Believing and Belonging VIII

VIII: THE PRESBYTERIAN FELLOWSHIP

I Timothy 4:12-16

Out of the Protestant Reformation there emerged several denominations which held to the same basic Christian faith as that witnessed to by the apostles but which differed in form of government. One of these denominations is the Presbyterian. Our church holds to a system of government shared by more than 90 million people around the world.

The Presbyterian Church has always stood for the sovereignty of God, the supremacy of the Scriptures, the freedom and responsibility of every human being, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the necessity of works of compassion and justice, and the obligation to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

The Presbyterian Church has a representative form of government whose work is carried on by presbyters or elders elected by the people. There are four branches of government in the Presbyterian Church, all of which are made up of teaching and ruling elders.

The four elements of the Presbyterian system are: the session; the presbytery; the synod; and, the General Assembly.

The Session

Each local church is governed by the session composed of the pastor or minister, who is the “teaching elder”, and a group of lay people who have been elected by the members of the church and ordained to this office; these are called “ruling elders.” The number of ruling elders in each church is usually determined by the size of the church. The pastor is the moderator (convener) of session meetings. The session has charge of the spiritual oversight of the congregation. It is responsible for the five purposes of the church: worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and mission. This work is divided among various ministry teams or committees, consisting of both elders and members of the congregation. Generally, the session is a permission-giving body, deciding on general principles. Most of the work of the session actually takes place in the ministry teams. In every respect, these teams are responsible to the session.

Some churches still operate with a separate board of deacons, charged with the care of those in need and the administration of the finances of the church. Increasingly, these functions have been included in the responsibilities of the session.

The Presbytery

The presbytery is the governing agency of the Church through which individual churches in a particular area are united in ministry and mission. Pastors of local churches are members of the presbytery and not of the churches they serve. The presbytery consists of all of the pastors and representative elders from each church within its bounds. The presbytery oversees the process of ordination, which enables men and women to serve as pastors. It also plays a part in calling pastors to particular churches, and in dismissing them to serve elsewhere.

The presbytery has general oversight of the churches. Its chief duty is to unify and to make more effective the work of the individual churches, to make provision for evangelism and church growth, and to promote the work of the Church as a whole. Meetings of the presbytery take place three or four times a year; they are presided over by a moderator who has been elected by the body.

The Synod

The synod is made up of a group of presbyteries. Synod lines conform, roughly, to state lines with some having several states within their borders. Meetings of the synod are held on a regular basis, with representation from every presbytery. The moderator of synod is elected by commissioners.

In many respects, the functions of the synod are largely administrative. However, the synod does have the power to hear and judge all complaints and appeals from decisions of presbyteries. It examines the records of presbyteries and provides yet another check or balance to prevent abuse of any kind. It has no final authority on any matter that affects the doctrine and constitution of the Church.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is the highest court of the denomination. It meets every other year, and consists of commissioners from the presbyteries. These commissioners are elected by presbytery. In this way, every local church has the opportunity to say who will attend General Assembly. Meetings of the Assembly are presided over by a moderator elected by the commissioners. As in the case of the presbytery or synod, this person may be either a teaching elder (pastor) or a ruling elder.

The General Assembly is the highest court of the Church. It has the power, when cases are referred to it, to uphold or reverse the actions of synods or presbyteries. However, the General Assembly speaks to the Church, not for it. Any decision which requires a change in the constitution must be approved by a vote of the presbyteries.

Through the work of the General Assembly, and its agencies, the denomination seeks to advance the Great Ends of the Church. These have been identified as:

· the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;

· the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;

· the maintenance of divine worship;

· the preservation of the truth;

· the promotion of social righteousness; and

· the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

Membership

Membership in the Church is open to all who will accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and, confessing their sins, will seek to follow Him. Members of the Church are expected to endeavor to live a Christian life, to attend worship regularly, to use their spiritual gifts for the building up of the body and to serve others, and to support the Church as the Lord enables them to do.

There are three ways by which an individual may be received into membership:

· By profession of faith (for those who have never confessed faith in Christ as Lord);

· By reaffirmation of faith (for those who have not been active members in any church for some time); and

· By transfer from another congregation.

