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What is an Elder?

Two leadership maxims come to mind when I think of the word “elder.”  “Leadership is everything - everything rises and falls on leadership.” This reminds us of just how critical leadership selection is.  Great leaders cause a church to rise and reach her true calling, poor leaders hinder that calling and create many troubles.

The second maxim is also important: “Character trumps everything.” In other words, a leader who is very gifted but of suspect character will cause many problems. One minute they will be putting people in awe with their great gifts. The next minute they will be turning people off with their horrible character.  Select instead a godly leader with great character and the long term the impact on the church will be much better.

Presbyterian churches are led by a group of elders, often called a “session” in our circles. The pastor and associate pastors serve on the session, along with elders elected from the local congregation sometimes called “ruling elders.” The pastor leads the session meetings and of course is an influential leader there.  The group of elders together make the key leadership decisions. Matters regarding property, finance and mercy ministry are overseen by the deacons, in harmony with and under the elders’ leadership.

What are their qualifications? The most important qualifications for elders are set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These are the characters traits of Christlikeness which are to be present in these leaders. In our church, we consider these character traits in any nominee for the office of elder.

We also carefully look at the doctrinal beliefs of every elder and deacon candidate. We train them in our beliefs, but ultimately only elders and deacons who believe what our church believes may be elected.  This is a requirement our denomination has, and with which we are glad to comply

A third key area is ministry. Does this individual already exhibit the gifts of an elder? Is he a teacher in our church already? Is he leading a small group? Is he pastoring and caring for people already? Truthfully, I have yet to see someone who isn’t doing elder ministry in the church ever rise to the occasion after selection!

Lastly, does the leader align with our local churches stated purpose? Imagine an elder candidate who had the other qualities but didn’t value the ministry our church does locally (we don’t exist for ourselves). It would be difficult to have a divided leadership, with existing elders all unified upon the church’s direction, and then a new elder who felt that was the wrong direction. So, we select and seek leaders who are aligned with our purpose and mission.

How are they selected? During the nomination period (June 1- August 31), at least two non-family members must nominate the candidate. Then, the elders will do a preliminary interview that touches on the four areas of concern above. In some cases, they might ask a candidate to wait and to work on an area where key qualities may not have been observed. In other cases, the candidate would proceed to the leadership training course led by the pastor in preparation for a final screening exam. Lastly, the congregation votes to approve the nominee.

Currently the elders are Jeff Deal, Win Wood, Sean Shanks, Peter Edwards and Jim Morton.  Jimmy Wood is also an elder but is on sabbatical. Do you observe a man in our congregation who seems like a great fit for this office?  Let us know. Nomination forms are available here or in the church office.

Don Ward

Don Ward

Senior Pastor

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