[0:00] Great. Okay, let's make a start. Let me pray for us as we come to think about what is a church elder. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you teach us in your word about how to organize and live our lives alongside each other as a local church.
[0:21] And we pray this evening that you might help us to think clearly and carefully and thoughtfully. Not so much just because we want to get things right, but because we want our church to be glorifying to you and good for us.
[0:35] And we know that it will be most glorifying to you and most beneficial for us if we stick most closely to your revealed word. So we pray that you'd help us to that end in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
[0:50] So we're thinking over these three weeks, so this is the middle one, about these basic sort of building blocks of church life. So we talked about what is a church member last week. What does it mean to belong to a local church?
[1:04] We're thinking this week about what is a church elder. And next week, we're going to be thinking about deacons. What is a church deacon? What is a church in? Now, the reason we're doing that, it's a useful thing for us to do, but we're also at a point in our church life where these questions are really important for us.
[1:18] We've merged two churches together. We all come from slightly different backgrounds. We've all had slightly different church experiences in our past. And so it is useful for us at this kind of juncture in our church life as we press on and appoint elders and deacons and think about membership together to come back to God's word and go, right, let's make sure that we've got this as clear as we can get it from God's word.
[1:40] And so that's why we are in this territory together. So the plan is, as a church, over this next year to appoint elders and deacons from amongst the joint leadership team and from others in the church.
[1:52] And so it's important that we're all clear about what qualifies people to be elders and what is the responsibility of elders. Now, I would imagine if you've thought about this a little bit, the thing that you might think is, well, the first place to go is to the qualifications for eldership in 1 Timothy and Titus.
[2:08] And we will come to that. But before we do that, I want to show you just a couple of assumptions that the New Testament makes about elders and then to think about what the Bible says about the work of an elder.
[2:21] And then we'll come to the qualifications for eldership at the end. So here are two assumptions to start off with. The first one is that in the New Testament, it is always elders and not elder.
[2:36] In other words, the office of elder is to be held by a team, not just by one individual. They're probably the best place to go for that is Titus.
[2:47] So if you turn to Titus chapter 1 verse 5, or I think maybe if you dip into your handout. Oh, no, it starts at verse 6, the one that I put in your handout. So Titus chapter 1 verse 5 says this.
[3:02] Paul is writing to Titus and he's explaining what his job is in Crete. And he says this. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.
[3:22] Now, it seems, doesn't it, that the result of their missionary endeavors on the island of Crete is that a number of different churches have started in each town that they visited.
[3:33] And so Titus is left behind with this specific role of appointing elders, plural, in every town, i.e. every church gathering, as he's directed or has been directed by Paul.
[3:47] And it seems, doesn't it, that the church in Crete is disordered or out of order. So kind of, you know, the thing that gets put up on the toilets when they're out of order. So that he has to put it in order by appointing elders in every town.
[4:03] And so then it seems once each church has a plurality of elders, the church in some senses can be left to get on with its life and ministry. And that's important, isn't it?
[4:14] I think it's important when we think about the passages that describe the responsibility of elders, and we're going to come to those in a moment, that there is not necessarily the assumption that every individual elder is doing exactly the same thing in the life of the church.
[4:28] We're going to pick up on 1 Timothy 5, talking about the division of preaching amongst the elders. But still, the model of sort of the eldership of one man is not a New Testament picture of the life of a church.
[4:43] One man leading a church with others sort of nodding their head at his instructions is not a New Testament model of church. The idea of a pastor and deacons is a model that lots of Baptist churches have fallen into in the last 50 years or so, and it finds no support in the New Testament at all.
[5:01] Actually, that is not how ministry in the life of a church was intended to be. I think in Titus language, it would be out of order. So also, I think, I mean, I'm in for a penny, so in for a pound, right?
[5:13] I've dissed the Baptist church. So what about the Anglican church? I think a vicar with a rubber stamping PCC is also not conceived of in the New Testament. Elders' responsibility, authority in that way, in the New Testament is always plural.
[5:29] It is the shared responsibility and authority in the church. Now, that doesn't mean that elders won't appoint a leader among them, or that they won't decide to set one of them aside from ordinary work to devote themselves to the ministry of the church.
[5:41] But it does mean that the work of an elder is to be done with other elders. That's the first assumption. Elders are always plural. The second assumption is that elders are men.
