Eldership; Rationale (3)

The article posted above indicates how things began to change with the authority of the elders. When we began, authority was really not an issue. We just wanted to help in the pastoring of the church. A lot of young people were coming to Christ and entering the church. They had problems, needed help in dealing with those problems and also required help in knowing how to grow in their relationship with the Lord. This was the "job" of the elders. As we matured as an eldership, we began to help "manage" the church and the ministries of the church. This brought about discussions of the authority of the eldership. How far does this authority extend? How were the people, under this authority to act; of course submission. But, how far does submission go?

To start with, this was relatively benign. We were just trying to be helpful. Two things began to change this. First was the growth of community. Maintaining order in the households began to require help in making much more significant life decisions; marriage, job, education etc. Second, we the people, in trying to grow in our submission, submitted major life decisions to the eldership (see Larry's article above). Even as this was happening, most of us really weren't comfortable making big decisions for people. I personally became involved with some of these decisions -- but was always uncomfortable with them. I believe strongly in personal responsibility. People need to make decisions for themselves. Yet, in spite of these reservations, our conviction that order in the church required a "laying down of our lives" (major submission) prevailed. Thus, the scope of authority of the eldership continued to grow. As the authority increased, the opposite among non-elders (and elders alike), submission, also grew. This brought about some unintended consequences that I will discuss in the next post.