What Makes for a Good Elder?

This past week one of the best elders I ever served with went home to glory. I lost a dear friend. This has led me to reflect on what makes for a good elder. Of course, a good elder will fulfill the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. That is foundational. He must be a man of character, the Word, and prayer. He should be hospitable, not a lover of money, rule his own household well, and the husband of one wife. These are just some of the biblical qualifications. However, there are also qualities that make for a good elder beyond the actual biblical requirements for service. Here are some that I have noticed over the years:

Theological, but Fiercely Practical: He will know the scriptures and revel in the doctrine and theology of God’s holy Word. And at the same time, he will know how to apply those truths of Scripture to the lives he is privileged to serve. As this man ministers, those under his care do not receive platitudes. Neither do they need to have a PhD in theology to sort through his advice and counsel. He is theologically minded and fiercely practical in applying that theology.   Continue at Kevin DeYoung

How Mark Dever Passes Out Authority

Over the years Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., has seen plenty of opportunities to accrue authority, some of which he keeps, many of which he passes out. And the way he passes out authority has shaped the culture of our church in countless ways.

Here are 20 ways he distributes authority, followed by 10 ways this shapes our church culture. Some apply just to lead pastors; many apply to all of us.

1. Build the church on the gospel. No matter who's teaching, the gospel must be front and center. Mark has established this pattern. When relationships and power structures are grounded in the gospel, people use their authority not to lord it over one another, but to serve one another (Matt. 20:25-28).

2. Establish a plurality of staff and non-staff elders. On an elder board composed exclusively of staff elders, each man may possess one vote, but the staffing structure imposes a hierarchy. Adding non-staff elders to the board disrupts and flattens that hierarchy.

3. Limit the percentage of main-slot preaching. Mark, with the elders' agreement, limits himself to preaching 50 percent to 65 percent of Sunday mornings. That way, other voices have the chance to grow and gain authority. And the congregation depends more on the Word than on one man.   Continue at Jonathan Leeman

For Elders Thinking Of Inviting Arminius Into Their Pulpit

From the time he entered the pastoral ministry, James Arminius (c. 1559–1609) was a controversial figure but he was also a minister in good standing in the Reformed Churches. Despite the intense controversy that his views and teaching generated, views that fractured the church, that nearly ignited a civil war in the Netherlands, that split a university, and that ultimately led to the convocation of the greatest international synod in the history of the Reformed churches, the Synod of Dort (1618–19), Arminius remained and died a minister in good standing in the Reformed churches. Partly this was a fluke. Arminius died in 1609 and the Synod did not conclude for a decade later. At the time of his death there was great controversy but there was not unanimity as to what Arminius was actually teaching. This was intentional. Arminius was intentionally vague, even to the point of being deceptive.   Continue at R. Scott Clark

Serving the Church Joyfully, not Under Compulsion

I’ve always found it interesting that Peter warns Elders in the local church never to pastor or lead the flock of God “under compulsion, but willingly” (1 Peter 5:2).

Why would anyone ever submit to pressure to serve as an Elder? What could possibly motivate a man to serve under compulsion? Here are some possibilities.

• his love or desire for the praise and approval of others
• his desire to avoid the disdain and rejection of those whose approval and respect he craves
• he sees ministry as an opportunity to become famous and well-known and acknowledged in public
• he yields to pressure put upon him by parents, educators, mega-church leaders
• he feels incompetent to do anything else in life
• he mistakenly believes that a life of ministry merits favor with God

No one should ever be pressured into serving as an Elder. God wants our ungrudging service. Note well the use of the cognate noun translated “under compulsion” in 2 Corinthians 9:7 with regard to giving – “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”   Continue at Sam Storms

Lay Elders: A User’s Guide, Part 2

9Marks has just released its latest edition of the eJournal. This edition focuses on lay elders and raises some very helpful discussion on the relationship (sometimes delicate) between staff and lay elders. See here. You can find part 1 of this issue here.

