The Elder Must Have a Good Reputation

Chapter 15

The obvious reason the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church is stated in the verse, “so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Several years ago I had an unpleasant experience with a member of a country western band I played with. That person is so incredibly immature that he has taken the opportunity numerous times since that event to attempt to make life miserable for me publicly. He has failed to do that, nevertheless, his response to that insignificant event has served to remind me how critical it is we carefully guard all things we say and do no matter when and where we are. We must realize the world is full of sociopaths. Great multitudes of people who appear to be perfectly normal are not. What is important about Elders is that they recognize ungrounded satanic assaults against a fellow Elder. Once more we see why the Elder in God’s local church must meet stringent qualifications as indicated by His word before he is anointed to the ministry. And beloved, seminaries and bible colleges have no biblical authority to do ordain men into ministry. The anointing of Elders is entirely the ministry of the local church. It is essential, if a man desires to be an Elder in the local church that he live above reproach. That means he must live a transparent life in which he makes no attempt to hide any of his activities. The Elder can’t be one who occasionally experiences road rage, yells at his wife for taking too long to get ready for church, curses his children for spilling milk at the church picnic, smacks his son for breaking a plate, writes an editorial defaming the name of a community leader, refuses to care for orphans and widows, allows his wife to dress inappropriately in public, defends the veracity of his children when they have obviously committed criminal acts, or looks upon a woman to lust after her.

So the Elder in God’s local church must have a good reputation with those outside the church. If church leaders are not exemplary citizens, lost souls will not likely be drawn to Christ. And it's expecially difficult to effectively teach what one does not live.