“There is a well-respected man who has come to Christ. He used to be an imam. The whole community honors him and his testimony is solid. But he has two wives. Can he serve as an elder?” A church planter asked me this on a coaching call. Not a simple question to answer. This man was the cultural elder and the Person of Peace. Could he not be a spiritual leader too?
Many questions swirl around these issues as we start movements.
What do elders in a Disciple Making Movement (DMM) do? How are they appointed? Who decides who is appointed as an elder?