Many of our congregations, most years, will call men to the office of elder. Most of us use mechanisms which go some­thing like:

1. The Session asks the congregation for nominations.
    
2. The Session normally decides on two nominees for each office-bearer position to be filled, after considering their qualifications to serve.
    
3. The man with a simple majority of votes is called. In most cases he will accept the call and is duly ordained or installed.

While the process looks simple there is much more to it than may be the case in electing the local bowling club com­mittee, for example. These are men who are “called” (as opposed to “elected”) to oversee the preparation of the Bride of Christ ... and so their character and their calling (or work) will have a pro­found impact on the beauty and holi­ness of the Bride.

Over the years we have noticed that questions about who ought to be an elder and what his responsibilities are have often been answered too simply, answered incorrectly or left unanswered altogether. The answers are often clearer in the actions churches take than in what they say. Even though we don’t have all the answers ourselves, we decided to try to make some observations that we hope are helpful. Answers to these questions are vital to the health of our Reformed Churches; in fact to any church of the Lord Jesus. He has created the office and given elders the task of feeding, caring for and loving His people in their lead­ership of them.

We have entitled this article about the eldership: “Their character” and “Their calling”. If we get the “character” part right then the “calling” or “work” part is likely to fall readily into place. There­fore in this article we will focus on the “character” question.

The Character of Elders⤒🔗

1. Elders need to be Wise←↰⤒🔗

Most of us are very familiar with the qualifications for office listed in the pastoral epistles of 1 Timothy and Titus. If, however, we asked church members to sum up what a qualified office bearer looks like in just one sentence, we think many would say “give us a man with godly wisdom”, and maybe remind themselves of the very request for wisdom made by Solomon. Perhaps they’d go to the book of James and quote Chap 1 verse 5 where we read: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him”.

And so the simple recipe could be naively applied ... find a man with the listed qualifications and then pray for wisdom for him and it will be given ... so simple, or is it? We wonder.

James 1:5 is to be read in the context of the preceding 3 verses. With this perspective we find that wisdom is being asked for in trials and the testing of faith. It is these very types of situations that develop godly wisdom and these “sanctifying mercies” come with time. So, maturity, completeness and wisdom are born out of life’s experiences, which ordinarily come with years of life experience and trial. We usually don’t see them in youths. Hence the name “elder”, and not the name “younger”. Thus, always, elders ought to be “older” in terms of wisdom and biblical common sense. They are to be wiser than serpents (and innocent as doves). They will not take everything at surface, face-value but rather apply experience in life and in the Scriptures. They won’t give “canned” or “rote” answers from their elders’ manual in order to say something sensible. A good definition of Wisdom is given in the NIV Reformational Study Bible and is found in the footnote to James 1:5.

Wisdom is understood to include: knowledge, insight, prudence, shrewd­ness, wariness, learning, guidance, com­petence, resourcefulness, planning and even heroic strength.

2. Elders will be Knowledgeable←↰⤒🔗

Fol­lowing closely behind the need for wisdom a man must also be know­ledgeable (Prov 9:10; 11:9; 13:16; 15:2; 28:2, Titus 1:1). This must be biblical, theological knowledge. Whilst it is true that a ruling elder may not require the same breadth and depth of knowledge as the minister who is going to preach on a full-time basis, he still requires a sub­stantial working knowledge of the Bible with enough depth to teach its truths, “smell” error, diagnose spiritual problems in the flock and prescribe their cures; as well as to make his co-equal contribu­tions in the elders’ court to the plural oversight of congregational worship and of the preaching and teaching ministry within his congregation. Thus, through reading and study and attendance at appropriate conferences, the elder is to have an ongoing education for the Lord as his effectiveness in his calling is honed.

A knowledge of human nature, be­haviour and need is also essential. We need to take care that sin is not excused or covered over by a “newly discovered” medical condition or diagnosis.

3. Elders ought be Winsome←↰⤒🔗

(So far as it depends on you live at peace with all men), even though they will often be asked to make “tough” decisions (rebuke, correct). They are to be upright, sober, wise, temperate, humble and good com­municators of the truth (see the Pastoral epistles, Prov 17:27). Their home and family life, and their work life, is to be in order and an example for others to follow.

