Aspiring Should Translate into Actions - 04
Preparation for the office is practical too.
One more thing about aspiring to be an elder.
Remember, the word “aspire” means stretches forward to. It means to be strongly inclined toward something, to be pulled toward it. So if that describes you, if you are inclined toward, or are being pulled toward the office of elder, then how should that translate into your daily decisions?
I’ve already spent time discussing the centrality of what Jesus called the two most important commands: to Love God first and then others. Obedience to those commands requires the investment of your whole being: body and soul. If you love Jesus, He says, “You will keep My commandments.”
So then, love requires us to mortify sin and to pursue righteousness. God wants us to obey and not disobey. It is the Holy Spirit’s intention to sanctify us with His Word, and we should make it our goal. Daily. Prayerfully.
This commitment to love, will make us better people: better workers, better neighbors, better husbands, and better fathers. And as mentioned previously, these are noble tasks. They are worth doing and improving upon.
For eg. A man who wants to be a better father will need to spend time with his children. He will become intentional about it. It will become important to him that his children are educated to read-write-speak-and do numbers; he will want teach them how to work (without complaining), and to show respect toward other people, to be kind, to apologize, to pray and worship. These things are important things for a father (and mother) to impress.
And it should go without saying, that a good father will, himself, DO the things he believes are vital for his child to learn. He will show, not just say.1 His kids will expect it, especially as they get older. There is little tolerance for parental hypocrisy. A father WILL lead by example: either a good example or a bad one. And if you want to be a good one, then you have to be intentional about the parental blueprint by which you plan to build.
In the same way, someone who aspires to be an elder will need to stretch forward to or be pulled toward the office with the use of a blueprint. The blueprint will inform him as to how to build himself. And if he is ordained into the office, then that same blueprint will remind him what responsible elders do.
Godly character traits will need to be developed in the man, but not perfected. Perfection is not possible. “Improvement” and “refinement” are better words than “perfection,” when we speak of characteristics like: sober-mindedness, self-control, respectable, hospitable, gentleness, and so forth. Improvements and refinement are words that agree with the idea of sanctification over time.
Yet there are some necessary daily decisions that a man should make in order to prepare himself for the future potential of eldership.
If he is going to be made responsible to “care for God’s church,” then he best work at being responsible as a manager of his own household.2
If he is warned against being a “lover for money,” then he will have to learn, along the way, not to spend it frivolously on selfish desires, but to use money as a tool for God’s kingdom.3
If he should be “able to teach,” in order to be an elder, then he should prepare himself by learning. This will involve the regular reading of God’s Word along with books by other biblical teachers. It will also involve learning to follow the rules by which God’s Word is respected. It will also be necessary to develop the skills of a teacher; the best way to do that is by practicing on people.4
James 2:18 says, “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
See the chapters, On Staying in Your Community & On Being Older.
See the chapters, On the Office vs. A Career & On the Most Important Commands.
See the chapters, On Reading & On Respecting God’s Word & On Teaching Others.