Spiritually Alert Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership A good shepherd is always on the alert to danger. He knows the predator well and understands the importance of acting wisely and quickly. So too, shepherd elders must be spiritually awake and highly sensitive to the subtle dangers of Satans attacks. Its hard, however, to be alert and ready to act at all times. That is why Paul exhorts the Asian elders be on the alert (Acts 20:31). He knows the natural tendency of shepherds to become spiritually lazy, undisciplined, prayerless, and weary. The Old Testament proves that. The Old Testament prophets cried out against Israels shepherds because they failed to keep watch and be alert to protect the people from savage wolves. Israels leaders are vividly depicted by Isaiah as blind city watchmen and dumb dogs: All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat. His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are dumb dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied, And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one. Come, they say, let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so (Isa. 56:9-12). Shepherd elders must be watchful and prayerful. They must be aware of changing issues both in society and the church. They must continuously educate themselves, especially in Holy Scripture, diligently guard their own spiritual walk with the Lord, and always pray for the flock and its individual members. Who can calculate the damage done during the past two thousand years to the churches of Yahshuah Messiah because of inattentive, naive, and prayerless shepherds? Many churches and denominations that once stood for sound, orthodox doctrine and life now reject every major tenet of the Messiahian faith and condone the most deplorable moral practices conceivable. How did this happen? The local church leaders were naive, untaught, and prayerless and became inattentive to Satans deceptive strategies. They were blind watchmen and dumb dogs, preoccupied with their own self-interests and comforts. When their seminaries jettisoned the truths of the gospel and the divine inspiration of the Bible, they were asleep. They naively invited young wolves in sheeps clothing into their flocks to be their spiritual shepherds. Hence they and their flocks have been devoured by wolves. Courageous Shepherds must also have courage to fight fierce predators. King David was a model shepherd of outstanding courage. First Samuel records Davids experiences as a shepherd protecting his flock from the lion and the bear: Then Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth. But David said to Saul, Your servant was tending his fathers sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living Father Yah’uah God. And David said, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may the Lord be with you (1 Sam. 17:33-37). We have somehow got hold of the idea that error is only that which is outrageously wrong; and we do not seem to understand that the most dangerous person of all is the one who does not emphasize the right things. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Sermon on the Mount, 2:244) Courage such as David possessed is an essential leadership quality. An internationally known statesman was once asked by reporters, What is the most important quality for a national leader to possess? His answer: Courage. This is true not only for political leaders, but for church elders as well. To discipline sin in the church (especially the sin of prominent members or leaders), to confront internal strife, and to stand up to powerful teachers and theological luminaries who expound high-sounding false doctrines requires courage. Without courage to fight for the truth and the lives of Father Yah’uah Gods people, the local church would be washed away by every new doctrinal storm or internal conflict. There are many weak, immature, and unstable believers, so the elders must act as a wall of safety around the people, protecting them from the fearsome danger of savage wolves and other destructive influences. The hireling, on the other hand, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep (John 10:12b). A good shepherd elder, like the Chief Shepherd, however, is ready to lay down his life for the local flock. He will die before he allows wolves to devour the flock. Feeding the Flock Throughout the New Testament, extraordinary emphasis is placed on the centrality of teaching Father Yah’uah Gods Word. Yahshuah, the Good Shepherd, was preeminently a teacher, and He commissioned others to teach all that He had taught (Matt. 28:20). To Peter He said, Feed [teach] my sheep (John 21:17, NIV). The apostles were teachers, and the early Messiahians steadfastly devoted themselves to teaching (Acts 2:42). Barnabas sought Paul to come to Antioch to help teach (Acts 11:25,26). Paul exhorted Timothy to give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and teaching (1 Tim. 4:13). In the order of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28, the teaching gift is listed third, after apostle and prophet. So, teaching is one of the greater gifts a congregation should desire (1 Cor. 12:31). James Orr (1844-1913), a Scottish theologian and apologist, is best known as general editor of the enduring, multi-volume Bible encyclopedia, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. He readily observed the preeminence of teaching in the early Messiahian Church. He wrote, If there is a religion in the world which exalts the office of teaching, it is safe to say that it is the religion of Yahshuah Messiah. Unlike modern board elders, all New Testament elders were required to be able to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). In the list of elder qualifications in his letter to Titus, Paul states, [the elder must hold] fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9; italics added). In an extremely significant passage on elders, Paul speaks of some elders who labor at preaching and teaching and who thus deserve financial support from the local church: Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing, and The laborer is worthy of his wages (1 Tim. 5:17,18; italics added). Paul reminded the Ephesian elders that he had taught them and the church the full plan and purpose of Father Yah’uah God: For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of Father Yah’uah God (Acts 20:27). Now it was time for the elders to do the same. Since elders are commanded to shepherd the flock of Father Yah’uah God (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2), part of their shepherding task is to see that the flock is fed Father Yah’uah Gods Word. The importance of feeding sheep is evidenced by the fact that sheep are nearly incapable of feeding and watering themselves properly. Without a shepherd, sheep would quickly be without pasture and water, and would soon waste away. So, as Charles Jefferson aptly reminds us, everything depends on the proper feeding of the sheep. Unless wisely fed they become emaciated and sick, and the wealth invested in them is squandered. When Ezekiel presents a picture of the bad shepherd, the first stroke of his brush is-he does not feed the flock. The Messiahian community is created by the Spirits use of Father Yah’uah Gods Word (1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18). The community also matures, grows, and is protected by the Word. Therefore, it is a scriptural requirement that an elder be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9). The elders protect, guide, lead, nourish, comfort, educate, and heal the flock by teaching and preaching the Word. Indeed, many pastoral needs of the people are met through teaching of the Word. The failure of church elders to know and teach the Bible is one of the chief reasons doctrinal error floods churches today and drowns the power and life of the church. Commenting on the biblical requirement for elders to know the Bible and to be able to teach and defend the Word, Neil Summerton, church elder and author of A Noble Task: Eldership and Ministry in the Local Church, remarks: Hence to both Timothy and Titus, Paul is crystal clear that the indispensable quality, which incidentally distinguishes the elder from the deacon, is the ability to master Messiahian doctrine, to evaluate it in others, to teach it, and to debate it with those who teach falsehood (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9-16). The pastor-teacher ministry is also one of the principle means by which the elders leadership and vision is communicated to the congregation, and the ability to communicate is one of the key requirements of effective leadership. There may well be those who are inclined to rebel against this emphasis and to argue that elders need more practical gifts in order to ensure that their administration is smooth and efficient. In answer, it may be said, first, that this mistakes the emphasis which both Old and New Testaments place on the need for the flock of Father Yah’uah God to be led by shepherds who will ensure that it is fed spiritually. For this purpose soundness of character needs to be brought together with the reception and transmission of the word of the Lord as the means of feeding, protecting and restoring individual members of the flock. This ministry does not necessarily have to be exercised from the platform and the centre of gravity of the gifts of one elder may be towards teaching while that of another may be towards pastoring. But all need a sound grasp of the Faith and the ability to teach and instruct in small groups and one-to-one in the pastoral situation. Secondly, if elders lack practical skill in such administration as is necessary in the flock, let them appoint a person or persons (perhaps as deacons if they have the high spiritual qualities also demanded for that office) to assist them. Moreover, in an eldership of any size one or more of the body may be able to discharge these tasks so long as they do not prevent them from giving priority to the overseeing tasks. But at all costs the error of appointing those who lack either the character and spiritual qualities, or eldership gifts, or both, should be avoided. .
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:24:38 +0000
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