The Elections Are Coming! The Elections Are Coming!

In those days Peter stood up among the believers . . . and said, "Friends . . . one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us . . . must become a witness with us to his resurrection."  So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.  Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart.  Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place."  And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.  (Acts 1.15-26)

Hear ye, hear ye!  It's election time!  I'm not talking about the civic elections coming up on November 2; I'm talking about the ecclesiastical elections coming up on October 31.  It's time to elect a new slate of officers to serve this church in leadership capacities - Elders and Deacons - for the next several years.  It's time to select a new round of spiritual leaders who will help guide and shepherd this community of faith as we seek to grow in our walk with God and in our faithful service to Jesus Christ.

We elect new officers every year, typically to serve a three-year term.  They remain Elders and Deacons for life, even after they are no longer in active service on the boards.  The way we do things in the Presbyterian Church, this is the biggest and most important decision that the members of the congregation make every year.  We elect people to lead us in the ways of Jesus Christ.  The congregation hands over power and responsibility to the elected leaders of the church, and then trusts the elected leaders of the church to lead them faithfully and well.

The Session (which is comprised of the elected Elders and the Pastor) is responsible for the overall mission and government of the church.  It is the Session that ultimately bears the overall responsibility for everything that goes on here in this community of faith.  Issues that need to be addressed are addressed by the Session, or delegated to some other appropriate committee.  Decisions about the future direction of the church are made by the Session.  Decisions about the budget are made by the Session, upon recommendation by the Finance Committee.  Decisions about staffing (except for Pastors and Associate Pastors) are made by the Session, upon recommendation by the Personnel Committee.  The Session essentially has the power to oversee everything that is going on here in this community of faith, except for a relatively small set of responsibilities (primarily having to do with worship) that are entrusted to the pastoral staff of the congregation, over which the Session has no jurisdiction.  The Session has the authority to direct committees within the church to undertake certain tasks, or even to overturn decisions that committees have made when the Session feels the need.  It is an enormous responsibility, one that should be entrusted only to the most wise, mature, faithful, responsible, thoughtful, committed, dedicated, and discerning people among us.  It is absolutely vital to the health of the church that the congregation elect the best possible leaders each and every year.  It is not a job that should be entrusted to somebody who has a personal need for public recognition, or who craves after power, or who has a personal axe to grind.  The leaders of the church routinely have to face and deal with truly difficult decisions.  in the two and a half years that I have been here so far, your Session has faced innumerable issues of one sort or another that have stretched us and challenged us (and your Session has done an extraordinarily good job handling those challenging issues).  This is not a job for the faint of heart, or for people who can only see one side of any issue, or for people who care more about their "slice of the pie" than the good of the congregation as a whole, or for people determined to have "my way or the highway," or for people who lack a passionate commitment to Jesus Christ and to the mission of the church.  We need to be looking for leaders to whom we are willing to entrust some really big and important decisions.  As we look at people who potentially might serve, we would do well to ask ourselves questions like these: "Is this person a model of good, faithful Christian living?"  "Does this person have the ability to work collaboratively with other people on a team?"  "Would I entrust the overall welfare of my entire well-being to this person?"  "Would I entrust my household finances to this person?"  "Would I seek out this person for personal advice and counsel?"  "Do I sincerely trust this peron's judgment?"  "Would I go to this person if I had a question of a spiritual nature?"  "Is this person someone whom I would be willing to follow?"  "Does this person have the gifts and the talent and the energy necessary to help lead our whole congregation to grow in our spiritual walk with Christ?"  It's an enormous responsibility!  And it is the responsibility of the congregation to select the very best.

Ditto with the Deacons.  As our Constitution puts its: "The office of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, and service after the example of Jesus Christ.  Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, of exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this office.  It is the duty of deacons, first of all, to minister to those who are in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith."  Our Deacons undertake that ministry in a variety of different ways.   Their effectiveness is totally dependent on the congregation's willingness to elect people to that position who truly have the right gifts, talents, and skills for the job.  Once again, it is vital that, every year, we select the very best.

