#465 Elders, Explained

What does it mean for High Point Church to “realign” its elders, and what exactly will the congregation be voting on? In this episode of The Engage & Equip Podcast, Communications Director Preston Bousley sat down with Pastor Nic and Pastor Adam to walk through the elder realignment proposal coming to the congregational meeting.They explain why the change is needed and unpack three functions of elders: shepherding, governing, and teaching. Along the way, they discuss the new shepherding team, the role of teaching elders, what 1 Timothy 5:17–18 says about honoring elders, how people can be trained to serve as elders, and what isn’t changing: the congregation will still elect the board of elders to three-year terms. If you’re a member of High Point preparing to vote, or simply curious how a church can practice biblical elder leadership, we hope this podcast gives you clarity into the process and encouragement of the leadership of our church. Link to the congregational meeting details. Time stamps0:00 Introduction0:15 What Is the Elder Realignment?3:25 The Shepherding Role of Elders5:59 Creating a Shepherding Team9:14 Raising Up Pastors from Within14:37 The Teaching Role of Elders16:49 Double Honor in 1 Timothy 5:1720:16 Shepherding, Ruling, and Teaching Elders22:07 Should Elders Be Paid?25:51 How Do You Become an Elder?29:10 Start Doing the Work of an Elder32:06 Can Non-Elders Shepherd?34:37 Why Elders Make the Final Call36:00 Is Pastoring a Gift or an Office?37:17 What Isn’t Changing39:45 Term Limits and Institutional Memory41:40 Who Do We Turn to in a Crisis?45:02 Steel-Manning the Concerns49:12 Teams vs. Committees50:03 Wrap-Up Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

Does God always heal? Jill Reasa, director of the Oaks Ministry Collaborative, and Pastor Nic join Preston Bousley to talk about healing as a “punctuated process”: slow, lifelong work marked by moments of breakthrough. They cover why we carry more hurt than we admit, how Christians can think wisely about psychology, and how our church can walk with hurting people without causing more harm. Then join Oaks for an evening on holistic healing, which you can sign up for here. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

How should Christians talk about politics without tearing the church apart? With an election coming up, we had Pastor Nic and Morgan Bauer join host Preston Bousley to talk about Christian conduct in a divided political season.The conversation walks through Romans 12–14 as a pattern for living at peace with government and with one another, what Hebrews 6 says about maturity and discernment, and why working through disagreements shows how deep our bonds in Christ really go. Nic also shares about Engage and Equip’s new Substack, where the team is writing short, practical posts on thinking Christianly about public life. You can find Nic's Substack here. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

What does it look like to follow Jesus into the villages of the Democratic Republic of Congo? On this episode of Engage and Equip, Kathleen from High Point's Global Missions team sits down with Matt and Lauren Baker, who serve with Overland Missions in southern DRC. Matt and Lauren share how horses, competitive swimming, Young Life, and Cru prepared them for the "radical availability" of the mission field. They walk us through a typical day of village ministry, explain why reaching traditional chiefs can open up an entire community to the gospel, and describe gathering pastors across denominations for teaching and prayer. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

What does it look like to live in harmony with one another without simply avoiding conflict? In this Ask Me Anything episode of Engage and Equip, Preston sits down with Monte, one of the elders at High Point Church, to answer the questions you submitted after his September 27 sermon on Romans 12:16.Monte unpacks the difference between true, Christ-centered harmony and a false peace, how to encourage kids and others toward excellence without feeding their pride, and how Christians can engage in politics without letting it become an idol. He also tackles what to do when you notice pride in yourself, whether it's wrong to feel proud of good work, and where the line is in pursuing excellence. Along the way, the conversation turns to accountability in church leadership, C. S. Lewis and other reading recommendations, why God spoke so directly in the Old Testament, and how to respond when someone else is operating in pride (2 Timothy 2:23–25).Not connected to a local church? Join us in Madison, Wisconsin, at 8:30 or 10:30 AM, or fill out a connect card below to get started.Connect CardHigh Point's WebsiteSeptember 27th Sermon Chapters:0:00 Intro: Monte and Romans 12:160:51 How Is Living in Harmony Different from Avoiding Conflict?7:51 How Do We Nurture Humility in Our Kids Without Pride?10:31 How Should Christians Approach Politics?19:09 How Do I Pursue Harmony If I Work in Politics?26:26 What Should I Do When I Recognize Pride in the Moment?35:58 Is Taking Pride in Your Work Good or Bad?41:50 Should Christians Strive for Excellence?47:00 Will There Be Art and Stories in Heaven?49:50 Shouldn't Church Leaders Have Healthy Feedback Loops?55:43 What Are You Reading and Recommending?57:41 Are the Germanic Sagas Satirical?1:00:36 Why Did God Speak So Directly in the Old Testament?1:05:12 How Do We Overcome Tribalism and Zero-Sum Thinking?1:08:01 What Do We Do When Others Are Operating in Pride?1:11:48 Closing Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

Can a Christian take an antidepressant, a stimulant, or a sleep aid in good conscience, and how do we know when medication is the right tool? In this final conversation of our Intoxicating Substances series, Nic, Jill, Bill, and Monte look back on alcohol, church history, and "respectable drugs," then take up questions from the lecture on psychotropic medications. The episode closes with Paul's teaching on conscience, what it means for offering wine alongside grape juice in communion, and the next steps before our congregation's vote in March. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

What does it look like to shepherd God's people well? In this training session at High Point Church, Dr. Greg Scharf explores the biblical qualifications for elders, from being "above reproach" to the "aptitude to teach," and shows how they apply to anyone who cares for others in the church. He references 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5, and Ezekiel 34, as examples of shepherding and lists the elements of shepherding: praying, making disciples, guarding the flock, and seeking those who drift. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

In this podcast, Pastor Nic is joined by Dr. Greg Scharf, a pastor turned seminary professor with nearly four decades in ministry, where they discuss questions every church leader wrestles with but few will say out loud, including: should elders serve for life, how much input should a wife have before her husband steps into leadership, and what happens when a pastor's own kid is the one struggling? All this and more in this week’s episode of Engage & Equip. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

This episode is the conclusion of the live Intoxicating Substances series, where Pastor Nic and a panel of voices from the church spoke on the topic of substances that are commonly used, whether for intoxication or medication. In this episode, they discussed how one in five women in America is on an antidepressant, boys are diagnosed with ADHD at rates that dwarf girls, and benzodiazepines can kill you if you stop them too fast. The panelists discussed the most common assumption in modern mental health treatment: that these drugs are fixing a broken brain the same way insulin fixes a missing hormone. This begs the question, what if that's not actually how most psychiatric medication works? And what does it mean for how Christians think about suffering, relief, and what we're actually asking these drugs to do for us? All this and more on this week's episode of the Engage and Equip Podcast. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast

How do you know if what you're feeling is God, or just your own gut talking? This summer, High Point sent a team of high schoolers and leaders from High Point to Zambia. During their time there, they saw how speaking in tongues and prophetic words weren't rare exceptions but everyday life around the fire—and it caused them to ask some hard questions. In this episode, Pastor Paxton sits down with several members from that trip: Pastor Nic, student admin Taylor, and two students, to talk about what they actually saw and what surprised them. Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast Engage & Equip is a resource designed to help form substantive disciples for the local church. Find more episodes at highpointchurch.org/podcast