Elder Form For Church In Fulton
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While the established elders of the local church ultimately ordain the new elder, through the imposition (i.e. laying on) of hands, the new elder is chosen through the common suffrage (i.e. election/congregational vote) of the congregation. Put simply, the membership of a church elects its own leaders.
As Paul writes in Ephesians , pastors are “gifts” of Christ to the church. Or, as Paul tells the Ephesian elders in Acts , “The Holy Spirit has appointed you . . . as overseers.” Thus, the church submits to Christ by recognizing those elders as gifts through a congregational vote.
Elders are chosen, appointed (raised up), or ordained (means to set alongside) by the existing leadership that has itself been appointed. In a church where there are no elders, the preachers raise up elders (Titus ).
The stake president (or someone under his direction) may ordain the person to the office of elder, or he may authorize another Melchizedek Priesthood holder to do so. Only Melchizedek Priesthood holders may stand in the circle.
Each circuit overseer visits the congregations in his jurisdiction twice each year. During his visit, local elders recommend members who may qualify for appointment as elders or ministerial servants (equivalent to deacons), and appointments are decided by the circuit overseer.
In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an elder is an ordained person who serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of word, sacrament and order, filling the preaching and pastoral offices.
One way to recognize both biblical principles is (i) to have the elders nominate prospective elders and then (ii) to have the congregation vote to recognize them. That way the elders are the ones examining a man before putting him before the congregation, yet the congregation's decision is decisive.
Qualifications of Elders — I Timothy -7 Above Reproach (Paul begins with positive attributes) ... The Husband of One Wife. Temperate. Prudent. Respectable. Hospitable. Apt to Teach. Not a Drunkard (here he begins the negative attributes)
Being an Elder is not defined by age, but rather Elders are recognized because they have earned the respect of their community through wisdom, harmony and balance of their actions in their teachings.
The single, overarching qualification of which the rest are supportive is that he is to be “above reproach.” That is, he must be a leader who cannot be accused of anything sinful because he has a sustained reputation for blamelessness.