[5:54] Now, not any men and not all men, but men. Now, we've not got the time to go into the complexities of this this evening beyond really just stating it.
[6:05] And if you want to ask me questions, you can. There is also a written statement that our church signs up to each year, and you're welcome to read that and ask your questions about it as part of our belonging to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
[6:18] But the clear assumption of the New Testament is that elders will be men and not women. That is not, it has to be said, because women wouldn't be capable of the role, nor is it because women are not capable of understanding the scriptures well enough to elder.
[6:32] All of that is nonsense. Rather, it seems that in the New Testament, the church is, if you like, the remaking of Eden. That is, we're not to think of the church as to be a voluntary organization, as we were thinking last Sunday.
[6:45] It's not a charitable organization like any other. It's rather that the church is an outpost of the new creation. This is a new Eden where the complementary roles of men and women are reflected.
[6:57] So equality and dignity and status, equal image bearers of the God who made them, sharers together in the authority given to church members, but complementary in role.
[7:10] Again, this doesn't mean, does it, that all women in the church submit to all men in the church. That is not the case either. Submission in the church seems to be more mutual than that. And some men, suitably qualified and gifted, will serve as elders.
[7:23] So there you go, two New Testament assumptions. That's fairly simple and straightforward, isn't it? And uncontroversial. Plurality and gender. Okay, so those are two to start off with.
[7:37] Now what I want us to do is think about the role of elders. And I want you to do a bit of work on this for me and with me. So what I've done is I've listed some passages there.
[7:48] I've printed them out on your handout so you don't have to go scraping around the Bible to find them. And in each of those passages you are given a description of what the role of an elder is.
[7:59] Like what their responsibility is. Okay? And I want you just to highlight in there the words that describe the work of an elder. And have a think about what they might mean.
[8:09] So just have a look at it. You might want to just do that with your neighbor. You could work in a three if you wanted to. But go for that. Have a read through those passages. And highlight the words that describe the work of an elder.
[8:21] And what those words imply or mean. Go for it. Okay. It's like every exam you sat. Don't forget to turn the page. There are some on the inside.
[8:32] Titus, Hebrews and 1 Peter. Okay. I never know when to interrupt your conversations.
[8:46] But when it gets a bit louder I assume that you've stopped talking about the task that we've been set. And you've started talking about something else. Right. So. Any comments or questions that came up from that? What are the roles of elders as described in those passages?
[9:00] Keep watch over. Keep watch over. Yeah. So there's a. The shepherding kind of image isn't there.
[9:12] Over the flock. Yeah. Shepherd, pastor. That kind of image. Yeah. Watching over. Taking care of. Protecting. Yeah. Is this just shut down or can we ask questions?
[9:26] Yeah. Go on. Where was that? Just make sure. What is a noble task? So in one to the big one. It says you aspire to be an overseer. So. One who aspires to be an overseer is a role of elder.
[9:40] But they desire a noble task. What would you define? Would you say that means? What do you mean? What do you mean? You say noble task. So like you desire a noble task.
[9:53] We're debating what this through. What does noble task? So I think. I mean. I think it implies two things. One is that. There is a sense in which. It's a good thing to aspire to be an elder.
[10:04] Because it's a good thing to be doing. In the church. I think the other implication is. Possibly on the negative side of it. Perhaps there'll be more people who want to do it.
[10:15] Than are necessarily qualified to do it. Might be the other implication of the one. Because it is a good thing to be doing. Does it make sense of being?
[10:27] So it's like. I don't know. It's going to be like. You have to be a certain level of holiness. Okay. Yes. So there is a requirement of being above reproach.
[10:41] Yeah. Yes. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Other things on. Oh, sorry. My wife. Yes. She said to me. I asked her.
[10:53] Is it good to aspire? Yeah. She told me. Some people aspire. Some people call. It didn't help me. So let's stick to the task of looking at what the actual responsibilities are.
[11:10] I think. Yes. See. I think. To actually answer your question about the difference between aspiring and being called. I think the call to be an elder comes from a church to an individual, doesn't it? You don't appoint yourself.
[11:21] Right. But it's right for you to want to do it. And actually, I think when you are looking to recognize an elder in the church. If they don't want to do it, they have no aspiration to be an elder.
[11:33] Then you probably shouldn't make them one because you'll just make them miserable. And everybody else around them as well, probably. Right. Let's get back to the task of what are the responsibilities of elders.
