Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, March 2, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel (Message 3 of 3 in Eldership Series) TOPIC: Church Leadership, Elders The Relationship Between The Elders and The Church I Peter 5:1-4 and I Thessalonians 5:12, 13 (NKJV) Introduction Today in our third and final message in this brief series on Church Elders, I would like for us to consider what God's teaches about The Relationship Between The Elders and The Church. In his booklet, Wanted: A Few Good Shepherds, author Max Lucado writes: It is essential that the church be led by a plurality of godly leaders. It s not optional. it s not advisable. It is essential. Leaders set the pace and set the example for the church. There has never been a strong church without strong leaders. There has never been a prayerful church without prayerful leaders. There has never been a visionary church without visionary leadership. There has never been a growing church without growing leaders. If the leaders are weak, the church will be weak. But if the leaders are strong, the church will be strong. Everything rises or falls on leadership. That is true in the corporate world. That is true in the academic world. That is true in the political world. That is true in the athletic world. And it is especially true in the Lord's Church. Everything rises or falls on leadership. In every Church you have LEADERS and you have FOLLOWERS. And if the Church is to be a strong, healthy, growing Church there must be a good working relationship between the Church Elders and the Congregation.
Let's look at both sides of this relationship. First, let's consider... I. How The Elders Are To Relate To The Church 1. Turn with me to I Timothy 5:17 (NKJV)... Let the elders who RULE WELL be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word. 2. When you read those words let the elders who rule what images come to mind? *Do you think of a heavy handed dictator? *Do you think of an over-bearing boss? *Do you think of an iron-fisted tyrant? 3. If those are the images that come to your mind when you think of elders ruling the Church then perhaps you might have some serious reservations about having elders here at Christian Hope Church of Christ. 4. That word rule is better translated let the elders who LEAD, or let the elders who GUIDE. That sounds less harsh doesn't it? That is the spirit of the kind of rule Elders are to have in the Church. Elders are to have AUTHORITY but they are not to be AUTHORITARIANS. 5. In our Eldership Training Course last year we spent a great deal of time studying what the scriptures say about how elders are to relate to the Church. And the key passage we focused on is found in I Peter 5:1-4. Please turn to that scripture with me.
1 Peter 5:1-4 (NKJV) 1The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5. In this passage, Peter paints a very clear picture of how elders are to relate to the Church. (A) Elders are to be your SERVANT LEADERS (v.1) Jesus serves as the perfect MODEL of the kind of leader an elder is to be in the Church. -Though He was LORD, He didn't LORD it over those who followed Him. - He led by SERVING,, not by being SERVED. - He was in complete SUBMISSION to His heavenly Father. -And though He was FIRM,, He always treated His followers with LOVE. It is in the spirit of CHRIST-LIKENESS that Dwayne, Steve and Gary are to lead you. They understand that the symbols of their leadership in this Church are not A crown and a sceptre but rather a wash basin and a towel. The tools of a servant.
(B) The Elders are to be your SHEPHERDS (v.2) v.2a Shepherd the flock of GOD which is among you... Elders aren't to be like COWBOYS driving CATTLE they are to be like SHEPHERDS leading SHEEP. Have you ever seen a SHEPHERD with his sheep? He doesn't hit them with his staff. He doesn't kick them or yell at them or treat them cruelly in any way. He leads his sheep with love and tenderness. Consider the example of God Himself in His dealings with us... ISAIAH 40:11 (NKJV) says, He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. Isn't that a beautiful picture? That is the kind of love and tenderness the elders are to show towards you the Church as they lead you, feed you, and care for you. (C) The elders are to be your OVERSEERS (v.2) v. 2 a, b Shepherd the flock of GOD which is among you, serving as overseers... Your elders will bear a tremendous responsibility to oversee the spiritual well - being of every member of this Church, from the minister to the member seated on the back row.
This means they are to protect you against FALSE TEACHERS (Acts 20:28-30) and they are to exercise discipline upon un-repentant Church members who are living in SIN (I Cor. 5) and upon those who seek to cause DIVISION in the Church. (Romans 16:17,18; II Thessalonians 3:6) Though elders are to be firm in treating these kinds of difficult situations, they are to do it in a spirit of Christ-like LOVE and GRACE. (D) The elders are to be your EXAMPLE. (v. 3) v. 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. Godly elders are to lead by EXAMPLE and by ENCOURAGEMENT not by bullying or bossing the Church around. The elders are not to expect you to do something that they themselves are not willing to do. They are not to expect you to make sacrifices that they are not willing to make. 6. You see, Church Elders are accountable to the Lord for how they lead you and how they relate to you, and how they treat you as a Church. v.4 And when the Chief Shepherd (JESUS CHRIST) appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Well now that we have considered how the ELDERS are to relate to the CHURCH, let's consider...
