In the next few months, something is going to go on at Good News Church (which will for the most part take place behind-the-scenes) that I wanted to inform you all about. Good News will be instituting its first board of elders. So in an effort to keep you all informed as to how things work around here, I wanted to think ahead and answer a few questions that I think people could have about this.
QUESTION #1: WHAT’S AN ELDER?
Good question! “Elder” is the English translation of the Greek word “presbuteros,” which appears in the Bible several times. It refers to a godly man who leads (and often teaches) in a church. Church leaders are also referred to by other names and titles in the New Testament. Those names (when translated into English) are words like overseer, shepherd, bishop, and pastor. The New Testament even seems to use some of these terms interchangeably as seen in passages like 1 Timothy 3:1-5 & 5:17, Titus 1:6-7, 1 Peter 5:1-2, and Ephesians 4:11. So, long story short, elder is a Bible word for a church leader.
QUESTION #2: WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
Because it is good for churches to have more than one leader. In fact, when the word elder appears in the New Testament, it is most often in the plural form, “elders.” Wisdom would dictate that it is good for a church to have a plurality of leaders instead of just one. That way, if one leader needs additional insight beyond his own experience, or lacks the gifting to pull off a particular task, or tends to be too domineering, or is unable to shepherd dozens of people simultaneously, or needs to make a decision that would be interpreted as self-serving (ie: hiring an assistant or getting a raise), or falls into serious sin requiring rebuke or removal, or gets sick, or dies... well, in any of those cases, there would be other godly men who can make up for that.
QUESTION #3: WHAT ROLE WILL ELDERS PLAY AT GOOD NEWS?
The elders are entrusted with the governance of Good News Church. Their oversight includes teaching, protecting, leading, discipling, equipping, and caring for the church body, as well as oversight of all ministry, operations, and finances of the church. They are responsible to be obedient to the Scriptures, and will appoint new elders as needed. Mario will continue to have oversight of the day-to-day activities and programs of the church.
So, in one sense, not much will change from your point-of-view. Mario will still be the primary preacher/leader. He will still be the guy you refer to as the “pastor.” The main differences will be:
- We will now have some additional people who promise to serve as godly role models and officially take on the task of shepherding the people of this church.
- We will now have a group of people who serve as a “board of directors” for the non-profit organization that we know as Good News Church, and they will be having meetings every once and a while.
QUESTION #4: WHO WILL THEY BE?
It is my intention that the first board of elders will be a group of three men: Mario Villella, Gary Haverdink, and Don Frank. According to the Bible, elders are to meet the following qualifications:
“An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless - not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:6-9
I am already an elder at this church, so this basically means we are adding two more. As best as I can tell, these men fit the qualifications that are outlined in the passage quoted above. If you disagree (and by that I mean that you have a legitimate accusation that one or both of these men are not qualified because of some sin or because of an issue with their character that hasn’t been dealt with) please contact me and let me know. Otherwise, if there are not any legitimate accusations that would disqualify these men, they will be officially installed as elders, probably sometime in January.
So feel free to begin praying for these guys now as they are undertaking a serious task of living lives worth modeling, and making sure that their life is filled with plenty of time set aside to care about you.
