I’ve been thinking about this because there is a trend amongst theological educators to talk about the need to emphasise spiritual formation as much as theological training for potential pastors.
However, when you look at what the Bible says about the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy 3, it says that they are to be a one woman man, faith in their marriage, self controlled and godly stewards of the home. They must also be able to teach
When you think about it, those are not particularly high standards. Nothing is being asked of an elder in terms of conduct that we should not ask of any church member. We might dare to say that an elder is an ordinary church member, though displaying evidence of maturity with the ability to teach God’s people.
If this is so, then it begs the question as to why there is so much fuss right now about spiritual formation. Surely the work of spiritual formation should happen in the local church and surely we should expect that maturity to be in place before we start watching, selecting, training and calling people.
Faithroots 