[11:44] Let's stay on task if we can. So we've had Shepard. Nick, you're the only person who's actually answered the question. Thank you. And what else have we got? Yes. Yes.
[12:01] So there's a doctrinal oversight, isn't there? So there's a responsibility to make sure that the gospel is clear and not contradicted. Yeah. Directing the affairs of the church.
[12:14] Yes. Yeah. So 1 Timothy 5, 17, directing the affairs of the church. What do we think that means? Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
[12:26] Keeping a God-centered perspective. I think sort of charting a course, isn't it? It's actually leading in a certain direction. It's saying this is the way we believe the Lord is calling us. We are directing us in this direction.
[12:38] This is where we're going. Yeah. Yeah. Leadership. Yeah. Anything else? Preaching and teaching. Yes. So again, 1 Timothy 5, 17, preaching and teaching is going to be the responsibility of the elders.
[12:55] Yeah. Yeah. I find it interesting that seems to be the experience. It seems to be how the church members often respond and support members in that role as well. Yeah.
[13:06] So it's almost like that responsibility to be sure that they don't do it by now. Right. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So there is a responsibility of members to make their work a joy and not a burden.
[13:20] I think they'll put that verse in there because I think it is the elders are given a certain sort of authority in the church, aren't they, in verse 17? So they have a responsibility and authority, which we'll think about a bit more in a bit more detail in a moment.
[13:34] But they also have to give an account. So they're responsible to the Lord for their work. Yeah. Anything else on responsibilities? Yeah.
[13:45] Go on, Carson. Why are they called elders? Is it because they're older than the older people? Or do they have to give an experience? Okay. Yes. So one of the things that I thought we might do tonight, but I just decided that we wouldn't do for the sake of time, is have a longer discussion about the word elder, because I think it comes with an Old Testament background, where it is the assumption that it is older men in the church.
[14:09] But I think in 1 Timothy, for example, he's expected to take on the responsibility of eldering, and he is a younger man. So, yeah. But yes, thanks, Charleston. Is it to work hard and care and admonish?
[14:23] Yeah. Work hard, care and admonish. Yeah. It's going to be difficult. There is a task to be done. Yeah.
[14:37] Yeah. Okay. So double honor. Again, this is the 1 Timothy 5 one. The elders who direct the affairs of the church are worthy of double honor. So in the context of 1 Timothy 5, it's talking about widows in the church who are to be honored, which I think is about the church taking responsibility to make sure that they are well cared for, possibly financially.
[14:59] And double honor means, I think, in that context, not that you're to pay them double of that, but just that they are just like you look after the widows in church. You are also to honor and care for the elders in the church, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
[15:14] Yeah. Yeah. I think going back to your point about not appointing elders for like so many people there. Yeah. To care for the flock.
[15:25] Yeah. 1 Peter 5. Yeah. 1 Peter 5. Yeah. Willing to care. I would say from the 1 Timothy 5, it's like 12 Peter 5, and that's because you're doing this with the 8 of the priest's home in the church.
[15:39] Yes. Yeah. And so you have to be watchful and make sure that people are not doing what you start. Yes. You need to be watchful and make sure that people aren't doing dodgy stuff, to quote Mike directly.
[15:51] But yeah, I think that's helpful. I think it's interesting, isn't it? There is a responsibility not only to lead and direct and point the church in a certain direction and say, this is what we're doing, this is our mission, this is our task, but also to protect and guard the sheep against false doctrine and be willing to stand up and say, no, that's not right.
[16:13] So it's quite easy. I don't know if you noticed me doing this this morning. It's quite easy in one sense to teach the truth. That's slightly easier than then saying, no, but that's not the truth, right?
[16:27] Because that's a slightly more costly thing to say. And I think the implication is here that it's a willingness to say, you know, this is true, which means that is not true, right? So this is justification by faith, which means that is not true.
[16:42] And we need to be, elders need to be willing to say both and admonish false doctrine and false living as well. Yeah. And elders who are not willing to hold members to account for the life that they lead in terms of speaking to them for it are neglecting the responsibility that they're given.
[17:03] Yeah. Yes, being an example. Yeah. So you're supposed to be able to look at an elder and go, I would like to be like them.