Here’s an introductory note from Jonathan Leeman:

You don’t become a “band of brothers” just by showing up. You need to face battle together, as well as work through all the disagreements and sins that arise along the way. My friend Matt Schmucker often observes that more apologizing happens during our elder meeting bathroom breaks than at any other time he knows. It is a consecrated commode.

An elder’s first priority is the sheep, but shepherds who don’t know how to love one another compromise their ability to serve the sheep.

A good word there! Check out the table of contents:

Elder Relationships

Building Unity and Friendship Among Elders

 

By Bob Johnson

How elders relate to each other will impact how they relate to the flock, for good or ill. Here are a few ideas for helping elders build deep friendships and sturdy unity.   Continue at Thabiti Anyabwile

Deacon Ministry in a Reformed Baptist Church

One of the hallmarks of reformed theology is captured in the cry of Sola Scriptura! We recall from 2 Peter 1:3 that the Lord has given us all we need for life and godliness – and this applies no less to life in the local church than to the individual Christian. As we consider the various way local churches deploy the office of deacon, it is painfully apparent that many of us have lost sight of the completeness of the wisdom our Lord has provided us and the reason for it – that how we serve Him and one another would be to the glory of His name and the good of His people.

The Scriptures are clear in describing two distinct offices (by this I mean positions with defined responsibilities) within the local church: elder/overseer/pastor and deacon are identified and qualified in 1 Tim 3. The men who serve in these offices are co-laborers, with distinctly different roles within the church. The account in Acts 6 gives a clear delineation between the two offices (with the Apostles as the spiritual shepherds at this time, prior to New Covenant elders), showing the service aspect of deacon ministry contrasted with the ministry of the word and prayer.   Continue at Grace Family Baptist Church

Jay E. Adams on the Organic Dynamics of Church Eldership

The Word of God, through Paul, states the following as the qualifications of church elders (Christ's undershepherds, functioning at the local church level, ministering to His sheep):

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

But what now after the church leadership (session or consistory) has been organized? Jay E. Adams offers valuable wisdom (sourced from Ordained Servant [vol. 1, no. 2 (April 1992)]):

Working with the Eldership

Probably the first most significant achievement of any minister who newly assumes the pastorate of any congregation is getting to know his elders well and learning how to function smoothly with them. No time can be invested more wisely during the first year of his pastorate (when, as a matter of fact, much else cannot be done anyway) than the time he spends developing and cultivating a close relationship to his elders. This, he should do, both individually and corporately.[1] He must learn to know these men through and through, and he must be willing to expose himself as fully to them as well. A relationship founded upon truth and mutual trust must be built. All of this is essential so that when he tackles the large tasks and faces the crises that inevitably will come, the pastor will not have to do so alone. In many situations, without the full understanding, confidence and backing of his eldership, a minister will be left in a precarious position. His attempts to exert the authority of Christ will be undercut, his efforts to exercise church discipline for the benefit of an erring and contumacious member may be foiled, and his ability to move quickly and smoothly in emergencies will be seriously impaired.  Continue at Underdog

Elders—The Church’s Lead Disciple-Makers

[Ed. Note: For more articles like this, check out the latest 9Marks Journal on Discipling in the Church.]

Are you an elder in your church? Then you should be one of the church’s lead disciplers. You knew that this was a key part of an elder’s job description, right?

Let me back up just to make sure it is clear. If I had to pick one image to best explain an elder’s job in the local church, the choice would be a no-brainer: the New Testament predominantly portrays elders as shepherds. Both Paul and Peter urged elders to shepherd their flocks (Acts 20:28-31; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). The writer of Hebrews called believers to submit to their leaders who “keep watch” over them “as men who must give an account” (Heb. 13:17). Peter said that elders serve as under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4). Many of an elder’s duties—including teaching the Word, guarding against heresy, modeling godliness, pursuing wayward believers, overseeing church affairs, and praying for members—can be summed up within the simple picture of a shepherd tending sheep.

But what’s the goal of shepherding?

