Eldership

Recently my attention has been drawn to the theme of eldership in a house church context. In the nineteen area house churches that I have any degree of relationship with, only a very few have tackled this question in a way reflecting NT patterns. (I recognize that virtually all groups have people who function as elders or leaders) It is an issue whose time has come. As I reflect on it, I believe that certain key elements are necessary.
A. Elders are male (Note the phrase husband of one wife in both 1 Tim 3 & Titus 1)
B. They aspire to the task (Again 1 Tim 3:1)
C. Their wives are willing to make the sacrifice required of them in allowing their husband to give time and energy to the saints. They believe their marriage is healthy enough to stand the strain.
D. The would be elders meet the detailed qualifications laid out in 1 Tim 3 & Titus 1 including humility, the indispensable ingredient for any leader, expressed in Acts 20:19 & 1 Peter 5:1-7
E. The consensus of the church acknowledges what God has done in the candidate's life to develop in him the godly character and servant leader qualities of an elder
F. The ekklesia prays for and lays hands on the brother publicly
G. There is some form of outside validation, i.e. mature brethren from outside the group who also bear witness although the consensus of the church, as people directly affected by his ministry, is more important.
The above is intended as a working outline rather than a definitive doctrinal statement.