I Want to Be Like Them

By LeRoy Lawson

It happens too often. Some minister, usually still fairly inexperienced, leaves the ministry because of certain elders he has worked with. My story is just the opposite. I have survived a lifetime as a pastor for the same reason””certain elders I have worked with.

My appreciation for some very influential elders begins each day even before I leave home. I look at them on the wall of my study, in my ordination picture.

I am there in the middle of them, a slight, kneeling, nervous youth. They are laying their hands on me as a sacred act of commitment, theirs and mine. Only one is still living, but they are all very present in my memory. Good men they were, each of them. I admired them then, I admire them now.

My home church minister is in the picture, also. He was an old man then (but younger than I am now!), full of knowledge and wisdom. I wanted to be like him.

I want to be like those elders, also. Even now, as I reflect on their impact on my life, I have to give thanks that such exemplars of spiritual maturity were around me during those impressionable years. Some giants lived in my little town (population 4,000).

THE BEST

In a long career I have met the rich and the famous, the powerful and the popular. I have been in the company of the great and in the company of the good. I prefer the good.

You wouldn”t recognize the names of my hometown elders, nor of the elders in the churches I have served. As the world measures such things, they wouldn”t be numbered among the movers and shakers. They don”t make the lists of the “greats” of our era. Unlike their preachers, their names aren”t even on the church sign and usually aren”t printed in the program. Such recognition would embarrass them, anyway. They are, simply stated, not the greatest””just the best.

What causes me to so admire them, these honored elders? They are a diverse group, each unique yet each sharing some vital traits with the others. The Scriptures (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1) offer pretty good checklists on the desired qualities of church leaders, ones you want to review when selecting your church”s leaders. In addition, though, I”ve assembled my own (non-canonical) list:

“¢ These elders really do love the Lord. Few have been skilled Bible scholars; most have felt apologetic about their lack of formal theological training. But the best ones have captured the heart of the gospel and winsomely communicate it to others. They aren”t Bible-thumpers or proof-texters, but they are sincere students of the Word, trying to discern the will of the Lord more perfectly””and then doing it.

“¢ They love the church. Because they have been in leadership, they are painfully aware of the human foibles of the Bride of Christ, but their affection hasn”t cooled. They wear their eldership humbly; they do not take themselves more seriously than they ought, but they are in earnest about the church”s ministry.

They don”t wield power but they lead by love. They see the church as a community of grace, a land of beginning again for people who need a fresh start. They understand that in every evangelistic church there will be people at every stage of spiritual growth””including ground zero, and they grant space for them to grow in.

“¢ They are team players. They don”t have to have their way on every issue or call every shot. They know they have certain gifts that can be of use in the church”s ministry, but they are quick to acknowledge the giftedness of others as well. They are respected because they respect.

“¢ They are, in other words, encouragers. A church elder in another state recently telephoned. His preaching minister is in trouble. No moral problem or major crisis””just fatigue. Some health issues are taxing his strength, as are some critics who are unrelentingly jabbing at his weak spots.

His elder wants to help him. He has a little knowledge of some of my own struggles through the years and is asking for some advice. He”s prepared to do whatever he and his fellow elders can do to strengthen his leader in his time of need. He”s definitely an encourager””exactly the kind of man who came to my rescue again and again.

“¢ They provide continuity. There was a dynamic woman in one of my ministries who, after I had been with the church for a year, let me know, as she said, “Preachers come and preachers go, but I abide.” And she abode!

In the vast majority of American churches, ministers come and go but the elders abide and thus they provide stability. Woody Allen”s quip is appropriate. “Eighty-five percent of success,” he says, “is showing up.” Well, that”s a valuable contribution to the life of any organization.

There is much to be said for “being there.” You can rely on such people.

“¢ They pray. As with their Bible scholarship, the best elders I have known do not boast of their prayer lives. They just pray. Their prayers express their trust in God”s providence and their own humility in the face of enormous responsibility. They “do not lean on their own understanding.” They don”t rush to judgment; they ponder, they weigh, they pray.

“¢ But they do, then, decide. This is a major part of their responsibility, of course, and it”s more difficult than most people think.

Deciding aright means that they know what they believe, where they are going, why they are doing what they are doing, why others should follow their lead, and what the desired outcomes will be. They do not have to wait to find out what others are thinking; they are close enough to the people they lead to be able to act independently on others” behalf. They don”t have to lift a wetted finger to detect which way the wind is blowing before casting their vote. They are more concerned about the leading of the Spirit than the political pressures against them.

“¢ They can see tomorrow. The corollary of “where there is no vision the people perish” is “where there is God-given vision the people prosper.” A dominant question elders must ask is, “What does tomorrow require of us?” Churches enamored of an illustrious past or trapped in the pressurized present are in serious trouble. They need the pull of the future into which God is inviting them.

This quality is more important now than ever before, because the future is rushing at us more rapidly than ever. A church that does not adapt to a dramatically changing culture is simply going to stagnate and die. Wisdom requires constant searching of the future in order to make wise choices for today.

“¢ They can separate essentials from nonessentials. “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things, love.” No slogan better captures the DNA of Restoration Movement congregations than this one, yet no challenge is more daunting than actually putting it into practice.

Wise elderships make very few decisions. They recognize that there are few essentials. Very few inviolable policies are needed for guiding a healthy, growing church. Opinions masquerading as convictions can do irreparable damage to the body of believers, so they keep most of their opinions to themselves.

“¢ They value persons over programs. Since our minds are to be set on things that are above, where Christ is, and since there is no hint in the Scriptures that our programs or our properties or anything other than persons are destined for eternity, good elders concentrate on saving, nurturing, developing, and caring for people.

Many years ago an intern on our church staff reported on a study he was making on the New Testament words for “elders.” He tried to summarize his findings in just one English word. That word, he said, is grandfather.

I”m not sure I can make an airtight case for church elders as grandfathers, but I agree with the heart of his case. The good men I”ve been remembering while writing these lines have, in spite of their chronological age, approached their shepherding tasks with the compassion, tolerance, and mature perspective of men who love their offspring”s offspring enough to grant them room to grow while protecting them from the wolves that could hurt them. They had a grandfather”s perspective.

Fathers have authority and often try too hard to perfect their children; grandfathers have learned it isn”t their job to perfect others. They realize that in our culture grandfathers have little authority. They won”t be obeyed “because I said so.” No, theirs is the authority of love, not of position. That, finally, is all the authority elders have over the persons they are leading.

You will know they are praiseworthy elders by their love, by their love.

 

 

LeRoy Lawson, a CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editor, serves as international consultant with Christian Missionary Fellowship International.