[17:13] I would like to know the Lord like they know the Lord. I want to know the Bible the way they know the Bible. I want to live like they're living. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
[17:30] Yes. The management of God's household. Yeah. It's. Yes. I think you're right. I think there is a sense of being responsible for the resources of the church to manage them, to manage them well.
[17:44] Yeah. Okay. Yes. So I think there's a leadership thing that they're to lead the church in the way that it's to go, which means all those things, so shepherding, caring, looking after, pointing out false doctrine, taking responsibility for the resources of the church, both financial and in gifting.
[18:12] Now, I want to suggest that if you put those things together, what that means is that the elders in the church aren't just any godly men in the church. Right. There might be godly men in the church who know their Bibles, who love the Lord, who are walking closely with him, who might not be suitable elders because the elders are expected to lead the church and have leadership responsibility in the life of the church.
[18:39] If you say that is not someone I would like to follow, then that's not somebody who should be an elder. Or if that is somebody who is not able to lead in that way, then also I think they're not suitable to be an elder.
[18:54] There's a guy called Murray Caphill who's written a book called The Elder-Led Church, and he boils down those passages to five key terms. So elder, as in the way that Charleston was using it earlier in terms of wisdom and maturity, shepherding and pastoring, puts those together because they're essentially the same thing, overseeing, leader, steward.
[19:18] And commenting on that last one, he says, the New Testament is not merely looking for a family man. We'll talk a bit more about the family things in a moment. But it is seeking someone who is highly responsible in handling people and resources.
[19:33] Why? Because that's what elders must do. They will need to lead the household of God, overseeing the complexity of interpersonal relationships and church resources, helping develop and enact the church's ministry plans, and ensuring that the household of God is united, orderly and focused.
[19:51] He then goes on to define this leadership role of elders like this. Leadership is about taking people somewhere. Leaders see where we need to go and they work out how to get there.
[20:02] They have a clear sense of what God wants and they make plans for how to move toward that. They are lovingly and clearly, sorry, they lovingly and clearly help people go there.
[20:13] They will cast a vision, determining the strategy and ensuring adequate resourcing, engage people's gifts, constantly encourage and motivate people, work at unity, solve problems and celebrate blessings.
[20:26] Ultimately, the goal is maturity in Christ. Paul declares, him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
[20:37] He then concludes, Are elders godly men who are largely gift free? Are they just any godly men in the church? The entire biblical picture says otherwise.
[20:50] They must be godly, mature, well-respected members of the community who are able to do what elders do. Shepherd the flock, oversee the church, lead God's people and steward God's house.
[21:01] In gospel eldership, Robert Thune writes, theological acumen, as in like knowledge, is not enough. Depth of character is not enough.
[21:11] Alignment with your church's vision and mission is not enough. Unless a man has proven that he has the skill and ability to lead other leaders, he should not be leading as an elder in God's church.
[21:23] There you go, that's what he says. And I would love to take your questions and comments on it, but I haven't got time. So, go on then, Charleston, I'll let you off.
[21:34] We need to be humble. Certainly. Because they provide a legal role, but they can't rule the other. Yes, absolutely. We're going to come to some of those character qualifications in a few moments, Charleston, but you're right, they must be humble.
[21:50] Well, I think it's worth just to think a little bit more about authority in the life of the church and what that means and what authority is for the elders. So, one of the things that we thought about last week was the authority of the church to define its members.
[22:08] So, the church is to be able to say who's in and who's out, who belongs and who doesn't belong. But it's worth thinking just about the distinction in two kinds of authority.
[22:19] Jonathan Lehman, in his book called Authority, calls these two types of authority, the authority of command and the authority of counsel. So, the authority of command, to start there, is the authority not only to say what should happen, but also to enforce it.
[22:37] So, the police, they have the authority of command, don't they, in certain areas, right? So, they are not, they're not going to pull you over in your car and say, listen, I just suggest you might want to go 30 miles an hour in this 30 zone.
[22:54] I think that's, no, they say you must go 30, or you will get a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit, right? So, it doesn't quite scan, does it?
[23:04] Because actually, their authority to actually charge you is given over to somebody else, isn't it? I don't know how it works legally, but anyway, there you go. That's the sort of thing. So, a parent of younger children has that sort of authority of command as well.
[23:19] It's, hey, you might fancy going to school this morning, you know, maybe get dressed and get up kind of thing. It's like, get up, get dressed, you're going to school, right? Do I have to go to school?
