October 10, 2006
Elders in Training
Currently our church doesn’t have men serving as deacons, even though the Scripture and the church Bylaws make that position available. We do however have men being groomed for leadership by serving as ‘elders in training’. I find the concept of training men to be elders…strange. As I read over the list of qualifications for overseers in 1Timothy 3, it seems to me that the men selected as elders and deacons are appointed because their character is already formed and they’ve met the Biblical qualifications. I wonder if there is a probationary period is for being“…temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” (vs. 2-3 NIV). So, that begs the question: What becomes of a trainee that’s untrainable?
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Gail;
----It is quite apparent to me that “…temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.” (vs. 2-3 NIV) does not at all speak to "...the direction for the church we elders have chosen." Their chosen direction calls for additional training because it requires a certain mix of assumptions and supporting scripture to come to life as an idea. Not eveyone is going to swerve into that direction from simply studying the Word of God with a heart open to the Holy Spirit. It is a sad commentary on todays churches that so much philosophy has come into the mix of her core beliefs and practises, but that is how men behave. Therefore, to maintain the chosen direction of the church, new elders must be trained. Otherwise they might not stray off the path of the pure Word of God and therefore would be totally useless, or even detrimental to it.
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