On Being An Elder
ON BEING AN ELDER
1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7
These verses remind us we should pray more for our church leaders.
Paul’s second “sure saying” (see 1:15) emphasizes the nobility of Christian service. He is speaking specifically about the elder or overseer (see also Titus 1:5-9). These officials exercised leadership in the early church, and from their functions there emerged in due course the offices as we know them in the later church. At this early stage in the church’s history, Paul’s prime concern is that those who so exercise leadership should be men whose lives agree with their teaching. Notice the importance attached to home life (3:2,4f.). It is an interesting provision that the elder must not be a recent convert (3:6): maturity in faith is important for all who exercise any function of leadership. Paul also attaches importance to the way the church’s leadership is seen from outside (3:7). If the elder does not have a good reputation there is danger. The devil will catch him and that will be greatly to the disadvantage of all that he stands for. He himself will be harmed and so will the church.
To ponder List in order of immediate importance, in the light of conditions in contemporary society, the elder’s qualifications and duties found in these verses. To what extent are these demands met in your local church? Do you think church officers should be appointed if no one fulfills these high standards exactly?