[23:31] Yes, you do have to go to school. That's, you must do that. And they will face consequences if they don't. Now, it's interesting that that authority of command is not in every situation of authority, is it?
[23:47] Parents of adult children have an authority of counsel and not of command. They have an authority that comes from giving wisdom and counsel to point in the right direction, but not to impose any kind of sanction.
[24:04] It's really, really important that we get this distinction. Husbands are given a level of authority over wives in the Bible, but it is not of command, but it's of counsel, isn't it?
[24:17] A husband has no right to demand the submission of his wife or to command her to do certain things, but of counsel to suggest and to encourage and to point into a wise direction.
[24:31] Now, in the life of the church, the authority of command, the authority to say you are in or you are out of church life, that authority is not given in the New Testament to the elders of the church, but to the members of the church.
[24:46] The elders of the church are given the authority of counsel, their right to instruct, to give wisdom. Not because listening to the elders of the church is not important.
[24:58] There are really loads of warnings about the seriousness of ignoring the wisdom of elders, but rather because like fathers in a household of adult children, they are to lead with counsel and not command.
[25:11] And it's, again, it's really important, isn't it, that that is seen and experienced in the life of the church, that the elders are not allowed to say, you must do this, or I will throw you out of the church.
[25:24] They can't do that because that is not in their gift or in their responsibility. They have not got that authority in the life of the church. That belongs to the members.
[25:36] Okay. The authority of counsel and command. Is that clear? Does that scan people? Yeah. People nodding. Okay. Well, let's come and talk about qualifications then as we finish off.
[25:49] What are the qualifications? What kind of people should we be looking for, men should we be looking for, to fulfill this role of eldership in the life of the church? There are two main passages that deal with these.
[26:01] One in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and the other in Titus chapter 1. I'm going to read the passages and then I want you to think about them again with the person next to you. I'm going to read them just so that you're not all reading them at the same time, which is a bit weird when we're all in the same room.
[26:15] Okay. Let me read the 1 Timothy chapter 3 one. Now, the overseer. So overseer, elder, pastor, they're all the same word in the New Testament, really, or the same idea.
[26:27] Now, the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
[26:42] He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?
[26:55] He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
[27:09] Titus chapter 1, verse 6. 1 Timothy 1, verse 6.
[27:41] 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.
[27:53] Okay, slightly unhelpfully, the questions are on the next page of your handout, which means you're going to have to flick backwards and forwards. But what are the common threads there in the qualifications? Why do you think home life is so important?
[28:04] And are there any surprises? Turn to your neighbour and have a discussion about those, and then we'll pull our answers together in a moment. Okay.
[28:14] Let's get back together. What do we think the common threads are in the qualifications?
[28:27] What sort of themes are there? Anyone? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Children who believe.
[28:41] I think what we... There are probably some things just to say as sort of like fences around which we need to understand it. So it can't mean that the expectation is that the elder is sovereign over the salvation of his children, right?
[28:59] Because that would be outside of the bounds of biblical Christianity. I think there is something here about saying that children who are in the family home are expected to tow the family line in terms of church and what we're doing here.
[29:19] And that management of that is a display of suitability for eldership. There might also be particular behaviours and struggles that children might have that an elder is not directly responsible for, but that disqualify them from eldership because, for example, the reputation with outsiders or just the situation in the church, it just might be inappropriate for them to serve as an elder given that particular situation.
[29:51] But, yeah, there is a sense in which, isn't there? So I think that, you know, if a man's children are open to the charge of being wild and disobedient, if you can't manage your small circle of children, you're not going to be able to manage a larger circle of the church, I think, yeah.
[30:12] You could have a family with... So they've got six children and one of them is really bad and the others are all great, fine. And you do get exceptions like that, but you could judge a person for one child's sin.
[30:25] No, and so I think, sorry, the point was you can't necessarily judge a man for one child's sin. They might have a number of children and one be facing particular struggles.
[30:36] I agree with you, and I think you need to take that carefully and thoughtfully. Again, I think there is a sense here in which it is the way a man runs the home is a display of their suitability to run the church.
[30:57] And so the response of that individual to the situation that that child is facing will give you an account of their qualification and suitability for eldership. It is fascinating, isn't it, and we talked about this in our leadership team meeting as we were discussing this a few weeks ago, that lots of these things here are only going to be on display in the family, right?
