Elders’ job description
- Why do most preachers have job descriptions—but most elders don’t?
- Have you ever considered what an elder actually commits to when he accepts the role?
- What would happen if a new shepherd’s first elders’ meeting were about broken lawn mowers instead of broken hearts?
- Could documenting the expected roles of elders help prevent future conflict and confusion?
- Does clear communication guide your church’s leadership roles—or just assumed past practices?
Find out how making expectations explicit can foster better leadership, stronger relationships, and healthier churches.
A young preacher friend had been with a new church for about a month. He called one Monday morning, asking, “Do you have a copy of a job description? I think I’m gonna to need one.”
I had one. I mailed it to him. (This was during the Old Testament before email and texting.) But he was at least five weeks too late. To reduce conflict in a relationship, it's helpful to negotiate expectations and write them down before the relationship begins.
Most preachers I know have job descriptions.
I know very few elders who have job descriptions and covenants. For the same reason, it’s good to be clear what’s expected of the preacher, it’s good to be clear about what’s expected of an elder at Anywhere Church of Christ, and how elders’ll relate to each other. The best time to communicate those expectations is before a person is appointed, so they don't become disappointed if it’s not what they expected or if they don’t meet the other elders' unspoken and unwritten rules.
Two discussions can reduce bad communications and disappointment:
- An elder’s job description and
- An elder’s covenant. We'll talk about an elder's job description in this episode and the elder's covenant in the next.
The first elders’ job description I encountered was in a congregation where I led a New Shepherds Orientation Workshop. I was impressed when they shared it with me. They called it: Elder Expectations and Commitments.
I’ve talked with many frustrated elders. When one brother was appointed, he assumed everyone understood the correct role of elders, shepherds, and overseers (which was the way he understood it). Soon after his ordination in first elders’ meeting, he learned otherwise.
Imagine the shock of a shepherd at heart coming to his first, second,…ninety-ninth, and following meetings to discuss roofing leaks, need for a new lawn mower, why members aren’t more involved (such as showing up for work days, cleaning up after pot-lucks, and turning off lights) with no mention of marriage problems, sin-sick souls, a member who’s been arrested for molesting children, and how we’ll help each of them and their families.
A job description outlines the specific expectations for an elder's role at Anywhere Church of Christ.
And now I’m reading
Elder Expectations and Commitments for this church in Middle Tennessee
Visitation
- Each elder will personally visit each shut-in annually.
- Each elder will send a note of encouragement to any member absent for two weeks.
- Each Elder will contact and visit any member who has not attended service over a four-week period as available.
- Elder will attend visitation or funeral for any of our members or direct family members as available.
Elders Meetings
- Elders will meet twice a month to conduct and review church business and activities.
- Minutes will be maintained from the meeting and posted in an accessible point to allow easy access.
- Each deacon or ministry leader will attend and report at the elders' meeting quarterly.
- Each minister will be invited monthly to provide updates on the congregation and areas of work.
- Meet with all three ministers combined at a minimum of every other month.
- Develop clear job descriptions for each minister and office staff. We will meet biannually to review, evaluate, and discuss with each employee individually.
- Elders will review and approve the annual calendar by November 1st for the following year. The calendar will be posted and made available to the congregation on January 1st.
- Complete at least one meeting per year for all elders, deacons, and ministry leaders.
- Schedule one meal for elders, deacons, ministers, and their wives annually.
Member engagement during service.
- Elders will commit to being at the service at least 20 minutes before the beginning of the service.
- Elders will ensure that each member is personally spoken to by utilizing the process of covering each section of the auditorium.
- A follow-up card will be sent to any member who has missed service for two weeks.
Member Engagement (outside services)
- Elders will commit to hosting five different families per quarter to foster relationships (three families/members you do not know well and two you know).
- There will be two elders present for any Major Congregational events.
Communication with one another.
- Each elder will report to the congregation on their specific areas of oversight each time that they are on call.
- Elders will visit each adult classroom quarterly to offer prayer and support.
- Annual open forum with the congregation to ensure transparency. Questions will be submitted in advance, and elders will be allowed time to develop a response.
- Each elder will meet monthly with direct reports for their responsible areas to discuss challenges and offer encouragement.
- Any member updates will be shared between elders and ministers immediately to ensure that the member's needs are identified. Text messages and email work very well for this purpose.
- Quarterly, provide an update to the congregation regarding ongoing work and opportunities for involvement.
Elder on Call Duties.
- The elder on call will rotate monthly per schedule unless otherwise noted.
- The elder on call will visit all hospitalized members or delegate to ensure that each hospitalized member receives a visit.
- The elder on call will contact and visit any member who has not attended service over a four-week period.
- An elder on call or a delegate will attend visitation or funeral for any of our members or direct family members.
- The elder on call will contribute one article to the bulletin to communicate with the congregation (Content – Report on area of work, encouragement from scripture).
- The elder on call will attend any scheduled mission committee meetings for the assigned month.
And there you have it — Elder Expectations and Commitments from one church in middle Tennessee that I’m acquainted with. I’ve been impressed with these men and the congregation they serve when I've worked with them on several occasions.
I’ll put a link in the show notes for the transcript of this episode.
They communicate expectations. The elders have no deacon-like job descriptions; they expect the deacons to be deacons.
This helps keep them focused on their primary responsibilities. This allows prospective elders to decide if they’d like to do this and understand the responsibilities of an elder in this congregation.
I don’t recommend your eldership copy these down, hand them out, and say this is what we're gonna to do. I suggest that you discuss expectations with the elders and congregation where you serve, and then work out your agreements. Try these for one year and reevaluate.
The fact is, every elder and every member has a list in their mind about what every elder should do —and they’re all different. The problem is that family rules are usually unconscious, unspoken, understood, and contradictory. They exist only in the minds of the people who have these expectations. A better way is to think about it, discuss it, and write it down.
What would you include in an Elder Expectation and Commitment list?
