Having worshiped and preached in congregations with and without an eldership, I have come to greatly appreciate the wisdom of God in providing qualified elders as part of His pattern for the New Testament church. From Adam and Eve in the garden to the present time, humanity has thought it a good idea to substitute human wisdom for the wisdom of God. Throughout that time God's wisdom has been vindicated every time. Let us take pause and thank God for qualified elders in the church.
As a new Christian, I was eager to learn everything I could about the word of God and His will for His people. One step I took early on was participating in the monthly business meetings of the men of the congregation, though only as an observer in the early going. We had no elders, so the men had meetings to discuss and plan the work of the church. If you have ever found it difficult to get a group of people to come to a consensus concerning a plan of action, imagine trying to get roughly thirty men to do so.
The tone and tenor of those meetings was quite perplexing to me as a babe in Christ. I had read in my Bible God's will for Christians to be selfless, thoughtful, humble, meek, kind, forgiving, etc. However, when the men's meeting began it often turned quite contrary to these Christian ideals. This is not an indictment of anyone's character, as I truly believe they all had the best of intentions. The problem was each one truly believed his ideas were the best ones. Most every man likes his opinion the best, which makes compromise hard. God's qualifications for elders help resolve this problem (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9).
Several years later I moved to Knoxville and became a member of the Karns congregation. This was my first experience in a congregation with qualified elders serving as they were instructed in the Bible. The differences were striking from the early going. Many of the issues which we faced in my home congregation simply did not exist. So many issues which would have been known to everyone in the congregation were simply absorbed and corrected by the elders. This produced a harmony within the congregation which was quite foreign to me. The people were being properly fed and cared for which promoted the spiritual and subsequent numerical growth of the church. At this point the wisdom of God in instituting the eldership in the church shone brighter every day.
It is true a congregation can exist without elders if they do not have qualified men to shepherd. Nonetheless, the value of a qualified eldership fulfilling its God-given duties in the local congregation is a beautiful thing. For this cause we have good reason to thank God for our shepherds here in Rockwood. Therefore let us "...recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Th. 5:12-13).
As a new Christian, I was eager to learn everything I could about the word of God and His will for His people. One step I took early on was participating in the monthly business meetings of the men of the congregation, though only as an observer in the early going. We had no elders, so the men had meetings to discuss and plan the work of the church. If you have ever found it difficult to get a group of people to come to a consensus concerning a plan of action, imagine trying to get roughly thirty men to do so.
The tone and tenor of those meetings was quite perplexing to me as a babe in Christ. I had read in my Bible God's will for Christians to be selfless, thoughtful, humble, meek, kind, forgiving, etc. However, when the men's meeting began it often turned quite contrary to these Christian ideals. This is not an indictment of anyone's character, as I truly believe they all had the best of intentions. The problem was each one truly believed his ideas were the best ones. Most every man likes his opinion the best, which makes compromise hard. God's qualifications for elders help resolve this problem (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9).
Several years later I moved to Knoxville and became a member of the Karns congregation. This was my first experience in a congregation with qualified elders serving as they were instructed in the Bible. The differences were striking from the early going. Many of the issues which we faced in my home congregation simply did not exist. So many issues which would have been known to everyone in the congregation were simply absorbed and corrected by the elders. This produced a harmony within the congregation which was quite foreign to me. The people were being properly fed and cared for which promoted the spiritual and subsequent numerical growth of the church. At this point the wisdom of God in instituting the eldership in the church shone brighter every day.
It is true a congregation can exist without elders if they do not have qualified men to shepherd. Nonetheless, the value of a qualified eldership fulfilling its God-given duties in the local congregation is a beautiful thing. For this cause we have good reason to thank God for our shepherds here in Rockwood. Therefore let us "...recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves" (1 Th. 5:12-13).