Hello Brother,<\/p>\n
I hope you are well. I am a member of the Lord’s church.<\/p>\n
I have a question: Are Elders called by God to serve as Elders? If so, why did God give us the qualifications in scripture? I don’t believe this is true, but some congregations teach this in their pulpits. I would like your input on this topic.<\/p>\n
Yours in Christ.<\/p>\n\t
Does God call men to accomplish various duties for the church? Yes (I Corinthians 12:28-29). But where the controversy arises is how<\/em> <\/strong>God calls. “Called” is another way to say “invited” or “encouraged to come.” “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do<\/em>” (I Timothy 3:1).<\/p>\n “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:11-12).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Christ established the positions, but this passage doesn’t tell us how they are filled. Far too many people assume that Christ selects individual people directly, but this assumption is not based on the Scriptures.<\/p>\n The Bible tells us that elders are needed. We see their work described, and we find examples of elders being appointed (Titus 1:5; Acts 14:23). However, we notice that preachers were told to appoint elders. Men did not appoint themselves. Instead, preachers were given qualifications to look for in men before they were appointed to the duty (I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). Using the example in Acts 6, the church selects men for the task (Acts 6:3), and then they are appointed (Acts 6:6). Where is God’s hand in this? He is the one who gave the qualifications for elders and encouraged men to seek the duty because it is fine work to be done.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t Thank you for that response.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello Brother, I hope you are well. I am a member of the Lord’s church. I have a question: Are Elders called by God to serve as Elders? If so, why did God give us the qualifications in scripture? I don’t believe this is true, but some congregations teach this in their pulpits. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[98,123],"class_list":["post-68628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-called","tag-elders"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41570,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-leave-a-congregation-with-no-elders-for-one-that-has-elders\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":0},"title":"Should I leave a congregation with no elders for one that has elders?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I worship at a church of Christ that has no elders. There are qualified men who do not desire the office. There is a sound church of Christ nearby that has elders. Am I putting my salvation in jeopardy? Should I move my membership? My desire is to be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58913,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-think-committees-are-necessary-when-there-are-no-elders-or-deacons\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":1},"title":"Do you think committees are necessary when there are no elders or deacons?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! Thanks for the enlightening content on your site. I read the answer you gave to a question that was about creating committees to carry out tasks for a congregation. You said it was wrong because when the need arose in the early church, deacons were appointed and elders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38493,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-church-without-elders-not-following-the-scriptures\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":2},"title":"Is a church without elders not following the Scriptures?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are three churches of Christ in my town. I have attended all three. There is one, smaller than the other churches, that has had no elders or deacons for about 15 years. My wife likes to go there. However, when I ask about the need for elders and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27508,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-for-a-church-to-raise-money-for-a-preacher-school-or-to-have-leaders-instead-of-elders\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":3},"title":"Is it right for a church to raise money for a preacher school or to have leaders instead of elders?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a concern over a recent request from a brethren who is a church leader of the congregation where I was baptized years before. He was asking me to help financially support the church planting mission being undertaken by the missionary training academy established by the congregation over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54083,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-a-church-secretary-or-treasurer-a-permanent-position\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":4},"title":"Is a church secretary or treasurer a permanent position?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know whether a church secretary, treasurer, etc. once appointed or chosen to that post is permanent, or they can be rotated on a tenure basis. Answer: There is no such office in the church as a secretary or treasurer. Duties, such as these, are usually filled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28162,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-elders-limited-to-the-age-of-miracles\/","url_meta":{"origin":68628,"position":5},"title":"Were elders limited to the age of miracles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Were elders limited to the age of miracles? Was the church only supposed to have elders while the miraculous gifts were present? I have someone here who is claiming this and he bases it on Acts 20:28, Ephesians 4:11, and I Timothy 4:14. Answer: Stated to End? 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