Are Your Church Elders Really Deacons? (And vice versa)
A lot of men called ‘elders’ in the Church today are not functioning as biblical elders. Maybe what they are actually doing is a lot closer to the work of the deacons?
Many cling to their titles, when in fact they’re not leading God’s people by example on the only mission Jesus gave his church: making disciples.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, Caesar goes deep into the examples and commands in the Bible concerning the role, tone, and function of early church elders and deacons. We need a lot more of this today!
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Where early church elders were found and how they were appointed.
- What happened after deacons were first established in the church. Surprising!
- The living, present example our church elders should play in disciple-making.
- What to do if your elders are NOT functioning as biblical elders.
From this episode:
“If the pastors and elders in the church are supposed to be role models for the rest of the people, showing them how to live and make disciples as Jesus did, shouldn’t our elders have loads of not-yet-believing friends? I’m not talking about acquaintances. I’m talking about relationships… friends. Shouldn’t our elders, our “examples to the flock”, be rock-star disciple-makers, living the same way Jesus and his disciples did?”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others…
Thanks for Listening!
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Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Coaching with Caesar and Tina in discipleship and missional living.
Free Discipleship and Missional Resources
Transcript
Hospitality speaks to, with outsiders, with people who are not part of your family, with not part of the church fellowship is with the church, but they're given like their lifestyle, the way they roll is hospitality, meaning they're having people over all the time.
Caesar Kalinowski:And there's so much scripture I could quote here about this and taking in the outsider and making a place in your home and all this, that's what elders are like and holding firmly to the faithful message this Gospel of the kingdom as it's been taught.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, I mean, beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like those people are so fluent in the Gospel and understanding it and, and just able to good news our hearts and deal with issues and problems and.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, and just bring the good news of the Gospel into this.
Caesar Kalinowski:They have a great reputation.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're hospitable, they're hanging out with people.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're the elders among us.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I have to ask, , does this describe the elders in most churches today?
Announcer:Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast, where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Announcer:In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
Announcer:This is the stuff your parents, pastors and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Announcer:And now here's your host, Caesar Kalinowski.
Caesar Kalinowski:Alrighty, here we go again.
Caesar Kalinowski:So glad to be back with you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hope your.
Caesar Kalinowski:Going Well, mine is so far, uh, it's been super busy lately.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think I was talking about this maybe last episode, how like since Spring has kind of popped and people are back out and about, we just, I feel like our social schedule and People of Peace and people and community and family and everybody friends, were just, it's busy again and it feels great before we get going too far into today's topic, uh, I wanna invite you to join me on Facebook, in our Facebook group, the Everyday Disciple Podcast.
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Caesar Kalinowski:Now another thing has been kinda exciting is we, we just started up a new coaching cohort.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think, uh, you've probably heard me talk about that.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you listen regularly, we, um, don't have a lot of cohort spots open up because of how deep we go with people and, and how much of time we give them and all.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we did have a cohort get started here.
Caesar Kalinowski:In this last few weeks, and I'm just excited.
Caesar Kalinowski:The people are so great.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hello.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know who you are out there.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, um, I, I just, I'm so encouraged by what I see going on in the church and people starting to think, you know, now is the time things have shifted.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're going, we're gonna start to learn how to make disciples in everyday life out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here in our neighborhoods and in community and see those multiply.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I'm just so thankful to God and thankful for everybody who's gonna be on this journey with us.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think we, if you were to move real quick, we have a couple of slots we could get, still get you into this new cohort.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you're interested, uh, you can go to everyday Disciple dot com slash coaching and learn a little bit more about it.
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Caesar Kalinowski:But you'd need to do it like seriously now, because we're already getting started.
Caesar Kalinowski:And otherwise, uh, it'll be, I don't want you to behind in what we are gonna learn and experience and start to do.
Caesar Kalinowski:Alright, let's get to the topic for the day.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm a little, I'm a little shaky about how this could be received because we're gonna talk about elders today and eldership in churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:And are the elders in some of our churches really like eldering, uh, or are they more like deacons or is it vice versa?
Caesar Kalinowski:Like maybe some of the deacons are actually doing the work of elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:I, it's hard to say, but I know whenever we start talking polity, it seems like, oh, we're just anti-everything.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it's like, we're not, what we are is pro Disciple making and pro scripture and pro the example Jesus gave us and pro the example we get to see in the early church and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I really wanted to talk about that.
Caesar Kalinowski:A lot of the people we've coached and coached currently and others who write me, uh, about big challenges they're having in their churches right now, challenges to truly lead their people to live on mission and make disciples as a lifestyle.
Caesar Kalinowski:A lot of the challenges coming from their, their own elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, they're bumping up against opposition from the elders and leaders of their own churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not the devil, not city ordinances or lockdowns.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not so much even their own people in the flock, but they're elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So I, I wanted to just talk about this a bit, because to me that's so crazy and backwards and hard to even believe when I read what scripture says about elders and deacons for that matter.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then I compare that.
Caesar Kalinowski:What a lot of elders are actually doing and not doing maybe in their churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's crazy to me.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and that they would be opposition from the people who are called to lead and be an example as we're gonna see, you know, and, and could it be that a lot of folks who are called elders are not functioning as biblical elders now?
Caesar Kalinowski:They have the title, but they're not really, could it be that what we're actually doing is a lot closer to the work of deacons?
