Elder rule, in the Spirit, is the means for a healthy church and healthy church leadership.  Note to cynics:  don't be.

 Three out of every five people who enter the ministry end up as ministry runaways.  When you consider the system they're working in, that stat isn't too surprising.

 How pastors are set up for success in church-building while being set up for failure in Kingdom-building.

 Churches need leaders with real authority, but where does that authority come from?  Holy hands?  Popularity contests?  Denominational dues?  

 What should the goal of church leaders be?  To keep themselves needed and in control, or to hand off ministry and responsibility to the other saints?

 How can we trust any church authorities?  And why does God expect us to do so?  Here, we're setting up the problem that chapter five seeks to address.  

 If you allow conflict into the church meeting, it is essential that we be reminded before, during, and especially after that we are still one in Christ.

 Anyone can agree or disagree in secret, but it takes love to make those kinds of judgments in the public meeting.  

 The judging process in the church meeting might take a while, months even, so we need the patience and the love to run that race with endurance.  

 The New Testament saints were all encouraged to be part of the judging process in the church.  Why does that sound so strange to us?