The Importance of a Title

It's a small world, especially within the church. Last night at Bible study in Montgomery AL, I heard about events in a congregation where I used to preach. I was not surprised to hear that they had appointed elders; they had been working toward that for quite some time, even before I had preached there. I was not surprised to hear which men had been appointed elders. Unfortunately, I was also not surprised to hear that nearly half the congregation had left as a result of these men being chosen. (Admittedly, most of these people were one very large extended family.) These people believed that at least one of these men, and perhaps both, did not meet the Biblical qualifications for elders. Knowing this, they still went ahead and accepted the position of elders, willingly splitting the congregation.

The true irony: these men, to a large extent, already controlled the events at that congregation. With very few exceptions, whatever these men wanted, they got. They gained no power or authority from becoming elders. The only difference between the situation before and the situation after is a title. For the sake of a title, the church in that place was split in half. The fact that the title of elder was more important than the welfare of the church is, in my sight, proof that these men were not qualified for the position.