Elders shepherd church members in order to help those members grow up in Christ. Elders tend the flock in such a way that believers develop from spiritual infancy to full-grown Christ-likeness. Overseers labor in hope that the sheep will move beyond a needy, self-focused, toddler Christianity to an adulthood of serving Jesus and leading others to Jesus.

Paul identified Christian maturity as the reason Jesus gave various leaders to the church, including pastors (i.e., shepherds):

It was he who gave some to be…pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:11-13)   Continue at Jeramie Rinne

How Pastor-Counselors Differ from Secular Counselors

David Powlison’s essay “The Pastor as Counselor” (available free online) is far and away the best thing I have ever read on the role of pastor-elders in counseling God’s people. It was originally published in For the Fame of God’s Name and is reprinted in CCEF’s The Journal of Biblical Counseling. At our church we have read through it together as an elder council, and I’d encourage other churches to do the same. I also wish every seminarian could read through this at least once.

Here is one section directed to pastors on their unique role in counseling:

The uniqueness of your message is easy to see. But you already know this. I won’t rehearse the unsearchable riches of Christ, or the 10,000 pertinent implications.

But I do want to note the uniqueness of your message by contrast. Every counselor brings a “message”: an interpretation of problems, a theory that weighs causalities and context, a proposal for cure, a goal that defines thriving humanness. How does your message compare with their messages? Simply consider what our culture’s other counselors do not say.

• They never mention the God who has a name: YHWH, Father, Jesus, Spirit, Almighty, Savior, Comforter.
• They never mention that God searches every heart, that every human being will bow to give final account for each thought, word, deed, choice, emotion, belief, and attitude.
• They never mention sinfulness and sin, that humankind obsessively and compulsively transgress against God.
• They never mention that suffering is meaningful within God’s purposes of mercy and judgment.
• They never mention Jesus Christ. He is a standing insult to self-esteem and self-confidence, to self-reliance, to self-salvation schemes, to self-righteousness, to believing in myself.   Continue at Justin Taylor

How to Run an Elders' Meeting

The apostle Paul never lost his sense of wonder and amazement that the Lord would call him out of the darkness of Satan's kingdom to serve the resurrected Christ. He called his ministry "grace" several times (e.g. Ephesians 3:2), and regularly ascribed his calling as an apostle to the grace of God: "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul knew he deserved the eternal condemnation of God for destroying God's church, and yet God by his grace gave him the privilege of building God's church (1 Corinthians 3:10). So it is today with the elders of a church. God by his grace has saved each elder, covering his sins by the blood of Christ and putting in his heart the hope of eternal glory in Christ. As if this isn't enough, God lavished on us a ministry of meaningful service to Jesus and his people as elders. Thus we are delivered from the emptiness of a meaningless life and called to build something that will last for eternity. Elders should be overwhelmed with thankfulness every single day for the great privilege of serving Christ in this way.

No elder is called to this task alone, for God has called elders to minister with other qualified men as a group in a local church. The plurality of elder leadership in every local church is established in Titus 1:5: "The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you." These men must lead the church in a harmonized way, with cooperation and collective wisdom.  In the real world, this requires a regular pattern of elders' meetings to discuss and pray over all aspects of church life for which they are accountable to Christ. The purpose of this article is to discuss practical elements of elders' meetings so that God may be maximally glorified by them. I will discuss the consecration of elders' meetings, their content, and their conduct. Briefly, by consecration, I mean that the elders should set themselves apart as holy to the Lord for this service, and should set apart their meeting times for his glory and the edification of the church by the ministry of the word of God and prayer. By content, I mean the actual topics of discussion and decision elders will entertain during their meeting. I will argue that there are four main headings:  Continue at Andrew Davis

Building Again the Tabernacle Of David

The apostle James, in announcing the decision of the great and epoch-making Conference of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-21) which Conference was the first General Council of the Christian Church, cited the words of the prophet Amos, through whom God had said: “In that day will I raise up again the tabernacle of David, that is fallen” (Amos 9:11).

 The present writer has frequently been asked the meaning of this prophecy concerning the tabernacle of David; and inasmuch as the passage is sometimes referred to in support of the idea of a future restoration of the Jewish nation, it is appropriate that due consideration be given to it in this volume.

