Effective leadership in the church starts with wise and spiritually grounded elders. These individuals play a crucial role in shepherding the congregation and ensuring the church stays focused on its mission while grounded in the Bible. I’ve been blessed in my ministry to have fantastic men surround me in this capacity!
In my experience, there are three major pitfalls that elders must avoid in order to lead well. None of these are theological or biblical but very much practical.
1. Majoring in the Minors
It’s easy for elders to get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details—what color the carpet should be, how many donuts to order for Sunday morning, or micromanaging individual ministry programs. But that’s not their primary calling.
Elders aren’t part of the church structure to make sure your pet ministry happens without a hitch. They’re not there to lobby for their pet project. Actually when elders function in the biblical capacity, they aren’t really involved in the nuts and bolts of any one particular ministry.
Elders are tasked with overseeing the big picture of the church’s mission and spiritual health. When they spend too much time on minor details, they lose sight of the broader vision.
I’m reminded of Acts 6, when the apostles delegated the daily distribution of food so they could focus on prayer and ministry of the Word. The apostles knew this was a very important aspect of ministry, but they also knew that if they were the ones doing it – something else would suffer. So they found others who’s gifting was organization and administration of these kinds of services. That’s a perfect example of staying focused on the right priorities for their position.
Nothing wrong with food distribution or folding bulletins or donut management. Just not the right focus for the elder when he properly functions in the role.
Bottom Line: Elders should prioritize prayer, teaching, care, and vision-setting. Leave the day to day tasks to capable ministry leaders. Not only does this allow you to do your ministry of elder properly, but it also allows others to be elevated to serve!
2. Lone Ranger Syndrome
Eldership is a team sport, not a solo gig. When an elder starts acting independently—making decisions on their own or driving personal agendas—it creates confusion and division. The elder, as I’ve always understood it, is an extension of the pastoral office. Where I can’t be, sometimes they can. When an emergency arises, they can often respond faster than I can. When someone is hurting, they might be able to see something I can’t see. But it only works if we walk this role together.
Scripture always talks about elders in the plural for a reason. God designed leadership in the church to be shared, ensuring accountability, diverse perspectives, and collective wisdom. Even God is a singular, yet plural God. One God in three persons is how we describe it. The first not good in the Bible was when Adam was alone. Elders are the same.
So often we set pastors, church workers and elders out on an island and hope for the best. Even in our schools and seminaries we teach these men and women to be Lone Ranger forgetting that even he had his trusty companion.
Bottom Line: Healthy churches have elders who lead together, making decisions prayerfully and collaboratively alongside the pastoral staff.
3. All for Them, None for Me
Elders are often so focused on serving the church that they neglect their own spiritual health. This is dangerous territory. You can’t pour from an empty cup. You can’t give what you don’t have. And you can’t lead beyond where you are.
If elders aren’t regularly in the Word, spending time in prayer, and nurturing their relationship with Jesus, their ability to lead spiritually will negatively impacted. And everyone will see it. You can only hide this for so long before it will catch up to you. Plus, elders are called to be examples to the flock—how can they model spiritual growth if they aren’t living it themselves?
It’s like the airline imagery. You know when you totally tune out as the flight attendants are going through the safety information. In the event that the cabin loses air pressure the face masks drop from the ceiling – yeah now you can hear it can’t you! Then the line comes…if you’re traveling with little children, put the mask on yourself first then your child. Most parents are like No way I’m letting my baby go without oxygen. The hitch here is if we don’t do it in this order, we might pass out and not be able to take care of our kiddo!
Likewise, if elders aren’t caring for their own spiritual lives there won’t be anything left to give the members of the church they are called to serve.
Bottom Line: Elders must prioritize their personal spiritual growth to effectively lead the church.
Elders who avoid these pitfalls will be better positioned to guide their congregations toward a thriving, Jesus-centered future. Let’s pray for and support our church leaders as they strive to major in the majors, work together, and keep their own hearts tuned to the Spirit.
This double checking narrative is very important.