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we seem to have this twisted hierarchy in worldly top-down business structure and titles and positions in a lot of churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and so we see people who clinging to their title of elder when in fact they're not actually eldering god's people on the only mission Jesus gave his church.
Caesar Kalinowski:Which is to make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, there are different names used to describe this position.
Caesar Kalinowski:So if you're not from a church tradition that uses elder, other words that are translated from the same roots and different Bible translations and different denominations used different words, but there's Elder Shepherd, overseer presbyter
Caesar Kalinowski:. Bishop, pastor, minister, priest, those are really all from the same root word.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I know some denominations they'll split that and go like, no, we have bishops and we have this, and we have elders, but we also have pastors and they're not the same.
Caesar Kalinowski:And pastor can't be an elder and well, not biblically.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, so first point, not biblically, so let's, let's do a little digging in the scripture to see what and who elders were and what they're about.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm not gonna go deep into trying to like, parse every little bit of all the qualifications that Paul lists out, you know, in first Timothy and Titus and all.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we are gonna take a look at some of this.
Caesar Kalinowski:We have to, we're gonna, we're gonna go right to the scripture.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so right away Titus one five that says, the reason I left.
Caesar Kalinowski:in Crete.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is Paul talking, was that you might put an order what was left, unfinished and appoint elders, or the word is overseers in a lot of translations.
Caesar Kalinowski:Appoint overseers in every town as I directed you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now something to notice right away here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:That catches my attention every time I read it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Were the elders of a town.
Caesar Kalinowski:So whenever we see Paul addressing elders or mentioning or referring to.
Caesar Kalinowski:Calling out elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're elders in a city.
Caesar Kalinowski:Were the oikos' the home churches or I don't know, you know, like those extended families, which is, you know, we see the ecclesia functioning as there's elders, but they're the elders of that city.
Caesar Kalinowski:And by the way, he's, Paul's been gone for quite a while.
Caesar Kalinowski:The gospel's been spreading.
Caesar Kalinowski:and he's saying, Hey, go ahead and finish up some of this stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:And appointing these overseers, these elders, it's been a month, a lot of, lot of churches, they say, well, you can't start to have elders appointed.
Caesar Kalinowski:How, how do you have elders?
Caesar Kalinowski:There's no church yet.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And and the other thing is too, that, that word appoint.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's less of like, take a vote or someone of authority, you know, like drops a hammer, whatever that word.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you go back to the Greek, it, it, it's, it's to set down as or to constitute or to show to be.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's, that's the really, that, that's what it says.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, like appoint those, show people who these elders are, and it doesn't say they started up elder classes, you know, in Crete and uh, and then took votes on who would be in charge after they finished the classes.
Caesar Kalinowski:You don't see anything like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:The elders that we see in scripture, In many instances, particularly in the Old Testament, is a reference to the older men in a tribe, in that city, usually entrusted with the governance, uh, oversight and whose council people would, would seek out because of their age and their experience and the trust they had in them.
Caesar Kalinowski:These were, these were the older people.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's why they're called elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:That in your village or city, they were the ones who you trusted.
Caesar Kalinowski:And oftentimes, you know, you have these pictures of them sitting by the gate or sitting around the center of the, you know, wherever the town meeting would be or whatever, town hall or whatever kind of type of thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you've known them, you've grown up around them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everybody knows.
Caesar Kalinowski:Their life in character.
Caesar Kalinowski:They've been around and involved in helping and serving, and they're the people you go to for advice.
Caesar Kalinowski:And they're the people that if you're sick, they would pray for you or you know, gosh, we can't afford to pay this bill, or, you know, that's who those the elders were.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've seen this exact thing over and over and over like in Africa and other countries, and when I've been out working and it's, it's, it functions.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's, you can see it now, Paul then says to Timothy the, the things about, well, here's, here's what elders look like and what he's doing is he's describing which of those types of elders they're already there should you trust to give oversight to the church, the family of believers that are emerging and, and multiplying in a city.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:That, see, now we're already, we're starting to say, well, that's not quite how we'd do it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, we could , we could, but we, yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:We have sort of business models often, so in first Timothy and also in Titus, all we see like, whatever, you know, here's the qualifications.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, you know, Paul's saying whoever desires to be an.
Caesar Kalinowski:and, and he goes through a big list of things.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm not gonna, I, I'm not gonna really get into, you know, detail, detail, detail about each one of these.
Caesar Kalinowski:But real quick, you've probably read this, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Go look it up.
Caesar Kalinowski:First Timothy three, one to seven, and in Titus 1 69 says that if you, whoever desires to be an overseer, they should be.
Caesar Kalinowski:Blameless, they should be above reproach, meaning they don't have like obvious stuff in their life where you go, whoa, whoa, whoa, that, that doesn't look right.
Caesar Kalinowski:That that's not Gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:They should be faithful husband to one wife, temperate, sober, vi, vigilant.
Caesar Kalinowski:That just means they're not hotheads and weirdos.
Caesar Kalinowski:Sober minded, prudent of good behavior, respectable.
Caesar Kalinowski:Given to hospitality, given to it mean, it's like their lifestyle.
Caesar Kalinowski:They practice it often.
Caesar Kalinowski:We'll come back and talk more about that in a minute.
Caesar Kalinowski:Able to teach, and I've seen churches where like, well, are your elders all able to like completely teach and preach and, and Gospel people and counsel
Caesar Kalinowski:and
Caesar Kalinowski:all that?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, well, they'd be able to in a pinch, or it's like, well, that's not what this is saying.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're saying that they know the Gospel and they're able to teach it.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's who they.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's why we see the, the translation isn't like this big distinction between an elder and a pastor or a preacher, and so it's like, that's who these people were.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay?
