After the dishes were done, Red helped Thomas with his math homework and Mary checked over Sally’s work. Mary put the children to bed while Red returned to his study.
This thing is getting to me, he thought. I need to get it summed up so that it can simmer for awhile.
Red began a checklist on his note pad:
Leaders must be educated before they begin to serve.
Session responsible for that education.
Evangelism is the First Business of the Church.
Elders are spiritual leaders first and bureaucrats only as a last resort.
Elders need to learn to delegate to Deacons and Trustees.
So, what is it that Deacons ought to be doing, what are ours actually doing, and what changes ought we consider, Red asked himself?
According to the Book of Order
The office of Deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, concern for needs, and of serving others. Therefore, the first duty of the Deacon is sympathy and service. Historically, to this office has been given the duty of being the Church’s instrument for the ministry of compassion. Such duties may include the care, maintenance, and preparation of the church and its facilities. Since the Board of Deacons is not a court of the Church and since it is under the authority of the Church Session, to the Deacons both individually and collectively the Church Session may assign from time to time special duties felt to be appropriate to that office.
“The first duty of the Deacon is sympathy and service. Historically, to this office has been given the duty of being the Church’s instrument for the ministry of compassion.”
The Deaconate, then, is an office of action rather than contemplation. While maintaining a prayer list and prayer chain and, perhaps, a card ministry, are signs of compassion, the Deacon should be away from the Church more often than in it.
Visitation to the sick, elderly, and shut-ins is a function that the pastor and the Deacons share. Unfortunately, some churches see the pastor as the "employee" who has been "hired" to relieve the leadership of any of the hard work of ministry. In those churches, a recurring refrain is “We don’t know how to do visits—seminary is supposed to train the pastor for that.” Those are often the churches that also complain because the over-worked pastor is not regularly “spending enough time” on his sermons, is not regularly appearing at committee meetings, youth events, Bible study groups, and is not available to meet with people seeking counseling.
The Deaconate ought to be the first level of visitation. It can be the eyes and ears for the pastor and session, alerting the elders and pastor when they, too, need to visit members. It is more than making sure that the altar flowers go to someone, Red realized. The Deacons ought to be out and about on a regular basis. That requires screening and training.
“Such duties may include the care, maintenance, and preparation of the church and its facilities.”
In small churches, the Deacons may have these duties. In larger churches in which the corporation has elected trustees, supervision of the Sexton and oversight of the care and maintenance of the church are better assigned to the trustees. But if there is a “Property Committee” on the Board of Trustees, election or appointment ex officio of one or more Deacons to that committee may be appropriate.
Deacons ought to be prominently involved in the Worship Ministry for the care and preparation of sanctuary for worship.
But the Deacons must be sure that they do not allow those duties to replace their first duty to care for the members who are in need of care and compassion, Red thought.
And the Deacons are not allowed to pick and choose their functions.
Since the Board of Deacons is not a court of the Church and since it is under the authority of the Church Session, to the Deacons both individually and collectively the Church Session may assign from time to time special duties felt to be appropriate to that office.
[The session is responsible] to oversee the work of the Board of Deacons and to review its minutes at least semiannually unless otherwise provided for by the Church Session. It is also desirable for the Church Session to call a joint meeting at least semi-annually to discuss matters of common interest, although each body must act separately on matters under its charge.
“And that is a key consideration,” Red muttered to himself.
“. . . each body must act separately on matters under its charge.” The Session must exercise discipline and avoid the urge to micro-manage the Deaconate and the Board of Trustees. Once the Session delegates authority to the other boards, it must allow them to exercise that authority so long as they do not exceed the scope of their authority. Otherwise, there are two or three groups performing the same function, while other essential areas, such as the spiritual health and development of the church, go untended.
And the delegation of authority to Deacons is especially appropriate because of their ordained status. Where a representative of committee may be viewed by some as an interloper, the attendance of an ordained officver of the church carries with it the weight of ordination and call.
Once again, it all comes back to screening and training.
The Church Session of the particular church shall examine each candidate for ordination to the office of Ruling Elder or Deacon. The Candidate shall be examined on personal experience of the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ and progress in spiritual growth. Each Candidate for ordination shall be examined on the following matters: the Faith of the Church, the Sacraments, the Government of the Church, the Discipline of the Church, the Worship of the Church, the History of the Church, and an understanding of the office to which one is elected.
Screening. Candidates must be screened before they are elected and installed. Those who are not genuinely called to the office to which they have been nominated must be identified and, if training cannot correct the identified deficiencies, they should be asked to stand aside.
“The Church Session shall make provision for courses of instruction in the following matters: Church government, the Sacraments, the Faith of the Church, the Worship of the Church, the Discipline of the Church, the History of the Church, and an understanding of the office to which one is elected.”
Training. In too many instances, nominating committees use one of two models. The first is the “It is X’s turn to serve.” Election to office is viewed as a reward to length of membership or representation of some faction within the congregation.
The other model is the “just find someone to serve” model. The nominating committee takes anyone who will volunteer to serve whether or not they are suited to the office. This model is most likely to ignore, or to be ignorant of, the obligation to screen for a sense of call.
Once again, Red thought, we are back to the need for screening and for education. And education must also include the nominating committee.
Red looked at his list.
Leaders must be educated before they begin to serve.
Session responsible for that education.
Evangelism is the First Business of the Church.
Elders are spiritual leaders first and administrators only as a last resort.
Elders need to learn to delegate to Deacons and Trustees.
He added:
Sense of call must be identified early.
Candidates must understand what they will be asked to do.
Session must then make sure that the committees and boards do their job, but must not try to do it for them.
It is better to be short-handed than to have people elected who are unwilling to take upon themselves the obligations of their office.
Mary stuck her head through the door. “CSI is on. You gonna watch some goo and gore before we go to sleep?”
Red put his notes aside. Yeah. The new guy who replaced Grissom may need my help tonight.
Well, what more must Red consider? Are most elders ready to delegate? How many bodies will the CSI team find tonight?
Join us again tomorrow for more of the Adventures of Graying Pres.
2 comments:
Another great installment!
I think I posted here or over at RC's blog that I think officer's training that will emphasize the spiritual nature of the office, that the elders are spiritual leaders of the congregation, and thus take the focus off of Session meetings as being like any other business meeting in the secular world, is so important. I like your emphasis on the training, and making sure that the nominee is up to the task and if not, asking them to step aside. I've tried, but not to much avail. I think the nominating committee here, just to get someone to say yes, has often times not adequately informed the person of the responsibilities of the office. Then, when, say, I've opened the meeting with Bible study, they've looked surprised and questioned why Bible study needs to be a part of the business meeting. One or two even suggested that the study wait until "after the Session meeting, so that those of us with things to do can leave." Yikes!
Looking forward, as always, to the next installment!
Oh, yeah. "Hey, Pastor, some of us have real jobs so can we just move this along?"
The legal profession lost something when collegiality was replaced with the "business" model.
Likewise, when the pastorate became a "profession" circa 1970rather than a call, the "pro" was suddenly the guy or gal "hired" to take care of things, and the session became the Board of Directors to oversee the CEO.
See how well that has worked out?
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