This is a great question, to be sure, although I didn't mean for my comments to indicate there needs to be reform from the 'top-down'. A great deal of change needs to be made at the top, in my estimation, but I think the movement for that will need to come from the bottom in a groundswell fashion.
The main suggestion I have is to guarantee your congregation has a vigorous elder training process in place. My experience is that most Sessions presently function only to conduct church business: We have an agenda that reports committee activity, we move funds from one line item to another, we approve the minister's time away, and we attempt to do it in the shortest amount of time possible. Precious little attention is given to theology and worship, which is interesting to me, because in the Book of Order, the ordination questions for ministers (G-14.0405b) and elders (G-14.0207) are the same. In other words, elders are to know their theology and polity, and be active in higher governing bodies. The presbytery in which I serve, Presbytery of the Peaks, recently had a reading and hearing on an overture from one of our member churches concerning the 217th GA AI. Almost invariably, when an elder commented, s/he would offer some variation on this disclaimer: "I'm just a regular person in the pew,
but. . . ." The vote of an elder at presbytery, synod, and General Assembly gatherings carries just as much weight as the vote of a minister. If we make sure our elders are sharp in theology and polity and active in governing body affairs, I think that will make a world of difference.
In addition to the obvious perennials of the Book of Order, the Book of Confessions, and the Holy Bible, some helpful resources for elder training include: Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers by Joan Gray and Joyce Tucker (ISBN 0664500188); Making Disciples, Making Leaders: A Manual for Developing Church Officers by Steven Eason (ISBN 0664502636); the Book of Confessions: Study Edition (ISBN 0664500129) and Christian Doctrine: Revised Edition by Shirley Guthrie (ISBN 0664253687).
The main suggestion I have is to guarantee your congregation has a vigorous elder training process in place. My experience is that most Sessions presently function only to conduct church business: We have an agenda that reports committee activity, we move funds from one line item to another, we approve the minister's time away, and we attempt to do it in the shortest amount of time possible. Precious little attention is given to theology and worship, which is interesting to me, because in the Book of Order, the ordination questions for ministers (G-14.0405b) and elders (G-14.0207) are the same. In other words, elders are to know their theology and polity, and be active in higher governing bodies. The presbytery in which I serve, Presbytery of the Peaks, recently had a reading and hearing on an overture from one of our member churches concerning the 217th GA AI. Almost invariably, when an elder commented, s/he would offer some variation on this disclaimer: "I'm just a regular person in the pew,
but. . . ." The vote of an elder at presbytery, synod, and General Assembly gatherings carries just as much weight as the vote of a minister. If we make sure our elders are sharp in theology and polity and active in governing body affairs, I think that will make a world of difference.
In addition to the obvious perennials of the Book of Order, the Book of Confessions, and the Holy Bible, some helpful resources for elder training include: Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers by Joan Gray and Joyce Tucker (ISBN 0664500188); Making Disciples, Making Leaders: A Manual for Developing Church Officers by Steven Eason (ISBN 0664502636); the Book of Confessions: Study Edition (ISBN 0664500129) and Christian Doctrine: Revised Edition by Shirley Guthrie (ISBN 0664253687).
posted by The Parson | 3:44 PM
2 Comments:
I agree that the weight of each vote is equal at Presbytery, Synod and GA. How many elder representatives are aware of the issues that are to be presented at these meetings? My experience has been that most ruling elders never know what is coming up for a vote nor takes time to read the docket and papers that are sent prior to the meetings. I know that most of the elders in my church had not heard of the PUP report in spite of the fact that my Presbytery held infomational meetings and encouraged congregations to be in dialogue before this proposal came to the floor of the GA.
One aspect of the training is to impress upon the minds of the elders their responsibility to keep up with governing body affairs. One important dynamic in this, which I suspect is often overlooked, is the supplication of resources during the training; in other words, during elder training, the minister could (and in my opinion, should) provide elders with places to go for information. How many elders know PresbyWeb is out there? How many subscribe to the Outlook or any of the other material out there? After elder training is complete, the onus is on the minister to keep communication lines open: Emails, letters, phone calls, and--yes!--conversations over a drink after work are excellent avenues for making sure elders are up to date.
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