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not given to too much wine, so it means they're not out getting hammered, um, or drunk all the time.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wherever.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not violent.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're patient.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're moderate and gentle.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're uncontentious, meaning not soon to get angry or quick tempered.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not lovers of money.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's a good one.
Caesar Kalinowski:A rules an elder, someone who seeks to be an overseer, rules his own house.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, and his children are faithful.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not accused of rebellion.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not, they're not like, whoa.
Caesar Kalinowski:Those kids are way out there.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, right.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've heard scriptures say, if you can't even oversee your own household, how you're gonna oversee the household of God.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, they, another qualification is not, uh, a new believer.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:So they're not young in the faith.
Caesar Kalinowski:And by the way, these were always elders, but they weren't saying, they, they, they were saying not only are they the elders of your city, they've already been, but they're, they've been in the faith a while now.
Caesar Kalinowski:You noticed that.
Caesar Kalinowski:How could you not, how could you be an elder and not be a new believer?
Caesar Kalinowski:But you're already an old person known as an elder, and, and Paul is saying, but the ones you appoint, they shouldn't be new believers.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, the, the church had been growing for years and years before this was happening.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, even that's surprising to many of us.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's another qualification.
Caesar Kalinowski:Has a good reputation with outsiders.
Caesar Kalinowski:How do you get a reputation with people?
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, it's over time, it's over being with them, them seeing your life, seeing you in lots of different con contexts.
Caesar Kalinowski:You, you don't have a reputation if you don't know people and they don't know you.
Caesar Kalinowski:So we'll get into that a little bit more.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're self-controlled and they hold firmly to the faithful message, the Gospel, as it has been taught.
Caesar Kalinowski:Meaning they're not distorting the Gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:They know it.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're applying it.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're helping people understand it.
Caesar Kalinowski:We would use the term like helping people move from unbelief to belief in light of the Gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:You've heard it said, but I say like Jesus would say, okay, and so like, check this out.
Caesar Kalinowski:In Acts 2028, little description, Paul's on one of his journeys and says he's writing to a group of city elder.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, uh, overseers in Ephesus, and he says, keep watch over yourselves.
Caesar Kalinowski:So like, don't get howdy about this, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Keep watch over yourselves and all of the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Caesar Kalinowski:Notice who does the appointing then.
Caesar Kalinowski:Huh?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not a class you take and then a vote of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now that word shepherd, I kinda underlined it here in, in, you know, my mind and my notes here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, a shepherd, I, I get this picture.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've seen shepherds, but not super common in our lives, but, you know, is these people whose whole life is given to being with and among their flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're there, they're, they're, you know, they're up early and they're feeding them and watering them and keeping 'em from harm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And they're leading them, you know, to safety and to green pastures into growth and health and multiplication.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're shepherds, they're gentle.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's look at this one, Peter.
Caesar Kalinowski:Five, two.
Caesar Kalinowski:This is in the ESV translation, says, shepherd the flock of God that is among you.
Caesar Kalinowski:So there again, it's among you like they, they're doing life among you.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're here already.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not like, I don't know.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's a list of guys who are in a meeting somewhere.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, their name's on a sheet.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, I saw some pictures, I guess, of I, they're not among us.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've never been to my house.
Caesar Kalinowski:I've never been to theirs.
Caesar Kalinowski:Shepherd the flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's that word, shepherd again, the flock that's among you, exercising, oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly.
Caesar Kalinowski:But willingly as God would have you, not for shameful gain, but eagerly that willingly, it sounds like this.
Caesar Kalinowski:This isn't like something you sign up and like, well, I'm rolling off the board in a year so I can be done with this and someone else will have to take this.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, you either are an elder or you're not.
Caesar Kalinowski:The Holy Spirit has made you these overseers.
Caesar Kalinowski:The NIV version of that same first Peter five, two says, be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care.
Caesar Kalinowski:Watching over them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:exercising oversight.
Caesar Kalinowski:, that's the word really that's used the most.
Caesar Kalinowski:An overseer, an oversight is not even found in, in the most earliest of manuscript scripture.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it's not even in all translations.
Caesar Kalinowski:It, it really says shepherd the flock of God that is among you, not under compulsion, but willingly.
Caesar Kalinowski:But a lot of the later manuscripts have added that exercising oversight and, and even some say exercising or performing rule over them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, no, we're, we're actually told not to do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you go on in verse three, so that's verse Peter five and two, verse three.
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, not lording it over those and trusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:Compare and contrast that like this oversight is not a lording over.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's being an example to the flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:An example of who of Christ.
Caesar Kalinowski:Christ never lorded over anybody.
Caesar Kalinowski:God never does violence to our will.
Caesar Kalinowski:He warns us.
Caesar Kalinowski:He guides us.
Caesar Kalinowski:He comforts us.
Caesar Kalinowski:He laid his life down for us.
Caesar Kalinowski:So you overseers who are appointed by the spirit, you're not lording over people, but you're being an example.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's now, see, that starts to give us a very different picture of really what Biblical elders or overseers, who they were, how long they'd been around, how long they had been maturing in, in the word and in Christ, and then what their heart and attitude would be.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now let's look at Deacons for a second.