Profession of Faith

The following questions are asked of those who wish to be received into membership by profession or reaffirmation of faith. The questions are normally asked during a meeting with members of the Session.

Pastor Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?

Response I do.

Pastor Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, trusting in His grace and love?

Response I do.

Pastor Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying His word and showing His love?

Response I will, with God’s help.

Pastor Will you be a faithful member of this congregation, share in its worship and ministry through your prayers and gifts, your study and service and so fulfill your calling to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Response I will, with God’s help.

Pastor Will you devote yourself to the church’s teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer?

Response I will, with God’s help.

Purity and Power

I've just been listening to this month's "Defining Moments" Leadership Audio Journal from Willow Creek. It is called "Spiritual Transformation of the Next Generation." Nancy Beach, from the Willow Creek Association, interviews Bill Hybels, Willow's Senior Pastor, and Shane Farmer, who runs their Senior High ministry.



It's all rather intimidating - the organization they have in place at Willow Creek for Senior High ministry. Designed to operate in three complementary phases, the ministry includes large group worship held on Sunday morning, at the same time as regular worship (I see some issues there); medium sized group gatherings happen on Sunday afternoons with multiple leaders and the opportunity to break off into small groups based on specific High Schools; and then there is the student-led ministry in those High Schools, which seems to operate rather like Young Life. Very interesting, especially the intentionality behind the development of spiritual disciplines and spiritual gifts.

There was an informative and thought-provoking section about the value of camps and mission trips. Nothing surprising there, except for the emphasis on letting local leaders do most of the teaching. Willow sees these events as opportunities to build community among small groups. This goes against the flow, but I think it's a good idea. In our context, camps usually break up our party and place kids in small groups with people they don't know. An outside speaker is usually charged with presenting some kind of challenge. This is quite a risk, especially when the speaker is from a predominantly liberal denomination; often they have an agenda to impart to the kids, and we have to pick up the pieces. The other thing is that, by splitting up our party, at least for some of the time, we create a false environment which can't be replicated at home, and we miss an opportunity for deeper fellowship with our kids.

One thing that really caught my attention, however, doesn't really have anything to do with youth ministry. Toward the end of the discussion, Shane Farmer was asked what he would like to pass on to other student or youth leaders who might be listening. In response he said that leaders need to nurture their own walk with Christ, because if they neglect that they will find it almost impossible to lead. And then he said something like, "Concentrate on purity, because power follows purity." Now that is quite a thought.

What if the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit are more easily channeled through those who seek to live according to God's will? What if there really is a link between the effectiveness of our ministries and our pursuit of personal holiness? And what if one of the reasons why the Presbyterian Church seems to be so devoid of power, is that we have institutionalized sin? If that is, indeed, the case, then our continued alignment with those who deny both the orthodoxy and the orthopraxy of the Gospel is a severe detriment to the work of the Kingdom. If power does indeed follow purity, then the source of our problem is that we have, repeatedly, failed to seek biblical purity. In fact, as the recent General Assembly proves, we are still trying to make acceptable that which the Scriptures condemn. There's a lesson there for more than youth ministry.


By the way, this sin't quite the type of purity I had in mind...

Death of a Church

The news from Seventh Presbyterian in Cincinnati breaks my heart. I preached there in 1992. Rev. Stan Wallace and his wife Betty had stayed in our home, in England, a few years earlier. Stan preached for me at St. George’s United Reformed Church in Newcastle upon Tyne, so I was returning the favor. They were gracious and generous hosts. As for Seventh Presbyterian – the members were as welcoming as their pastor, faithful in worship and in Christian education, actively involved in mission in their community. Sadly, their story has been repeated around the country. Once vital churches struggle to maintain their facilities; vision is overcome by fear; the specter of closure freezes innovation. And yet, in this instance, it seems that the remnant did have a plan, and the finances to make one more effort to turn the corner. Even if it hadn't have worked, at least they would have had the satisfaction of knowing that they had tried their best. Instead, for whatever reason, Presbytery pulled the plug. A once-great church was hastened to its end and there was no dignity in its passing. I grieve for old friends, and for a system that appears to have lost its grip on grace.