Yet the Apostles taught us to imitate godly people. And it was expected that elders would be the ones leading the sheep by their exemplary lives.

Of course, there are some in Church leadership that probably shouldn’t be. It was certainly the case in Jesus’ day. Consider this from Matthew 23:1-12.

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 8But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

A good elder lives what he teaches and he teaches what is sound and biblical.

But there are some bad elders too. And they are not necessarily easy to spot. They could look a lot like the scribes and Pharisees. They pour themselves into study. They are exhilarated by it; to think hard and to wrestle with the Word of God is like breathing the air to them. They read, learn, debate, and even expound upon the Bible with some effectiveness. They love to instruct. And they enjoy effectively influencing other Christians.

Yet these bad elders have a problem. It is a disconnect between their studiousness and a real love for God and their brothers and sisters. They prefer knowledge to people. They prefer power to service. And they’d sooner talk behind someone’s back than give someone the shirt off of theirs.

Yet, we know God says, the two most important commands are to love Him with all of your heart, soul, and mind. And then secondly, to love your neighbor as yourself. The problem of the bad elder is that he gets honed in on the last love, the one he already has for himself. And then the first two never get paid their proper attention.

I knew a man named Micah, newly married, who couldn’t find a church to join. He and his wife visited a few, but none were suitable. Why? It was because none of them measured up to what he thought a church should be and do.1 He was a studier. He read a lot. He knew theology. He most admired the historic Scottish Covenanters for having “figured things out” and for “holding the line.”

There were no local churches of this flavor anywhere. And it so happened that he and his wife never attended Church. They quit trying to find one to match his views. This meant they did not have the regular experience of worshiping God with a body of believers, along with its fellowship, the checks and balances of other Christians.

Instead, Micah led his wife in worship at home. The thing is, with the build-up of all of his internalized knowledge, it became glaringly obvious to Micah that his wife didn’t measure up to God’s standards either. And so he preached and she was supposed to learned. One might say he “lovingly” washed her with the water of the Word. She would say it was more like a drowning. The scrutiny was too great for her to bear. You might guess the result.

The Apostle Paul warns, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”2

This brings me back to elders. Bad elders would rather win a debate than win a brother. They are quick to fight for truth, which seems noble, but the fight usually goes on inside the church and rarely out in the world, where the enemies of Christ are legion.3 A bad elder will judge the flock and dismiss those who do not comply with his views. And if, by chance, the bad elder does not get what he is after, or his particular issue does NOT go the way he wants, he abandons the Church as unworthy. It is easy for a bad elder to “shake the dust off his feet” and leave. For him, it is simply another act of righteousness. It would be beneath him, and his service to God, to stand by and tolerate “a compromised teaching!”4

Paul describes love’s character and a bad elder ought to learn this teaching:

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”5

Oh! for a Church filled with such people: elders, deacons and all the members. Where love reigns and people are FOR people, not against people. Where they are patient. Where they don’t insist on getting their way.

Paul was such an Apostle. He offered up his body a living sacrifice. He labored in the Word. He taught truthfully whether opposed or unopposed, in season and out of season. He did not think of himself more highly than he ought. And he gave his time to laboring with his own hands and body, all while he built up the church. He was also skilled in tent-building. What did Paul’s exemplary life look like? It looked like someone who did not count himself first. It looked like someone who was willing to work with his own hands and not be a burden. It looked like someone who might correct a brother because of his love for Christ and the brother.

Paul told the the elders of Ephesus, "I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"6

This was Paul’s advice to the shepherds (the elders). He was leaving the area and they would see him no longer, and what does he tell them? “I’ve shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak…” This was the example he gave to them, while encouraging them that they should be such an example to others. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

How do you know when NOT to imitate a Church leader? Perhaps when his love meter is 90% for truth and 10% for loving the sheep. Even if he loves the truth 60% and the sheep 40%, he might be tipping in the wrong direction. I say, give me the guy that loves the sheep at 49% and truth at 51%. Just a thought?!