Caesar Kalinowski:First Timothy three, eight.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, uh, Paul's saying to him in the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, not pursuant, uh, pursuing dishonest gain so they're honest in their business and all.
Caesar Kalinowski:They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith, so they have to handle the word.
Caesar Kalinowski:We well, two.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:See, mostly all of the same attributes and descriptions are given for overseers as elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Paul, they're, they're, it's a very close list.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:And our, our biggest look at how the first deacons were identified comes from Acts chapter six, verse one.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm just gonna read a little of this cuz it's super cool and it's super insightful and you, I know you've heard this, so during those days it says the number of Jesus followers kept multiplying greatly.
Caesar Kalinowski:Awesome.
Caesar Kalinowski:So there's a lot of discipleship happening, but a complaint was brought against those who spoke Aramaic by the Greek-speaking Jews, who felt their widows were being overlooked during the daily distribution of food.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:So they're existing in a sort of a plural culture, and they're, uh, definitely mixing it up.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not like, uh, holy huddle over here just with the Jews, or we've split off and, you know, middle finger to the temple and the Jews system.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're over here with the Greeks only.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's mixed.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then the 12 apostles called a meeting of all the believers and told them it is not advantageous for us to be pulled away from the word of God to wait on tables.
Caesar Kalinowski:You've heard this before, and, and boy this has been mistaught, a lot goes on and says, we want you to carefully select from among yourselves seven Godly men.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Make sure they're honorable, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
Caesar Kalinowski:See that same thing?
Caesar Kalinowski:How does, how are elders appointed?
Caesar Kalinowski:Uhhuh, by the spirit?
Caesar Kalinowski:Same with these, these deacons, we use the word full, the Holy Spirit and wisdom, and we'll give them the responsibility of this crucial ministry of serving.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:That will enable us to give our full attention to prayer.
Caesar Kalinowski:and Gospel work, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:The preaching of God's word.
Caesar Kalinowski:And it says, this proposal, please, the whole group.
Caesar Kalinowski:So all these people, then they went and chose the seven men.
Caesar Kalinowski:They chose Stephen later.
Caesar Kalinowski:Stephen is martyred.
Caesar Kalinowski:We hear that, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:A, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
Caesar Kalinowski:Also, Philip.
Caesar Kalinowski:Pcos.
Caesar Kalinowski:Nicker, Niana, Timon Par Parmenas, I'm sorry, my Greek pronunciations in Nicholas from Antioch.
Caesar Kalinowski:They presented these men to the apostles who prayed, felt good about it, and laid their hands on them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Said, yep, get after it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So according to this narrative in Acts, deacons were identified and selected by the community of believers.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's.
Caesar Kalinowski:Said, yeah, these are, these are faithful people.
Caesar Kalinowski:There again, meaning we're doing life with 'em.
Caesar Kalinowski:We know, we see their marriages, we see the way they're raising their kids.
Caesar Kalinowski:We see their hospitality.
Caesar Kalinowski:We see how that's going.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:And the people, the believers in the community selected them on a basis of their reputation and wisdom being full of the Holy Spirit.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then their appointment was confirmed by the apostles.
Caesar Kalinowski:Notice it not by the elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can remember being taught and thinking for years.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like you see the difference then between an elder and a.
Caesar Kalinowski:, the elders, they just give themselves to like preaching.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we're not gonna let our pastor be called an elder in a lot of churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we and elders don't mostly preach, but you know what I mean.
Caesar Kalinowski:But we're, that's, you know, it's all this weird twisted stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:It was actually, it was actually the people that selected them and they were confirmed by the apostles, not by elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you know, like I said, I've heard it taught many times that this was a conversation between the elders and the soon to be deacons, but it's not.
Caesar Kalinowski:That also starts to, to kinda change a little bit of the understanding of the relationship here and, and from what, from and, and from that sort of misunderstanding.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, it's the elders that then picked and appointed the, the deacons.
Caesar Kalinowski:Nope, the people picked them.
Caesar Kalinowski:The apostles just affirmed that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:They seem good.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yep.
Caesar Kalinowski:Good.
Caesar Kalinowski:Go.
Caesar Kalinowski:Good to go.
Caesar Kalinowski:Good job picking them right.
Caesar Kalinowski:And but from all that misunderstanding, we get this weird separation between the saints.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some people make disciples, apostles, some proclaim the Gospel, some hopefully make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some wait on tables and stack chairs, but we're all called to the same mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:Huh?
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now that's, that's up through verse six.
Caesar Kalinowski:So going on in verse seven, what happened?
Caesar Kalinowski:So next verse.
Caesar Kalinowski:So what happened after they selected and appointed these deacons?
Caesar Kalinowski:It says, so the word of God spread the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yay, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Caesar Kalinowski:So even, even people from, you know, that weren't Christians yet, and they were like high and mighty and thought they knew it and all that, many of them also became.
Caesar Kalinowski:Followers and disciples of Jesus.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now notice that.
Caesar Kalinowski:So right after we see, okay, this appointing of this so they can deal with this problem, it says, so what happened?
Caesar Kalinowski:The word of God spread a lot of new disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:It doesn't say so.
Caesar Kalinowski:A lot more of the widows were fed and everyone stopped complaining and arguing.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, it says so the word of God spread.
Caesar Kalinowski:More disciples were made and, and some have wrongly taught that the elder.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like we already said was the apostles, they were the ones now freed up for the more important work.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's why the word of God spread.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's why we see this big growth in the church.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uhuh.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's not what it says.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's continue the very next verse.
