Pray Ye Therefore
Like many, I am praying that God would send an Elder to those PB churches that do not currently have a pastor. It occurred to me that this request is far too small. I should be praying that the PB churches who have a pastor already be sent Elders as well. A plurality of Elders is the New Testament model (Titus 1:5) and we should not doubt the Lord's ability to supply the God-called men needed to fulfill the basic requirements of the church He designed and instituted, especially when the Lord explicitly instructed us to pray for this.
"The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2)
Three Reasons we find ourselves in this situation
I believe that we have an Elder deficit because of a dereliction of duty on the part of regenerate men. This has many expressions.
For one thing, I am certain that we have failed to pray for this as the Lord instructed. We should fix that immediately by repenting and inquiring of God to supply our needs.
Secondly, I believe that we PBs have become comfortable with that idea that the TRADITIONAL PRACTICE is the same thing as the PRIMITIVE PRACTICE. That is certainly NOT the case. I suspect that if we were as interested in removing PB logs of wayward traditionalism as we are in railing on the errors of works-salvation, we might find some improvement in our situation. At a minimum it would undermine the credibility of any allegation of hypocrisy leveled at us in this regard. This also is a matter requiring repentance and correction on our part.
Thirdly, I've often said that covetousness is perhaps the greatest sin confronting American Christians. As such, it seems reasonable that many men, who OUGHT to have become Elders over the past 50 years, boarded a ship bound for Tarshish instead. Serving God often runs contrary to the impulses of the carnal mind. It is easy to find companionship and comfort when going with the flow along a broad way that so many have chosen to travel. May we redouble our efforts to find and encourage God-called men, and may we be less accommodating of the inevitable resistance to serve God by the called than we have been.
THERE IS NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER
If God calls a man to his service, he doesn't really have any choice in the matter. I don't mean that he cannot rebel against God and shirk the responsibility of his calling. Indeed, I suspect that’s precisely what many men have done in many ways over the last half a century or more. I mean that he has nothing to gain in doing so. It is in that sense that he really has no choice in the matter. There is no good reason to choose “my will be done” over “thy will be done.” The truth of that declaration should be no matter of controversy among us. Have we become so soft that we allow men to squeeze out of their calling because we harbor short-sighted sympathy for their vain pursuits? Is it possible that we are motivated to such because we don't want anyone blocking the exits lest we too look for a way out? I say this with all gravity. Lord, grant us willing laborers for the harvest. Perhaps more to the point, if the Lord himself taught that this is something God’s people should pray for, do we really have any choice in the matter?
a Plurality of Elders IS THE BIBLICAL PATTERN FOR THE CHURCH
Before I was ever ordained to the ministry, Elder Phelan and I discussed how the biblical model for the Lord's New Testament church involves a plurality of Elders.
“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:” (Titus 1:5)
We agreed that this was a matter of design and importance and that we should prayerfully pursue this at Harmony PBC. This is an aspect of current PB practice that is out of line with the PRIMITIVE design set forth in the word of God. That observation has proven somewhat controversial among PBs but it is undeniably true whether anyone likes it or not. I am aware of many reasons that the one-elder-per-church practice has arisen among us. I am not angry at churches that find themselves with just one Elder, nor would I seek to erect bars of fellowship against them for this circumstance. From my vantage point, there’s been too much vain saber-rattling among the PBs for the last 50 years or so. Still, I believe that we must accept and endeavor to adhere to the PRIMITIVE practice of the church as described in scripture. It is the proper model for the church and if we are at variance with it, we do well to correct it through the biblically prescribed means of prayer and reliance on God to provide our needs (Luke 10:2). What’s more, our claim to the importance of the ORIGINAL practice of the church is greatly damaged if we use it to cudgel other orders for their departures (Sunday School, Seminaries, etc.) while ignoring the departures in our own practice. We should join together in prayer as God’s people, believing full-well that the Lord will supply our needs, rather than resigning ourselves to extinction, wherein our faithless inaction composes a self-fulling prophecy of doom. “My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” (James 3:10)
In recent months, I've repeatedly preached that we are to pray that the Lord would "send forth laborers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2) The Lord Jesus Christ himself told us to pray for that. I don't believe he told us that in vain. Yet I see that we have too few Elders among us. It seems reasonable to me that WE are the cause of our own deficiency in this regard, indeed, "ye have not because ye ask not." (James 4:2) To that end, Harmony PBC has committed to praying that the Lord raise up men for gospel labor, and that we be given opportunity to share the hope this is within us to family, friends, and acquaintances in the coming days.
Pray Ye Therefore
The Lord's design for the church includes a plurality of Elders. We should all be praying to this end. I look forward to reflecting upon God's faithfulness in supplying what we need in the years to come.
- Elder Daniel Samons
This blog article was cobbled together from a series of discussions on the topic in recent weeks.