Studies & Actions
of the General Assembly of
The Presbyterian Church in America
[7th General Assembly, 1979,7-23, p. 77]
REPORT OF THE AD-INTERIM COMMITTEE ON
NUMBER OF OFFICES
APPENDIX C
Empowered to Serve
by Robert H. Kirksey
A new awareness of the high calling of the eldership is confronting the
Presbyterian Church in America.
Sessions and congregations are approaching the election of their elders
with a growing concern for evidence of calling and spiritual qualifications.
The Book of Church Order's provisions regarding the election, ordination
and installation of ruling elders and deacons has focused new attention
on the biblical qualifications for office as found in 1 Timothy 3 and
Titus 1.
A rising interest in discipline in the church has also caused many elders
to have a new consciousness that officers of the church should first walk
"blameless before the flock", themselves, before they can effectively
exercise discipline over others. It is an awkward thing to be involved
in removing a mote from a brother's eye when there is a beam in one's
own eye.
New attention to the Bible-based concept of one class of elders has led
many elders to see, some for the first time, that all elders - both teaching
and ruling - are scripturally enjoined to "walk blameless". The old notion
that the teaching elder should live on the highest possible moral plane,
while the ruling elder is indulged to live at a somewhat lower level of
conduct, will no longer obtain in the light of scriptural truth.
Much soul-searching is taking place among ruling elders, some of whom
have served for many years. More and more, ruling elders are asking themselves
these questions: "Am I qualified to fill the office of elder?"; "Am I
holy?"; "Am I a novice?"; "Am I above reproach?"; "Am I able to rule?";
"Do I desire the office?"; "Am I called to be an elder?".
As elders search for assurance and peace of mind regarding their calling
and qualification, the proper place to start is in humbleness of heart.
We must first acknowledge our basic unworthiness before God, before we
can expect to find the power needed to effectively serve in such a high
calling.
"Have mercy on me, 0 God, a sinner. Holy art Thou, 0 Lord,
and it is against Thee that I have sinned. Cleanse me. Pour out
your blessings on me, 0 God, that I might grow in holiness, unto
the stature of the fullness of Christ. Mold me, 0 God, and use me
as Thou wilt. And then, 0 God, forbid that I should glory, save
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." |
As an elder seeks to find himself in relationship to his office, the
scriptures are an invaluable and necessary source of enlightenment. For
instance, in the Third Chapter of Philippians, the Apostle (and elder)
Paul gives us a most appropriate lesson for the elder who truly wants
to grow in holiness. When the elder reads, here, Paul's definition of
his life purpose, he is led to see that this is the answer to his own
inadequacy.
"That I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God, by faith
... That I may know Him and the power of his resurrection." (Philippians
3).
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So, the elder begins to see, it is not what he can attain through his
own merits or efforts. No! It is what God can do through him, when life
is yielded to Christ. Then God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, progressively
empowers the elder to live out, in his life, all those noble qualifications
ascribed to his office.
To truly "gain Christ", then, so that the elder might be what an elder
should be, is to learn to depend completely on Christ - not on oneself.
Only then, can the futile and frustrating human struggle to be worthy
be ended. Sanctification can then begin to make progress in one's life.
The will becomes more and more under subjection to the mind of Christ,
which is now filling the whole being.
We must remember always that our chief purpose in life is to glorify God
and to enjoy Him forever. Then we can say, with Paul, "Whether ye eat
or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31).
As we work hard to be the kind of elder described in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus
1, we must take care that we are not doing it to bring glory to ourselves,
but our purpose must always be, "That God may in all things be glorified."
(1 Peter 4:11).
More and more, then, as elders glorify God in their lives, God in turn
fulfills another of his sure promises - He gives his Holy Spirit to those
who obey Him (Acts 5:32). The elder is empowered by God to fill his office.
Throughout the scriptures it is made clear, however, that an expectant
faith is a prerequisite to this filling by the Holy Spirit. Before the
disciples were empowered at Pentecost they were expecting it to happen.
Likewise, we elders must believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit
we shall indeed be enabled to "walk blameless before the flock". Understanding,
of course, that we will never find total perfection in this life, but
we will be constantly improving. This power enables us to avoid conscious
sinning and premeditated sinning. But, if we expect God's blessing in
our struggle for holiness, we must, like Enoch, first "walk with God".
Another vital means of this empowering is prayer. At Pentecost, the disciples
were praying when the blessing came. We can never expect to find the power
we need if we neglect our prayer life. But our prayers can, in themselves,
be power-producing if we keep our lives clean and holy, our spirits filled
with Christ and our faith high. God gives us this sure promise in His
Word, and it is ours to claim:
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James
5: 16b N.I.V.)