But it is simple. Idiot-like. If you do not love God primarily and people secondarily, then you have missed the point. And you are not an elder that people should follow. So if you aspire to be a shepherd of others, then first make work of loving God and people.

Furthermore, it will take time. You will need to grow up in your faith. And do I even need to say it? But no schooling degree, or years of seminary training, will make you a lover of God and men. Only years of life spent with God and His Word will prepare you.

And so it is that Paul advises believers, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”1

It is good advice. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we’re not even allowed to invent our own way of being a Christian. A Christian is a Christian. If you find a good one, then model your life to resemble their’s. If you respect someone for the maturity you see in their faith, then watch them closely. See how they interact with people. Ask them questions about their habits, family decisions, view of work, financial matters. See how they build these things around God’s Word. Get their advice. Become a sponge. Suck all the living water out of them that you can! And, of course, respect them.

This is the idea Peter presents in his first epistle (1Peter 5:1-5). He instructed elders to be examples to the flock.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ² shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³ not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. ⁵ Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

So an elder should hope that his sheep become like him, in the same way that he is supposed to have become like Jesus. Peter calls it being an example to the flock. It is what God expects from the office-bearer. It is a good thing. So latch onto it.

When I first began to walk with God, I would draw from every well where I thought I could find fresh water. Various pastors and teachers and friends. It didn’t matter if it was in church worship, a bible study, or a coffee lounge. I wanted to learn. I wanted to know.

As I grew, I realized that usually the ones “in the know” were the church pastors. And so when we moved to different churches, my wife and I usually became friends with the pastor and his wife. With these friendships, I began to realize that pastors were not right about everything. And so learned that there may even be times when I knew something they didn’t know, or didn’t even agree with. Nonetheless, I valued them. They were men that could be imitated.

Now, as one of the pastor/elders of our congregation, I better understand the concept of being an example. I appreciate that there are younger men who might respect an elder in the church more than they were ever able to look up to their own fathers. This should not come as a great surprise. For one thing, their fathers may not have loved and walked with God that much. Secondly, it should be quite normal in a multi-generational congregation, for the young man’s own father to respect the elder too.

What young men will need to guard against is any show of disrespect for the church elders. Disrespect is inappropriate. God doesn’t like it. It is a sign that the young man is getting ahead of himself. Peter’s advice to the young is to learn subjection; it is to clothe yourself with humility. Subjection and humility do not come naturally. God must help the young man learn these. The old ones must learn them as well.

No one should think too much of his own knowledge and accomplishments and whether or not he is recognized by others. Beyond that, it is never good to try and turn other congregants away from the current church leadership to follow after you. You are not more important than the unity of the Church and the health of the sheep and the respect of the elders.

Remember, the shoe could be on the other foot some day, for isn’t it your goal to become an elder? And then, how would you wish men to approach you? How would you want them to talk about you? Peter’s words are a good reminder, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

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You would think that immersed study in the Word of God, with the assistance of theological teachers - both in person and dead ones too - would add greatly to the young man’s knowledge.

The problem is: knowledge is not love. And knowing is not doing.

A seminary graduate might know some things that his mom and dad never learned in school (or in church). However, his walk with the Spirit has been a short one. No one should conflate knowing about God with knowing God; further, no one should assume that knowing about God is the same as loving God.

I tell my children and grandchildren, “It is more important to be good than to be right.”

And I do become unsettled when I’m in a debate over theological things with my kids. Why? It’s because I fear they may be yielding to a lie. I know that sounds a bit presumptuous, as if the things I believe must be correct and if they disagree with me it means that they’re surely wrong.1

They could be right while I’m wrong. Still, it is my heart that is for them. More than any possession, experience, education, or relationship in life, I want my children (and grandchildren) to love God and obey Him. And sometimes, to love Him, it may mean they will have to oppose me (and vice-versa).

