Explaining Shepherds Instead of Elders

Here's a few thoughts on the last post. Actually, this is why I think those Elders are spot on with their asseessment and why I agree with them so earnestly.

This generation of Elderships is going to turn over a Church to the next generation of (hopefully) Shepherds that is full of strife, internal attacks and division; and worst of all, thousands of dying Churches that will be taken off life support during their generation or possibly my childrens' generation. For all the concern and complaining about the state of the United States and the economic system; the Church in the United States is in far worse shape. The good news is that it is completely fixable. Through God's grace we are only a step away from redemption. But it has to start at the top. It has to start with the Shpeherds. That's why these men caught my attention.

If you haven't read the previous post, here's a very short summary. They choose to identify themselves as Shepherds (instead of Elders) because it helps them to remain focused on the primary responsibility of feeding, protecting and leading the sheep that Jesus entrusted them with. They (and I) contend that the worldly idea of a 'board of directors' has infiltrated and essentially polluted the Churches' understanding of the Eldership - which leads to Godly men stepping outside of their God-given roles and turning into a management team or 'board of directors'.

I agree completely. Here's an example of what I am talking about. Consider the congregation where you worship. When someone comes forward to publicly seek repentence and reconciliation, who greets them, takes their confession and shares that with the assembly? Is it the Elders or the preacher. It's been my personal experience that usually it's the preacher. And when that happens, the Elders abdicate their authority and responsibility of caring for and protecting the sheep, and pass it on the preacher. Which results in the preacher taking on a the role of a denominational Pastor. Neither of these outcomes are scriptural. Here's an example from the other side. Consider for a moment who makes the decisions on where to spend money and how much will be spent. I've never seen an Eldership abdicate their authority on money decisions to anyone, especially a preacher. Why, because it's not the preachers' role. And by taking on that responsibility the Church would, by default, ease towards becoming Pastor-lead.

These examples certainly don't apply 100% across the board. But let's assume that these examples do apply and that they occur more frequently than we would like to admit. Consider the unintended outcome of this. Elderships are making the decision to prioritize business or money decisions ahead of the care of souls. When I think of the problem in these terms it really its me like a punch in the stomach.

Before I quit writing, I want to say that I am not dumping on Elders. Everyone now and then, you might run into a man who has become power hungry and egotistical about his authority. But the majority of time, the Elders are men who love God and the Church with all their heart - and they are doing the best they can. In my opinion, the problem is a lack of training. You would be hard-pressed to find a congregation who would hire a preacher with no training. But we would be hard-pressed to find a congregation that ordained an Elder that had training. The Shepherds have a greater responsibility than a preacher could fathom. Yet we throw them out their and leave them to their own devices.