsible for the total care of the flock in their charge. They are to feed them, protect them, lead them, care for them. They are to minister to their every need.
The same applies to the elders. They are to see themselves as shepherds of the flock of God. They are to shepherd God's sheep.
3. Ministerial care←⤒🔗
a. Assisting←↰⤒🔗
Elders are to be involved in member care, congregational care and also ministerial care. This means that they also need to be involved in the lives and work of the ministers/pastors or the elders who preach and teach. Together they all need to have a teachable spirit, which means that they need to be humble enough to listen to one another and to learn from one another.
Sometimes the ministers/pastors or the elders who preach and teach think that they are superior to the elders who rule and that therefore they need not listen to them. Wrong! Elders, whether ruling or preaching, always need to be willing to listen to and to learn from one another.
Another important element has to do with teamwork. This means that all of the elders need to realize that this work the Lord has given them is something that they need to do together. They need to help one another, support one another, as well as learn from one another.
A team in which the captain is expected to do everything will not go far. By the same token players who do not work together will suffer defeat. Success belongs to those who work together.
One more way in which elders who rule assist elders who preach and teach is by having a good understanding of life: its needs, pressures, temptations, duties and responsibilities.
b. Advising←↰⤒🔗
Elders who rule need to be good sermon critics. In other words, they need to be able to help the minister when it comes to the preaching by giving him good advice and helpful feedback.
Elders who rule also need to monitor the teaching done by the minister. They need to insure that what the students receive is sound, clear and effective.
Elders who rule also have a responsibility when it comes to the visitation work done by the minister. Does he visit the members of the church? Does he properly care for the sick, troubled, grieving, confused, lonely?
Elders who rule need to act as the ears and eyes of the minister. They need to know how the minister is being perceived, viewed, and talked about in the church. If there is criticism against the minister, they need to deal with it and with him.
c. Supervising←↰⤒🔗
No elder is above criticism. No office bearer does his work perfectly. All needs to be able to deal with the criticism that comes their way in a mature and level-headed manner.
While being aware of their own shortcomings, elders also need to be able to criticize their fellow elders or the minister if they are not doing justice to their office.
Elders need to be able to take the minister to task if this is needed. Of course, they will need to be loving, careful and wise in the way in which they do this. At the same time their ultimate aim should be to help the minister become an even better minister.
Thus far my rather brief and incomplete description of the office of the elder who rules. For more on this subject, I would refer our readers to a book written by Timothy Z. Witmer called The Shepherd Leader: Achieving Effective Shepherding in Your Church (Phillipsburg: P&R, 2010). If the members of your Council or Consistory are looking for a book to read and study together, then order it and put it on your agenda. It will stimulate a lot of good reflection and healthy discussion.
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