The stability our denominational organization has acquired through the years comes largely from the high quality of leaders God has chosen to direct His church. It is essential to maintain strong leaders, and I offer these thoughts with the hope of improving the pastor-local elder teamwork.
Today, looking back on my ten years' service as a local elder, it is difficult for me to recall any specific visit made in my home by a minister as a purely pastoral call. The pastor's visit is usually made to keep the busy wheels of the church program in motion, and although unintentional, the heart-to-heart contact of the minister (as the shepherd) with the local elder (as the leading sheep of the flock) is often overlooked.
Possibly the local elders are to feel complimented in this expression of confidence, the ministry feeling, perhaps, that we generate our own spiritual stamina to meet the vicissitudes of modern life. It must be realized, however, that there are occasions when some elder may be having an agonizing experience in overcoming sin, and it is in that hour that the strong arms of the anointed ministry could help. A personal prayer session with an elder may bring to light a trial or personal problem in the elder's life that may never become known otherwise.
Truthfully, I esteem no men on earth higher than our ordained conference workers. This statement is made in view of the many opportunities an elder has in church work to know the shortcomings and human frailties of his pastor.
To better realize the importance of vigilant shepherding the pastor must have with his elders, I recall an instance when the spiritual life of an elder crumbled, and how the details spread wildly through the community with reproach to our faith. These are things we seldom like to think about, preferring rather to behold the many Ingathering or other victories the church is winning. But the fact remains that as long as evil lingers in the world, it will on occasion enter the inner sanctum of our organization. It is part of a minister's work to detect this first spiritual erosion in an elder's life, and with godly arms sustain the tempted church officer.
The trouble may begin by indulging in too frequent Sabbath trips to the beach, by viewing wrong television programs, or from any one of numerous signs that some inner struggle or weakness is starting in an elder's life. A timely call from the minister, however, may bring the tears of deep contrition rather than the burning, searing tears of regret resulting from an overt fall from grace.
A minister himself has something in common with his elders, knowing the added effort our common enemy exerts to thwart the spirituality of a man elected to this post of duty. The minister knows from experience the great vigilance necessary in his own anointed life to remain unsullied from the world. The angels know this too, and must suffer great anguish when the tempter makes inroads into the life of one of God's leaders. At such times even heavenly beings are helpless, and the minister is the only instrument God can use to prevent a terrible calamity in the leadership ranks of His church.
I endured deep distress during my years of leadership when two officers, on separate occasions, were involved in moral lapses. These dear brethren were seemingly solid at their posts of duty; then the horror of reproach enveloped them and our church. How our heart goes out to such fallen brethren. We recognize that not only the minister but each officer bears a responsibility to let our colleagues know of our prayers for them. We should have expressed more Christian brotherliness, which conceivably might have averted such disaster.
It is truly by pressing together in the sheepfold of the Master that we are secure. Our Master Shepherd says He knows His sheep. In like manner the shepherding ministry of the church pastor might well know and frequently examine the leading sheep of his flock.
When Jesus said, "Feed my sheep," it was directed to church shepherds. In the pastoral setting of sheep country, a drooping head or limping foot of a leading sheep is instantly examined in order not to lose a single member of the flock. Leading sheep in sound condition are essential to the shepherd. This same vigilance exercised by a church minister for his elders cannot be overemphasized.
Possibly the warmest moment of my Christian experience occurred many years ago when a worker in God's cause put his arms about my youthful shoulders and asked how things were going with me. We then knelt in prayer and he asked God to help me to be faithful. The event is so vivid that even after nearly forty years I could find the exact spot in the twenty-acre field where this happened. I remember it so well because it is the only time it has ever happened. Since that time in my many years of church activities there have been hundreds of charts, goals, board meetings, but never again those few quiet moments of private prayer with a minister's hand on my shoulder.
In Latin American countries the familiar embrace is a national custom, almost as popular as a handshake and even more so among our church brethren. How well do I recall the hurt feelings of one Mexican Seventh-day Adventist brother in southern Chiapas, Mexico, when I unknowingly failed to acknowledge our introduction by embracing him and saying, "Hermano" ("Brother"). Then on a nod from another brother, I hugged the man, and there actually were tears of brotherly affection in his eyes. This depth of brotherly affection will be one of the few almost tangible things we will take into the kingdom with us. Like other fruits of the Spirit, however, it cannot be acquired at a last moment. If it is necessary for this affection to exist among all brethren, how much more is it needed between the pastor and his elders!
Many times the local elder is a busy professional person, himself a leader, and the minister may feel hesitant to penetrate the veneer of prestige and dignity—possibly a receptionist or secretary—to get to the heart of his elder. Speaking from personal experience, I have found that any Christian worthy of his eldership will appreciate the few quiet moments bowed in prayer with his pastor's hand on his shoulder, whether it be in an office or shop or beside an idling tractor in a field.
Since the early days of our Adventist Church body, mention has been made of a "revival" among our people. Other familiar terms are "the outpouring of the Holy Spirit," "the loud cry," "the latter rain," and "times of refreshing." A basis for launching all these experiences among us will be the love we have for one another. When sustained by his pastor, the church elder will in turn sustain the other brethren, until a bond of strong brotherly affection, a "revival," will carry us into the kingdom of heaven together.
