Question: "What are the duties of an elder in
the church?"
Answer: The Bible spells out at least five duties
and obligations of an elder:
1) The elders help to settle disputes in the
church. “While Paul and Barnabas were at
Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived
and began to teach the Christians 'unless you
keep the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision
taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.' Paul
and Barnabas, disagreeing with them, argued
forcefully and at length. Finally, Paul and
Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem, accompanied
by some local believers, to talk to the apostles
and elders about this question” ( Acts 15:1-2,
NLT ). The question was raised and forcefully
argued, then taken to the apostles and elders
for a decision. This passage teaches that elders
are decision makers.
2) They pray for the sick. "Is any sick among
you? Let him call for the elders of the church,
and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord" ( James 5:14 ).
Since the elders have to meet specific
qualifications, their lives are godly and therefore
the sin in their lives is minimal and is confessed
regularly; therefore, they are used to pray for
the sick. One of the necessities in prayer is
praying for the Lord’s will to be done, and they
are expected to do this.
3) They are to watch out for the church in
humility. "I exhort the elders who are among
you, I being also an elder and a witness of the
sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the
glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of
God among you, taking the oversight, not by
compulsion, but willingly; nor for base gain, but
readily; nor as lording it over those allotted to
you by God, but becoming examples to the
flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall
appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown
of glory” ( 1 Peter 5:1-4 ). Elders are the
designated leaders of the church, and the flock
is entrusted to them by God. They are not to
lead for the pay or the reward but because of
their desire to serve and shepherd the flock.
4) They are to watch out for the spiritual life of
the flock. "Yield to those leading you, and be
submissive, for they watch for your souls, as
those who must give account, that they may do
it with joy and not with grief; for that is
unprofitable for you" ( Hebrews 13:17 ). This
verse does not specifically say “elders,” but it is
talking about the church leaders. They are
accountable for the spiritual life of the church.
5) They are to spend their time in prayer and
teaching the word. "And the Twelve called near
the multitude of the disciples and said, ‘It is not
right that we should give up preaching the word
of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick
out from among you seven men of good repute,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may
appoint to this duty. But we will devote
ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the
word’” ( Acts 6:2-4 ). This is for the apostles, but
we can see from the passage above in #3 that
Peter equates himself as an apostle and an
elder. From this verse you can also see the
difference between the duties of elder and
deacon.
Simply put, the elders should be peacemakers,
prayer warriors, teachers, leaders by example,
and decision makers. They are the preaching
and teaching leaders of the church. It is a
position to be sought but not taken lightly—read
this warning: "Let not many of you become
teachers, my brethren, for you know that we
who teach shall be judged with greater
strictness" ( James 3:1 ). The role of elder is not
a position to be taken lightly.