[31:21] So most men can manage to come to church sober and hold their temper for an hour and a half in the Sunday gatherings of the church. They might not be able to do that at home.
[31:35] And so the assumption here is that you are asking their children and their wife, if they have a wife and children, what goes on at home? What's it like at home? And if you're not asking that question, I think you're going to miss out on the answers there.
[31:49] Lucy? That would be evident in the function of the family. Yes, yeah. What happens if they don't have a wife and kids? Like, does that, would you say that affects their ability to be a pastor?
[32:02] Or like, who would you have asked to be like, you know, you bring a family, but they don't have a family, so who would you ask? Yeah. That's a really good question, isn't it?
[32:13] So what about a single guy who doesn't have a wife and children? You can't, you must say, mustn't you, that you don't have to be married. That is definitely not the implication here.
[32:23] Otherwise, the Apostle Paul, the Lord Jesus, you know, say, we'd be on really thin ice, so they have to be married. I think, though, you can tell, you could tell how they run their own home and their own affairs.
[32:38] That would be a fairly good indication of their ability to manage themselves as well, and where they take responsibility for other things and other people and other situations.
[32:49] I think you can see how they care for their wider family as well as being an indicator of how they might approach leadership in the life of the church as well.
[33:01] Yeah. So there'll be different questions, but yeah. I don't think the implication is that you have to be married to be qualified. Yeah. Any other questions or comments on these things?
[33:13] Any surprises? It is a high bar. Yeah. It is a high bar.
[33:24] I think when you take the... So it's a high bar, but it's a bar that, you know, if there's a guy in the church who says, you know, I don't want to be an elder because I actually don't really want to live up to these qualifications that are given in Titus.
[33:38] I want to think, well, really? These are the things that we should all be aspiring to, aren't they? We should all want to be like this, right? But when you add in the qualifications and the responsibilities, it is a burden, isn't it?
[33:53] Do you know why Paul adds, you know, the burden he feels for all the churches to that list of sufferings? You can kind of see why, can't you? And so the sort of eldering in the church is really a willingness to suffer on behalf of the church in all sorts of different ways as you take responsibility for the life of the church.
[34:11] Now, there might be other things that you might want to put in addition. I mean, I know it sounds terrible, additional qualifications, but there are some things I think that basically Paul would probably be assuming.
[34:22] I think you want to assume that they are members of the church. I think you want to assume that they attend the church regularly. I want you, I think, to assume that they have the capacity to do the job and to perform the function of an elder.
[34:35] Because you might have somebody who is suited to be qualified in every way, but they simply don't have the capacity to do it for whatever reason that might be. I think also that there are the doctrinal commitments and vision of the church in the direction the church is going and wants to be.
[34:52] So, you know, you wouldn't appoint an elder who wasn't, didn't agree with Baptist theology in a Baptist church. That's just going to cause arguments in the eldership, which is going to be unhelpful.
[35:05] That doesn't mean that they wouldn't be suitably qualified to be an elder in a different denomination. I think you also need to be thinking about working well as a team. If these guys are going to be working together and they are elders, not just an elder, you also want to be thinking about how are these people going to work together?
[35:20] What kind of is the balance of that team going to be? And how are those things going to work together? So there you go. We have, don't we, some assumptions about plurality and complementarianism.
[35:33] We have the responsibilities of an elder outlined in all those different ways, those five ways that we thought about together. Two kinds of authority. The authority of counsel, not the authority of command. And those are the qualifications.
[35:45] And it is now half past seven. So let me close in prayer. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for men in our lives and our church's lives who have put themselves out to shepherd well and to lead well.
[36:11] We thank you, Lord, that you bless us through leaders who take their responsibility seriously and who love and care well.
[36:24] And so we praise and thank you for them. And we pray for our leaders here and ask that for us, you might help us to live up to this high calling that you've given us.
[36:37] We pray that we might do that relying on you and not ourselves. We pray that we might do it gently and responsibly and carefully and thoughtfully. And we pray ultimately, Lord, that you might bless us.
[36:51] You might bless our church. You might bless our community and the ministry of the gospel here through leaders who lead well for the sake of your glory. In a sort of self-forgetful, laying down their own lives, servant-hearted leadership in the church.
[37:09] We pray that you might raise up more men like that in our church family for the sake of your glory. And in Jesus' name. Amen.
[37:20] Amen.