Questions to Ask to Help Prevent Affirming the Wrong Ones

Just the other night Jan and I watched a podcast hosted by retired 90-year-old pastor Chuck Swindoll. It featured his interview with Pastor Robert Jeffrees of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Hard Seasons, Close Calls, and the Grace That Kept Us runs a little over an hour. At one point in their conversation, Dr. Jeffrees turned the tables on his interviewer with a question of his own. It was something on the order of “What’s the biggest mistake you made in all your years of pastoral ministry?”

The answer surprised me a bit. But Dr. Swindoll did not hesitate with his reply: “Laying hands too soon on men to serve as fellow elders.” I suspect some painful stories lie behind that choice of hard seasons. But I get it. I’ve said it many times. There’s only one thing worse than having too few elders to help shepherd the flock; it’s having the wrong ones.

My own church currently suffers from what I fear is an all-too-common dilemma: too few elders for so many people. We feel the pain of it. Fortunately, we have some men in the developmental pipeline whom we hope may well join the leadership ranks in due time. But how will we avoid making a mistake like Chuck Swindoll made?

Thankfully our current elders wisely refuse to rush the process (1 Tim. 5:22). They will only put forward men they believe meet the qualifications and are called to the office. Then the membership must decide to affirm or not each brother under consideration. Here are some of the questions (for both elder and deacon) we must ask ourselves about a candidate as we participate in a process so crucial to the peace and purity of the church.

1. Does he have a good reputation, both in the church and outside of the church (Acts 6:3)? In other words, do others speak well of him in terms of conduct that reflects Christian commitments and biblical values?
   
   
2. Is he filled with the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3)? Does he manifest the fruit of the Spirit as described in Gal. 5:22-23 and does he demonstrate the wisdom that comes from above as described in James 3:17-18?
   
   
3. Is he full of faith (Acts 6:5)? Without being given to presumption, does he take calculated risks for the glory of God that show belief in what only He can do and without which it is impossible to please Him (Heb. 11:6)?
   
   
4. In the case of a candidate for the office of deacon, is he already busy about serving within the church (1 Tim. 3:10)? Does he imitate the example of Jesus as a servant in the way he lays down his life for others (Matt. 20:25-28)?
   
   
5. In the case of a candidate for the office of elder, is he already busy about shepherding people in some way within the church (1 Peter 5:2)? Do you sense the Spirit of God is upon him for this purpose (Acts 20:28)? Does he have a capacity to teach the Word (not necessarily in the pulpit, but especially personally) and defend sound doctrine in an understandable and effective way (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9)?
   
   
6. In the case of either office, is he above reproach in terms of his overall godly character (1 Tim. 3:2ff; Titus 1:5ff)? That is to say, not that he is perfect, but that he walks in the light in such a way that no one can make a charge of sin stick to him in terms of the way he lives his life?
   
   
7. If he is married, is he a one-woman-man, rock-solid faithful to his wife in every way (1 Tim. 3:2)? If he is a single man, does he practice self-control and treat women like sisters with all purity (1 Tim. 5:2)?
   
   
8. Does he manage his own household well and if he is a father, are his children who live under his roof and subject to his authority in submission to him as a rule (1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12)?
   
   
9. Does he resonate enthusiastically with the values, mission, and vision of the church (Amos 3:3)?
   
   
10. Is he a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9)? Does he know how to resolve conflict biblically in a manner consistent with the 4 G’s of biblical peacemaking?
    
    
11. Has he been around the church long enough so that we may be assured that we don’t fail by laying hands on him too quickly and thus take part in the sins of others (1 Tim. 5:22)?
    
    
12. Perhaps most importantly, is he ever-growing as a God-entranced, Christ-glorifying, Spirit-filled, church-loving, humility-clothed (1 Pet. 5:5), not-his-own-but-bought-with-a-price beholder of glory in the gospel, thus and only thus empowered to help others do the same (2 Cor. 3:18)?

God’s word sets the bar high when it comes to the qualifications of men fit for office in his church. A lot rides on the men we affirm to serve God and us in the future. We have fewer responsibilities as members which are more important than this one. May the Lord be pleased to bless us with more men such as these.