As to the accumulation of knowledge, it is important. You learn about God this way. You should be a reader and thinker and prayer and discusser and maybe you should write your thoughts down a little. But there is no rush. God is a patient teacher. His plan is your lifelong maturity. You get to love God and grow as a young man. You are not supposed to have life’s answers yet. So learn about God as you work, marry, have children, pay bills, go to church, develop relationships, etc.2

However, don’t treat knowledge like it’s a sport. We are called to apply the knowledge and to love God more deeply based upon the things we learn. We are told to craft our lives around His commands and to teach our children.

⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.3

Knowledge of God’s Word unapplied is a waste. The Apostle James reminds us that knowledge doesn’t help the demons too much; yet still, they know enough to shutter.4

I listened recently to a podcast where two young men were talking about the original languages: Hebrew and Greek. The one being interviewed was an expert in these languages and had built an APP to help other people learn the ancient languages more easily. I was intrigued.

I bring this up because the interviewer, who had studied the languages in seminary and continues to work at it, asked the interviewee his views regarding certain Hebrew and Greek words being used in an ongoing debate (in his circles) over male headship. Does the word “head” have reference to authority (hierarchy) or does it refer more to the concept of source (origin). Not to get lost in those weeds here, I only mention this because of how the interviewer became a bit giddy that he was close, so close (about 71% there) to taking a final position on headship.

I thought to myself, Do you think this is a game? Like a puzzle in which you get to decide where to put the pieces. Some kind of intellectual challenge? Are you like those philosophers in Athens, who found great delight spending “their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new…”? Do not be so cavalier!5

Paul’s words to the Corinthians came to mind, “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him.”

Then I thought about all of the sheep in the area churches, in our church too, and how they can be abused when men delight too much in “being right” or “being clever.” I thought, Don’t toy with a congregation. They expect to build their lives upon the Scripture. You are supposed to shepherd as the pastor/elder. Love God first. Love people second. And then help them learn how they can too. Every minister will answer to God for how he embraces or dismisses the truth. A minister will either help the sheep or damage them by his teaching and his measure of love.

Probably, one of the most important lessons taught to men by the Apostle James was that, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”6

I don’t think a seminary education is sufficient to build a man into a lover of God. Time is also required. There are a lot of lessons of the soul that must be learned.

I also don’t hold much hope that the knowledge gained by a pastor/elder of any age will help the sheep if it is unattached from love. That person is unhelpful, like a noisy gong or clanging cymbal, he is of no use.7

I say that because the young man does not know where he is going that others should follow him. His life is just beginning, you might say, and he may think he has answers for people, but his answers are limited for he has hardly carried life’s responsibilities or experienced its pains and joys. That is not his fault, obviously.

It is hard not to use the often quoted saying of heavy-weight champion Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” And so it is with a younger man who aspires to be an elder. He may think he has learned a lot, and will always act faithfully, but then something terrible sends him reeling. Surely, we are not to expect so much from one so young.1

Aspiration2 to becoming an elder is a good thing, but it should serve to motivate long term planning. There is a lot of life in which to learn how to love God. And young men need to experience this life before they can expect to teach others how to live. A young man should practice his love to God everyday and in all life’s moments and then, later, he will serve Christ’s church well as an elder.

The Christian economist Gary North3 used the phrase, stick to your knitting. And that is my advice to younger men in the church. Stick to your knitting. If you do, you will become a terrific resource for those who need a shepherd.

I can’t help but think of that scene in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (the Muppet's’ version) where Scrooge sees the ghost of Christmas present – the large jolly, festive one. And the spirit says to Scrooge, “Come. Know me better man!” What a grand invitation!

It is life’s purpose, to know God better. The wonderful, marvelous depths of the One who is always near to be loved. He invites us to know Him better. And as you learn of Him, then you are to love Him and obey Him. This is the Christian walk.