By reference to Acts 15:1-21, it will be seen that the question presented for the decision of the Conference was whether the Gentiles, who had been converted to Christ, should be circumcised and commanded to keep the law of Moses (v. 5). For some had taught them, saying, “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (v. 1). That question was of capital importance, as may be clearly seen in the light of Paul’s Epistle to the churches of Galatia. The conference, therefore, marked a momentous epoch in the history of the Kingdom of God.

For a proper understanding of this record, and particularly the words of James, we must give heed to the fact that the Jerusalem conference had to do wholly and solely with “the conversion of the Gentiles” (v. 3), which was not only a new thing, but to the Jewish disciples was a most astonishing thing, a thing for which they were, in fact, wholly unprepared.

Peter was the first to speak. He related how God had instructed him to go to the house of Cornelius, where a company of Gentiles was awaiting him, and what had taken place there. Then Barnabas and Paul addressed the conference, “declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them” (v. 12). And finally James addressed the assemblage, saying:

“Simeon hath declared how God at the first (i. e. for the first time) did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return , and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentles upon whom My Name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (vv. 14:18).  Continue at TABERNACLE OF DAVID

How Sunday School Can Change Your Church’s Culture

Changing the culture of a church is one of the most difficult things for a pastor  to do. But over the last decade our church has discovered an unexpected tool for changing a culture: adult Sunday school.

HOW SUNDAY SCHOOL CHANGED OUR CHURCH’S CULTURE

Here’s an example. For some time, our elders were concerned that dating in our church too closely resembled dating in the world. People dated for fun, and only sometimes with an eye toward marriage. They treated their roles interchangeably, failing to view their interactions as a chance to prepare for the complementary roles of husband and wife. For instance, men would not lead and shoulder the risk in relationships, but instead sit back to see if a woman was interested before he put his cards on the table. And of course many couples maintained cavalier attitudes toward physical touch.

Periodically, several married men in the church conducted evening seminars for single men and women in an effort to inject biblical teaching into their thinking. And, while helpful, these seminars did not accomplish the culture change that the elders desired.

Enter a Sunday school class on dating and marriage. The elders asked a man in the congregation to prepare seven weeks of material on marriage and six on dating. The first seven described the goal of marriage, while the next six applied the principles discussed there to the process of finding a spouse. This class has been repeated each year for ten years now.

The class was controversial, especially at first. The questions became so lengthy and involved that the leaders quickly decided to devote an entire class to Q&A, and for several years they held an additional Q&A session at an elder’s home on a weekday evening.

But today, the culture of dating in our congregation is markedly different. Not all dating relationships in our church are conducted according to biblical principles, but most of them are. And while only a bare majority of our single members have taken the class, virtually all of their conversations about dating are overshadowed by the content of that class. Couples more naturally ask, “How can we make our relationship more biblical?”  Continue at Jamie Dunlop

A Biblical View of the Church

“It is very much in vogue for a consultant to ask church leaders, ‘What do you want your church to be? Figure out your needs and desires, tell me where you want to go, and I will help you craft a philosophy that will take you there.’ Such people are asking the wrong question! The right questions is, in Scripture, what does God say the church is? Based on that, we need to ask, where should it go and how should it behave? Then we must ask, what does scripture define as a need and how should it be met?” 

“I believe most evangelicals would have no argument with  looking first to scripture. But we cannot safely assume that this task is ever seriously undertaken. Most churches venture no further than their prepackaged and often predigested denominational doctrinal statement. The crafting of a philosophy of ministry based on scripture is very rare. Doing that kind of theology takes time, effort, and a serious commitment.” (pp. 60-61, “High commitment in a low commitment world, Bill Hull)

I. The term “Church”

The earliest New Testament reference to the Church is found in Matthew 16:18. In this verse, Jesus promised, “I will build my Church.” The New Testament records how Jesus did this through the leadership of the apostles and those appointed by them.  Continue at Thinkpoint


See Also: Overview of leadership in the local Church

From Calvary Chapel to Sovereignty and Elders

I have a confession to make: I have a Calvary Chapel past.

