Choosing elders for a local congregation often becomes one of the most difficult, controversial, and sometimes divisive things a group of saints undertakes. When this is the case, it usually is linked to misunderstandings about the Scriptural qualifications given for congregational overseers.

Such misunderstanding can result from a failure to adequately investigate those qualifications and how they relate to the work of elders. Or, it can come when brethren seek to ignore some qualifications or add some not given in the Bible.

And, brethren often interpret the qualifications in such a way that the only outcome is an impossible standard--absolute perfection. Naturally, when people take this view, the church will continue to function without elders.

Occasionally, the opposite reaction occurs. Desperate to have elders, a congregation may ignore one or more qualifications so that a man or men may be appointed.

All such failures represent disrespect for God and His word. Failure to study what God has said about elders is sinful. Interpreting the Scriptural qualifications so as to exclude every human being is equally wrong. And it goes without saying that just ignoring what God has said will result in severe judgment.

So, what is the answer?

The Lord's list of prerequisites for an elder is found in two passages--1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

These criteria for leadership in the local church can be variously subdivided into "positive" and "negative." In other words, while the potential elder must have certain abilities and characteristics, on the other hand, he must not possess other characteristics that would undermine his ability to do the job of leading the congregation.

Let me also suggest that these qualifications are of two other types--those that are definite or absolute; and those that are relative.

Let me hasten to clarify. I am not suggesting that some qualifications must be met and others can be ignored. Rather, I am asserting that a small portion of the qualifications isn't subject to any human judgment. A prospective elder either is or isn't a man (1 Timothy 3:1; Titus 1:6). And, corollary to that, he is either a husband or not; a father or not (1 Timothy 3:2,4-5; Titus 1:6).

Most of the qualifications, however, call for a relatively high degree of attainment or maturity in various aspects of Christian living. For example, an elder is to be "able to teach." (1 Timothy 3 :2; Titus 1:9-10). Different men may have this ability in varying degrees, yet all meet the qualification. One may be able to preach from the pulpit, teach on the radio, and lead large, public Bible classes. Another may be unable to do any of these things, yet be able to teach individuals and small groups and refute false doctrine in less formal settings.

Also notable is the fact that most of the criteria established for elders are also set forth for all Christians. Hospitality, sobriety, good behavior, proper child rearing, holiness, and perseverance in the faithful word are duties of all Christians. Likewise, all saints are required to avoid violent behavior, greed, dissipation, insubordination, self-will, covetousness, and quick-tempered decision-making.

This is why I've labeled these qualifications as "relative." While all Christians are obligated, as they mature, to "put on" the positive traits and "take off" those that are negative (Ephesians 4:22-24), not every Christian is yet mature. And so we see, in the qualifications set forth, that an elder must not be a novice, which is a not-yet-mature Christian (1 Timothy 3:6).

Maturity and experience are the key ingredients.

A careful overview of the qualifications the Apostle Paul set forth in his epistles to Timothy and Titus shows two that are essential in an elder. One is maturity. While every Christian should be working toward achieving most of that to which the qualifications point, many will not yet have achieved this goal. Elders are to be "examples" to the flock among them (1 Peter 5:3). So, if elders possess the positive traits and have been successful in eliminating the negative traits, they serve as models for younger, less mature saints. They demonstrate that the goals God set forth are achievable.

Further, the qualifications of being a successful husband and father address the need for experience in those who will lead others. This, again, is why an elder can't be a very young man or a novice.

The home, in many ways, is a microcosm of the church. If a man learns to exercise his God-given authority in the home, in the manner that God intends him to exercise it, then he has the necessary experience to exercise similar authority in the larger context of the church. The apostle says it this way, "One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?)" (1 Timothy 3:4-5)

This is crucial experience. God has given men the leadership over their wives and children in the home. Yet, a man can't exercise that authority through brute force or merely by demanding compliance with his orders. He must lovingly lead and guide his family, putting their needs before his own, teaching them that following his lead is God's will, not his own.

The parallel, I hope, is obvious. The authority of elders isn't like that of corporate chief executive officers or military generals. Everything a Christian man learns from leading his home is of direct utility in leading brethren in the local church.

Maturity vs. absolute perfection.

In Scripture, the word "perfect" is often used as a synonym for mature. But we tend to equate perfection to being without any flaw or sin.

If we assume that the "relative" qualifications require a man to be, and to have always been, absolutely perfect, the Scriptural traits set forth can only forever exclude every potential candidate for the office of bishop. This approach at once ignores the fact already noted--that Christians, much like physical children, go through a maturation process. It isn't a sin to be a novice or to be a "babe in Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:1; Hebrews 5:13; 1 Peter 2:2).

Thus, what we are looking for are men who have attained a relatively high degree of maturity in each qualification. This calls for some judgment on the part of the congregation examining such men.

As noted earlier, a man must be apt or able to teach. A judgment must be made, in light of the local congregation's overall maturity and common-sense reasoning, whether a particular man has sufficient ability to teach, deal with false teachers, and help less learned members to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. To demand that he be a fluid-tongued orator or pulpiteer is to demand more than God's word demands.

His success, or lack thereof, in teaching and guiding his family should be one place to look first in assessing this qualification.

Cautions

It has already been stated, but deserves another reminder, that none of the qualifications given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit can be ignored or taken lightly. All the qualifications are "musts," as is made clear in 1 Timothy 3:7.

No one qualification should be deemed more important than another. That said, it often is the case that one elder may have achieved a higher degree of success in one area than another elder. And the second elder may have achieved a higher degree in a different qualification.

We should also understand that a man is to achieve these qualifications before the congregation appoints him to be an elder. A man shouldn't be ordained or appointed with the expectation that he will grow into the job. Souls are at stake. This is one of the most critical jobs in the world, so throwing an unprepared man into it not only harms him, but untold others.

Most congregations find they have a number of "nearly qualified" men. But all too often, the lacking qualification has to do with the experience of successfully guiding the home. Sadly, when a man's children are grown, he can't go back and redo the job.

There is a great need for emphasizing to very young people in the Lord's church, the character traits that make a spiritually mature Christian--whether man or woman. These are also the traits that qualify a man to be an elder.

If a young man and woman who marry give little thought to raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, it is unlikely that the young man will be elder material when he is older. He may have all the moral and spiritual characteristics demanded, but he won't have the experience needed to guide a local church.

Conclusion

When we look at the qualifications for elders as a whole, we see that they involve the totality of a man's experience, reputation, domestic relations, character, habits, knowledge, and capacity to teach others.

When a man possesses these traits to a high degree, you have before you a spiritually mature Christian man.

And this is the man God desires to lead His people.

Next Month: A look at gender, desire to do the work, and blamelessness.