Elders and pastors and shepherds
9Marks are (is?) thinking about eldership training:
First four studies based on the shepherd theme of Scripture:
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2308794,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2308796,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309188,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309190,00.html
Then how elders are trained at Ligon Duncan's church
http://9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309194,00.html
You get their training manual in word format. It's really quite thorough.
9Marks has (have?) given us some really useful material here.
Whenever somebody talks about training elders I always think several things at once:
1) The character of the elder is the prime qualification. This cannot be stressed highly enough. The main thing you want is an elder of character. It's the character that matters most. Character.
2) Often pastors are really busy in our smallish European churches.
"Aha ! Then we'll give them another job to do - to train the elders - and we'll make it so that we can't have elders until the pastor has finished putting them through their training."
I ask myself if this is wise for us. Imagine the dilemma.
"Pastor Piers is so pressed. If only we appointed some elders to help!"
"Yes, but elders can't be elders until we appoint them, and we can't appoint elders until pressed Pastor Piers has finished training them and has set, invigilated and marked their examinations."
This is designed to make pressed Pastor Piers into stressed pressed Pastor Piers. He's on the critical path§ again. He lives on the critical path, and instead of him being the preacher and teacher who brings God's life-giving Word to the church he's the bottleneck, the traffic-jam. Again.
Elders can be appointed and trained on the job. And maybe the use of examinations favours a certain kind of elder and overlooks another kind?
3) What did Paul do? How did he train elders? If you look at Acts 20 you can see that he shared his life with them.
OOPS - done it again ! I have started with something I really like and ended up sounding as if I don't like it at all.... dumb klutz.
§ sorry for the jargon. I hope you'll understand it in context.
First four studies based on the shepherd theme of Scripture:
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2308794,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2308796,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309188,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309190,00.html
Then how elders are trained at Ligon Duncan's church
http://9marks.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2309194,00.html
You get their training manual in word format. It's really quite thorough.
9Marks has (have?) given us some really useful material here.
Whenever somebody talks about training elders I always think several things at once:
1) The character of the elder is the prime qualification. This cannot be stressed highly enough. The main thing you want is an elder of character. It's the character that matters most. Character.
2) Often pastors are really busy in our smallish European churches.
"Aha ! Then we'll give them another job to do - to train the elders - and we'll make it so that we can't have elders until the pastor has finished putting them through their training."
I ask myself if this is wise for us. Imagine the dilemma.
"Pastor Piers is so pressed. If only we appointed some elders to help!"
"Yes, but elders can't be elders until we appoint them, and we can't appoint elders until pressed Pastor Piers has finished training them and has set, invigilated and marked their examinations."
This is designed to make pressed Pastor Piers into stressed pressed Pastor Piers. He's on the critical path§ again. He lives on the critical path, and instead of him being the preacher and teacher who brings God's life-giving Word to the church he's the bottleneck, the traffic-jam. Again.
Elders can be appointed and trained on the job. And maybe the use of examinations favours a certain kind of elder and overlooks another kind?
3) What did Paul do? How did he train elders? If you look at Acts 20 you can see that he shared his life with them.
OOPS - done it again ! I have started with something I really like and ended up sounding as if I don't like it at all.... dumb klutz.
§ sorry for the jargon. I hope you'll understand it in context.
Comments
Let's get men of good character in place. The material may be helpful and from what I have seen of these, it is only and purely what is there is Scripture. One could say that the Elder should be familiar with Scripture! But there again putting it together in this way may be helpful. I certain do agree that getting men in the position with character as instructed in the letters to Timothy and Titus must be - just done. Then if it is deemed useful to delve into Scripture in this way, then so be it. Actually, my gut reaction is that if they need training then they shouldn't be appointed.
I think we make life more difficult for ourselves sometimes.
God bless you for these most timely observations and links.
Seriously, you're right in every respect, imo.
My old Welsh teacher in Cardiff used to call people "clum duck" when they got things wrong, and I think it originated with a slip of the tongue when he was aiming for dumb klutz.
Imagine what slips of the tongue he had when aiming for really hard words like lletwith.