Caesar Kalinowski:Who do we hear about?
Caesar Kalinowski:That's verse we were just in verse seven.
Caesar Kalinowski:Wow.
Caesar Kalinowski:So after the appointing of these deacons, boom, word of God spreads big growth in Disciple making.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's not saying, so everybody got fed and now everything was cool.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now it goes into verse eight.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, Steven, one of those deacons, a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.
Caesar Kalinowski:So here he is still living among the people and it's this deacon.
Caesar Kalinowski:after this whole process that's out full of grace and power and, and then it says in verse nine, opposition arose however, , because there were people who were thinking, oh, he's speaking against the system.
Caesar Kalinowski:because it's so different, like what you're talking about and how we're living and the kingdom has come and wait a minute.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, this isn't a military kingdom and it's not all centered in the, in the temple or in a synagogue.
Caesar Kalinowski:No.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so opposition arose that was actually from, within . Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:Uh, you know, the sort of powers to be, uh, not the church, but you know, the religious powers to be, but they could not stand up against his wisdom that the spirit had given spe Steven as he spoke.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm, so, so the Deacon Steven here is seen out evangelizing and discipling people, and it's flipping out the establishment.
Caesar Kalinowski:who aren't living that way.
Caesar Kalinowski:And yet it says but, but a bunch of those priests did come to faith and start to walk with Jesus . Isn't that awesome?
Caesar Kalinowski:So it's interesting, we've kind of made this huge distinction.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like elders are in charge of stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And then the deacons take care of the stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:, you know, like the deacons wait on tables.
Caesar Kalinowski:The elders are in charge of everything, and yet scripture's not showing that or saying that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And in fact, it's warning against it.
Caesar Kalinowski:So, so let's, let's go a little bit further now.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's look specifically what elders or these overseers are to be like who, what do they like and what do they do?
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, so we'll go to first Peter five, one to four, to the elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings who.
Caesar Kalinowski:Will share in the glory to be revealed.
Caesar Kalinowski:I love that language.
Caesar Kalinowski:a fellow elder, meaning I'm an old buck two, and a witness of Christ's sufferings.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'm also gonna share in this glory, this ability to glorify God that's being revealed in and through his church.
Caesar Kalinowski:And he says this, be shepherds of God's flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's that word again.
Caesar Kalinowski:There's that picture that's under your care, watching over them.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not because you must, but because you're willing as God wants you to.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've already read a little of this, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:Not lording it over.
Caesar Kalinowski:Those who are entrusted to you.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's a big one, but being examples to the flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:And in verse four says, when the chief shepherd, that's, Jesus appears, when he gets back, he'll receive a crown crown of glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:That'll never fade away.
Caesar Kalinowski:Why?
Caesar Kalinowski:Because you've, you've been like a shepherd to them and you've been an example to them.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so Jesus is gonna, that's he's the one who's gonna give you a crown of glory.
Caesar Kalinowski:What's that mean?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like you were like me.
Caesar Kalinowski:You were like me.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's never gonna fade now it doesn't say because you, you worked over the budget and you made sure that parking lot was paved and you got the, you know, made sure everybody was doing their job.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, it's nothing like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Being examples to the flock examples of what I would wonder, well, guess what?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's examples of the mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:What's the mission?
Caesar Kalinowski:Make disciples be examples, showing people how to apply the Gospel.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now, the good news, what's changed?
Caesar Kalinowski:What's happened in this new covenant and through Jesus life, death, and resurrection
Caesar Kalinowski:that's what they're to be an example of helping people move from unbelief and false beliefs to what's true of God and what's always been true, but they were missing it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Now back to Paul's teaching to Timothy.
Caesar Kalinowski:Couple of those things from the list I just wanna highlight about what elders are to be like.
Caesar Kalinowski:They must have a good reputation with outsiders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Boy that, you know, I kind of hinted at it earlier, but that kind of speaks to, in order to have a reputation and then with people outside the church, you gotta spend time with them.
Caesar Kalinowski:They gotta know your life.
Caesar Kalinowski:They gotta see you.
Caesar Kalinowski:What are these people like?
Caesar Kalinowski:What's their marriage like?
Caesar Kalinowski:How do they parent?
Caesar Kalinowski:How do they fight and forgive, and how do they speak about things and what's their priority?
Caesar Kalinowski:What are they really all about?
Caesar Kalinowski:What's their calendar filled with?
Caesar Kalinowski:And they have a good reputation with outsiders.
Caesar Kalinowski:I, I.
Caesar Kalinowski:I loved it when we were still living in Tacoma, which is just like 10 minutes away.
Caesar Kalinowski:When I was kind of affectionately known as the pub pastor, people knew what we did.
Caesar Kalinowski:They knew we were building out communities and I was a pastor at a church, but they, they saw me and others as kind of their pastors.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're elders, if you will.
Caesar Kalinowski:They saw us that way because of our reputation of generosity and willing to have people over the house and, Hey, could I talk to you about this?
Caesar Kalinowski:Me and my wife are having a problem with this, or maybe you could help us.
Caesar Kalinowski:We're, you know, we're having some problems financially or whatever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Here's another one.
Caesar Kalinowski:But, you know, Paul's teaching to Timothy.
Caesar Kalinowski:He says they were, they're given to hospitality.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, hospitality speaks.
Caesar Kalinowski:to, with outsiders, with people who are not part of your family, with not part of the church fellowship is with the church, but they're given like their lifestyle.
