Elder
Elder (in Greek, πρεσβυτερος [presbyteros]) is valued for his spiritual guidance. He is called elder due to a long walk with the Lord by His side, and having a desire to do the work of an overseer. The goal of any elder of a local assembly is to meet the needs of spiritual needs of the believers.
In early 19th century Great Britain groups of believers began to gather in what they referred to as Biblical simplicity. Under the leadership of such men as J. N. Darby and George Mueller these groups began to meet with no clergy to share the Lord's Supper.
The most defining element of these churches is the total rejection of the concept of clergy. Rather, in keeping with the doctrine of the Priesthood of the Believer, they view all Christians as being ordained by God to serve and are therefore ministers. Leadership is by example and by the recognition of their abilities by those they lead.
Regardless of great efforts to prevent it, splits happened, with the two largest divisions being commonly referred to as Open Brethren and Exclusive Brethren. Among other differences their view of elders vary.
[edit] Open Brethren
So called because they serve the Lord's Supper to any Christian who wishes to fellowship with them, their churches are led by elders—men meeting the Biblical qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. These men are the spiritual leadership of the church.
[edit] Exclusive Brethren
As the name implies the Exclusives are so named for their practice of serving the Lord's Supper exclusively to those who are part of their own particular group, agreeing with them on various doctrinal positions.
Most exclusive groups believe the church to have been in ruins between the death of the apostles and their own time. Since no truly apostolic authority exists to appoint elders the church has none. Instead they recognize leading brothers who demonstrate maturity and leadership ability.
In Canada, there is a yearly conference for workers & elders, called the Workers' & Elders' conference, held the first week of May.
