Pastor Lance did a great job of examining presbytery from a minister member point of view in his series "What If...the Presbytery?". His suggestion that connectionalism comes from relationships that need to be built outside of presbytery meetings made me think further about how to build relationships between elders in different churches.
There are some ways that attendance at presbytery meetings benefits elders. Of course, participation in the larger connectional body of churches is important. But elders also discover that other churches have the same problems as theirs--and some of them are much worse! On the other hand, no matter how great your church is doing, you will hear about even better things going on at some other churches. Getting out of the "bubble" of your own congregation can be very enlightening for elders and can benefit their churches if the experience is effectively shared with the home congregation.
Pastor Lance suggests that this can happen outside of presbytery meetings. For most elders, I think it will have to. In my experience it is almost impossible to get elders to attend "equipping" opportunities provided by presbytery that encourage exchange of views and experiences scheduled outside of presbytery meetings.
But what if, as he suggests, pastors meet periodically with other neighboring pastors for relationship building and mutual support and then encourage the elders in their churches to do the same? What about meeting for before work or lunchtime Bible study together? Or just meeting occasionally for breakfast or lunch to exchange problems and joys in their work in the church? Or creating an email group to discuss problems or topics of interest?
I meet monthly with a couple of educators for lunch and chat. The relationships we have developed have been very helpful and meaningful to us. We didn't wait for presbytery to organize this, we just did it. What if some kind of "matching" service were provided at presbytery meetings for elders who are interested --a signup sheet for breakfast, lunch, Bible study or email groups, for example, with elders from other churches in the same vicinity? Could this encourage elders and pastors to build relationships and true connectionalism from the ground up?
There are some ways that attendance at presbytery meetings benefits elders. Of course, participation in the larger connectional body of churches is important. But elders also discover that other churches have the same problems as theirs--and some of them are much worse! On the other hand, no matter how great your church is doing, you will hear about even better things going on at some other churches. Getting out of the "bubble" of your own congregation can be very enlightening for elders and can benefit their churches if the experience is effectively shared with the home congregation.
Pastor Lance suggests that this can happen outside of presbytery meetings. For most elders, I think it will have to. In my experience it is almost impossible to get elders to attend "equipping" opportunities provided by presbytery that encourage exchange of views and experiences scheduled outside of presbytery meetings.
But what if, as he suggests, pastors meet periodically with other neighboring pastors for relationship building and mutual support and then encourage the elders in their churches to do the same? What about meeting for before work or lunchtime Bible study together? Or just meeting occasionally for breakfast or lunch to exchange problems and joys in their work in the church? Or creating an email group to discuss problems or topics of interest?
I meet monthly with a couple of educators for lunch and chat. The relationships we have developed have been very helpful and meaningful to us. We didn't wait for presbytery to organize this, we just did it. What if some kind of "matching" service were provided at presbytery meetings for elders who are interested --a signup sheet for breakfast, lunch, Bible study or email groups, for example, with elders from other churches in the same vicinity? Could this encourage elders and pastors to build relationships and true connectionalism from the ground up?
5 comments:
I have a question. What about church members who aren't elders? I hear about "connectionalism" for pastors and elders through Presbytery meetings, etc... in this blog and others. Should this extend down to regular folks in the pew?
Sometimes it seems as if it is only the elders and pastors who have a role to play in the Presbyterian church.
By the way, I think the things you mention are great ideas. I just wonder about the rest of us folks who aren't in church leadership positions.
Dear anonymous,
I stand corrected. You're absolutely right. Relationships between members of different churches who AREN'T elders or pastors should also be encouraged and fostered.
Thanks for your comment.
We did that ... in Act 16:5 the pastors had their clergy groups, but the leadership teams from each congregation also got together in regional groups on a regular basis and encouraged one another in ministry. Some of our churches are still meeting ... even now that Acts 16:5 is over
Thanks for that information, Wendy. My church didn't participate in the Acts 16:5 initiative, so I am not familiar with it. The more I've heard about this at presbytery, the more I think not participating was a mistake.
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