II. How The Church Is To Relate To The Elders 1. This is a subject that is rarely, if ever talked about in our Churches. Just as the LORD holds ELDERS accountable for how they treat Church members, the LORD holds Church members accountable for how they treat the Elders who lead them. 2. Let's look at some of the scriptural responsibilities the Church has toward her Elders. Turn with me to Hebrews 13. And let's read verse 17. v.17 OBEY those who rule over you, and BE SUBMISSIVE, for they (ELDERS) watch out for your souls, as those who must give an account. Let them do so WITH JOY and NOT WITH GRIEF, for that would be unprofitable for you. 3. In this verse we see three responsibilities of the Church towards her elders: (A) First of all, the Church has a scriptural responsibility to OBEY the elders. v. 17 a OBEY those who rule over you... That word obey might rub some of you the wrong way. We have already learned from the scriptures that ELDERS aren't to be like dictators, or tyrants, or military drill sergeants barking out orders and everybody in the Church has to comply or else. The word OBEY here means to be willing to FOLLOW out of RESPECT.. Christ is The Good Shepherd of the whole Church, and THE ELDERS are His shepherds in the local Church. They have been given the tremendous responsibility of watching out for your souls. And therefore, out of RESPECT for their God-given authority in the Church, you, the congregation should obey or follow the leadership of the Elders, as long as they aren't leading you to do something that violates the word and will of God.
(B) Secondly, the Church has the scriptural responsibility to SUBMIT to her elders. v. 17 a, b OBEY those who rule over you, and BE SUBMISSIVE, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. SUBMIT! There's another word we don't like very much. When we think of submission we think of a slave bowing to the master's harsh demands. When we think of submission we think of having to obey laws we disagree with that have been handed down to us by an arrogant, intrusive government. But let me give you another way to look at this word, submission. When the ELDERS of the Church rule well,...in other words, when the ELDERS lead the Church in a spirit of Christ-like love and humility and we know their decisions are not self-serving or out of selfish ambition but out of love for JESUS CHRIST and HIS CHURCH, we, as a congregation should be willing to SUBMIT to the leadeship of the ELDERS. (C) Thirdly, the congregation has the scriptural responsibility TO PERMIT THE ELDERS TO LEAD WITH JOY,, NOT WITH GRIEF.. (v.17c) Illustration: JAMES A. GARFIELD was the twentieth President of The United States, serving only 200 days before he was assassinated. Garfield was a member of a Church of Christ in Ohio, where he served as an ELDER in the Church. When Garfield relinquished his role as ELDER, he stated to the Church, Today I resign the highest office in the land to become the President of the United States. Being an elder in the LORD'S CHURCH is one of the highest and most noble positions a man can hold here on earth. Being an ELDER in the LORD'S CHURCH ought to be one of the most ENJOYABLE and REWARDING works a man can do. But sadly, the experience of many godly ELDERS has been quite the opposite. Many godly ELDERS have been abused by ruthless, selfish, insubordinate Church members who refused to follow their leadership. I personally believe that those who cause GRIEF to the ELDERS in the Lord's Church will much to account for before Christ. The congregation must give the ELDERS the freedom to make decisions without nitpicking and arguing over every decision they make. We don't need back seat drivers or arm-chair quarterbacks second guessing everything the elders do. Give them the freedom to pursue God's will for this Church and they will lead this Church to greater heights than she's ever been before!
4. When a man desires the office of an elder, and he is qualified to serve as an elder, and he rules well in a spirit of Christ-like humility, that man is deserving of our highest respect......our greatest honor...and our fervent prayers on his behalf. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> C O N C L U S I O N Over these past three Lord's Days, we have learned that if this Church is to follow the pattern of the New Testament Churches, she needs ELDERS. Dwayne Ange...Steve Craddock...and Gary Sherwood have expressed their desire to serve this Church as elders. These three men humbly submitted themselves to six and a half months of teaching and training on what it means to be an Elder in the Lord's Church. And these three men have faithfully met each Lord's Day for over three months now to earnestly pray about this matter of being an elder at Christian Hope Church of Christ. And so now the time has come for you, the congregation, to decide whether or not to accept and approve of these men to become your elders. Before we make this important decision, let us go to God in prayer, and then sing our hymn of invitation. Then I will turn the service over to Gary Sherwood, our current chairman of the Deacons. For those of you who are physically able would you join with me on your knees in prayer. For those of you who are not physically able, please remain seated. PRAYERFULLY INVITATION TURN OVER TO GARY