UCC members: The materials these questions relate to will be emailed to you immediately after the November 18, 2012 class. Please reflect on the passages cited and try to answer the questions on your own.
Other readers: See the Creation 2.0 page to find the materials these questions relate to.
1. Reflect on the obligations and burdens of being an elder/overseer/shepherd. Can anyone man do all this?
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2. Why do you suppose the scriptures assume that there will be plural elders acting in unity?
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3. How is an eldership like the Trinity (despite their human flaws)?
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4. Should we expect the Spirit to give each elder the same gifts and talents as the others?
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5. Does the fact that elders have differing talents and gifts benefit or harm the church? How?
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6. If elders are to serve as examples to the flock, should the flock act like the elders?
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7. What characteristics of Jesus should elders emulate and model — and members follow?
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8. What if the members would rather not become like Jesus?
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9. What would church be like — how would things change — if the elders modeled the characteristics of Jesus and the members followed them?
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10. What level of services does the church owe us?
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