duties of an elder in the church of pentecost

This essay is freely available under Creative Commons License with Attribution-ShareAlike, allowing users to share it in other mediums/formats and adapt/translate the content as long as an attribution link, indication of changes, and the same Creative Commons License applies to that material. It is too easy to import worldly criteria for leaders (success, wealth, popularity, etc. This willingness to serve is a key component of identifying potential elders. 10. But an elder doing the work of a pastor or prophet, etc., speaks more of service. Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism. Home | About Us | Resources | Ladies | Members | Missions | Contact Us This essay is part of the Concise Theology series. Leadership may be with a head elder, or an eldership team. Jesus Himself said in Matt. Prov. Again and again, reference is made to a plurality of elders in each of the various churches. Agnes Sanford and her Companions 1Cor.9:1-14). It is the equipped people of the congregation who do the other work of the ministry. When Paul and Barnabas were in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, they appointed elders for them in every church (Acts 14:23). 11:14). He spent a total of 15 years of his 36-year long full-time ministry in that Region. Elders are This comes in large measure through their teaching ministry. 5:12)a clear reference to the overseers in the Thessalonian assembly. This covenant summarizes the commands of the Lord Jesus given to those who belong to him and his church. 5. Scripture lays out the responsibilities for elders, but, sadly, these responsibilities are often sidestepped, altered, or neglected in the church. 11:16; Ezek. The elder must be responsible for what is taught in the church and if there is doctrinal error, to point it out error, and if necessary, correct, rebuke, or exhort those who bring false. Elders do not march to the beat of their own drum, but rather submit to Gods Word. 2:15) and declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27); therefore, they must be devoted to knowing Gods Word. Learn Religions, Sep. 12, 2022, learnreligions.com/what-is-an-elder-700721. Wednesday Bible Study - 7 pm. But that is another topic. They are responsible for leading the Church in prayer and for teaching, 2. There, we seek to make disciples, multiply churches and provide humanitarian relief in ways that are biblically faithful and practically effective. In churchestoday, elders are spiritual leaders or shepherds of the church. Successful candidatesshall be ordained as Elders by an Apostle or a Prophet of The Church in accordance to the New Testament practice of Laying on of hands instead, 1. The congregational nominating committee has the responsibility to provide for the leadership of both the local congregation and the larger church through its councils. The writer of Hebrews called his readers to obey and submit to the leaders who kept watch over their souls (Heb. Intercessory prayer is perhaps the most basic ministry of the elder. 4:1-5 ). No doubt the pattern of eldership in Israel is the key background to the New Testament office, even if Christian eldership is freshly defined and clearly distinctive.1. Their high-profile position may garner attention, but their duty is to build up others. James 5:14: Is anyone among you sick Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.. The consistent pattern throughout the New Testament is that each local body of believers is shepherded by a plurality of God-ordained elders. 5:1820). Immature or self-important people get puffed up with titles. "What Is an Elder?" Third, elders shepherd (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Like many ancient societies, ancient Israel honored the role of mature, older men within the nation and looked to these elders for leadership. They also cared for the physical needs of their congregation, praying for the sick to be healed: The book of Revelation reveals that God has appointed twenty-four elders in heaven to lead His people through Jesus Christ when He begins His eternal reign (Revelation 4:4, 10; 11:16; 19:4). These men held great influence in all spiritual and religious matters in the church. 3:2-7; 4:12, 16; Titus 1:6-9). The word "pastor" means "shepherd." The church must honor the elders by responding willingly to their instruction and leadership, by providing materially for those who labor in teaching, and by praying for them. Box GP 2194, Accra, Ghana, Telephone: (+233) 571 124 180 | 0570 947 621 Learn Religions. They see to it that tithes/offerings and other designated fund are. All three terms are used interchangeably in Acts 20. We who are older should use our energies not only to bless our predecessors, but to ensure that, insofar as possible, all of our posterity might receive the ordinances of exaltation in the temple. For the Scripture says The laborer is worthy of his wages (1 Tim. In verse 17, Paul assembles all the elders (presbuteros) of the church of Ephesus to give them his farewell message. Deacons serve the church by supporting the work of the elders. In order to speak to men for God, elders must speak to God for men. The function of an elder was centered on taking care of the church. The Hebrew word for elder means "beard," and literally speaks of an older person. The congregation has a responsibility not to listen to false teachers. Second, in 1 Peter 5:1-2, elders are exhorted to "shepherd" the flock of God that is in their charge, which is the role of a pastor. