“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God…” -1 Timothy 3:14-15
“A little to the right…a little more…Junior, get your finger out of your nose! Perfect. Hold that!”
If you’ve ever been given the task of corralling your loved ones for a family photo, these words conjure a familiar scene; trying to hold your whole family together for just one picture with everyone in the just the place. Smiling too? Well, you’ve hit the jackpot.
That’s a picture of what Paul is discipling Timothy to do in Ephesus: help the church adjust. In fact, everything Paul is writing is to help this church hold together as the “household of God” (1 Tim. 3:15). Even down to the question, “Who will shepherd the church?”
If you’re reading a blog on the ITM page, you likely have an idea of what you believe–a plurality of elders who oversee by loving, authoritative teaching and shepherding care. Amen!
But ask yourself: does your church know that? Does your church believe that? You are convinced! Are they? Has the family been lovingly instructed on why they should “adjust for the picture?”
Therein lies a most neglected step in transitioning to an elder-led congregational polity; teaching. As a pastor who has led (and is still leading) through this transition, I simply cannot overstate the necessity of patient teaching. Afterall, brother pastor, this is who we are: teachers. We all want to know, “Is it time to transition?” But the first must be: “Have I taught it yet?”
Consider that in 1 Timothy 3, Paul lists the qualifications of elders. These qualifications are plain to see in inspired Scripture. Anyone can pick up a Bible and know what elders’ lives should reflect. This allows the church to answer the question, “Who do we look for in a pastor?”
Pastors must patiently teach the congregation who to look for.
Brother pastor, don’t make your goal a quick transition to a plurality of elders. You will not be abandoning your convictions. Keep teaching the responsibility and qualifications of the elders, deacons, and congregation. Then keep teaching it. Keep reminding them of it. Keep modeling it. Then, by God’s grace, seek to transition together. If you are doing that, you are not abandoning your convictions, you are ministering from the core of them.
Afterall, the goal of elder transition should not be a biblically-looking family portrait, but a truly biblical family. You may be able to shove family members into position and force a smile just to get the wholesome picture, but after the shutter clicks, you will be left with just a snapshot. The family smiled, but no one is happy. Instead, make it your aim to teach the congregation why they should desire to adjust to the teaching of Scripture. That work will outlast you, bearing much fruit in your church long after you’re gone. In other words, like Paul did for Timothy, you will help lovingly adjust the family “a little more to the right” where, by God’s grace, they can “hold it there.”
To learn more about elder-led congregational polity, join us for a one-day event on Elders in the Local Church on September 21 at First Baptist Church Matthews. Get tickets at theologyandmission.org/elders.
Comentarios