Tim: I know some men that would make great elders, so I don’t need much help there.
Paul Mentor: It’s good you have some men in mind, already, Tim. But, I’d be careful to choose them wisely, for in some measure this team will be kind of like a proto-type for the future elders’ group. So, you need to begin by seeking the Lord’s guidance.
Tim: Right, I guess I get so excited about what God is going to do, that I forget to pray.
Paul: Hopefully, prayer is not just something that goes on the “to-do” list, but becomes an evidence of an overriding attitude of seeking the Lord’s guidance every step of the way.
Tim: Thanks for the challenge. I do want to trust the Lord every step of the way. Now, how then, would I go about approaching the men, what do I say we are going to do?
Paul: There are many different ways of doing this. But, here are some suggestions that you may find helpful. There is no right or wrong way to do these things, but take these ideas and modify them for your situation as the Lord leads.
Welcome
You are here because you are taking Approach #1, Function First, Then Form. This means you will begin working with a team of men, training them to function as shepherds—sort of quasi-elders. Here are some ideas:
Forming the Team
Selecting the Men
- Pray: Pray the Lord would show to you those who already have a shepherd’s heart or a desire to shepherd people. Elders must be men of God’s choosing.
- Observe: You are looking for evidence of God’s work in men’s lives in relation to shepherding God’s people. Key things that you should look for in men are those who desire the work of an elder (1 Tim. 3:1), have an aptitude for teaching the Word (2 Tim. 2:2, 1 Tim. 3:2), show concern for people’s spiritual lives (1 Peter 5:1-2), and live an exemplary Christian life—morally and doctrinally (Titus 2:7).
- Watch on Sunday mornings as people interact with others: During small group times and social times, who is starting spiritual conversations, who is directing people’s thoughts to spiritual things, who is showing hospitality to others, who are the first ones to welcome visitors? Ask your wife and other spiritually minded people to identify whom they observe shepherding others.
You might use or adapt the Prospective Shepherding Team Worksheet.
Studying the BE Workbook
God can use this material as a spiritual tool to bring about self-inspection and a challenge to godly manhood to which spiritually minded men will aspire.
- Invite the men God brings to your mind to join you in a one-year study, using the Biblical Eldership text and workbook by Alexander Strauch.
- Don’t rush this intensive study—we recommend one workbook chapter per month for twelve months (the twelve chapters are keyed to specific readings in the textbook). Plan to meet monthly to discuss the material.
- The designated facilitator will lead the discussion, selecting which questions to emphasize. This will give the men a great foundation of what BE is all about. We suggest the facilitator use the companion, “Biblical Eldership Mentor’s Guide.” While this manual is geared toward one-on-one mentoring, it can be adapted to group study.
- Here is a 90-minute format that works well: 15 minutes of prayer, 5 minutes to review memory verses, 70 minutes of discussion, and closing prayer.
- Encourage the men to write their answers down in the workbook and complete all the questions. This discipline ensures the men have had time to ponder the questions deeply, encourages them to crystallize their thoughts, saves time during the meetings, fosters camaraderie and accountability, and allows you to see who is taking the training seriously.
Training in Practical Shepherding
There is no better training than “on-the-job” training. Potential elders need to develop experience in:
- Visiting the sick and encouraging the downtrodden
- Participating in baptisms, funerals, and marriage ceremonies
- Leading small groups
- Basic shepherding
You will want to provide written materials (see “Training Resources” tab above) or your own verbal instructions, as well as practical experiences where there will be training and feedback.
Mentoring
Give each of the potential elders the opportunity to be mentored regularly by an experienced individual who will give him personalized attention, an opportunity to learn from good examples, and feedback about his strengths and weaknesses.
Teach the Congregation
- Public teaching: While working with the Shepherding Team, we recommend that you, as the pastor, launch a significant teaching series for the congregation about the New Testament church as seen in the book of Acts and the epistles (especially 1 Timothy and Titus). You will need to decide when the best time for this would be (Sunday mornings, selected membership meetings, etc). This will orient the congregation to BE while you as a plurality of men are beginning to practice the pastoral side of BE. This website has video and audio sermons covering BE, which can be used either in their entirety or as a basis for your own sermons.
- Circulate literature: You may want to circulate copies of the “Biblical Eldership Booklet,” which can be read on our site or purchased and handed out to the people.
How Long?
Developing the shepherding team should take at least a year, to give opportunity for the men to learn about eldership and begin doing the work of elders. This will give the congregation time to get accustomed to men other than the pastor sharing in the shepherding, and time to absorb biblical teaching about church leadership.
As the congregation begins to see the benefit of having other men sharing the practical shepherding ministry, you can begin leading them in asking questions like this: “Since we have seen the benefit of a team of men sharing in the shepherding of the church, should we consider making a change in the formal structure of leadership to best support this kind of shepherding leadership?”
What’s Next?
As you sense the Spirit’s leading and the congregation’s positive response to the teaching on BE, you can form a transition team to guide the transition. The shepherding team will continue their shepherding, but their “training” will pause until BE is adopted for the church. Some or all of the shepherding team members may also serve on the transition team, but the transition team serves a different purpose: to guide the whole church in making the structural changes necessary to support a BE form of leadership.
NOTE: you need to be careful not to overload any of the men with too much responsibility, which could result in burnout.
You are now ready to move to the next step. Click on “Form the Transition Team.”