The Bible provides clear evidence for training elders. Jesus trained his disciples before he sent them out. Paul wrote First and Second Timothy and Titus, all letters to train young pastors. If this does not suffice to compel pastors to train elders in the church, enough could not be written. Training can be enhanced and strengthened by outside institutions and organizations, but should never be completely outsourced from the local church. Outside organizations enhance and strengthen training with quality resources, but cannot replace the congregation. Candidates need elders and the congregation to prepare to lead in the local church.
Training elders intentionally demands a strategy. Paul tells Titus that he left him in Crete to put what remained into order, and appoint elders. (Titus 1:5) A training strategy addresses Titus’ first challenge just as it addresses the first priority challenge for every pastor. The strength of elder training in the local church will determine the overall health of the local church. An effective strategy will likely adjust as needs of the church grow, but three fundamentals must be included, a clear pathway, core competencies, and essential orientations.
Clear Pathway
Elder training should shape the leadership culture of the local church. Elders are charged to provide oversight of the body. An effective pathway recognizes the need to begin early throughout all church leadership and long before a man reaches elder level. This is not to say that every person in leadership will become an elder. But every man that aspires to eldership should be well seasoned in ministry service and leadership in the church. Training men for eldership is the principle leadership cultivation in the church.
Elder training and oversight is too often disconnected from making disciples, the church’s commission. Nothing could be more detrimental. The highest level of leadership training in the church should by design model the greatest example of service to the church. A strategy may be simple, organic and informal, but it must be intentional so the congregation can encourage men to rise up and lead. The absence of a training system always results in a void of leadership.
Elder training should foster a Gospel-shaped environment where men learn, grow and mature through the failure and accomplishment of serving and leading. Personal relationships provide the first key to this environment. The Lord Jesus modeled this in training his disciples. Personal relationships allow a trainee to be coached, to apply the Gospel to situations and to his own heart for growth and maturity. The whole man is engaged to be observed in training and not just to measure the completion of tasks. A tension in training is also required. A man must have enough tension placed upon him in serving to reveal personal struggles, propensities toward sin and idolatry, and personal pressure points, but not so much that threatens to crush him. The greatest maturity will arise when the Gospel is personally applied at these times. Finally, some measure of confidentiality is recommended, at least for a period early on. This frees an individual to serve, learn and grow without undo pressure.
Core Competencies
Core competencies shape goals for an elder training system. Eldership’s one principle distinction from all other leadership in the church is apt to teach. This is not to say that only elders can teach, but it mandates that an elder must be able to teach. “Apt to teach” includes preparedness in core competencies that can be readily resourced.
A clear understanding and ability to articulate the gospel is baseline. I know this seems obvious but one can be so mentally confident, yet have the greatest trouble forming thoughts into words. The first non-negotiable, core competency that must shape everything is a clear articulation of the gospel. Elders must learn to assess situations and apply the Gospel, faithfully representing the truth of God’s Word and addressing the needs of people.
A confident grasp of Biblical knowledge and key theological themes is also baseline. An elder must have a sharp working knowledge of the books of the Bible, fundamental theological tenets and key themes to encourage and help people. This knowledge means the Bible must be used to counsel, instruct and encourage people, and not simply default to responding with common quips or clichés to people. A firm grasp on God’s Word provides confidence to apply the Word in every situation.
Preaching or teaching is an essential competency. A man may not feel confident in this role as his principle gifting, but he must be able to demonstrate preaching or teaching among the church body at some level. In my experience, fewer will be able to preach in larger gatherings well, but all must be able to lead smaller groups. I would also include two other basic skills under this competency, communication and counsel. Communicating with clarity to provide understanding and direction for unity among the people is a necessity. Counsel is the act of explaining and applying a teaching on a personal level to help the individual understand and obey.
Leadership is a core competency. Elders may not lead masses, but they must be able to motivate some to move forward on mission. If an elder cannot inspire at least some people to follow his leadership, then his true competency to lead in the mission must be further discerned. One necessary distinction here is leadership styles. All great leaders do not lead from the same position. Be careful not to assign strong leadership authority to people because they are good up front, and relegate others because they lead from beside or even behind others. Some of the strongest elders will be those that lead from places not always immediately visible.
Effective elder training will include opportunities for a candidate to demonstrate and develop their skills in each of these core competencies, with appropriate coaching and direction. Competencies are essential, but should be given opportunity to grow, strengthen and develop. This process will likely reveal additional areas that at first were unrecognized.
Essential Orientations
Finally, I would encourage what I call four essential orientations. The first of these may seem obvious and the last may be debatable, but the importance of unity among the elders holds high value.
The first essential orientation for an elder is the Lord Jesus. Training that is effective will reveal a man’s natural tendencies when pressure rises and situations get tense. Every man must, without hesitation, practice faithfulness in leaning upon and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. This orientation requires a strong commitment to know, live and lead by the Word of God. The apostles would not forsake the ministry of prayer and the Word because their first orientation remained on Jesus. A man who doesn’t run to Jesus first in all situations has not yet learned to trust in the Lord with all his heart at all times and is still leaning on his own understanding.
The second essential orientation for an elder is to the Church. Elders must give priority to all-church leadership. Timothy Witmer uses the term macro-leadership to refer to roles with particular responsibility for the whole church. Elders orient service in the church to the prevailing needs of the whole body. An elder may serve in other roles within the church, but a first priority must be applied to lead some capacity of mission for the whole church.
The third essential orientation for an elder is to the Elder Table. When a man commits to serve as an elder, the Eder Table must be given a first priority of time and sacrifice. The relationships at the table will require work to build and maintain unity. Competing demands will arise. Making time and investing life to build strong bonds among the elders is critical. There is no substitute for trust among the men who must depend upon one another to lead together. A man may be fully qualified in every other way, but if he cannot commit to the table then he should not be installed to serve.
The fourth essential orientation for an elder is to the Lead Pastor. Some may disagree with me on this point, but I believe this is a vital orientation for the health and strength of elder leadership. An elder must humbly and gladly desire to serve under the leader of leaders. I am in no way encouraging blind allegiance. I am saying a strong sense of serving under a particular leader to support, encourage, strengthen and guard is important. This should not be confused with what is sometimes referred to as a “Yes man”, one who only agrees without discernment. But the only thing worse would be the opposite “No man”, one that sees his role as the devil’s advocate, a.k.a Satan’s representative. This is a direct violation of scriptural qualification. Every elder must be able to humbly and joyfully follow the leadership of the Lead Pastor.
Elder training is of first importance for the health and mission of the local church. Training has been constantly tweaked and changed at my church. As I evaluate the needs of the church and where our greatest needs lie, I adjust training to satisfy core qualifications and address current needs. I am convinced, the elder training of the local church determines the strength of all leadership, training and effectiveness in the whole church.
Recommended Resource: Capitol Hill Baptist Church Weekender experience, Washington D.C.
I recommend this experience for anyone who wants to strengthen elder training in the church. You will not reproduce everything you see, learn or experience, but you will walk away with a wealth of first class resources. Mark Dever is a faithful pastor, humble leader and brilliant scholar. This experience will plant a vision seed in the heart of a leader to strengthen elder training in the local church.