(Re-Valuing the Collective Work of Elders) Once upon a time, the work of elders was considered “a noble task.”[1] Those who did the work well were shown “double honor.” (Does that mean twice the salary?) These are not sentiments normally associated with elders in our authority-cynical age. Even when some measure of “nobility” and “honor” [...]

There is elder (the individual) and there is eldership (the collective). There is the role which individuals fill personally—“shepherd”—and the governing role which a group of elders shares together—“shepherds.” Most elders I know get stuck on occasion in the tension between the singular and the plural. So much of the important work of a shepherd [...]