Stonewall Elders

For the first 9 years of my ministry in a church plant I was blessed with two elders who consistently had their own agendas. Whenever I would cast vision for a new direction there was always some excuse or cold water why it wouldn't work or they would put their spin on it and create gridlock with the other elders. During that period of time I would get emotionally and spiritually exhausted trying to engineer around those two to accomplish what I thought God had in mind for our church. Unfortunately during those years we had elders who annually renewed their commitment to the board. This was difficult for me that I considered resigning several times.

However, thanks to the sovereignty of God the two elders disagreed so mightily on one issue that they got into an argument and both left the board at the same time. Needless to say after 9 years I felt liberated. After that, the board renewed their faith in my leadership and asked me to redefine our vision and become the real spiritual leader of the flock. From that moment on, God really blessed the growth and development of the church.

So what are the ways we can avoid these stonewallers?

First: It is important to guard the gate. I was way too careless and hasty to have an elder board in the early days of ministry. We can never be too careful to measure the potential leaders Biblical character, competency, and chemistry.

Second: It is critical to have a clearly defined governance model so the roles of elders and staff are understood by all.

Third: It is important that the elder board and pastor have mutual respect and trust. Too many pastors do not trust their elders and vice versa.

Fourth: You may want to implement a 3 year rotation off the elder board. This gives an elder a break and may resolve naturally an elder who needs to be removed.

Fifth: Be prepared for some loving courageous confrontation. There is no substitute for godly leaders who lead with conviction and grace.

May you keep those walls torn down!