Thankfully, the LORD gives you opportunities to learn about yourself and about Him under the many circumstances of life: leaving your parent’s home, marrying, raising children, paying bills, weekly worship, suffering death, experiencing betrayal, interacting with people who do not agree with you, celebrations, war, peace, wealth accumulation or lack of funds.1

Over time, and by the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, you are changed, matured, sanctified and transformed. The Apostle Paul taught us this is how our new life is supposed to work. We are, “...To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” [Ephesians 4:22-24].

We learn that the “selfs” are in conflict. The bad self is the one that wants to be selfish. He wants to live his own way. Self-absorbed and sinning. This is the self that would like to wing-it in his relationships and freely make his own decisions every day. This self is supposed to be left for dead. The Apostle says we are to put it off.

The new self, on the other hand, is the alive self. It is the self with a victorious future. It is the one who wants to know God better so that he can love Him fuller. It is the self that wishes not to sin continually, but obey the commands of the Lord Jesus, for that is the effect when you love Jesus. If you love Him, then you obey Him. Period.

John 14:21 says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

So true love will produce obedience.

Albert Barnes explains, “This is the only proper evidence of love to Jesus, for mere profession is no proof of love; but that love for him which leads us to do all his will, to love each other, to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow him through evil report and through good report, is true attachment. The evidence which we have that a child loves its parents is when that child is willing, without hesitation, gainsaying, or complaining, to do all that the parent requires him to do. So the disciples of Christ are required to show that they are attached to him supremely by yielding to all his requirements, and by patiently doing his will in the face of ridicule and opposition, 1 John 5:2-3.”2

Barnes’ reference says: 2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5)

Barnes’s point is that feeling good about Jesus, and saying, “I really, really love Him!” is insufficient love. It is lip service, or maybe a shallow deception your own heart has contrived.3 Whereas, actual love for Jesus will transform you into an obeyer of Jesus. If you keep coming up with reasons for why you disobey Him but still profess your love for Him, then I suggest Jeremiah (see previous footnote) has spotted your problem.

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Loving God first means that we will NOT put His will in second place when we learn that others DO NOT want the appropriate measure of love God would have us show them.

How might this become a challenge for a church elder?

The elder’s challenge is to teach the Scripture (God’s revelation) to Christ’s sheep. He mustn’t get in the way of God’s Word or God’s Holy Spirit. He should not add to the Word or take away from it in efforts to coddle the sheep. The health of the sheep is too important to the Great Shepherd.2

The writer of Hebrews ended his letter with a blessing for the Church. He wrote, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”3

Here’s the thing. The sheep are supposed to do God’s will. And this will is told to us in the Bible. That is the only place. And it is the Spirit of God that produces fruit in us and motivates us to want to love and obey God’s Word.

Therefore, it is the important duty of every elder to teach the Word with clarity and fullness. If an elder decides not to feed a congregant for fear that the congregant won’t like it, that is not loving the brother or sister. Contrarily, if the elder adds his own conditions and rules to the Bible and confuses or burdens the brothers and sisters, then he is not loving them in that case either. On the one hand, he wants to shepherd the sheep because he loves them, but, on the other hand, his love is inappropriate and it has affected his use of God’s Word.

It can be a challenge. And Paul’s warning that there will be teachers and preachers who will tell people what they want to hear, instead of what they need to hear, is damning. It is a heavy weight. Especially, if the church leader is teaching his own family members within the congregation, who themselves might find him disagreeable. So fear of his own children or grandchildren’s angst, and that they might leave the church, produces an even greater temptation to withhold or massage the truth.

The elder is now loving family members improperly, maybe like an idol.

I go back to the quote of Joseph Benson, “We must love Him…with a superlative love; we must love God above any creature whatsoever, and love nothing besides him, but what we love for him, and in subordination to him.”

A Church elder must love the sheep (including his own family members) below God. His love for sheep must be subordinated to his love for God. In fact, how the elder loves these others is to be built upon his love for God.

