The Work of Elders

As shepherds of a flock Elders have responsibility for the care of individual Christians and the collectivity of Christians… the church.

Ephesians 4 clearly states that Elders are to help individual Christians grow to full spiritual maturity… they are to resemble Jesus Christ. That is accomplished by helping individuals to fully understand God, by teaching them to eliminate sin in their lives and by encouraging them to put the needs of others before their own. The purpose of this process is to attract others to Jesus Christ by the power of a transformed life.

John 17 also clearly states that the unified relationship between Christians is the primary evidence to humanity of the deity of Jesus Christ. In fact, the church (the collectivity of Christians) not only testifies to humanity but also to the spirit world (Eph. 3:10) the wisdom of God in sending his son to the world he created.

So Elders work to help Christians not only get along well together but to build relationships that unify them in every sense of the word. They do this by removing members whose purpose seems to be to divide the flock (Acts 20), by addressing sin in members (1 Cor. 5) that damages the image of the church, by mitigating problems between members and by encouraging members to express through deeds their love for each other.

God has given Elders/Shepherds a huge responsibility and in my opinion will hold them accountable for it.