Elders

At a time when church leaders have adopted our Western culture and sometime act more like a board of directors, barking down orders from above, it is good to see our elders preaching. Our church structure is so influenced by the community and country we live in, it is wise to take a step back and see what God--not our society-- has to say about leadership.

Though elder is the name we have settled on, it is just one of the terms God inspired the writers of the New Testament to use when referring to these individuals. Bishop is more of the traditional term, but one that seems to have evolved from its original meaning as religion became more hierarchal. Pastor is one that our culture has shifted to meaning the person who usually preaches and takes care of the day to day; however, that is a shift made by man, not derived from the scriptures where it refers to what we call elders. The term elder is one that was brought over from the Old Testament, with the concept being the older--and thus wiser-- individuals of a community. But the term I like the most is overseer: the original Greek just seems to fit the nature of the task at hand.

I like the way both Paul and Peter refer to the task of the overseer. As Paul is talking with the elders of the church in Ephesus, he tells them to be overseers, shepherds of the church that Jesus shed His blood for (Acts 20:28). In his first letter, Peter similarly calls them to be shepherds of God’s flock (1Peter 5:2). This idea of a shepherd, the one who cares for, who lives among the sheep is one that seems to go to the heart of what God desired when He set up the idea of those who would care for His people on this earth.

Paul again talks about the qualities these individuals should have when he writes to evangelists Timothy and Titus about appointing men to serve in this capacity (1Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9). Often these passages have been used to create a check list of disqualification to keep someone from serving in this way. Check, check, check, oh nope, they’re disqualified. And though God did inspire Paul to write this list, I use the word “qualities” when referring to these passages. It is not a marker to pass in order to complete the list as one would a course outline to complete their degree in school, or a promotion standard that must be reached to move on. They are qualities that are shown from a lifetime of serving, allowing one to minister in this capacity.

I encourage you to check out the passages mentioned above. Look at the qualities that these men are called to have. And then pray for them. Yes, pray. It is much easier to find fault, to criticize, to talk about them or others for that matter. But I challenge you to look at the verses, understand what they are called to do, how they are called to live, the responsibility they assume when serving in this way and then. . . pray for them. Pray for them because they have to give account for their decisions, their leadership (Hebrews 13:17). And when you go to that passage in Hebrews, don’t stop halfway through, but make sure you read all of it.

Praying for our elders,

Randy

The Time Has Come

When writing to an apprentice, Paul tells him that a time will come when those who claim to follow God will not put up with sound doctrine, but will follow the words spoken by man (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Well, that time has come. No, not with the political correctness that has invaded our society. Not with the religious movements that grab a phrase or passage from the Bible--usually out of context--and build a theology around it. No, it isn’t the accepting of worldly views by the followers of God that has resulted in the flavor of the day, a la carte Christianity that we see. The “time” Paul speaks of predated all of this.

Some would point back to the time when Christianity stopped being persecuted by the government and was accepted. Hundreds of years ago, rulers decided to make religion into whatever they personally wanted or used their power and finances to steer the church in the direction they chose. This is when formal religion (or what we would now refer to as organized religion) came into being. No, it predated that.

As a matter of fact it goes all the way back to the pages of what we call the New Testament. Luke records--as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit--what Paul tells the elders in Ephesus in Acts 20:29-20. Savage wolves is the term used by Luke. An examination of the Greek would render the idea of someone throwing their weight around for a purpose of their own. But what is more frightening about this passage is that those who are acting this way come not from the world, but from within the body of individuals who profess to follow Christ. The Apostle John actually goes as far as naming a brother who is doing this; we know him to be Deotrephes (3John 9). So, as Solomon writes (Ecclesiastes 1:9) there is nothing new.

So what do we do? We do as the Bereans did, and examine the scriptures daily (Acts17:11). I think about what Gutenberg did when he introduced the printing press to Europe. It allowed the common man, not just the religious institutions, to have a copy of God’s word, and become Bereans by examining what was heard compared to what God’s word really said. I think about what the Steves (Jobs & Wozniak) accomplished by putting God’s word at our fingertips, be it on a computer, tablet or phone. We have the power to easily examine what we hear today compared to the way the Bereans had to laboriously unroll scrolls to check what Paul said up against God’s word.

Finally, circling back to where we started and Paul’s words to a young apprentice: know God’s word. Well, his actual recorded words are to “preach the word” (2Timothy 4:2). But behind that sentiment is the idea of knowing God’s word. You have to know it to accurately preach it. Do you know God’s word? Can you explain why you believe what you do and why you act how you act? If not, you run the risk of being led astray by some fine sounding argument (Colossians 2:4).

You may have noticed there are a lot of scriptures references—not quotes--in this article, and that is for a purpose. Feel free to check what I say. . . it will put me in pretty good company.

Focused on the Word,

Randy

Take a Knee

Most of us are familiar with what happened a couple of years ago in the NFL. Football players started taking a knee in protest during the playing of the national anthem. Cameras were always focused on the players--showing them taking a knee. A few started it, then more followed. Teams had to address the issue of what they were going to do. One player who decided to stay in the locker room until after the anthem was played, slipped out and stood at the end of the tunnel leading to the field to be there for the anthem. There was a big deal about “taking a knee.”

I got to watch my second favorite team in the NCAA tournament reach the championship last Monday night. I wasn’t real excited about Texas Tech's win over Michigan, but was about the victory over State. But it wasn’t something in that last game that caught my attention; it was what I saw after the semi-final game that stuck with me. The cameras were all over the place, doing interviews, watching in the locker room, and in the halls leading to the locker room. It showed the winning team waiting for the coach to come into the locker room to celebrate, it showed the coach hugging people as he made his way, it showed him running to get to his team, and it showed him coming into the locker room. Then seconds after arriving, the producer shifted from the locker room camera to the post game hosts talking about the game.

The cameras usually stay focused in the locker room, maybe to see some words of celebration spoken by a coach or player or a fun dance the coach does with his players. One coach I saw did a hand stand. All kinds of celebrations that take place, but not this time. CBS chose to switch away from the locker room. CBS decided to switch away from the team that was not celebrating as most did, but instead were taking a knee. But this knee wasn’t in protest of anything going on, but in honor of our Heavenly Father. They took a knee to pray and the cameras went away.

Now we could get all upset about this and threaten to boycott CBS. We could start an online petition to show our displeasure with what they did. We may even be able to make the news with our concern about why they did what they did. But most likely not. So we sit back and let the cameras focus on players kneeling in protest, then just accept that refusing to show a college basketball team honoring God in a prayer is just the way it is. The media choose to not focus on a team that took a knee to honor our Heavenly Father after winning the biggest basketball game in the history of their school. It is just the way it is.

But it doesn’t have to be; however, the avenue to change isn’t where most people go. We have to accept that we live in a country where the God we worship is not respected. Yea a lot of politicians will bring up His name on the campaign trail. Others will talk highly about Him, but then act in a way contrary to following Him. We could start a political action committee to raise money for those who will stand up or grab a sign and join a protest or start one on the corner where many people will see it.

There is a way to protest, but do we really want it?

I suggest that we do protest. We do take it to the streets. To the political realms. But we do it one person at a time. You see the people who live in this country aren’t going to change because of a protest in the streets, but only when we truly stand up in the way our Savior taught us--one person at a time. And this next week is the perfect opportunity to do just that—with one person. We have a special day coming up, a day when more people attend a church service than any other day of the year.

So I would suggest you do take a knee, literally or figuratively, and pray for that one person you are going to invite. Then get up off that knee and do something.

On my knees,

Randy