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A Weekly Communication
From the Executive Presbyter
San Gabriel Presbytery
#14 July 29, 2010
“The gifts he gave were
that some would be apostles, some prophets,
some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,…”
(Ephesians 4:11-12)
The Ministry of Elders
Many of you may know that I have a strong belief in the ministry of the laity. I believe that it is not healthy for our churches to be pastor-centered. Pastors, by nature of our call, are a nomadic people entrusted with the spiritual growth of a people, for a time. I have carried this conviction with me now for several decades. It should come as no surprise that my doctor of ministry project is focused on equipping elders for the church in a comprehensive manner. We need to celebrate and equip our elders in a way that make them feel empowered for the ministry to which they’ve been called. It is my opinion that we have been anemic in this effort and thus, have fallen short in our responsibility to disciple a new leadership for the church of today.
My heart was very touched when I read this article by our newly-elected Moderator of the 219th General Assembly, Elder Cindy Bolbach. It was published in Presbyterian Leader in May of this year. Cindy is an attorney in Arlington, Virginia, and an elder at the First Presbyterian Church, Arlington. She has most recently served as Co-Moderator of the Form of Government Task Force. I invite you to listen to her wisdom and thoughts about a ministry that is an integral part of our theology and thus, our governance.
The Awesome Task of Elders
Parity between Ministers and Elders
I was baptized and raised Lutheran. When I joined a Presbyterian church as an adult I gradually became aware of Presbyterian polity and the way we structure our life together. I was especially taken by the insistence on an equal division of responsibility in the governance of the church between elders and ministers of the Word and Sacrament. That parity is reflected in the proposed new Form of Government (often called “nFOG”) that has been submitted for approval to the upcoming 219th General Assembly. The nFOG uses the terms “ruling elder” (rather than simply “elder”) and “teaching elder” (rather than “minister of the Word and Sacrament”) to underscore the fact that, although ruling and teaching elders perform different functions, they share equally in the leadership and spiritual direction of the faith community. “Ruling” elders are so named not because we “rule,” but because we are chosen by the congregation to discern and measure its fidelity to the Word of God. Teaching elders are committed to teaching the faith and equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Together, ruling and teaching elders lead the community of faith as it seeks to proclaim the gospel with passion and integrity.
Privilege and Responsibility
For those of us who are ruling elders, this parity of leadership is a privilege and a responsibility. It is a privilege because we are entrusted with the matchless opportunity to step out in faith—trembling as we go—to give nurture and direction to God’s people, to help them on their journeys of faith. No task set before us as Christians is more important.
It is also a responsibility—a somewhat daunting responsibility— because stepping out to lead is not easy. Discerning and measuring our faith community’s “fidelity to the Word of God” is an awesome task. Every person who gets a call from a nominating committee needs to confront some essential questions: Am I suited to this task? Can I do it? Do I really want to do it? Let’s be honest: all who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are called to ministry, but not all of us are called to be ruling elders, just as not all of us are called to be teaching elders or deacons.
Challenges for Ruling Elders
A critical problem in the church today is that we have allowed the role of ruling elder to be diminished. It has changed from the awesome task of measuring a congregation’s fidelity to the Word of God into the mundane task of serving on just another non-profit board of directors, receiving reports and approving budgets. The session is not just another board of directors. Every nominating committee needs to make that clear to potential ruling elders. The problem is that a nominating committee all too often feels pressure to fill a certain number of slots, so it glosses over what it really means to be a ruling elder in order to persuade someone to serve. We need to be crystal clear with candidates about the commitments that come with being a ruling elder: a time commitment, a leadership commitment, and a spiritual commitment. Being a ruling elder means much more than attending a meeting on the day of the month the session meets. Ruling elders need to be willing to take risks, to accept the fact that we will sometimes make decisions with which others disagree. Ruling elders need to be willing to confront dysfunction and dysfunctional people and need to be willing to accept that some dysfunction, to a greater or lesser degree, lurks in every congregation. Ruling elders need to be able to set aside their own predilections and preferences and instead ask, “What is best for this community of faith, even if I might not like it?” Ruling elders need to be spiritual leaders in their congregation. This is our high calling. We need to be able to provide pastoral sustenance to the members of our community, to lead worship, and to preach as needed. We need to be confident enough about all of this so that we don’t fall back on the easy assumption that the pastor— the teaching elder— does all the “spiritual” stuff; because we ruling elders are as responsible for our congregation
as are teaching elders. Ruling elders also are called to be leaders not only in our congregations but throughout our connectional system: at presbytery, synod, and GA. Ruling elders often view presbytery as a somewhat mysterious “them.” The active involvement and leadership of ruling elders in presbytery can transform the amorphous “them” into a dynamic “us”—an “us” that will enable our strengths and resources to be shared imaginatively and creatively across all our congregations. Our presbyteries, synods, and GA function at their best when all ruling elders, not just so called presbytery “geeks” or GA “junkies,” bring their insights and experience to the table.
