6 They are responsible for the acquisition of plots of lands and other, properties for the local Church and report such acquisitions to the, 7. Dr. William DeArteaga: In these passages, the Greek worddiakonosrefers to an office. These men held great influence in all spiritual and religious matters in the church. Second, in 1 Peter 5:1-2, elders are exhorted to "shepherd" the flock of God that is in their charge, which is the role of a pastor. According to the Chairman, elders who are the 'gatekeepers' of the Church ensure that members are engrained in their faith in Christ as they teach and [] In churchestoday, elders are spiritual leaders or shepherds of the church. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the . Elders disciple and train specific individuals to carry on the work of gospel ministry. No elder will love the church to the extent that Christ has and will. 4:16). Notice that we shouldnt begrudge true elders of their wages, but freely give to support their ministry, which is spending time in the Word and in prayer to know the mind of Christ for the church and prepare and deliver preaching and teaching. . Most frequently, the head minister is called pastor. An elder may have administrative duties or may perform some liturgical duties and assist the ordained clergy. In the absence of the Minister, they administer the Lords Supper on. They do this by feeding, nurturing, and protecting the flock. 1:23), because all Scripture is profitable to make the man of God complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. More compelling is the observation that the qualification list in 1 Timothy 3 follows immediately after a key discussion on the roles of men and women within the church (2:8-15). Gal 1:6) and put the gospel on display by living a life of holiness, love, and grace. This office stands alongside deacon in Philippians 1:1 and 1 Timothy 3:113 in such a way as to show that the two abiding officers instituted by the New Testament are elder and deacon. In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in Lista, Inconium and Antioch. Methodist Church 5:12; 1 Tim. In Acts 20, when Paul returns to Ephesus, he is able to call together the elders of the church (Acts 20:17) and leave them with a charge for their ministry. These include Baptists and Congregationalists. Here are four duties that are central to the elder's job description. The General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, took the participants through the vision document. FPCC.ORG They pray for the souls over whom they keep watch and for whom they will have to give an account. Stratus synthesizes reliable data from different sources to clearly display the worlds most urgent spiritual and physical needs in an intuitive tool. Learn Religions. The Greek term, presbteros, meaning "older" is translated as "elder" in the New Testament. Sun Valley, CA 91352, MF 8:00 am5:00 pm They see to the maintenance of Church discipline (1 Cor. While it's always a title of honor and duty, it might mean someone who serves an entire region or someone with specific duties in one congregation. Instead, based on the pattern established in Acts 6 with the apostles and the Seven, it seems best to view the deacons as servants who do whatever is necessary to allow the elders to accomplish their God-given calling of shepherding and teaching the church.vii. Helpline: (+233) 543 308 187, 2022 The Church of Pentecost General Headquarters. We see this commitment to pray in the decision of the Apostles in the early church, who appointed others to serve the needs of the growing church so that they might devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word (see Acts 6:1-7). Sunday Worship - 10:00 am & 5:00 pm 5:14). The job here is bigger than showing up at members meetings and voting on new members. Jeremy Rinne writes: God has called elders to be men worth imitating. If a minister called to be an evangelist, prophet or teacher, without the pastoral gift, is in charge, it can be hurtful. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. 24:1; Lev. The writer of Hebrews called his readers to obey and submit to the leaders who kept watch over their souls (Heb. James 5:14: Is anyone among you sick Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.. The following are the duties of elders: 1. When it comes to theroleof deacons in the local church, the Scriptures are surprisingly quiet. 4:1-5). Deacons serve the church by supporting the work of the elders. Denominations that are more congregational in governance may be led by a pastor or a council of elders. With this in mind, elders cannot fall prey to backdoor politics or devise and scheme in ways that dishonor Christ. Deacons serve in churches around the world, meeting the needs of the physically as well as the spiritually hungry, visiting the sick, caring for the elderly and assisting church overseers in making important decisions. They must be away of the futility of all their actions apart from the life-giving work of Gods Spirit.iii. 5:1-4). Third, in Ephesians 4:11, the one time that the word pastor occurs in the NT, pastors are treated as one group with teachers. What is the meaning of the white stone in Revelation 2:17? Paul refers to the elders at Ephesus as overseers in his farewell sermon of Acts 20:1735. Let the elders who rule direct the affairs of the church well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine preaching and teaching. When a church appoints a man to be an overseer, it is formally saying, Here is an official, church-recognized example of a mature follower of Jesus. He is not the only example, not a perfect example, and not necessarily the best example in that congregation for every single Christian virtue. 