How can an eldership change? IF it’s possible, here are four suggestions:
1.)
Forget the name “overseer” (and all this name may
imply) for a minute and go back and really seek to understand from scripture what the role of
an elder is. Too many elders believe
they will have to “one day give an account to God for every ______________
(dollar, person, carpet color, sermon preached, small group discussion, toilet
paper brand, or whatever) entrusted to this church.”
This is a lie. Stop believing it.
2.)
Stop leading in fear. When the church became a business (which is
what occurred when churches started taking on massive debt and needed income to
pay the bills), the leadership model became RISK MANAGEMENT and/or LOSS
PREVENTION. Fear of loss – however that
is defined in a particular group – becomes the main force behind decisions. God promised to destroy fear – shepherds of His church
cannot lead by fear.
3.)
Get rid of the corrupt elder. Almost every struggling eldership I have
worked with has one or more elders who have been questioned or challenged by
members for their practices or behaviors.
Frequently, the accusations deal with unjust leadership (lording over
the church) or deception (lying, deceiving, and misleading others). This elder maintains his role because he frequently
wields the most power of persuasion. Other
elders are afraid to stand up to this man because of the fear-based leadership
model discussed above. Elders and
elderships lose credibility, especially among ministers and young families, more
rapidly through this behavior than any other means. Stand up to the wolves among you, they are
devouring your flock – this is your biblical charge.
4.)
Mentor others.
Every elder should be able to answer this question without hesitation:
who (specifically, by name) are you mentoring right now? If you can’t answer this question, you have a problem.
Number 3 hits home for me. In one congregation our family worked with their was a very bad apple. It was terrible. Hubby was fired. It caused lots of trouble and was so sad to watch. Thanks for speaking the truth brother!
ReplyDeletewell said......very interesting and unfortunately some of us have lived it (I won't say what the "it" is although if you have you KNOW!!!! thanks Shawn
DeleteHaving lived life as the daughter of an elder and now as the wife of an elder, I think you have hit the nail on the head. Now we need men of the church to take the jobs of the building funds, the bills, etc out of the hands of the elders so they can mentor their people as they were meant to do. It is sad when most of the people who want to talk to the elders want to complain, not ask for guidance.
ReplyDeleteTo The Mama -- The elders must take the lead in this. All too often when elders "turn over" the jobs to deacons or others in the church, they really won't let go and those deacons or others really take responsibility for the jobs -- they still want the "control." Shepherds/elders are not in positions of power or control. When the sheep see that the shepherds really care enough about THEM to let go of these other things (including the purse strings), then they will come to them for guidance.
ReplyDelete