Following Jesus is life-changing. But following Jesus is not easy, and it can’t be done alone: one person can’t do it alone; one congregation can’t do it alone. We follow Jesus together as a community of faith, coming together with all our strengths and weaknesses. Those of us who have accepted the privilege and responsibility of serving as ruling elders walk alongside every person who makes that life-changing commitment. We say to them, “I will be there with you every step of the way.” And we find ourselves given strength for the journey. Thanks be to God.
Printed in Presbyterian Leader May 2010
Presbyterian Youth Triennium
More than 4,000 youth have returned from their gathering in Indiana at the Youth Triennium “For a Time Such as This” – Esther 4:14. Through worship, small groups, fine and visual arts – Presbyterian youth from around the nation engaged the story of Esther. “Esther represents the marginalized and people who were obliged to accommodate their lives to an “alien” environment.” The overall theme was used as a call to the youth who also wrestle with what it means to be a “Jesus people” in an “alien environment.” This call pointed them to their future as a people of faith – a future of encouragement, possibility and empowerment – grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
San Gabriel Presbytery sent 13 students from 4 of our congregations; Elijah Guess, Samuel Loesch and Mia Soza from Westminster, Pasadena; Jack Ecker, Jillian Ecker, Andrew Palmer, Victoria Patterson, Celeste Stebe and Natalie Toldi from Northminster, Diamond Bar; James Croughan, Jess Croughan and Jessica Trindle from Claremont, Claremont and Josephine Brandlin from Trinity, Pasadena. Their Youth Advisors were Elizabeth Stebe and Jeff Thompson (Northminster, Diamond Bar). A special thank you to them for their overall leadership. Also a word of appreciation to our small group leaders – Andrew Trindle and Rocky Supinger (Claremont, Claremont) and Bob and Lisa Stebe (Northminster, Diamond Bar). We are thankful that their presence and support of our youth.
We look forward to hearing more about this journey at our next presbytery meeting.
Personal Update
We are all back at home awaiting for the phone to ring to announce the birth of our grand-daughter Mia Keilani Grace in VA. Our tickets are bought and we are looking forward to welcoming her into this world. While out there, we will re-acquaint ourselves with the Washington monuments while mother and child rest. It will be a quick trip but it is an important time to be together with family. That trip will be followed by my sister and her family joining us out here in California. It is the first time they are visiting since we left the east coast. My 10 and 11 year old nephews are very excited to join us. And in the background – looms the reality that the college game is on as Dakota soon begins the process of applying. God be with us. Prayers are coveted.
Prayers this Week:
Minister Members - for their leadership and their families:
Osvaldo Garcia
Magdy Girgis
Stephen Githumbi
Casper Glenn
Charles Goodrich
Kenneth Grant
Elders and Lay Leaders – for their ministries, their leadership and their families:
Steve Sittig of Claremont, Claremont
Laura-Jean Slykhuis of Westminster, Temple City
Jana Smith of New Hope, Pasadena
Renee Smith of First, Monrovia
Gamil Soliman of Community, West Covina
Candidates/Inquirers to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament
Candidate Isaac Chung of Pasadena, Pasadena
Inquirer Kristen Nivling of La Verne Heights
Church Family:
Please pray for the saints at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Pasadena. May God bless their Pastor, the Rev. Mark Smutny, their staff, elders and lay leadership, along with the community of saints, as they seek to be ever-faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Prayer
As you pray for those aforementioned and those who we carry in the depths of our hearts, I share with you a well-known passage of encouragement and wisdom that was used during the Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.”
(from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson)
Blessings….
Your sister, friend, companion and partner on the journey,
Ruth S-G
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