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

I’ve Never Seen One

What seems impossible to fathom has now actually become something of a normal standard in many urban settings. Whereas a generation ago one could find a good number of solid, effective, and credible male leaders in urban neighborhoods, the absence of such symbols and role models make it increasingly difficult for many post-modern urban dwellers to comprehend the plain meaning of the text of Scripture. For those who have not grown up in a home with a solid male father figure, the texts in the NT are hard to imagine, let alone apply. How do you comprehend the meaning of an image when you have never actually seen an elder who was male, godly, selfless, and committed to protecting and leading the community? How are we to equip men for the ministry of such oversight if, in their entire life experience, they have never known even a single example of such a person in their family or neighborhood? Be specific in your answer as to how we address such a situation. Sometimes, questions of age enter into the mix of elder selection, even as gender does. Sometimes, as the adage goes it is “easier to build a boy than to remake a man.” Such a doctrine, taken without biblical critique, can easily call into question the saving and transforming power of the Gospel, and the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit in the life of those with a checkered or spotted background. Nevertheless, many younger people (early twenties and thirties) may in their actual spiritual maturity and leadership ability be in a better position to actually lead in church settings than their older brothers and sisters. Do we have any biblical clues as to what, if any, age minimum may exist for the placing of a young adult in a position of elder leadership? What precedent do we have to take young adults from Bible colleges and seminaries and to put them into immediate positions of spiritual maturity? How long ought we to wait before we begin to cultivate young people for leadership at the elders council level? Older Is Not Necessarily Better

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Over-committed Leadership?

In an actual case of a church seeking to rediscover its charge to “let the elders rule well” in the context of their church, some members of an urban church gave the right to court and marry over to the council of elders. What began as a edifying