Perhaps I can give another illustration. Suppose that today you meet a very intelligent and capable person. If he goes to work in a hospital, at the most you can ask him to handle practical affairs, but you cannot ask him to be the chief physician. At the most you can ask him to manage business affairs, but not to diagnose diseases. A hospital is a professional organization, not a business organization. There may be a person in a business school who is very intelligent and very capable of handling things, but you cannot ask him to be a dean, a principal, or a department chairman immediately. At the most you can invite him to take care of only general affairs, because the other positions are specialized and can be held only by those who have special knowledge.
There may be a very bright person in a business corporation, but you cannot ask him to be the manager of business operations immediately, because business operations are specialized. Similarly, the church is an organization that specializes in spiritual things. Therefore, you may ask only those who know the trade to do the job.
You need to know that the church is spiritual and that practical affairs are only secondary. Therefore, when you select an elder in a certain locality, you should first consider him from the spiritual viewpoint. Afterward, you have to see whether or not he knows how to direct, oversee, and lead. This brother must be one who has insight and knowledge in spiritual things, who has been built up in them, and who also has the capability in practical affairs. Then, when there are spiritual matters, he will not cause problems. Therefore, I hope the brothers will pay special attention to these things. Do not lightly select a person to be an elder. When you make a selection, pay attention to the spiritual aspect first, and then pay attention to the practical aspect.
When you go out, your responsibility is great. For what reason? You will remember that Paul lived in Ephesus for a period of time and that there were elders there (Acts 20). However, while Paul was living in Ephesus, he granted the elders much help. Therefore, when he left, he could say these words to the elders: “Take heed...among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers” (v. 28). Paul personally imparted spiritual help to the elders. He did not merely appoint them and hand things over to them and then stop there. Paul continued to help them and to teach them how to be elders.
Later, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete and charged them to appoint elders. If you read the first Epistle to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus, you will see that it was not merely a matter of appointing elders and then stopping there, but also of helping the elders to serve together along with them. Paul charged these two young apostles, Timothy and Titus, to appoint elders in the churches and to guide them in their serving. In the first Epistle to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus, there are several charges like this. If you have time to read these Epistles, you will see that Paul charged Timothy and Titus to work together with the elders in the church. “These things I write to you....But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God” (1 Tim. 3:14-15).
What is the significance here? If you appoint elders in a locality, you cannot assume that once you have appointed them your job is done. You also cannot assume that you can let them go on by themselves since all of the responsibilities are in their hands, that is, let them make mistakes by themselves. Rather, after you have appointed elders in a locality, you need to observe how they go on, and you need to help them. In many things you need to teach them and watch them. Only then can you again appoint, arrange, and teach elders in another place. Otherwise, a local church is at a standstill once it is set up. Here is a group of people who have never taken care of the affairs of the church. Although they have some spiritual experience, they do not know how to handle the affairs of the church. It would be strange to expect such inexperienced ones not to make mistakes.
Therefore, today your responsibility is great. At every opportunity you need to help the elders learn to be proper elders. Many people in their daily life speak lightly and make jokes. When they come to the church and serve, they also speak lightly and make jokes. So you need to help them. Every time their attitude becomes loose or light, you need to say, “Brothers, this is a spiritual matter, and this is something before God. You should not speak in a loose way and laugh like this.” Thus, you stop this. When some people do their job in the world, they speak lightly and criticize loosely. Then they bring this habit into the church. Whenever you hear criticism or loose talk, you should say, “Here you need to obey and not give your opinions. We do not need to give opinions, but we need to learn to obey.” Thus, you stop this.
In their spiritual service some may resort to manipulation or maneuvering. In such a case, you should tell them, “Brothers, among God’s children we do not manipulate, nor do we maneuver. We deal with situations; we do not avoid them.” Those who are able to deal with issues before God can be elders, not those who are able to avoid issues.
Some people may have long been in a position of being the head of a household or a master; therefore, their attitude is quite hard, their words impolite, and their spirits not tender. You need to help them see that their words should be strong and firm but that their spirit should be tender. They need both in order to take care of church affairs.
These are all details, but they are basic. It would be too poor if the elders in the church were afraid of problems and tried to avoid them. It would also be poor if the elders always manipulated things in the church, holding back what needed to be spoken and failing to rebuke when it was needed. People like this cannot be elders. This does not mean that an elder in the church should always look for causes to be angry or for things to rebuke or that he should handle church affairs with harshness. The church needs a person whose spirit is broken before God, who has been smitten by God, who has no personal feeling, and who is soft before God yet firm in handling things.
You need to frequently help the brothers in this way. Then spontaneously when they come to the church, they will not be careless. Their harshness will not be brought into the church. They need to know that they are in the church and not in their home or in an office. We need to use spiritual words to guide them step by step. After a period of time they will be able to take care of the church properly.