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So there it is - our prayer can produce remarkable results, if we are
living a righteous life. The elder who is feeling ineffective in his office
has it made very plain to him - the power for effective service is available;
but first, he must obey God and live righteously.
If we expect God to reward our efforts as elders it also follows that
we must be at work doing those things which the scriptures tell us elders
are supposed to do, like the two most obvious duties - "teaching" and
"ruling". We understand that only those elders we now call "teaching elders",
those who have been called to a ministry of the preaching of the Word,
have that "heightened" form of the gift of teaching, known as the preaching
of the Word. But all elders are called to a place of teaching in one form
or another. It may be teaching a Sunday School class or a Bible study
group, delivering an exhortation when a pulpit is vacant, carrying on
a tract ministry, talking with our daily associates about the Lord Jesus
Christ, or perhaps simply living a sermon in our daily walk. Somehow,
though, the elder must teach, if he is to truly fill his office and if
he is to find the full joy attendant with that office. "I Love to Tell
the Story" should be the theme of every elder's life. Another advantage
derived from teaching is that it helps empower us through an intensified
use of God's Word. As we teach, we progressively give our lives over,
more and more, to daily Bible study. We find that we are saying, from
the heart, with the psalmist:
"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (Ps.
119:105); and "Thy words have I hid in my heart that I might not
sin against thee." (Ps. 119:11).
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Elders who have been neglecting the teaching function should earnestly
begin seeking God's power to cultivate it; maybe you cannot do it, but,
remember - God can do it through you. Moses knew he was incapable of leading
a nation out of bondage, but God empowered him and used him to accomplish
it. "With God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:26).
As the elder carries out the function of "ruling", he can be assured of
strengthening and guidance from on high. Jesus' promise, "Lo, I am with
you alway", is carried out every step of the way as we go forth to serve
him. The "ruling" which the elder is called upon to do is certainly a
means of serving. That word, "ruling", has a modern-day connotation which
sometimes seems harsh. We tend to think of it as meaning, "commanding",
and we shy away from such a function. "Governing" would be a better word.
Or "shepherding". Or "pastoring". Or "leading". Those are some of the
things elders are called to do under their function of ruling. Too often,
elders are not willing to shoulder the responsibilities of the ruling
function and excuse themselves with an overdone humility. Christ's church
needs spirit-filled, Bible-wise, praying officers, who are not afraid
to assume the responsibilities of governing in His church. It needs elders
who are ready to minister and under-shepherd in the flock over which God
has given them leadership. Planning and implementing the spiritual development
of the congregation requires officers who are dedicated and tireless in
their work for the Lord.
Church discipline is one of the most difficult tasks facing the Session
of any church. Too often, when matters of discipline arise, elders want
to excuse themselves from that unpleasant matter by saying that they do
not feel that they are qualified to pass judgment on another church member.
The remedy for that inadequacy is spiritual development and growth in
holiness on the part of every elder before the matters of discipline arise.
When elders are empowered of God, even the bitter task of discipline can
be carried out in an attitude of love. When the mind of Christ is in each
member of the Session, no task in His Church is too difficult.
Yes, this high office of elder can be carried out in an attitude of assurance
and joy. The key is found in that method of purposeful living explained
by Paul to the Philippians: "Gain Christ" - "know Him" - "let this mind
be in you which also was in Christ Jesus" - "for me to live is Christ"
- "for our citizenship is in heaven". . . Not through our strength, alone,
but through the empowering of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
. . . We, too, can say, "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth
me." (Philippians 4:13).
For those elders who may have become disheartened because of a failure
to reach the state of perfection toward which they have been striving,
Paul brings these words of encouragement:
"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of
it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians
3:13-14 N.I.V.)
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Certainly, if the Apostle Paul felt that he was still called on to be
"straining toward what is ahead", we should take heart when we, too, find
our struggle forward to be difficult at times.
As our denomination prayerfully strives to have its elders measure up
to all the scriptural qualifications of the office, let us be kind in
our judgment of those whose spiritual gifts are less than ours. Not all
effective elders will have exactly the same gifts. There may be a man,
sitting as a member of a session who seldom says a word; and yet, God
may have placed him there as a balance, or to set an example of patience
and tolerance for some articulate but impetuous member, who might be inclined
to speak too hastily at times. Or there might be a man who can function
notably as an elder in a small congregation, who might never have been
chosen for the office if he had been in a large church.
In Christian charity, let us remember, "Man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam. 16:7).
So, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we totally surrender our lives to Christ
and apply our spiritual gifts earnestly, looking forward to that day when
we shall indeed "walk blameless" in a total sense, for our great expectation
is that "when He shall appear, we shall be like Him." (1 Jn. 3:2).
Longing to know that perfect holiness, we say, "Come, Lord Jesus, Come
Quickly!" |