Foundations of Christian Leadership, Mentor's Guide, MG07

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F O U N D A T I O N S O F C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S H I P

possess a self-controlled and temperate spirit (cf. Gal. 5.23; 1 Tim. 3.2; Titus 2.2, 4). Elders were to be persons of upright or just conduct, holy in the sense of blamelessness (traits that Paul possessed, cf. 1 Thess. 2.10), and disciplined (i.e., those who were not under the power of vice and ungodly impulses such as those cited either in 1 Timothy 4.7-8 or Titus 1.7). Incidentally, in the Titus 1 text, Paul refers the term “elder” ( presbyteros ) to overseer ( episkopos ) or “bishop.” The two words (and concepts) are plainly interchangeable in Paul’s mind, and probably refer to the same church office. What you want to help the students discover in this lesson is God’s standard for Christian leadership is high, attainable only through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is neither for the sake of self-aggrandizement nor importance, but for the guardianship and love of the body. To be a Christian leader is to be a person for others, one who lives above reproach for the sake of the integrity of the Lord’s reputation and for the well-being of the Church. The goal of this lesson is to help make you and the students aware of the dominance and significance of this concept for human authority and leadership in the NT. Leland Ryken makes this point clearly: The term elder is used most frequently for leaders of the NT congregations. Its basic meaning is “someone who is older.” In the Jewish community the elders were part of the patriarchal clan system. As heads of families they held basically unchallenged authority and were responsible for judicial, political and military decisions. The elders in the Jerusalem church receive the gift for famine relief from the church at Antioch (Acts 11.30) and help decide the basis on which Gentiles should be received into the church (Acts 15). Paul and Barnabas appoint elders for each of the churches they establish on their first missionary journey (Acts 14.23). Peter refers to himself as a “fellow-elder” (1 Pet 5.1–3), and John the apostle calls himself “the elder” in his second and third letters (2 John 1; 3 John 1).

~ Leland Ryken. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery . (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000. p. 59.

As you dialogue with the students about the role of the elder in the NT Church, highlight the centrality of this imagery both in the history of Israel and the Church.