What Is An Elder?

Elders

“So, you’re an elder. What in the world does that mean? Are you older than most of the other people at your church? Or are you wiser or something?” (I’ll try not to show how offended I am at the smirk that accompanied that portion of the line of questioning.)That’s an exact response that I’ve received when telling someone about my role at Restoration Church. And, in their defense, it’s not a bad question. After all, it’s not really a term or position that has permeated its way into secular culture. And it doesn’t even take much effort to find out that different churches define and apply the title of “elder” in different ways. It’s complicated enough for many to define, and it’s a relatively important role in many churches, so let’s take a look at what the Bible says an elder should be, and more importantly, how an elder should act. After all, if we’re not looking to the Bible to define this role, who cares if someone carries this title?

The Biblical Elder

There are a few Bible passages that give the qualifications and characteristics of an elder: 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Peter 5:1, and 1 Timothy 4:14. In his book, Biblical Eldership, Alexander Strauch describes the Elders as one who should lead the church, teach and preach the Word, protect the church from false teachers, exhort and admonish the saints in sound doctrine, visit the sick and pray, and judge doctrinal issues. This is a summary of the aforementioned passages as well as examples shown in the books of James and Acts. ANYtime you hear someone confess to paraphrasing the Bible, go check it out for yourselves (advice from an elder.)

“So, isn’t that the same thing as a pastor?” That’s another good question! One may state that they are, in fact, the same thing, used synonymously throughout the Bible and even into common practice in churches today. Others will say that upon deeper linguistic study, the word “pastor” wouldn’t have appeared in the original text of the Bible. Neither one is exactly wrong. Make sense? Probably not! While it’s true that “pastor” is a Latin term derived from the description that the Bible gives for elders, it’s not a precise word that would’ve shown up in the original languages of the Bible, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. “Why do we use them in the same context today if pastor isn’t even ‘in the Bible?’” Keep your favorite word study material open. If you study “pastor” you’ll find that a majority of the times that it is used in the Bible, it’s used as a verb to describe the roles and actions of, you guessed it, an elder. Therefore, it’s one of those situations where the exact translation doesn’t exactly follow, but the general idea is consistent. At Restoration Church we’ve come to the agreement that we use the two terms interchangeably, while accepting that culturally, many will see a Pastor as the paid leader of the church who is surrounded by more leadership, the elders. 

The Restoration Church Elder

Let’s talk about elders at Restoration Church here in Adel. One may start the process of becoming an elder in one or two primary ways. You can aspire to be an elder (1  Timothy 3). This means that you can see the qualifications that the Bible sets out, recognize them in yourself, and respond to God’s affirmation of those things in your life by approaching the current elder team. Another way to enter into “the eldership pipeline” is to be recognized by the elder team. In the pursuit of knowing our people well, we as elders are always watching over our members. One thing we intentionally notice is the qualifications to be an effective elder. If we see these things over a consistent time, we’ll approach that individual about the potential of starting that journey.

As elders at Restoration, we meet on a weekly basis. The content of each of our elder meetings fit (mostly) into one of four areas: Feed, Lead, Protect, and Care.

Feed. This is the term we use to describe our roles of teaching. As we see in the Bible, the ability to teach is most definitely a qualification. This doesn’t, however, mean that each elder is going to preach. An elder may be much more gifted in teaching in a smaller setting or even in one-on-one scenarios. Let me say it again, the ability to teach doesn’t mean that an elder must preach. Another meeting that our elders are a part of is the Teaching Team Meeting. Because an elder must be able to teach, each will be a part of the teaching team. BUT the teaching team is not made up of ONLY elders. We’re surrounded by others who have a deep understanding and reverence for God’s Word. They see the value of bringing the sermon to the people even if they might not be the ones preaching. These meetings consist of reading, reflecting, and interpreting God’s Word while staying attuned to what the Holy Spirit is saying. An elder’s ability to teach is important.

Lead. This is the second term we use to organize our elder’s meetings. This is the portion where we discuss the nuts and bolts of church leadership. It’s where we make sure to raise quality ministry leaders within our church. It’s where we make sure that the budget is balanced (for the most part) and bylaws are upheld. Honestly, it’s not always the most fun part of leadership, but we recognize that anything worth doing, is worth doing to the best of our ability for God’s glory. And if that means going back over line items in next year’s budget, well, we’ll just go ahead and do that.

Protect. The Bible tells us that there will be wolves in sheep’s clothing. When we, as elders, focus on protection, we’re actively seeking out wolves to keep away from our flock. That may look like common social issues that are not Biblical. It may look like other churches practicing in ways that God never intended. It may be members fighting through spiritual warfare who need special attention. Personally, this one brings me to occasional tears and righteous anger. It pains us to see you going through the valley, and we promise that as elders, you won’t be there alone. You have us, but more importantly, we’re going to remind you that you have God. 

Care. Finally, we have care. There may be storms in life that aren’t exactly in need of a strong defense, but rather a friend to sit alongside with. We desire to know our people well enough to recognize those storms. We may not be the best person to help you in that storm, but we’re going to do our best to find the person who is, and do everything in our God-given power to help. God has gifted us direct access to Him through prayer, and we pray over all of you often.

The term and title “elder” can be a bit convoluted, and even misused at times. At Restoration Church, we’re going to do our best to continue to act in the way God intends us to act. We’ll always do our best to do what’s best for the people God has entrusted us to watch over. We’ll continuously try to earn trust while asking for grace and even forgiveness when warranted. “So, you’re an elder. What in the world does that mean?” I hope that helps answer your question!