Hi
Its my experience after actually being an elder for a number of years that there are in fact...two types of elder.
TYPE 1....Genuine, actually cares about the people in the congregation and wasn't actually bothered too much if he became an elder or not.
TYPE 2....Very legalistic, cares more about organizational laws rather than people and lacks compassion and empathy. This type is more of a spiritual policeman. He wanted desperately to be an elder and now that he is, he loves the sense of power and prestige.
This has been my experience and if there are more type 2 elders on a body, the results can be disastrous.
What has been your experience??? Have you seen more TYPE 2 elders than TYPE 1????
Chukyy