The following is a letter I wrote to the Elders and Board members of a Church I attended back in 2014. The purpose of posting this letter is that I felt led by the Lord to make it available to anyone who may find themselves in the same position I was in. Many Churches today are in trouble in regards to their being led by the Lord. Our Churches have become social gathering places with little or no True Worship to the Lord and that my friends is a very sad situation. Please pray for all Elders and Board Members that they would allow the Holy Spirit of God to
direct them in all ways.
I pray this may be of some assistance to someone.
Pastor Bob Wise
Greetings in Jesus Holy Name, March 18, 2014
Dear Brothers in Christ. I pray you will accept this letter in love as it is sent in love with the only intent to be a help to you in your walk with the Lord Jesus. The information included in this letter is designed to be a refreshing and renewing of your minds in regards to leadership as Elders and Board members of your local place of Worship.
Though the information pertains primarily to Elders in the Church, I am including Board members as recipients as they may one day be called upon to be an Elder in the Church and this information will be of valuable assistance to them.
Let me start off by saying that I personally do love each of you and care for you not only as fellow humans but also as fellow brothers in the family of God. I have no ill feelings towards any of you from a neither personal nor Christian perspective but am seriously concerned with the situation that the Church finds itself to be in at this point in time.
As time has passed by this past years I have noticed and experienced many things within the Church that have been of great concern to me and have learned more recently are of concern to many others within the congregation. Certainly we can all agree that the membership level has fallen off quite extensively, especially within the past year. That in itself is not always a bad sign nor can it necessarily be a hindrance of any kind to the local Church. Attendance fluctuates in many Churches especially small member Churches. The concern locally is that not only that the membership and by membership I mean
attendance, not necessarily actual members has dropped, but there has arisen a more problematic situation that has come to the forefront.
Within this local congregation I have noticed by way of personal contact a rising number of congregants that have expressed their feelings the Church has no direction and is experiencing a lack of trust in the Church Elders and the Church Board. In a small congregation because it is small, the congregants seem to have a desire for more open communication than in larger congregations. In larger settings the congregants are usually so involved in the seemingly unlimited amount of Church activities available that their focus is not necessarily on the behind the scenes activities as much as the smaller
congregations are. Please understand that I am in no way condemning or putting the blame on any of you. I write this letter with the attached information simply as a means of following what I feel is a desire from the Lord for me to be an avenue of help, guidance and encouragement to you.
I would ask each of you who take the time to read this honest heartfelt communication to read it and accept it as mentioned above, with the understanding that I present it to you with love not derision and certainly with no malice intended towards you.
The office of Elder and Board member, though different in function in many degrees are offices which have many things in common. The most important of which is both offices are a Holy function within a Church setting and have to be approached and accepted with the understanding in mind that the positions you hold are positions of not only importance, but positions which our precious Lord and Savior Jesus presented as leadership positions which are of a more serious nature than that of a congregant in regards to responsibility, stewardship and accountability.
I truly believe each of you have a desire to be devoted to being a servant to your congregants and to the Lord. To that end, I have no doubt. The question I have no answer to is how devoted are each of you. Only you and the Lord Himself know the answer to that question.
I wish for you to know that I am truly saddened by what is happening to our Church. I pray daily for the Lord in intervene and to bring us all together in one accord in love for each other and to be in true worship to Him. Unfortunately, there are many lines of division which need to be broken down. These divisions need to be broken down with love, so as to honor not only the Lord but each other as we are important in His eyes. Having said that, I honestly believe the most serious of problems we have in our local congregation is the lack of devotion and commitment to the Lord.
With true, honest devotion and commitment to the Lord comes an attitude and atmosphere of love towards each as one cannot be truly devoted to the Lord and still maintain an attitude of derision towards each other. The two, are not compatible desires nor are they compatible experiences. As we have learned from the Holy Scriptures: A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
As to your role in this, it will take a man of conviction. A man of conviction for his love for the Lord first and foremost. Along with your conviction for the Lord you must have a heart for the people regardless of their status, prestige, power, personal friendship, monetary status or lack thereof in any of those categories. As an Elder you must have a love for and a desire to care for, nurture, teach, help, lift up and proclaim each and every person under your charge.
I would ask each of you to examine your heart. Give yourself over to the Lord for guidance. Ask the Holy Spirit to be alive, alert and active in you. We often pray to the Lord for guidance but forget that He (Jesus) sent the Holy Spirit to us as not only a comforter but also as a helper for us to discern righteousness and for guidance in our daily walk with the Lord. Please take time to truly open your heart and mind and examine not only what your position of Elder or Board member is, but why you accepted that position. I must admit to having known men who accepted a position of Eldership simply because no one
else could or would. I pray that has not happened with you. Again, I am not doubting your motives but simply asking you to do an self-examination of yourselves to gain either the re-assurance of you making the right decision or possibly discovering that the position you accepted was made not at the right time and possibly with the wrong perspectives and objectives in mind. Once again, only you will discover if you truly are doing what the Lord Himself called you to do or if you are doing what you called yourself to do. I pray for each of you to find the peace from the Lord in whatever the answer may turn out to be. If you find the peace from the Lord that you should be in the position of Elder or
Board member, I will support you faithfully. If you discover that you do not or cannot fulfill not only the requirements but the duties honestly and faithfully with the Lord as your total guide as an Elder or Board member and decide to step down, I will still support you faithfully.
In closing, I pray you will give this letter and the provided information an opportunity to be of help to you and that you come away from reading it and studying it with a renewed Spirit and a refreshed mind knowing that you are at peace with yourself and with the Lord. That my friends, is all I ask. The Lord took it upon Himself to give His all for us as He takes us seriously and He expects no less in return.
God Bless each of you. I pray we may remain friends and comrades in our walk through life together as fellow Christians, trying to get through till He either comes or we first go home to Him.
With Love and Respect,
Bob Wise
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