A few Sundays ago, I had the privilege of ordaining three men as elders of Crossroads Christian Church. To my knowledge, this is the first time any elders have been actually ordained by our church. Some of you may be wondering why this is. Fundamentally, the answer is this is what the Bible teaches we ought to do. God, in His wisdom, created a form of church government that provides a "check and balance" system between the elders and the evangelist. In His structure, the evangelist ordains the elders of the church. This insures that the elders are Biblically qualified and not just popular men in the church.
The evangelist is also the person to whom accusations against elders are taken. This is why Paul warns the evangelist Timothy, "Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning." (1 Timothy 5:19-20) This kind of accountability is vital to a healthy church.
We will be having another "first" here at Crossroads the last Sunday of this month. Our new elders will be ordaining David Nance as an evangelist. He has been working with me for last two years as well as doing in-depth Biblical studies. This is an important moment in development in a congregation.
Please be in prayer for all these men as God uses them to grow his kingdom.
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