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Reston Bible Church is governed by a council of elders, consisting of some of our pastors and other biblically-qualified men who are volunteers. It is my pleasure to put three names into nomination for your prayerful consideration and feedback. They are Pete Ferrara,  Jeff Lawler, and Brian Stegeman. You’ll find pictures and a brief bio of each candidate here. Over the last 12 months, they have all completed a thorough process examining their spiritual qualifications and calling.

Biblical eldership is absolutely critical to the spiritual growth of the body of Christ. Listen carefully to what the apostle Paul tells Titus around 65 A.D.:

“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”  (Titus 1:5-9)

There are two things I’d like you to notice here. First, there is relatively little mention of a an elders talent in Titus 1 or in 1 Timothy 3 (the other passage that lists qualifications for this office.) Instead, these qualifications are about godly character, being able to lead in a way that is pleasing to God. Secondly, notice the importance of the knowledge of God’s Word, so that they can teach sound doctrine and just as importantly, refute false doctrine.

Now a word about the selection process. These men were chosen from a list created by the pastors, staff and elders of our church. They then completed a study of all relevant passages regarding eldership in the Bible. Then they began to meet with the elders at our regularly scheduled meetings, where they participated but they didn’t vote on the agenda items. This was a year long, two-way process for them to determine if they felt called to this ministry and for our current elders to agree to issue that call.

They have and we have, and now all of you have a part to play. We will mention Brian, Pete and Jeff’s names this week and for the next two weeks. We are looking for feedback from the congregation about these men. Please give us positive feedback, if you have observed their good character or their ministry among us. Conversely, if you have observed anything in these men’s lives that concerns you, we would like to know that as well.

You may give us feedback in direct conversation or you may email the elders. We take the appointment of new elders seriously as one of their functions is to guard the doctrine of the church, which is to say, to guard the truth about Jesus Christ and His church. Again, you can find pictures and a brief bio of each candidate here. Please be in prayer for each of them, and we would love to hear from you regarding their candidacy for the elder council of Reston Bible Church.