Caesar Kalinowski:The way they roll is hospitality, meaning they're having people over all the time.
Caesar Kalinowski:And there's so much scripture I could quote here about this and taking in the outsider and making a place in your home and all this, that's what elders are like and holding firmly to the faithful message this Gospel of the kingdom
Caesar Kalinowski:as it's been taught.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah.
Caesar Kalinowski:I mean, beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like those people are so fluent in the Gospel and understanding it and, and just able to good news our hearts and deal with issues and problems and, you know, and just bring the good news of the Gospel into this.
Caesar Kalinowski:They have a great reputation.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're hospitable, they're hanging out with people.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're the elders among us.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I have to ask, does, does this describe the elders in most churches?
Caesar Kalinowski:. You know, I was at a very large church and even on staff for a bunch of years, but we were there like a dozen years.
Caesar Kalinowski:To my recollection.
Caesar Kalinowski:I asked Tina this, I don't think we ever had an elder invite us over for dinner once.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:. And I could say that the senior pastor, who was, I think they considered him an elder, but I'm not sure there was like this weird distinction, but, um, I, he, he did have us over once, but it was for a fundraising thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:And they had these outside, uh, sort of consultants on how we were gonna raise like $10 million for the new wing or something like that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that was over for that, and basically hit up to give a big donation, which we in fact did.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, but that's the only time.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Okay.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like, see how there's a, yeah, like, boy, I wanted my elders to be among me to be at my house, to see my kids, to know, to maybe to be at their weddings, to like hang out, to have some fun together, to eat regularly.
Caesar Kalinowski:I wanna see their life.
Caesar Kalinowski:I wanna learn from them, you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:What are the, what are your elders doing throughout the week?
Caesar Kalinowski:What's their week look like?
Caesar Kalinowski:What's their family life and rhythm look like?
Caesar Kalinowski:And how would you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Are they among.
Caesar Kalinowski:and that kind of, that sort of begs the question of what, what are they doing?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, they're having these meetings.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:, maybe it's weekly, maybe it's monthly.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I hear they're, they're, they can be quite, you know, rambunctious.
Caesar Kalinowski:I can hear there's, there can be a lot of fighting sometimes, right?
Caesar Kalinowski:But not usually, but yet.
Caesar Kalinowski:But sometimes it's heated.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, what are they, what are they wrestling over in these meetings?
Caesar Kalinowski:Is it all the stuff we just heard about that Paul is adamant about and we hear him first Peter and you get the example and, and the warnings.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, in my experience, cuz I, being on staff, I got to sit in though I wasn't considered an elder at that church.
Caesar Kalinowski:But then later I was an elder later at different churches.
Caesar Kalinowski:We were planting.
Caesar Kalinowski:A lot of what ends up in some elder meetings is they're talking about building stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:Parking lot, getting recoated, some new paint and hallways messed up here.
Caesar Kalinowski:We gotta move this around the children's ministry, you know, like we got a, let's put the youth group over here.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe now they're working on livestream problems.
Caesar Kalinowski:Yeah, I was looking at the livestream the other day.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's pretty bad.
Caesar Kalinowski:I couldn't hear, you know, human resource problems with the staff.
Caesar Kalinowski:Food distribution or something.
Caesar Kalinowski:See, that's just not seen anywhere in the Bible.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and maybe, maybe that's some of the work of deacons who were like the lead servants as we saw, but then right after we saw that they were appointed to handle that right.
Caesar Kalinowski:Boom.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:They, even the deacons were right back to the Gospel and making disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what the leaders are all about.
Caesar Kalinowski:Of course, they.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Uh huh . We're just not seeing that sort of, here's a, we're gonna have a bunch of meetings kind of separate from people they don't know our lives, we don't see them, you know, and, and we're gonna like, solve problems about stuff that really might be the work of deacons or just the work of the family.
Caesar Kalinowski:Right.
Caesar Kalinowski:But a lot of elders spend most of their time on management of stuff and programs and never make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:Some have never made a Disciple or seen someone come to faith in Christ.
Caesar Kalinowski:Can I, I've used this illustration before.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe I've shared it here on the Everyday, Disciple.
Caesar Kalinowski:Podcast, I'm not sure, but can you imagine?
Caesar Kalinowski:You've got a, a Honda dealership, let's say a Honda car dealership, and you hire this sales manager, what's his job?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, gonna sell lots of more, hopefully we're gonna sell lots of Hondas.
Caesar Kalinowski:But you know, you, you never see the guy on the sales floor.
Caesar Kalinowski:He's, you know, he's in meetings a lot and he's telling the sa you know, the other salesman what to do, um, and the rest of the staff there.
Caesar Kalinowski:But turns out he actually doesn't sell any cars.
Caesar Kalinowski:And turns out he doesn't really like Honda, Honda cars that much.
Caesar Kalinowski:And in fact, he doesn't even drive.
Caesar Kalinowski:He takes public transportation, but he's our sales manager at a Honda dealership where our whole mission is to sell lots and lots of Hondas.
Caesar Kalinowski:You'd be like, . That's goofy.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's not even a good analogy.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's so absurd.
Caesar Kalinowski:I know.
Caesar Kalinowski:But, but that's somehow, that's how it is sometimes.
Caesar Kalinowski:Our, our leaders, our elders, whatever you presbyters, you know, we're bishops.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're not making disciples, they're not live as an example.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's how you'll get your crown from Christ.