To assist the congregation in this vitally important task of selecting the absolute best people for these crucially important ministries, we have a Nominating Committee.  The job of the Nominating Committee is to review the entire membership of the church and identify those individuals who truly have the gifts and skills and talents necessary to be highly effective Elders and Deacons.  God has given different people different gifts, and all gifts are important and necessary for the healthy functioning of the body of Christ, but not everybody has the gifts to be a truly effective Elder or a truly effective Deacon.  Those people who do not have those gifts are not less important in God's eyes.  (Go re-read Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts and the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12!)  Some people are called to other ministries in the church that are just as important but that require different gifts.  For example, someone could be an absolutely amazing Sunday School teacher, or an incredibly talented musician, but might make a pretty lousy Elder or Deacon.  That's okay!  Those people are no less valuable to the body of Christ!  Just because somebody is good at one ministry within the church does not necessarily mean they would be as effective at other ministries within the church.  Part of our responsibility as Christians is to help ourselves and other members of this community of faith discern our gifts and calling.  Some people have gifts that suit them better for other ministries that require different gifts, and we should never elect people to serve as Elders or Deacons simply because they "haven't had their turn yet."  That is not how this system is designed to operate.  The church functions best when the members of the church truly know what their gifts are and are plugged into ministries within the church where their gifts can truly shine and enrich the lives of other people as we seek to carry out the mission that Christ gives us.

It needs to be understood that serving as a Deacon is not a "stepping stone" on the way to serving as an Elder.  Not everyone who serves as a Deacon truly has the right gifts to be an effective Elder; not everyone who serves as an Elder truly has the right gifts to be an effective Deacon.  They are different ministries that require different skills, interests, and talents - different ministries that require different gifts.

It also needs to be understood that just because an individual has served one or more terms previously as a Deacon or an Elder at some point in the past does not mean that they should not be considered for service again.  The church benefits by having wise and experienced leaders who can mentors and shepherd newer or younger leaders.  These are difficult jobs, and it's good for the whole community of faith if their are some wise and experienced people to help nurture others long so that they, too, can one day be wise and experienced leaders, passing on what they have learned to the next generation.  Too many inexperienced people on the Session or the Board of Deacons can make the boards less effective than they need to be.

The purpose of the Nominating Committee is to help the congregation discern which people truly have the gifts to be highly effective Elders and Deacons, and then to engage in conversation with those people to see if they feel themselves truly called by God to engage in that ministry at this particular point in their lives.  As I write these words, the Nominating Committee is hard at work doing just that, and I would invite and encourage you to keep the work of the Nominating Committee in your prayers.  The Nominating Committee will present to the congregation a slate of names for each of the available positions.  But just because the Nominating Committee presents a slate of names does not mean that the work is done.  The Holy Spirit might still be working.  In our Presbyterian way of doing things, there is always to be an opportunity for nominations from the floor, and I always make sure that I provide for that opportunity.  Expect that to happen every year, because it always will!  Every individual whose name is placed in nomination must declare their willingness to serve if elected.  If there are more names placed in nomination than there are positions available, then we vote by secret ballot; otherwise, a simple voice vote will suffice.

Proxy voting is not allowed.  In our Presbyterian way of doing things, we believe that the Holy Spirit is always at work, and can and does work in the course of meetings themselves.  I have arrived at Presbyterian meetings in the past expecting to vote a certain way and then changed my mind in the course of listening to the conversation and debate.  That is supposed to be able to happen.  Proxy voters do not have the benefit of hearing and participating in important conversation about important matters; therefore, we do not permit voting by proxy.

I cannot tell you how important it is that the members of the church faithfully participate in the election process every year.  Every year, the church faces a new set of challenges.  Every year, the church needs to grow deeper in its relationship with Christ.  Every year, the church needs to expand its outreach and mission to the world.  Every member of the church has a responsibility to take part responsibly in the life of the church, and participating in this election process is one of the primary ways we do that.  You have the power and the responsibility to help select the best leaders for this community of faith that you possibly can!  The welfare and well-being of the entire community of faith depends on your selecting the absolute best.  You get to help decide who those "best" are.

From time to time over the years, I have heard complaints from some individuals about decisions made by the Session, and I sometimes wonder to myself: Did these individuals take part in the election process?  If not, then they truly have no right to complain.  That is neither fair nor responsible behavior.  Every member of the church has one golden opportunity every year to truly have a voice in what happens around here, and that is by participating in the electoral process to make sure that we are electing the absolute best people to make the decisions that impact our life and ministry.  It's how we do things here.  It's part of what it means to be Presbyterian.

The elections are coming!  October 31.  Be there.

Peace and blessings,

Bill