Our elders shelter us
I’ve been asked to put down in print the message I shared when Pastor Dennis McNally was here in Homer, Alaska several weeks ago. So here it is, in a nut-shell. I first preached these concepts in Sheffield, England. Sheffield is good place, but it has a reputation throughout the UK.
For some time I’ve been thinking about the Book of Titus and Paul’s command to institute elders in every city. I began to realize that elders are God’s way to reach a decadent culture. All of a sudden, it began to gel. In Crete the culture was depraved, and in the midst of that Paul did not suggest a program, he didn’t direct Titus to start a parachurch model. He told Titus to set men in place. It is not a program, it is a person–an elder!
As part of the Church, broken and confused as we are, we need relationships desperately. When I’m depressed or manic, God’s grace almost always comes through an elder or godly brother or sister. We are built specifically for that purpose. They do things which none can do. They are “marble pillars” in our Father’s house.
Now I believe in programs. They often have a good function in the activity of the local church. But we have a tendency to view them as an answer or solution to the need of the moment. We should however, look to God’s way or plan, which I believe is Godly elders. Its not a plan, but a man. Throughout Israel’s history, Godly men and women have stood up to bless the Kingdom. Their faith, love, and humility directed victory and revival for the people of God. We seem to have this tendency to want to bring in a fresh program (and there is quite a few) to do what we think will fix a problem (which may be real, or not).
I realized several years ago, that the kingdom of God worked and flowed out of relationships. This dramatically changed my thinking. I began to see my personal connections as the way God’s grace would flow. Many churches belong to a denomination. The problem is that that is organizational, not a relationship. God works through relationships between people touching people. We need to adjust how we view things. The elders that Titus’ set in place were to be Godly men. They would stand in remarkable contrast to the Cretian culture. They were were to be the way God’s kingdom would touch the church and the lost.
If you have any insight or wisdom on this subject, I truly would welcome it, as this is new to me.
Most of us understand the position of elder through our modern church eyes, rather than through the eyes of the First Century Church. We view an elder as a person who is elected or chosen to a board which is under the direction of a leader, usually a pastor. These elders would help the pastor run and maintain a church.
The First Century Church looked at an elder from a different perspective. He would have been a mature Christian which others looked up to and he would have been sort of the leader of the church. He would have led by example rather than edict. The elders appointed by Titus would have been located in various small house assemblies which would have made up the whole church in a city. No popes in charge!
The elders which were appointed by Titus would have had, according to 1 Timothy 3:7, a good reputation with the unbelievers of a city.
So, yes, the elders were a perfect way to reach a lost world in the First Century. And if we could somehow return to that type of attitude in our modern day Christianity, it would be a great way to reach today’s lost and hopeless world.
Good awareness of this issue, both biblically and theologically. Enjoyed reading it.
I loved this . . .something powerful about how He showed it to you and it being relational not organizational. I’m going to try to forward this on to someone who might have some insights along these lines to share with you!
God bless you, Pastor B, and all the places He is taking you.
Bryan, Thank you for this post of encouragement. I am on the Board of Elders in our church and I appreciate the reminder of how important that role is. Thank you for reminding me that the relationships I make in my church and the example I provide are God’s plan. Peace, Linda