Don’t jump to conclusions though…trust me—I can explain it. I am from Albuquerque, where for the longest time the Calvary Chapel was the banner of evangelicalism in Albuquerque. The evangelical scene has significantly changed since, but that is a story for another time.

When I was a sophomore in college, I had been a believer for only two years and was one of the only college students at my church. I was desperate for Christian friendship, and found a flier for an STM trip to Nicaragua put on by Calvary Chapel. Since I was a Spanish major, I took the flier to the church, and met the missions pastor. He began meeting with me and teaching me about both missions and ministry.

That started my relationship with Calvary. I was attending the same small non-denominational church where I had come to Christ a few years earlier, and the Calvary pastor never asked me to leave. Because Calvary did Saturday night, Sunday night, and a midweek service, I was actually able to attend three services a week without disrupting my commitments at the church where I was a member (I would not recommend this approach to ecclesiology, by the way). By the time I graduated, I was working with a now-defunct group called LifeLine missions, and regarded Calvary as the source of my rapid spiritual growth.   Keep Reading >>>

How to Have a Church Prayer Meeting

A little over a year ago our church began devoting one Sunday evening service a month exclusively to prayer. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would take. But a year into the switch I think our people are growing to appreciate the prayer service more and more. We don’t get everyone to come back for prayer, but it’s roughly the same size we get for our regular Sunday evening service (around 125 people, or about 1/4 the size of Sunday morning).

Here are seven things we’ve learned about having a church prayer meeting.

1. Pray. Don’t make your “prayer meeting” a time for 5 hymns, a short message, sharing requests, and 10 minutes for prayer. Get down to business and pray.

2. Start on time and end on time. This may not be true for every culture, but in America punctuality helps. People know what to expect. We will pray together for one hour.

3. Plan. If you are praying with a few mature, seasoned pray-ers, you may be able to get by with little preparation. But leading a church-wide prayer meeting takes, well, leadership. You have to think through what you are going to do. Recently I planned the prayer service around the fruit of the spirit. At other times we’ve prayed for different ministries in the church. We’ve used prayer books and lots of Scripture. We’ve borrowed from ancient patterns of prayer. We’ve even walked through the building to pray. The point is you can’t wing it with 100 people. You have to prepare.   Keep Reading >>>

See Also: Sample Prayer Service

Biblical Eldership

I learned many things while at the Proclamation Trust last week but two stand out as particularly important.  First, there is nothing like talking to Paul Levy about Welsh mysticism, putting it to the sword and seeing his agony of soul as he watches, in his own words, his `theology turning into dust and blowing away' before his eyes, even as he tried desperately to defend it.  He left the conference a better, wiser, humbler soul.

The second was how important elders are.  Talking to friends ministering in Anglican contexts, I became aware of how lonely it can be without a group of good, supportive men who share the same vision for the church and for Christian nurture and work closely with the local pastor in the local church.  This is vital if the minister is to avoid discouragement and also to check false teaching and bring the congregation to spiritual maturity.   I am grateful for the men with whom I serve on session.  We may not always agree about every jot and tittle; but we share the same commitment to the church and take care of each other even as we take care of the church.

Greg Beale has a fascinating section on elders in his new A New Testament Biblical Theology, pp. 819-23.  Here he underscores the importance of the office for protecting the church from false teachers, especially those who arise within her ranks.  It is this internal struggle which is part, a significant part, of the tribulation of the church since the inauguration of the last days.  This is one reason why elders are necessary: they are the bodyguards of the flock; and the flock more often than not needs to be protected from the wolves in sheep's clothing who have sneaked in under the fence.   Keep Reading >>>

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Warn Them to Not Abuse Their Children

Do your church members physically abuse their children? Maybe you think it’s so few that you don't feel compelled to teach publicly what everyone knows: don't abuse your kids. At most it's one or two bad apples, right?

I'm not so sure.