This is true for every Christian. Our love for all people and all things must arise from how God tells us to love them. It should determine how we love our wives, co-workers, neighbors, parents, and children. We can’t just wing it. It is improper, or misplaced, love whenever we decide to love them outside of the boundaries for which God established the relationship. Eg. Your love for your wife is to be different from your love for your neighbor’s wife.

St. Augustine writes, “When a miser prefers his gold to justice, it is through no fault of the gold, but of the man; and so with every created thing. For though it be good, it may be loved with an evil as well as with a good love: it is loved rightly when it is loved ordinately; evilly, when inordinately.”4

So then, if an elder loves God first, then ordinate love for others will motivate him to work hard to clearly and unapologetically feed the sheep, including the members of his own household. He will be steadfast to pray and fight for clarity and courage.5

After all, God’s will is what is best for all people. If you love another, then you will want God’s best for them. I will offer an example of a loving elder. It may surprise you that I call this love. It is the Apostle Paul.

The example is found in 1 Corinthians 5, where we find how Paul actually loved an unrepentant, sexually perverse, man more than his own congregation did. What did Paul do? He made the decision to deliver the man over to Satan from afar, “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”6

It was a difficult situation. Yet Paul loved God first. And he also submitted himself to Christ’s work for the betterment of His Church. Paul also loved the Corinthians and the disobedient man. He loved each in the right measure (ordinately). He did not allow an inordinate love to obscure the situation.7

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We often go to people who can help us improve our lives. And any who want to improve spiritually – to love God with all of their heart, soul and mind – will gravitate toward those who appear to have found success loving Him.

Returning to my previous analogy of the head chef. There is no doubt that any person can learn how to cook. Most people can fry an egg, or grill a hot dog. However, there is a difference between a teenager flipping burgers at the local McDonald’s, and a head chef preparing to serve skillet cod with lemon and capers.

Both can do a good job at putting food in front of you. But, whereas the head chef can provide the same burger from the McDonald’s grill, the teen doesn’t know where to begin in regard to the skillet cod with lemon and capers.

A teenager can be a genuine lover of God, as well as older man. The question is not a question of who does or doesn’t love. It is a question of thoroughness. It is arguable, the older man has had more opportunity and time to learn how to love God more fully.

The Apostle John wrote, “7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

So God begins a regenerative work in His people. He loves us and gives us a new life to love Him in; and to love others as well. The Holy Spirit is the only One who can bring this kind of life to a person. We are not God-lovers without Him. It is His fruit produced in us that transforms us and improves our love. And this is progressive. Or should be.

Paul wrote about this in Galatians 5:

“22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Love is paramount. And it is reasonable to wonder if an unloving Church member has a place in God’s kingdom. The member should stop himself and ask God whether the Spirit has given him new life or not. Certainly, the Scribes and Pharisees should have weighed their own souls before the Lord, when Jesus condemned their hypocrisy, saying the inside of their cup was filthy.1

Choosing elders can be a challenge. It is up to God and the congregation. Sometimes the congregation will measure a man poorly. They will make decisions using the wrong criteria. Scripture is meant to be our guide, here.2

The ultimate choices should be built upon conditions that the man has and does live a life of love and obedience. They should elect men who’ve been a source of genuine help to the congregation, encouraging each member to be consistent in their pursuit of love toward God. Of course, they will not choose a perfect man. No elder is without fault.

The toddler and the grandmother are sheep as well as the elder. And all sheep belong to God. The church’s hope is that God raises elders who have lived a long life loving Him, and as a result they can help the other sheep grow to maturity.

When elders love God first and love Him deeply, then they also have learned to love His Church. Not in principle, only, but a Church of real and particular people, imperfect ones.

I knew a man who mistreated the people of his congregation by leaving the Church. He left disgusted, mainly, over a disagreement of a sermon that had been preached. So he left his friends. At least they thought they were his friends. The elders counseled him saying, “You cannot discard the Church by leaving us this way. It is unloving.”

His response was that he had not left the church, but loves the church - the universal church. I suppose that was true, for it is much easier to love a concept than to love actual people. He was justifying his actions.

