Elder Form For Church In Minnesota
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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.
The appointment is the congregation's recognition or affirmation that a prospective elder possesses the biblical qualifications found in 1 Tim. –7 and Titus –9. It is the acknowledgment, “This man is biblically qualified and evidently a gift of Christ to our church” (Eph. ).
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.
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.
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)
1), elders should be appointed by the express consent of the congregation. How to balance these two principles is a matter of prudence. 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.
However, in an elder-led system the elders make decisions that are approved or denied by the congregation through a congregational vote. In an elder-rule church no congregational approval is needed in order for the elders to make a decision within the sphere of authority God has granted them (see Question #5).
Among Methodists it refers to a fully ordained minister. In its rare use in the Lutheran tradition, it is interchangeable with deacon in reference to laypersons chosen by a congregation to assist the pastor with official duties; they and the pastor form a board of elders with advisory powers.
In Acts , he refers to them as having been made overseers by the Holy Spirit. In his sermon to them, he exhorts them to care for the church. The Greek word behind that work care is shepherd, which is where we get our word pastor. So, elder, overseer, and pastor are all describing the same office, the same role.