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How elders should be ...

Friday, Nov 13, 2009. The bible talks several times about the particular role of the elders in the church. For example, the apostle Paul speaks about them in his letter to Timothy, 1:5, and the apostle Peter writes about their role in his first letter, chapter 5. Elders are the leaders of the local community.

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How should leaders be?

Paul writes: “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

There are many points here. First, Paul wants the leaders to be full of motivation to fill their role as leaders, not with the purpose of earning money or anything else, but coming out of the love of Christ. Think of someone, who just wants the group to make progress, with a will and wish coming from a deep relationship to its members, from a deep love, from being full of passion and dedication. We all have things in our life which we just like and love, which we want to do, where we are even willing to pay a lot of money just to do this particular thing. For an elder, this should be leadership and care. Elders should be full of passion, to care for people and to make progress with the groups they are caring for. This can be on the track of personal counseling, but it can also be on a more general line of spreading the gospel (evangelism) or on growth to maturity: working and living with people and developing faith.

Elders should be full of appreciation, giving honor and care to the people of their group or church. They should let themselves be filled with the Holy Spirit, knowing the center of life, which is Christ. Paul characterizes himself as someone, who is a witness of the suffering of Christ. The cross will always be the focal point of our discussions and arguments - here God exposed his son Jesus to the full cruelty and guilt of men. It is Christ's death and resurrection, in which God reaches out to our heart, starting a new creation. So elders will know this focal point, they need understanding and dedication to the Lord, when they want to fill their role appropriately. Elders need to be dedicated and gifted mature Christians.

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Then Paul speaks about humbleness and grace. Here, he tells the young men to listen to the elders. It seems that it is most important for them to learn how to integrate into the body of Christ in an appropriate way. But clearly, this humbleness is the first thing for the leaders to learn, a key qualification for the elders and leaders of the Church. It is not only knowledge, but it is faith with a calm and gentle heart living in the gentleness of the spirit of Christ, which is needed for the leaders of Christianity. Dear fellow elders in the church, let us grow into his type of elders, let us become more like him, step by step every day. ... more texts

jn_en_2009_11_13.txt · Last modified: 2017/06/18 16:48 by 127.0.0.1