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[ What the elders do | How
the elder board is structured | How the elders
structure their time |
How the elders are selected | Current elders
]
How the Elders are Selected
The process of selecting an elder in the Bible Church follows these
steps:
1. The nomination of new elders will begin in the fall when the congregation
is asked to give to the current elders the name of any person they think
is qualified (see the Biblical qualifications, below). All members may
participate in this nomination process.
2. Those named are then considered with the following in mind:
--Demonstration of the character and
skills described in 1 Timothy and Titus.
--Membership in the Bible Church.
--Availability for and interest in
serving as an elder.
--Serving as a leader in some ministry
of the Bible Church prior to nomination as an elder.
--Having gifts and skills that are
needed to complement the gifts of other elders.
3. The current elders identify a number of individual potential elder candidates
from those nominees who possess the qualifications of an elder. Individual candidates
are determined based upon the needs of the elder board for specific
gifts. Potential candidates are approached by elders and are asked to consider
serving on the elder board for the next 3 years.
4. The names of the elder candidates who are willing to serve
will be shared with the congregation in November. A reception will
be held to provide the
congregation an opportunity to meet and chat with potential candidates.
The elders welcome feedback from the congregation concerning the potential
elder candidates.
5. The candidates will be formally interviewed by the elder board to get a
better idea of their gifts and ability to minister from the word of God.
6. As a result of this process, the candidates judged to meet the considerations
described in #2 above will be officially presented to the congregation
during worship services in December as the candidates to be voted on
in the February annual congregational meeting.
7. Until one week prior to the annual meeting, objections to the nominations
and questions may be put to the Board of Elders privately. Only concerns raised
in this manner may be considered in the business meeting.
8. The members vote on the candidates in the annual meeting. An eighty percent
(80%) majority of votes cast on a secret ballot shall be required to confirm
each nominee. If approved by the congregation, their elder term begins immediately.
The qualifications for elder mentioned in the Bible are found in two of the
Apostle Paul's letters in the New Testament.
1 Timothy 3:1-7
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer,
he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the
husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable,
able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,
not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that
his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how
to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must
not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the
same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders,
so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Titus 1:5-9
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might
straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town,
as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one
wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of
being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's
work, he must be blameless--not
overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent,
not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves
what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.
He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught,
so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who
oppose it.
Click here to read Pastoral Letter on Women in Leadership.
Click
here to read the basis for the Elders' discussion on Women in Leadership.
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