The point is: a good elder will love the church made up of real, imperfect people. And it is because the elder has learned to love God through life. And so he knows that God cherishes His Church and wants His office bearers to cherish her too. A church with real sheep, not conceptual sheep.

After the Lord was raised from the dead, He appeared to his disciples. John records a conversation that took place.

15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.1

One who holds the office of an elder in the Church is charged with shepherding sheep. Jesus told Peter that love for Him will require Peter to feed those sheep.

To be an effective shepherd means that you have first become a healthy sheep. And healthy sheep are God lovers. As such, you have to know what caused you to grow in your love for God, so that you know how to help the other sheep. What will you feed them? What do they need to be nourished?

As a shepherd, you need to know how to prepare sheep food.

Analogously, I think of a master chef. It takes him years of culinary school and experience with food preparation in restaurant after restaurant. Good meals. Bad meals. He must learn recipes, cooking temperatures, spices, sauces, cook times, and plate presentation.

Similarly, an elder needs many years in the faith. He must learn to love God and grow in it over a span of life. Good times. Hard times. To be prepared as an elder, he should’ve learned how to obey in the big things and then the smaller things. He will have gained knowledge of Scripture’s nuances through his own study. He will have walked with God through some trials. His contentment will have been gained from knowing God’s steadfast love and kindness. He will have portions of joy. He will love the Church and its people. This elder has something to offer the sheep.

Therefore every godly man should want to become an overseer (elder) in his church. Yet, not every man is qualified to hold the office.

To begin, you should not aspire to be an elder if you do not love God first. It is the first and greatest command. It is your purpose for life. And no matter your age, sex, race, level of intelligence, you are supposed to love the Lord with your whole effort “heart, soul and mind.”1

It is what Jesus told us.

And Jesus was quoting from Moses, ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5

So it is not a New Testament doctrine. It has been around from the beginning. Again, it is your purpose. It is the purpose of everyone made in God’s image: toddler and grandfather, male and female, African and Mexican.

It is not only your purpose as a person to love God through and through, but if it is mankind’s purpose it must then be your pursuit. It is what you must run after.

The 18th Century preacher, Joseph Benson, wrote, “We must love Him…with a superlative love; we must love God above any creature whatsoever, and love nothing besides him, but what we love for him, and in subordination to him.”2

You see, your love for God will determine how you love others. You cannot love a friend, or a wife, or child properly without loving God first and fully. The better we love Him, the better we will love others, including congregants.

This takes time. Learning to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind begins with your first Christian breath. The Holy Spirit regenerates you and you begin to learn to love.

This means a seven year old boy joyously riding his bike down the sidewalk, oblivious to the cares of the world, gets to express his love to God just as an eighty-three year-old grandmother. Both will express it based upon their current faith, knowledge and capacity, but both can comply with God’s command. Neither the boy nor the grandmother is qualified to be an elder, but not because they failed to love God.

This is important. The man who aspires to be an elder should not want to be one because he wants to teach. And he should not be appointed to the office because people think he “knows his Bible.” Rather, the man who aspires to be an elder should want to be one because he loves God so much and his earnest desire is to help others love Him too. Appoint that man to the office!

Next Thursday, I will begin to post portions from my chapter On The Most Important Commands. If you are not living and breathing with God’s most important commands as your primary purpose, then you do not want to be an elder in the Church, for you will not help your people to do the most important things!

Before I begin those posts, I will be posting another book review. This one is from an ancient writer. It is Clement of Rome [A.D. 30-100]. He was a disciple of both Paul and Peter and then became an elder in the Church at Rome. My review of: First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians will post on Monday morning.

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2. If you missed a post or two, you can go directly to my site and find them under a chapter heading. Click on this: www.aspiretobeanelder.com

3. If you have appreciated the posts and the format of this (mostly) twice-a-week correspondence, then please think of someone who might also benefit from reading them. It doesn’t matter if they are young men, old men, middle-aged men or women of all those ages.

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