What is meant by appointed?

So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 14:23

We last considered the reason for a “plurality of elders (meaning more than one). This time, what is meant by elders being “appointed”? Some say this means the entire congregation (or at least the formal membership) appoints by voting and the “majority rules.” Others say that the Apostles appointed the first elders and that elders appoint subsequent elders ever since.

The way other churches understand this is that while the elders have the spiritual responsibility to appoint only biblically qualified men to be elders, they seek the approval of the congregation. This is what we do at Grace Bible Church. The elders put potential elders through a rigorous vetting procedure (including applications, interviews, and references from the men’s wives, and from others both inside and outside of the church).

Once the elders are satisfied that the candidate is well qualified, they inform the church, asking for feedback. After three weeks, any negative feedback is investigated, at which time the candidate’s name may either be withdrawn, or if the negative feedback is judged not to be disqualifying, the process continues. In our history, we have only received negative feed back once. In every other instance, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

This process insures that an unqualified man is not “voted in” based on sheer popularity, and that the congregation’s opinions are given proper consideration.

What is meant by “prayed with fasting”? Next time.