Caesar Kalinowski:And, and you know, if the pastors and elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I'd throw the deacons in there too.
Caesar Kalinowski:If the, if the leadership in the church are supposed to be role models, examples for the rest of the people, showing them how to live and make disciples, that's what we're all about.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's the only mission we have.
Caesar Kalinowski:If that's what they're supposed to be about, making disciples like Jesus did then shouldn't.
Caesar Kalinowski:Our elders have loads of not yet believing friends, lots of hospitality going on.
Caesar Kalinowski:Including us in some of that stuff so we can, oh, that's how that works.
Caesar Kalinowski:And that's how you, that's how you speak the Gospel into that without it being weird or shamey.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'm not talking about acquaintances, but I'm talking about relationships, deep friendships with, with lost people.
Caesar Kalinowski:Not yet believers.
Caesar Kalinowski:Shouldn't they be part of the, their lifestyle?
Caesar Kalinowski:Shouldn't they be making disciples as the model for everyone?
Caesar Kalinowski:So like, you know, someone came to your church or came to the leadership and said, Hey, you know, we're a young couple.
Caesar Kalinowski:We really wanna learn how to make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like we go, we're just, we wanna do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And who can Disciple us and who, who could teach us how to make more disciples of Jesus fill the world with God's glory?
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, well, you know what?
Caesar Kalinowski:You just wanna hang out with the elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like just, you know, go to their house a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:They'll let you, I mean, they're always doing stuff.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just go hang out there with them a lot.
Caesar Kalinowski:Watch their marriage, you know, watch how they parent, help 'em work out in the yard.
Caesar Kalinowski:Help 'em when they're helping their neighbors.
Caesar Kalinowski:Maybe they'd even let you move in for a while, but that's how you're gonna learn to make disciples because they're your elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:They're the example among the flock.
Caesar Kalinowski:Shouldn't that be the case?
Caesar Kalinowski:Shouldn't they be our lead examples?
Caesar Kalinowski:Shouldn't they be like rockstar Disciple makers living the same way Jesus and his disciples did?
Caesar Kalinowski:I think so.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I think we get to . I think they get to, I'll just say I, I, if you're struggling with an elder, in your church or a group of them that are actually resisting Jesus call and command to go and make disciples.
Caesar Kalinowski:In other words, you're trying to move out into community.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're trying to get Missional, Community started, you know, you're wanting, you need some help.
Caesar Kalinowski:You wanna be Disciple in this, you wanna see that?
Caesar Kalinowski:And they're kind of pushing against it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, you know, we gotta get that, we gotta get our programming here.
Caesar Kalinowski:You know, people are just starting to come back now on Sundays, and, and they're, and they, and he said, well, could I get some equipping?
Caesar Kalinowski:Could I get some coaching, get some help?
Caesar Kalinowski:They're like, well, you know, we don't really have money for.
Caesar Kalinowski:What we don't have money for.
Caesar Kalinowski:What?
Caesar Kalinowski:The mission, the Disciple, what, you know, like, well if that's, if that's what you're struggling up against, either as a pastor in your elders or elder board, they, they're actually kind of resisting it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or maybe you go to a church that's like that where when you talk about this, they kind of get upset.
Caesar Kalinowski:I had, I had some people ask me the day said, you know, as we're learning to live this way, whenever I talk about it, it's like our leaders get kind of upset.
Caesar Kalinowski:Like they get offended by it.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's like, hmm, maybe they should , right?
Caesar Kalinowski:You got some work to do there.
Caesar Kalinowski:And if you're currently an elder, a pastor, an overseer, and you're not making disciples in everyday life.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Be honest.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you're not making disciples in everyday life, it's like, it's like your lifestyle.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're living with an open home and an open heart.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're modeling this lifestyle of discipleship, kingdom living.
Caesar Kalinowski:Cause that's our mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's what we've been saved and set apart for.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're modeling this for to those in your care.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, if that's you and you're an elder or an overseer, you need to step up or, or maybe step down.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:This, this is all gonna start with you and your family cuz you'll never lead others further.
Caesar Kalinowski:Or Disciple them to greater maturity in the Gospel and in Christ, then you're living this out in your own household, in your own neighborhood.
Caesar Kalinowski:You just won't, and don't fool yourself thinking, well, others are worrying about that.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, they're not.
Caesar Kalinowski:And the churches have emptied out and we just took a huge hit because of the whole pandemic thing.
Caesar Kalinowski:And now we got about a 30% attendance.
Caesar Kalinowski:And so people are going, Hey, we gotta get into like micro churches now, and we gotta get into group life and all that.
Caesar Kalinowski:. Well, we've been saying that forever.
Caesar Kalinowski:Hooray.
Caesar Kalinowski:But guess who needs to be our examples for that?
Caesar Kalinowski:It needs to be our leaders.
Caesar Kalinowski:It needs to be those who have been appointed by the spirit to give oversight and live as an example.
Caesar Kalinowski:Mm-hmm.
Caesar Kalinowski:, I know that's a tough, uh, . I know that can be some tough sledding there.
Caesar Kalinowski:Um, and maybe a hard word to hear.
Caesar Kalinowski:Please don't hear.
Caesar Kalinowski:I don't think we should have.
Caesar Kalinowski:Elders don't hear that.
Caesar Kalinowski:Don't think Well, we, we, you're just saying everything is done wrong.
