Shepherd the Flock: Advice to New Elders
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“I asked several friends of The Gospel Coalition who currently serve, or have served, as lead pastors, What’s the best piece of advice or word of exhortation you’d give to a new elder?” - TGC
Teaching New Elders to Be Shepherds—The Baxter Project
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“The real challenge is helping the elders change their focus from a board-of-trustees mentality to a shepherding mentality. In this article I will share our journey of making that change” - 9 Marks
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“No man should become an elder who is not willing to be an elder, and no man should become an elder who is not qualified to be an elder.”
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“There are surprisingly few men who exist at that point where willingness meets qualification. There are almost always some who are willing but not qualified and some who are qualified but not willing. What the church needs so badly is men who are both.” - Challies
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An Example of How One Church Trains Its Elders
Leadership development is one of those things that churches love to talk about but rarely seem to do. Pastors and churches need to prayerfully consider how they might assess and train men for ministry for the furtherance of the gospel. Over the past three years, our church has made significant strides by God’s grace in proactively identifying, developing, and deploying men for various ministries within our church.
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When Elders Disagree: A Pathway for Pastoral Conflicts
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“When instincts differ among elders on the same team, what can we do? How can we preserve plurality, honor divergent views, and shepherd in harmony with fellow elders?” - Desiring God
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Does an Elder Have to be “Able to Teach?” (1 Timothy 3:2)
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Yes, but… “this word does not necessitate skillful communication, much less require an elder to speak from the front of a room.” - Kenneth Berding
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Assessment Questions for New Elder Candidates
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“Below are the specific questions we asked, grouped into categories. We typically sent these questions out ahead of time for elder nominees to answer, then followed up with an interview by a few elders, and then before the whole elder team.” - 9 Marks
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What Job Titles Should Churches Use? Two Simple Rules
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“the first English Baptist confession, John Smyth’s (1609), lists ‘bishops and deacons.’ The First London Confession of 1644 lists ‘pastors, teachers, elders, deacons,’ while the Second London Confession of 1688 returns to two: ‘bishops or elders and deacons.’ In fact, nearly all Baptist confessions mention only two” - 9 Marks
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Pastors Teach
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“Run the simulation on a [pastor/elder] candidate: Would the most natural commendation, relative this particular man, be … ‘He’s able to teach—if you put a gun to his head?’ Or would it be … ‘He’s the kind of man who will hardly stop teaching—even if you put a gun to his head.’” - 9 Marks
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