Celebrate Leadership

God's plan for the organization of the church was for there to be autonomous (self-governing) congregations, each overseen by qualified men. Acts 14:23 tells of Paul and Barnabas appointing “elders in every church.” Qualifications for elders (or bishops) and partial descriptions of their work are given in 1 Timothy 3:1-10 and Titus 1:5-11. If you are not already thankful to have men who meet these very strict qualifications overseeing the flock here, consider the following article:

What Do Elders Do?

• Make sure that the Truth is preached

• Counsel those having spiritual problems

• Encourage new converts

• Decide the direction the church will follow

• Teach Bible classes

• Praise those who do good works

• Pray for those they serve and the work

• Become concerned when someone quits attending worship or gets weak

• Visit the sick and shut-in

• Try to help people who don’t want help

• Investigate sticky and sensitive problems in order to keep the church pure

• Cry with the broken-hearted

• Model Christianity

• Greet visitors and involve new members

• Conduct home Bible Studies

• Oversee preachers’ and deacons’ works

• Hear the appeals of missionaries

• Look for areas of new service

• Work for a living

• Try to restore the unfaithful and involve the bystanders

• Counsel young (and sometimes troubled) marriages

• Study their Bibles for personal growth

• Face special temptations/discouragements

• Feel the weight of knowing they will give account of the souls they shepherd

• Smile when their efforts pay off

• Smile when they don’t

• Go on to the next problem

• Train others to take their place

• ...and 1001 other daily tasks.

• What Should We Do?

• Love them. a Pray for them.

• Get to know them personally

• Back them in their work, fulfill their requests if there is no scriptural reason not to, and help carry out their plan of work.

• Speak a work of encouragement

• Defend them if we hear them criticized

• Be thankful that God gave them to us.—adapted from Paul Sain

Deacons are also an important part of the work of a congregation. Their qualifications are given in 1 Timothy 3:8-10. Deacons are not in a position of authority the way elders are, but they are rather more of a “lead servant” role. Under the oversight of the elders, the deacons each take the lead in organizing and carrying out part of the congregation's work. In our congregation, you will find a deacon over Building & Grounds, one over Benevolence, and so on, each according to his abilities.

The preacher, sometimes known as a minister or evangelist, is a proclaimer of God's word, whether in a public worship setting, or in any number of smaller more personal teaching situations. The New Testament does not require that a congregation have a “located” preacher, nor does it forbid having one or more men, “located” or otherwise, to fulfill this role. The role of evangelist is not described as an “office” as are the roles of elder and deacon. Every member of the church is responsible for preaching and teaching to some degree, depending on the circumstances, though we have many examples in the New Testament who made this their life's work, and Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 states that those who do so have a right to make their living thereby.

As stated above, all members of the church, to varying degrees based on the situation, have a responsibility to teach. We offer classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, not to be one's only Bible study during the week, but to supplement one's own personal or family study. Our teachers are evaluated for the soundness of their beliefs and are required to assist an experienced teacher before teaching on their own. Again, this is not an “office” of leadership, but teachers still have a great weight of responsibility placed upon them, and as such should be greatly appreciated.

Thanks be to God for His plan for organizing His church! If we follow this plan, we will find ourselves better able to perform the work He requires of us, to grow in our faith and service, and to face the challenges of the world because of the leaders with which we have been blessed.