Caesar Kalinowski:No, what I'm saying is sometimes over time, and because the ways of the world and business, and we got our priorities spun around and we lost the mission, we start building structures and systems and layers of polity that are not what we saw in scripture.
Caesar Kalinowski:And I, I think, you know, my prophetic heart wants to call us back to that.
Caesar Kalinowski:It could be that.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you're an elder not living that way or you're super engaged, but you're really just worrying about programming and fixing stuff and keeping everything working right, maybe you're a deacon or maybe if you're a deacon and you're out making disciples like crazy and and Gospeling people's hearts and all, maybe you're actually functioning as an overseer.
Caesar Kalinowski:I think it's worth having the conversation.
Caesar Kalinowski:and remember if, if you want some help with navigating all of this and setting up frame new frameworks for discipleship and leadership and making disciples who make disciples, we still have a couple of spots left in our coaching cohort.
Caesar Kalinowski:So go ahead and check it out, see if it's gonna be a good fit.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's hop on a call, get you started.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just check it all out by going to everyday Disciple dot com.
Caesar Kalinowski:Coaching.
Caesar Kalinowski:Alright, that, that's good for today.
Caesar Kalinowski:Before I go, I'm gonna leave you with the big three takeaways from our talk.
Caesar Kalinowski:If nothing else, as always, you don't wanna miss these big three things.
Caesar Kalinowski:And you can get a download, , pdf, a downloadable PDF of this week's big three by going to everyday Disciple dot com slash big three.
Caesar Kalinowski:Okay, so here are the big three then for this week.
Caesar Kalinowski:First, the work of the Gospel and Making disciples is the mission of the church, and it's the mission of our elders and our overseers should be prime examples of what that looks like and how to do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you're currently identified as an elder in the church, are you living a life worth imitating?
Caesar Kalinowski:Do people, believers, and not yet believers have access to your everyday life and marriage and parenting?
Caesar Kalinowski:Would they grow in grace and maturity as disciples by your example, and learn how to in turn, make more disciples of Jesus?
Caesar Kalinowski:I wanna call it elder people, not programs.
Caesar Kalinowski:Number two, elders in the church.
Caesar Kalinowski:Jesus family are overseers, not overlords.
Caesar Kalinowski:Elders are to be overseers, not overlords.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're to be shepherds among your flock, caring for people, feeding them, guiding them, watching over their hearts, and our twisted understanding of sort of a top down form of leadership that comes from the world.
Caesar Kalinowski:Was warned against, actually we were, we were told not to be that way.
Caesar Kalinowski:Elders in the early church were not hole up in a weekly or monthly meeting deciding what was best for everyone else.
Caesar Kalinowski:They were not replacing the role of the Holy Spirit in the church.
Caesar Kalinowski:Let's not do that.
Caesar Kalinowski:And number three, if you're an elder on an elder board, you're serving as an elder and you think that changes need to be made in how you lead together, please don't shrink back from this calling.
Caesar Kalinowski:For, for the Bible says that you'll be asked to give an account of how you served and did your work.
Caesar Kalinowski:Go look that up in Hebrews 13.
Caesar Kalinowski:That's like a statement to elders.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're gonna be called to give a, an account of how you did your work.
Caesar Kalinowski:Were you an example?
Caesar Kalinowski:So don't shrink back on.
Caesar Kalinowski:Oh man, that's gonna flip everybody out.
Caesar Kalinowski:Who am I to say like, pull out the word.
Caesar Kalinowski:Humble yourselves.
Caesar Kalinowski:Step down.
Caesar Kalinowski:If you need to learn and grow in the Gospel and the making of disciples of Jesus, don't clinging to titles, authority, or your pride.
Caesar Kalinowski:God will bless you in your church and you'll see a fresh releasing of the priesthood of all believers out on mission, hopefully, ultimately led by you.
Caesar Kalinowski:That'll be beautiful.
Caesar Kalinowski:Won't it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Well, I hope that's a, a strong challenge, but also a strong encouragement as we head into new times and new ways of being, which are really ancient in the way we were called to.
Caesar Kalinowski:, but out there more in the community, we have to start taking a look at some of these things, and this is one I just, like I said at the beginning, I, I hear too often where not only the elders not live as an example, they're not making disciples, but they're actually pushing against it cuz they just kinda liked it the way it was where we kinda sat in the row and they had meetings and told.
Caesar Kalinowski:Everybody what was up , you know?
Caesar Kalinowski:Well anyway, before I forget, I wanna invite you to get the everyday Disciple workshop.
Caesar Kalinowski:You can get immediate access to that right now.
Caesar Kalinowski:We've trained thousands of people in this powerful framework during our four day challenges, and now you can get it, and you can have lifetime access to it.
Caesar Kalinowski:Just go to everyday Disciple dot com.
Caesar Kalinowski:Slash workshop to get this simple and reproducible discipleship framework.
Caesar Kalinowski:You're gonna love it.
Caesar Kalinowski:It's everyday Disciple dot com slash workshop.
Caesar Kalinowski:All right, well, I gotta get going.
Caesar Kalinowski:I hope you'll join us again next week cuz we're gonna keep diving into discipleship and mission.
Caesar Kalinowski:And gospel fluency, and hopefully helping make this all a lot easier for you in your everyday life.
Caesar Kalinowski:I'll talk to you soon.
Announcer:Thanks for joining us today.
Announcer:For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everyday Disciple dot com and remember, you really can live with the spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.
Announcer:Are Your Church Elders Really Deacons?