5:1820). Discipleship is simply Gods people helping Gods people to do all that Jesus commands. The congregation is not to sit by passively while overseers forsake their duties. Matt Perman is the director of career navigation at. In fact, every place in the New Testament where the term presbuteros (elder) is used it is plural, except where the apostle John uses it of himself in 2 and 3 John and where Peter uses it of himself in 1 Peter 5:1. Episkopos and presbuteros are regularly translated elder in English (episkopos will sometimes be translated overseer as well). He gives three reasons. Fairchild, Mary. I do like the term elder best, from a scriptural perspective. We see the appointing of elders in every church again in Titus 1:5: For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint ELDERS in every city as I commanded you. In vs. 6 we have the qualifications of elders: An ELDER must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient., Then we have James, who also calls the leaders elders. Second, in 1 Peter 5:12, elders are exhorted to shepherd the flock of God that is in their charge, which is the role of a pastor. Home | About Us | Resources | Ladies | Members | Missions | Contact Us Their high-profile position may garner attention, but their duty is to build up others. 13:17). The Chairman indicated that the Lord, who is the owner of the Church and the great rewarder, will surely replenish the efforts of the unpaid officers and bless their offspring if they remain steadfast in their services to the Lord. Urgent comes alongside indigenous believers in some of the hardest to reach places on earth. So when they had appointed ELDERS in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed (Acts 14:23). For effective organization of the Prayer Group, officers were chosen to take responsibilities in the meetings: Leader (Elder Festus Asare), Secretary (Brother Ben Boakye), Organizing Secretary (Brother Eric Oppong), Prayer Leaders (Brother Maxwell Kusi/Bro. Elders are to shepherd the flock of Jesus Christ through the faithful ministry of the Word and are to lead by godly example. It may be that each elder in the city had an individual group in which he had specific oversight. Elders have a duty to care for the church as shepherds, to edify the body of Christ through faithful teaching, and to protect it from error. Touching on vision 2023 Possessing the Nations: Equipping The Church to Transform Every Sphere of Society with Kingdom Values and Principles as its overarching theme, he stated that the Church has a dual purpose, thus it has been called by God to serve Him and sent out to the world to be Gods ambassadors. It is too easy to import worldly criteria for leaders (success, wealth, popularity, etc. Elders do not march to the beat of their own drum, but rather submit to Gods Word. This means that we not only need to amend our constitution and by-laws concerning the officers of the church, but we must also understand the roles and responsibilities of elders, deacons, and members. Successful candidatesshall be ordained as Elders by an Apostle or a Prophet of The Church in accordance to the New Testament practice of Laying on of hands instead, 1. In fact, the very idea that a spiritual leader is one who has natural abilities to run things is wrong. In a passage already cited, Hebrews exhorts the church: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. . In verse 28 he says, Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [episkopos], to shepherd [poimaino] the church of God. First Peter 5:1-2 brings all three terms together as well. The church must honor the elders by responding willingly to their instruction and leadership, by providing materially for those who labor in teaching, and by praying for them. First, in Acts 20:28, elders are encouraged in the "pastoral" duties of overseeing and shepherding. appearing before the District/Area Vetting Committee. 2. (Acts 6 is narrative more than normative). Every church has a particular understanding of and implementation of church government. Paul certainly makes it clear in many passages in his epistles that his ministry (as an apostle, but surely serving as a model for all church leaders) involves suffering. Its crucial to remember that the Bible alone is absolutely authoritative in a churchs life. Note that when I use the words he or men in this article, I am using those words in the broad sense of people/mankind. Here are the duties of Elders as according to the constitutions of the Church of Pentecost. They are to not only keep a close watch on their doctrine but also on themselves and their families (1 Tim. The meeting, which was attended by the General Secretary, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, and Apostles Matthew Larbi Wettey and Patrick Kingsley Ennin, the Area Heads for Tema and Ashaiman Areas respectively, was to explain the new five-year strategic vision of the Church, dubbed Vision 2023 (Possessing the Nations) with the officers. The elder may have the duties of a pastor and teacher. Elders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church work as spiritual mentors, act as advisors on church committees and projects, and are involved in decision-making in the church and ministry. All Christians arediakonoi! That involves a number of specific duties. As ruling elders are called to ordered ministry for life, it is important to approach the work of nominations to this role with humility, open hearts, and open minds.

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