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:2: What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. As Gods stewards (Titus 1:7), pastors are entrusted with oversight of both the household and the truth of God. If he truly is a pastor, that is good, for then hell be sensitive to the people. Given these observations, we should be cautious about drawing hard-and-fast distinctions between pastors and elders in our leadership structures. The lists focus on godly character rather specific skills, with the notable exception of the ability to teach, which is easily overlooked. Our focus in this essay is fixed on three New Testament terms that are used in closely related ways to refer to key spiritual leaders within the church: presbuteros, episkopos and poimn.3 The meaning of these terms and their relationship to one another have long been matters of debate. It is a "noble task" ( 1Tim. Some churches have that type of leadership, but Holy Spirit rarely can have His way in such an environment. Leeman writes, Our work is to share and protect the gospel, and its to affirm and oversee gospel professorschurch members. Peter exhorts elders: Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock (1 Pet. 3:1). They see to the maintenance of Church discipline (1 Cor. 5:2-3). (1 Timothy 3:17; Titus 1:59). In Acts 20:17, From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the ELDERS of the church.. First Timothy 2:11-12 says, Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. When we come to the New Testament, the evidence indicates that every church had a plurality of elders. While the Christian church recognizes the offices of elders and deacons, it is also appropriate (and biblically warranted) to understand church membership as an office as well. In the Old Testament, elders were heads of households, prominent men of the tribes, and leaders or rulers in the community. In the gospel narratives, the Jewish elders are visible as a group (often opposing Jesus). A true leader is someone whom people will follow, and, in the church setting, that would be spirit-filled people like Jesus with godly wisdom, compassionate hearts, with mercy, who will be sensitive to them and to the Holy Spirit, and care for the congregation, not lording it over them. Copyright 2015-2023 Pentecostal Theology. They are responsible for the burial of deceased members in the, 8. 3:8-13). So when they had appointed ELDERS in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts 14:23). For them, prayer was a time-consuming labor that inevitably caused other duties to be set aside.ii In order for a pastor to be effective in his ministry, he must be faithful to pray. Elders are to shepherd the flock of Jesus Christ through the faithful ministry of the Word and are to lead by godly example. He must be fully reliant upon the power of God, who alone gives the growth (1 Cor. The biblical requirements of an elder are described in these passages. Notice that these elders where full of the Spirit, prophesying and laying on hands. That reality is borne out by the record of his ministry in Acts. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you (Heb. Elder may be a title given to an officer or a church board member. He received his Master of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. ), rather than uphold the standards of Scripture. A Pentecostal egalitarian view of humanity Deacons care for the physical, logistical, and practical needs of the church in order to support the ministry of the elders and to maintain unity in the body (Acts 6:1-7). The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye, has applauded elders of the Church for the vital role they play in the effective running of the Church. The clear teaching of Scripture, however, demonstrates that the biblical norm for church leadership is a plurality of God-ordained elders, and only by following this biblical pattern will the church maximize its fruitfulness to the glory of God. 7:26). They report misconductof sinning members to the Minister, who will take disciplinaryaction against unrepentant. They were given the role of correcting people who weren't following the approved doctrine. 4:11-16). First, in Acts 20:28, elders are encouraged in the "pastoral" duties of overseeing and shepherding. The next question that arises is the relation of the role of the elder to that of the pastor/shepherd (Greek poimn). Why is Joel Osteens Megachurch Still Growing? The office of an elder is highest office in the laity. Third, in Ephesians 4:11, the one time that the word pastor occurs in the NT, pastors are treated as one group with teachers. It is a noble task (1Tim. Anytime, anywhere, across your devices. The elders' mission is to lead, teach, protect and love their church members the way shepherds care for the sheep in a flock, so that the church members will grow up into spiritual maturity ( Ephesians 4:11-13 ). The qualification in 1 Timothy 3:2 might seem to settle the issue: the elder is to be the husband of one wife. However, the main point there is probably that the elder is to be faithful within marriage and marked by sexual purity, and so this verse on its own may not settle the issue conclusively. An elder is a spiritual leader with authority in the church. 4:16). All the other qualifications, except perhaps teaching and management skills, only amplify that idea. It is significant to note that the New Testament regularly speaks of elders in the plural and refers to them as a group, suggesting that there would normally be a plurality of elders within a local church.5. (For an explanation of these qualifications, see pages 215-33 of The Masters Plan for the Church by John MacArthur.). . Elders serve the word to the sheep under their care. Apostle Nyamekye admitted that the invaluable contributions of elders and other unpaid officers to the cause of the kingdom business has greatly contributed to the Churchs penetration into the rural communities and hard-to-reach areas in the country, where many churches are finding it difficult to go.

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