How often have elders of the Lord’s church been unfairly and unnecessarily targeted…by its own members? The elders are the easy target…when we don’t like an announcement that was made, when we don’t like a decision that has been made, when we think they are stuck in the past, when we think that they take too long to make a decision, when we want someone to blame for something that we don’t like.
Are elders perfect? Of course not! But if these men meet GOD’S qualifications (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9) and if they soundly teach and follow GOD’S Word (Acts 20:29-32), then “the Holy Spirit has made” them the overseers of His church (Acts 20:28). Our responsibility is to make their very difficult and eternally accountable task one of “joy and not…grief” by “obeying” them, “submitting to” them, “respecting” them, and “esteeming them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). Rather than “receive an accusation against an elder” (1 Tim. 5:19), or be guilty of making one ourselves, let us “pray” for them (Acts 20:36) and encourage them (1 Thess. 5:11).