What Are The Responsibilities Of A Church Elder?

What are the qualifications and responsibilities of a church elder?

What is an Elder?

An elder is the same thing as an overseer, shepherd or a pastor. Every pastor is an elder in some denominations but not every elder is a pastor. One qualification for an elder is that he is older. The name “elder’ means older which is why the Apostle Paul said “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil “ (1st Tim 3:6). When God was revealing Himself to Israel, He told Moses “Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt” (Ex 3:16), so the importance of elders was known even back in the Old Testament. When there was a great famine in the area of Judea, “the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:28-30) so elders play a crucial role in the church.

Must be able to Teach

One of the most important attributes of an elder is that “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9) so an elder is a teacher who guards the truth (sound doctrine) and rebukes or corrects those who are in error. They are to teach the truth in such a way as to contradict any false teachings in the church but “he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil” (1st Tim 3:7).

Attributes of an Elder

For certain, elders are to be, like all Christian men are, a one woman man or faithful to their wife (Titus 1:6; 1st Tim 3:2) but “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive” (Titus 1:6; 1st Tim 3:4) and since he is God’s steward over the flock, he “must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined” (Titus 1:7-8) because “if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church” (1st Tim 3:5)? Paul mentions three times in Titus 1 and 1st Timothy 3 that the elder or pastor must be above reproach which means he must live a life that is beyond accusations, particularly any that can be proven true. They must live a life that is exemplary so that others might see the difference in the way they live, both those inside of the church and outside.

Disqualifications for Elders

Some people are not qualified to be an elder because they are either violent, a drunkard, quarrelsome, a lover of money, and haves no self-control (1st Tim 3:2-3) and so Paul adds that an elder “must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined” (Titus 1:7-8). If a potential candidate for an elder is “open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination” (Titus 1:6) then he is biblically disqualified since “he must be well thought of by outsiders” (1st Tim 3:7).

Responsibilities

The elder must be responsible for what is taught in the church and if there is doctrinal error, to point it out error, and if necessary, correct, rebuke, or exhort those who bring false teachings into the church, which is why Paul wrote that “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). This was necessary because “there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach” (Titus 1:10-11).

Conclusion

If your church has an elder or is considering an elder, 1st Timothy 3 and Titus 1 should be the standard by which you select the man. Church leadership is absolutely vital to the health of the local church as their experience, their knowledge of the truth, and their godly lifestyle gives stability to the church and keeps the church’s focus on the Word of God, teaching the Word of God, obeying the Word of God and fixing our eyes upon the living Word of God, Jesus Christ.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.