THE PEOPLE’S ELDERS

Gather seventy of the elders of Israel, men you know to be the people’s elders. —Numbers 11:16

These words that God spoke to Moses reveals that all along it has been God’s intention that those who serve as elders be close to the people. The people’s elders is the way He put it. We can see what God wants elders to be and do by one of Ezekiel’s rebukes: “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ez. 34:4).

If elders are to be the people’s elders it would appear that, first of all, they would be selected by the people. Certainly this would be the case in the Christian community, which we believe to be democratic in that all members of the congregation have some voice as to who shall rule over them. It is noteworthy that when the apostles wanted functionaries for the Jerusalem Church of Christ they did not choose the men themselves but said, “Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty” (Acts 6:3). They were the church’s servants, and the church selected them. The apostles then appointed or ordained them to the work. It is not often done this way, not even by those who presume to be “the Lord’s church.” I was reading this revealing statement only this morning, taken from C. C. Morrison’s What Is Christianity?:

“Rome does not recognize the selection and ordination of its officials as a catholic function even of its own ‘church,’ but as a function of the schismatic hierarchy which is a self-contained, self-perpetuating, privileged rulership, in no way derived from the Christian community and in no sense responsible to it.”

This is to say that those who rule the Roman Catholic church are not “the people’s elders” since the people have no voice in their selection. The pope selects the bishops and the bishops elect the pope. The bishops in turn determine the lesser clergy, who are responsible to them, and they are all responsible to the pope. But none of them is responsible to the people. The offices they hold belong to them, not to the people.

If we disapprove of the Roman system as contrary to the spirit of the New Testament, then we need to look to ourselves, or at least our elders do, to see if our practice is all that different. The general practice among Churches of Christ is an eldership that is self-appointing, self-perpetuating, and completely authoritarian in that it makes decisions with little or no consultation with the congregation. There are some beautiful exceptions here and there, but this is the rule. Moreover it is assumed that an elder rules for life.

If elders do not actually select new elders, they have veto power over any names submitted by the congregation. To call our elders “the people’s elders” would be to stretch the truth. Usually the elders are among the last in a congregation that a troubled brother or sister would turn to for loving counsel. They are the business men, the executives, the powers that be, but hardly shepherds of the flock. Take our congregations one by one and canvass the members as to which four or five men among them they would turn to for spiritual help, and I dare say that the list they would submit would be different from the roster of elders.

Since we are concerned for the ancient order in regard to congregational leaders, we here submit a few principles that we believe reflect the spirit of the New Testament in hopes that it will cause some of our people to take the eldership seriously.

1. Elders should have nothing to do with their own selection.

They should be chosen by the congregation. Any plan in which the will of the people is freely exercised would be appropriate. But they should not be asked to submit names to the elders in the filling of vacancies or enlarging the eldership. The deacons could preside over the selection procedure or a committee chosen by the congregation. The elders should have no veto power. Let the people select their own leaders, controlled only by the qualifications laid down in scripture.

2. Elders should not be elected for life, nor should the occupancy of the office imply that one holds it without limitation.

A man qualified to serve as an elder in a congregation this year may not still be qualified five or ten years from now. He may not grow with the congregation. If a congregation is a free society with control over its own offices, it has the right to extend “a vote of confidence” periodically to those who hold its offices or to replace them. Some congregations now elect elders for a specified period, or with staggered terms, with men passing in and out of the eldership at regular intervals. This is wise. This business of waiting for “a few good funerals” is not the way to cultivate good leadership. The notion of “once an elder always an elder” is not necessarily biblical.

3. The elders should follow some democratic method in reaching decisions that affect the entire congregation.

Larger congregations could have a “resource committee” that would serve as a liaison between the congregation and the elders, to keep the elders informed on the thinking of the congregation. More than this, the elders should be close to the people themselves, consulting with them and confiding in them. The people should in some way be in on the decision making, so that they will be led, not driven, by their leaders.

4. Congregations and leaders alike should realize that the offices to be filled, whether elders, deacons or teachers, are inherent in the congregation and thus belong to the people, not to those upon whom they are bestowed.

Elders often act as if the office they hold is theirs. But it really belongs to the congregation. They gave it on conditions, and if those conditions are not met or if the office is abused, they can take it back. One holds it in sacred trust from the people, being a servant for Jesus’ sake. It is not his by “divine fiat” like the divine right of kings, nor is it his “for life.”

5. The congregation should be able to look to the elders as shepherds or pastors, and respect them as such, while the elders should view the people as sheep to be tended, fed, and led.

Elders are to have the heart of a pastor, meekly and gently caring for little lambs and wandering sheep. God thus likens their work to the humble shepherds attending their flock rather than to the ambitious business or professional world where opportunism and intimidation are accepted values.

If, then, we take seriously our search for the ancient order, we must have elders who are “the people’s elders.” —the Editor