When God designed the church, one of the offices He placed in it is the office of elder. The Bible refers to those who fill this office as bishops, overseers, shepherds, pastors, and elders. The elders perform a spiritual work. They serve as overseers over God's heritage. Under the Old Law, the elders in physical Israel were the older, more experienced men among God's people who often led and directed God's people. In the New Testament, they must meet certain qualifications in order to lead and guide, in a different way, God's children today. Elders play a great role in God's eternal plan for the church {Ephesians 4:11-16}. During the next few weeks, we are going to examine the qualifications for men who seek to fill this office in the Lord's church.

Selecting elders. A recurring question concerning elders is, "How are elders chosen and placed over a group of Christians?" Some have contended that there is no Biblical teaching regarding the process and that it is, therefore, left up to human wisdom. This may be true concerning some of the details, but the Bible does give us some outlines.

The first thing we need to realize is that the church must have a proper attitude about this process. Appointing elders in a congregation should not lead to division. Each candidate should have an attitude that would prompt him to withdraw his name from consideration if it creates division. However, the church cannot and should not revolve around one person's conscience. Without proper attitudes, no church would have elders because of unscriptural and unrealistic expectations and understandings. A qualified man can serve without having 100% of the congregation behind him. Someone might have an objection that has no merit. Yet, common sense tells us that if a sizeable number of folks object to a man serving, wisdom calls for him to withdraw rather than become the focal point of discord.

We need more teaching concerning the elders' work and qualifications. Unfortunately, we have failed miserably in this area. Over the years, churches have heard many sermons concerning the elders' qualifications and too few concerning their work. This is wrong. Men who wish to be elders need to understand the elder's work. It's not a CEO position; it's not managing the checkbook; and it's not just making decisions about what time the church meets or other such items. The elder's work is a spiritual work. We'll have more on this later.

We also need teaching concerning the congregation's responsibility to the elders. This is another area where we have failed to teach correctly and more importantly, have failed to remedy when members of a congregation are rebelling against the elders. Pay careful attention. It's a sin to select unqualified elders; it's a sin to prevent qualified elders from serving; and it's a sin for members to openly rebel against and oppose the work of elders. These three things are equally sinful! Sadly, some elders have ended up resigning because people in the congregation undermined their positions by failing to show proper respect for the office. Brethren, the eldership is not a popularity contest! Some of us need to soberly and seriously consider the truth of this matter. Each member should work to carry out the elders' decisions-not to make sure they're not carried out. Such attitudes bring about division in the church and cause it to be less effective in the development of love among the members.

The Church selects its own officers! "Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.' And the saying pleased the whole multitude... " {Acts 6:2-5} In context, this passage discusses the selection of the deacons appointed to care for the Grecian widows in the Jerusalem church. Notice the phrase "the whole multitude," with reference to the church. The inspired apostles refused to select men for this work. Instead, they turned the task over to the church. Why? Who better to know the abilities and talents of the men in the local church than those who are its members? Notice the actions of the apostles and those who made up the Jerusalem church. The church-every member-should participate in selecting those who will serve as spiritual leaders of a local congregation.

Procedures. Church members should submit to the elders who are presently serving names of men they believe to be qualified to serve as elders. Anyone in the congregation could submit a name. It's important to KNOW what the qualifications are before submitting a name. It would also be good to speak with the one whose name you're submitting to determine whether he DESIRES (a qualification) the office and believes he is QUALIFIED. If an eldership is not presently in place, submit names to be discussed in a business meeting. Keep the congregation informed regarding the results of the discussions with the men whose names were submitted. The church should be granted a period of time to consider the submitted names. The Scriptures don't give the length of the consideration period, but it must be long enough to investigate and resolve any objections. If a church member has a Scriptural objection, that person should discuss the issue with the individual whose name was submitted. This is done to clarify the facts and determine if the man is qualified for the office. Those who are not Scripturally qualified should withdraw their own names. Those involved in these discussions need to be certain they properly understand the Biblical qualifications for elders. Too often, we determine a man's qualification based on our own likes and dislikes, and not on Scripture.

Existing elders, or the men of the congregation, should never discuss objections before talking with the individual who objected and the one to whom the objection applies. In this way, objections can be considered and their Biblical merit determined. Surely, if we can show, from the Scriptures, that the objection has merit, we can agree that the unqualified man cannot serve as an elder. If several people object because of something that is in the human-judgment category, such would have to be considered because of the constraints it could place on the man's ability to lead those who must follow him. Caution here. It is not acceptable for a person who has an objection to seek others to agree with him so he can show that several have the same objection. Such conduct is unfair-to the man and the process. Unfortunately, there are some who either don't want elders or feel that (according to their standards-not God's) nobody is really qualified. These aim to do away with any names mentioned!

We will continue this in the next article.