I cannot say that I want to write about this topic, and I’m no expert. But I keep stumbling into abuse situations in one church or another. And in every case it's been a “model family” who abused their children in the name of what they thought was “biblical discipline.” In other words, I’m talking about well-meaning parents.

Sometimes anger was to blame. The parents confess that their temper got the best of them when their discipline left bruises. Then again, something about their overall approach regularly leaves cuts, welts, or bruises.

Sometimes a severe deficiency of wisdom was to blame. I heard of one couple who spanked their six-month old. Or another who would strike different body parts of their older children with a hard object. And all of these parents believed they were doing the right thing. 

Defining abuse would take another article. But like the Supreme Court justice said about pornography, you know it when you see it. You can see the frightened child backing away as their young eyes behold the grotesque ungodliness storming toward them.   Keep Reading >>>

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Does an Unbelieving Child Disqualify an Elder?

There can be few things in life more painful than an unbelieving child. And when the child is the son or daughter of an elder, the questions take on a public dimension in the life of the church. Doesn't the apostle Paul say something about elders needing to have children who are believers?

The verses under consideration are 1 Timothy 3:4-5 and Titus 1:6. We'll look at them in more detail below, but at this point it's helpful to look at the two different conclusions that faithful interpreters have reached.

Douglas Wilson holds to the first option: "[I]f a man's children fall away from the faith (either doctrinally or morally), he is at that point disqualified from formal ministry in the church" (Douglas Wilson, "The Pastor's Kid" in Credenda/Agenda, vol. 2, no. 3).

Alexander Strauch holds to the second view: "The contrast is made not between believing and unbelieving children, but between obedient, respectful children and lawless, uncontrolled children." In other words, Paul is talking about "the children's behavior, not their eternal state" (Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership, 229).   Keep Reading >>>

Thinking through the Tension of Congregational and Elder Authority

I have long appreciated the ministry of 9Marks. They have consistently provided extremely helpful resources for the local church. In a recent article they demonstrated another commendable quality: they talk about tough issues.

The title of the article: How Congregations with Authority Submit to Elders tells us something of where this is headed. You have a situation where the church is led by the elders while the congregation serves as “the final court of appeal.”

The author, Bobby Jamieson, asks two helpful questions:

If the congregation as a whole is the final court of appeal, what does it mean for a church to submit to its leaders?

and

Do you see the dilemma? If the Bible located church authority exclusively in the elders, the idea of submission would be simple: the elders would make the decisions, and the congregation would submit to those decisions. But what does it mean for a congregation to submit to its elders when the congregation itself holds final authority?   Keep Reading>>>

How Congregations with Authority Submit to Elders

If the congregation as a whole is the final court of appeal, what does it mean for a church to submit to its leaders?

The Bible teaches that elders are to teach the Word, set a godly example for the flock, and oversee the affairs of the church (1 Tim. 3:2; 1 Pet. 5:3; 1 Tim. 5:17). Scripture therefore calls all Christians to “submit” to the leaders of our churches (Heb. 13:17). At the same time, Scripture teaches that the congregation as a whole has final authority in matters of discipline (Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:4-5) and doctrine (Gal. 1).

Do you see the dilemma? If the Bible located church authority exclusively in the elders, the idea of submission would be simple: the elders would make the decisions, and the congregation would submit to those decisions. But what does it mean for a congregation to submit to its elders when the congregation itself holds final authority?

Instead of considering this question in the abstract, let’s do it in an actual setting you may encounter.

Consider a case of church discipline. I would argue that, even in a congregational church, the process of discipline should be led by the elders. To work to work to restore someone who is in sin requires spiritual maturity (Gal. 6:1, Jude 23). Therefore, it makes sense for the elders to be the primary group who work behind the scenes to address sin issues in the congregation.

 

Still, the congregation maintains final authority. The decision to excommunicate must finally be theirs. The elders cannot simply “announce” that they have excommunicated so-and-so. They must bring all irresolvable cases of unrepentant sin to the congregation for a final decision.     Keep Reading>>>