“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” - Acts 20:28

Overseer. Pastor. Elder. These interchangeable descriptions of the same office seen in the New Testament church carry with them a weighty responsibility. This one verse in Acts encompasses the charge of an Elder with a reminder for us.

Part of the charge to an Elder is to pay careful attention to himself and to all the flock. An Elder is to be a man of the Word- reading, studying, memorizing, and teaching it in a way that bears fruit in others. In this way along with communion with God in prayer we “pay attention to ourselves” so that we can pay attention to the flock (you). It has been such a privilege as an Elder to pray for you, care for you, and encourage you in Kingdom work that God is doing through The Church at Brook Hills.

Paying careful attention to all the flock can be a monumental task. Our flock here at Brook Hills, by God’s grace, is a large one. We have thousands of members and a few dozen Elders. We as Elders want to see every member grow in their walk with Christ. We want to see every member in ministry. We want to see every member involved in a Small Group. We want to see every member receiving the love and comfort of Christ through relationships born and grown through this faith family. We want to see every member be a warrior in the Great Commission. A few years ago we increased the size of the Elder Council so we could pay attention to every member (all the flock). We need more Elders in order to do this well.

A reminder for us is the Holy Spirit chooses Elders for God’s church which He purchased by His own blood! The purchase of His Church was costly, and I’m thankful that God, in His wisdom, doesn’t leave such an important task as choosing overseers of His Church to us alone!

Coupled with God’s sovereignty in Elder selection is our responsibility to participate in this process. We ask that you please prayerfully consider men you know that are members of this faith family that demonstrate obedience to the mission of Christ and meet the qualifications outlined in the scriptures referenced in the nomination form.

I’ve prayed for those of you that will read this today, that you will also pray and think about such men that would pay careful attention to all the flock. Please join me also in praying for the following: for the men that will be nominated for Elder, that God will continue to use them to further His kingdom; for the Elder Selection Team, that they will seek the Lord’s direction as to the names of men selected to go through this process; for the men selected by the Holy Spirit to be Elders, that they would love and serve well as they help care for God’s church; and for the entire Elder council as we press on in paying careful attention to you, the Church.

Rusty Palmer and his wife, April, have been members of Brook Hills since 2004. They have three children: Millie, Mattie, and Abbie. Rusty serves as an Elder and as part of our Administrative Elder Team.

ELDER NOMINATIONS - We are currently accepting nominations for men to join our Elder Council. Information on elder requirements and nomination forms can be found at brookhills.org/elder-nomination. Limited hard copies are available at the Brook Store and the Welcome Desk. Nominations are due Feb 28.