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

representative both of the Lord and the people of God to those who are outsiders. Urban churches desperately need to affirm the role of such leaders for their congregations and discover practical, effective ways to identify and equip such leaders for believers in the city. Our objective for this segment, The Christian Leader as Elder: Models, Training, and Practice , is to enable you to see that: • The NT provides us with key analogies of the Christian Leader as elder or presbyter . These analogies fill out for us the various dimensions of the faithful fulfillment of the role of elder in the NT Church. • The Christian leader as elder is an overseer, charged with the solemn responsibility to oversee the various affairs of the Church for its well-being, edification, and overall benefit. • Furthermore, the elder is a father or parent , a person of significance, prominence, and maturity in the Christian assembly and therefore able to provide instruction, protection, and guidance as a spiritual parent. • An elder is one among many , that is an elder is a colleague and team member who makes their gifts and resources available to the council of elders for the benefit of the council and for the sake of the body. • The elder is also a representative , one who stands with fidelity for the interests and purposes of the Lord and the body, and serves as an agent on behalf of the community and the faith to those who are outside. • Elders are not to be selected on the basis of social place, wealth, academic achievement, or prominence, but on the basis of their spiritual maturity and personal integrity. • We are not to place novices (immature believers) into positions of authority and oversight in the Church. Rather, we are to seek to create structures and processes that allow for spiritually mature and available members to exercise servant leadership in the body. • Urban congregations especially need godly elders in leadership, due to the prevalence of broken families, moral compromise, and social upheaval. • The blessings, benefits, and rewards of faithful service as an elder are enormous, the greatest of which is the promise of personal reward from the Lord Jesus himself with the “unfading crown of glory.”

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