The Ideal Church
One of the reasons my family and I were attracted to Westside was the fact that it is an elder led church. Many churches are pastor led and directed by the vision of just one person’s understanding of the Bible. I believe eldership is the design of the church. From my reading of the scriptures, it seems the churches Paul planted were all led by elders. The scriptures speak of elders and overseers interchangeably.
Elders are called to meet a high standard as is laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. I believe serving as an elder is a calling on one's life and is not for all.. As a Restoration Movement or Stone -Campbell Movement church we consider ourselves a New Testament church. For us that means having overseers or elders as the authority of the church. Of course the Bible is the greatest authority and the elders are to base all decisions upon the Bible and understanding of scripture.
I believe Westside has one of the healthiest forms of elder governance I have seen. It is guided by a detailed elder policy which lays out four areas our elders serve. First the elders create policy and procedure to empower the pastors, staff, and leaders to carry out the mission of the church. Second, the elders serve in the ministry of prayer. They want to pray with you in difficult times. They are praying for you even when you don't know they are. Third, the elders oversee the ministry of the word. They are the watchdogs, if you will, to ensure that messages are biblically sound and we are teaching God's word. Finally, our elders serve in the oversight of pastoral matters. This means they want to see that each of us gets the help we need as we grow as followers of Jesus.
We are blessed to have elders who truly love Jesus, Westside, and each person who worships with us. They have a heart to share the gospel with those who don't know Jesus and welcome those who know Jesus but haven't found a church home.
I encourage you to go to the elders of the church when you need prayer, when you have questions about church policies and activities, when you want to learn more, and when you simply need someone to listen and help.
In the Stone-Campbell movement we speak of seeking the “ideal church.” I think that “ideal church” is one of community and unity as we see in the scripture. Acts 2:44 NLT says, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” I, also, think that “ideal church” is a community of believers led by elders. Acts 14:23 says, “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”.
Being led by elders should give us peace. Our polity requires our elders to be unified in decisions. This means one elder doesn’t agree and the decision is paused, reconsidered, and more study and prayer are done. I believe this is the place the Holy Spirit works. I don’t know about you but it is a minor miracle when I can get my family of 4 to agree on a restaurant to go out to eat. There is confidence in knowing our church requires five men to agree to any policy, procedure, teaching, understanding of the word, calling of pastoral staff, and vision of the church.
I believe it is a blessing to serve at Westside. Rest in peace that in the heart of this church is to lead people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus. We do this by sharing Jesus, building believers, and showing Christ’s love to our community and our church.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt
Elders are called to meet a high standard as is laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. I believe serving as an elder is a calling on one's life and is not for all.. As a Restoration Movement or Stone -Campbell Movement church we consider ourselves a New Testament church. For us that means having overseers or elders as the authority of the church. Of course the Bible is the greatest authority and the elders are to base all decisions upon the Bible and understanding of scripture.
I believe Westside has one of the healthiest forms of elder governance I have seen. It is guided by a detailed elder policy which lays out four areas our elders serve. First the elders create policy and procedure to empower the pastors, staff, and leaders to carry out the mission of the church. Second, the elders serve in the ministry of prayer. They want to pray with you in difficult times. They are praying for you even when you don't know they are. Third, the elders oversee the ministry of the word. They are the watchdogs, if you will, to ensure that messages are biblically sound and we are teaching God's word. Finally, our elders serve in the oversight of pastoral matters. This means they want to see that each of us gets the help we need as we grow as followers of Jesus.
We are blessed to have elders who truly love Jesus, Westside, and each person who worships with us. They have a heart to share the gospel with those who don't know Jesus and welcome those who know Jesus but haven't found a church home.
I encourage you to go to the elders of the church when you need prayer, when you have questions about church policies and activities, when you want to learn more, and when you simply need someone to listen and help.
In the Stone-Campbell movement we speak of seeking the “ideal church.” I think that “ideal church” is one of community and unity as we see in the scripture. Acts 2:44 NLT says, “And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” I, also, think that “ideal church” is a community of believers led by elders. Acts 14:23 says, “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”.
Being led by elders should give us peace. Our polity requires our elders to be unified in decisions. This means one elder doesn’t agree and the decision is paused, reconsidered, and more study and prayer are done. I believe this is the place the Holy Spirit works. I don’t know about you but it is a minor miracle when I can get my family of 4 to agree on a restaurant to go out to eat. There is confidence in knowing our church requires five men to agree to any policy, procedure, teaching, understanding of the word, calling of pastoral staff, and vision of the church.
I believe it is a blessing to serve at Westside. Rest in peace that in the heart of this church is to lead people into a life-giving relationship with Jesus. We do this by sharing Jesus, building believers, and showing Christ’s love to our community and our church.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
Matt
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