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The Perpetuity Leadership #2
Continuing from last week, here are a few more thoughts to consider when we think about leadership for this church in generations to follow.
Our young women must be taught about their role in the empowerment of their man to this work. They must be instructed that their role as a "help meet" includes assisting, encouraging and enabling him to achieve the experience and character demanded for this job. A woman professing godliness will be willing to make the sacrifices, and support their man in the efforts and sacrifices he will be called to make to fulfill the charge to, "...shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28) The woman who demands so much of her husband's time and resources that he cannot fulfill the God-given command to "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers,..." ( 1 Pet. 5:2) demands too much. She is robbing the Lord and the people for whom He died. Woe be unto wives who stand in the way of men who are otherwise qualified to lead God's people.
Elders must implement systematic teaching and encouragement for young men to "desire" the most important work of ALL works. They must be made to feel the urgency of the task before them. We must allow them to know "what" Elders do and "why" they do it. I recently heard someone say, "too many young men stood in the shade of mighty oaks (Elders) which never allowed them to grow."
We need to convey the message that this is not some unattainable, lofty position for an elite few. We must help young men understand that Elders are ordinary men not extraordinary hybrids. Yes, the Holy Spirit's qualifications will prohibit some from serving. However, the qualifications to be an Elder are not to disqualify men, but rather qualify them. Too many members of the church focus on the "disqualifications" of men rather than empowering them to achieve the "qualifications." Many times these churches do not have Elders and never will because they refuse to take proactive measures to develop leaders for tomorrow. Of course, there may be the men who become discouraged from "desiring" to serve because of the unwarranted gauntlets they must run, or the outrageous inquisitions they know they must endure before appointment. All this being an indicator of the treatment they will receive after being appointed and therefore reason, "why enlist for this?"
Elders know they have been appointed to the task of shepherding the Church and take it seriously. However, they must think about the oversight of the flock in the days to come when they have laid their mantle aside. Who will do it? Will men arise within our ranks to serve because plans were inaugurated, along with teaching and mentoring methods that insure the perpetuity of the Eldership? Or, will we ignore the glaring certainty that inactivity today will likely result in the rupture, decline, or even the dissolution of the congregation we labored to preserve? Elders must consider the future of the leadership in the churches that they oversee, and be sure that they are taking advantage of every possible proactive measure to safeguard that flock until Jesus comes again. He is.
Think about it.
