We are about to begin a second round of elder training at IDC.
Our first round began in September 2013. I spent the first nine months in our church’s existence looking for a few faithful men who: 1) had the character of an elder, and 2) were already doing the work of an elder. Three men were found and they all agreed to jump into a six-month candidacy phase. Two eventually were installed as elders in April 2014.
THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY
The candidacy phase is a time to test and train. Books, lectures, and questionnaires become demanding – yet kind – friends for everyone involved. The resources are meant to solidify each man’s areas of convictional strength, while at the same time exposing areas of growth necessary for healthy shepherding.
My greatest burden in the training is to tease out the candidates’ beliefs in matters of ministry philosophy. One wise pastor encouraged told me several years ago, “One of the things I’ve discovered is that its possible to get elders who have all the theology right, but still have issues later over different philosophies of ministry. That was the most significant challenge we faced in our first 3-4 years.” It’s advice I’ve yet to forget.
I’m remembering it afresh as we stand on the threshold of another round of elder candidate training. Here’s the content we are using to tease out theological and philosophical convictions this time around. I hope it might be a launching pad of sorts for your own elder candidate training.