God calls Elders
What is Eldership and who are Elders? This part of the course provides background and context for these questions and introduces the activities that an Elder may be involved in.
3. The call
You may have been approached by others asking you to consider becoming an Elder, or you might have just felt a growing sense that this is something you needed to explore further, but it’s important to recognise that it is God who calls people to be Elders. Perhaps your first reaction was to think ‘Why me?’, but once we recognise God’s activity that completely changes our perspective.
Just as we read in the New Testament about Jesus calling the disciples to follow him, so that same call continues to this day. And, again like the disciples, Elders are called to exercise leadership within the church, not in our own strength, but only with the strength and wisdom given by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus calls his first disciples:
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Of course, the role of Elders has inevitably changed throughout history, perhaps especially since the time of the Reformation, while today it is also likely to vary from one local church to another. For the moment, however, we simply want to acknowledge that while being called to be an Elder is an awesome challenge, it is also a tremendous privilege!