Watchman Nee: The term elder refers to what a man is before the Lord, and the term overseer refers to what he does. For this reason, an elder should not be involved in any work in a direct way. Rather, he should strive to know God's will, and then assign work to the brothers and sisters accordingly. He should spend more time leading and helping the brothers and sisters to do the work. The elders should not replace the saints' work but should supervise them in the work. Hence, the first thing the elders have to learn is to know God's will. If too much work is kept in your hand, you have failed as far as being an elder is concerned. Your responsibility lies mainly in knowing God's will and in assigning the work to others one by one. You have to be busy in overseeing others.
Witness Lee: I would like to speak a little from my experience concerning the character and work of an elder.
First, the elders have to have a fatherly heart. At least they have to have the heart of a big brother. A father is very protective of his son, and a big brother always jealously guards his younger brother. God's requirement for the elders is more than His requirement for fathers and big brothers. It is not enough for the elders to do things right. Perhaps the elders make mistakes. They may come short in many things. Perhaps we can even say that they may fail, but they must have a fatherly heart before they will bring in the Lord's blessing. If the elders have the heart of a father, they will help the brothers and sisters go through many trials and crises.
Many problems cannot be solved by spiritual insight, scriptural teaching, or spiritual power alone. We are not saying that scriptural light and spiritual power are useless. Suppose two brothers are having a problem with each other. If you have spiritual insight, you will know whom you should tell to learn to exercise righteousness and whom you should tell to learn to bear the cross and accept the breaking. You may even have the spiritual power to bring them under the judgment of light. But you still must have the heart of a father before they will submit themselves to this judgment. You may have the power to shame them, but you will not have the ability to soften them. They will only soften before a fatherly heart, and only then will they break into tears and see and confess their mistakes. If the elders have the heart of a father, it will be easy to solve the problems of the brothers and sisters. The church is the family of God. As such, some brothers must represent God as the fathers. They are mature in spiritual life, well-grounded in experience, and full of care and compassion. This will give the brothers and sisters the impression that we have fathers and big brothers among us, and that some in the Lord are caring for them.
I have known Brother Chao Ching-hwai for over twenty years. We have been in the Lord's way together for over eighteen years. He has many virtues, but the most striking one is that he has a fatherly heart. He is very concerned about the marriages of the brothers and sisters, more so than for his own children. I have never seen anyone like him in caring for the marriages of the saints. The problems of many brothers and sisters cannot be solved by messages from the podium, but they are solved as soon as they are presented before him. He exercises tender care towards the brothers and sisters. Sometimes he rebukes them in a strong way, but the brothers do not feel hurt or offended. Rather, they are comforted. If you have the heart of a father, even your rebuke is sweet. We have to look to God for this grace.
The elders in Taipei asked me how they could have the heart of a father. There are things to consider on God's side and there are things to consider on man's side. On God's side, it is His love and mercy to the church when He gives the elders the heart of a father. On our side, once we see that God has placed us in the position of an elder, we have to go to Him, open our hearts to Him, and receive grace from Him. We must then exercise ourselves to have the same heart that God has - the heart of a father. If we exercise this heart, we will have a caring concern for a brother as soon as we see him. Some doctors say that the more a person exercises a part of his body, the stronger that part becomes. The same can be said about a caring heart. We have to be like a boxer, who is ever ready to strike his blow wherever he goes. If we exercise ourselves to have such a fatherly heart, all the brothers and sisters will love to come to us. We have to know that every child of God has a keen sense and registration within his spirit. If an elder does not have such a fatherly heart, it will be easy for him to close his door to the brothers and sisters. As soon as he closes himself, he becomes a great failure to the church. The elders have to be so exercised in this matter that the saints can share with them what they will not share with their parents and friends. They will even reveal many secrets they have before the Lord. Our heart has to be in intimate fellowship with the hearts of the brothers and sisters; their spirits have to be joined to our spirit. If the elders cannot do this, they will leave a big gap in the church life. This will be the greatest shortage, failure, and lack.