4. Elders will have a Sense of the Gravity and Enormity of the Task←↰⤒🔗

They will know that serving “successfully” is impossible without the Spirit of God (unless the Lord builds the house those who do so labour in vain) being with him. They will operate in the fear of the Lord; their fears of men will be dealt with and they will seek no favour from the same. (Jeremiah 1:17)

5. Elders will be able to Plan Succes­sion in an Orderly Fashion←↰⤒🔗

Elders need to be aware of a number of unhelpful drivers when calling for nominations for new elders. Two that we are particular­ly concerned about are: “we need new blood” and “the eldership is an old-boys’ club”. Notwithstanding that there may, sadly, at times be some truth in the latter accusation, these motives for bringing new elders into the elders’ court are not right. We do not “need” new men in the eldership unless God gives us quali­fied men available to serve. If the elders’ court is perceived as an old boys’ club, we don’t deal with that in a godly way by diluting the current membership with “new blood”. If old boys’ clubs exist then they will likely be characterised by self-indulgence, self-interest, and a lack of care and wisdom. The offending old boys need to be dealt with according to their sin and some may have to be removed. We need to remember, the elders serve in a court, not a board, executive com­mittee or management team. As such they are to apply the law of Him who is above. So, their style ought not to be stodgy, deadening and dour, though the substance regarding love for God, obedience to Him, and devotion to His worship in age-old principle ought to be unchanging. Unwise elders can get this quite wrong especially when driven by the prospect of a two year break from service or the like.

6. Not all Godly Men need to be called←↰⤒🔗

Not every upright-living, God-honouring, wise man, who loves the church, and has his family in good order, is called by God to be an elder. His personal circumstances may be that he is unsuitable (due to work or family demands, for example). He mightn’t have some of the gifts – for example he might not be able to communicate that well – and that doesn’t reflect badly on him at all. The kingdom job for him is a different one; he is not the lesser for it. Further, with time, effort and grace, some of the requisite gifts may be cultivated to the point where a call comes. If unqualified men are ordained then the church will reap the consequences and the men themselves will too. (Ezek 34). If the eldership decides that there is a “need” for an extra elder, and regardless of the gifts and graces in “available” men, appoints one, that is not an act of faith. Maybe God has not provided qualified men at this stage as a test of our faith, or to teach us to pray and ask Him to provide? Maybe the men who are serving now have to work a bit harder? Maybe God is impressing on us the need to disciple and train men who will be qualified to serve well?

7. Acting with Propriety←↰⤒🔗

We are keen to add one last point on the matter of propriety, conflict of interest, declaration of interests and acting impartially. In our denomination, which is small (and there are, providentially, so many close familial relationships between people), the temptation to breach these principles is more intense. Biblical principles that address these matters, e.g. “Let another praise thee, and not thine own lips” (Prov. 27: 2), are important to observe. Thus, we see the impropriety of promoting those close to us to office; for positions of perceived prominence, influence, honour or power. Those close to us, in this context, are an extension of ourselves. Fathers to children and their spouses, children to parents, uncles, nephews all come within this orb. The more distant the relationship the less improper any “good word”, nomination or the like becomes. There is no “one rule covers all”, but we can say that the degree to which this principle has been ignored in our circles means that to “get on track” we should err on the side of care rather than laxity and also take note of where not heeding such practice has led to serious consequences. A good example is Eli and the promotion of his sons (1 Samuel 1, 2).

8. The Calling of the Unqualified←↰⤒🔗

Over the years we’ve also seen some practical consequences of the church­es ordaining unqualified men. One of the more important is that we say to the whole church, and to the men ordained – “qualification doesn’t matter.” It doesn’t matter that Mr X can’t fulfil his calling properly! – really?! Qualifica­tion is not defined by showing potential. We oughtn’t ordain on the basis that the candidate “will grow into the office” or “he’ll get there”. Neither should being ordained be the equivalent of joining the Koru Club; becoming an elder does not mean “I’ve made it!” It is not fair to the man or the church. The unqualified man is not capable of providing the oversight of the flock and worship, wise counsel, biblical instruction and discipleship re­quired of him. Sometimes it is because of a lack of qualification for the office that we see men majoring on minors, even trying to suppress the efforts of those working to serve properly (e.g. out of subconscious fear of exposure of their weakness, ignorance as to what is right or fear of having to face the music where they become unpopular). Weak, unqualified men are often more con­cerned about style than substance; and will often waffle to cover up their lack of wisdom and knowledge. And, because they are ordained they don’t see any need to get past that; they’ve made it! Others become authoritarian rulers. This is a sign of weakness, too. However the lack of qualification manifests itself, young men are given a wrong model of the office to aspire to. The office is degraded and the office-bearers do not enjoy the respect they need more to win than demand.

9. Concluding Comments←↰⤒🔗

We acknow­ledge that some have stated that we, the co-authors of the article, have set the bar too high. We are open to discuss this further but we think the bar ought to be set high for the bride of Christ and that with so much at stake too high is better than too low.

Are elders to be perfect, then? That of course is impossible, for they too are Romans 7 men this side of the grave. But the tenor, and overwhelming trend in their lives, should mirror the Head of the Church’s requirement for their char­acter and calling.