This Sunday, 17 May, straight after the service, is our Quarterly General Meeting. At the QGM our executive will give notice of a motion to change the elders section of our constitution. This is inline with the broader constitutional reform we began when we changed the deacons section of our constitution last year. I want you to understand why these changes matter.
We have been walking through Baptist principles together these past weeks. The direct Lordship of Christ. The nature of the church. The congregational principle. The priesthood of all believers. These truths are not abstract. They shape how we live together. And they shape how we appoint our leaders.
Christ alone is head of this church. He rules us by his Word. When we set apart elders, we are not building a management team. We are recognising men whom Christ gifts and qualifies under his authority. The proposed changes place the biblical qualifications front and centre. As Paul writes, an elder must be above reproach. Self-controlled. Hospitable. Able to teach. The church is not looking for opinion leaders. We are looking for men filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our congregational principle reminds us that authority resides in the gathered church under Christ, subject to His Word. Elders serve the church. They lead, teach, oversee, and pray. Yet they remain accountable to the congregation. The proposed changes strengthen that accountability. Elders will serve a term of two years. Reappointment is not automatic. Removal, should it become necessary, requires the church’s vote. The priesthood of all believers does not mean we dispense with order. It means we take seriously our shared responsibility to test and affirm those who lead us.
The new process allows for a six-month period of testing where needed. This is wisdom, not bureaucracy. It gives time for character to be observed. Time for teaching gifts to be tested. Time for the church to pray and weigh a candidate. The name of every candidate must appear in the notice of the meeting. No surprises. No haste. The congregation acts with clarity and care.
These changes are not a departure. They are an alignment with Scripture and with our own convictions. I ask you to read the present section and the proposed section carefully. Weigh them against the Word. Come to the QGM this Sunday. Listen. The executive is bringing notice now so that you have time to examine the proposal before we vote.
The risen Christ walks among his lampstands. He knows his church. He provides shepherds after his own heart. Let us act like people who believe that.
The present constitutional section on elders
14.1. Whenever a member shows pastoral and teaching gifts, the church may recognise those gifts by appointing him an elder and he shall then be set apart to share in the pastoral and teaching ministry of the church. The pastor and other elders, after having considered suggestions, if any, from church members, shall initiate the appointment of an elder by recommending the appointment to the executive committee which, if unanimously agreed, will in turn recommend the appointment to the church at general meeting. The initial appointments of each recommended candidate shall be on the favourable ballot vote of 75% of the members present.
14.2. Each elder shall hold office for three consecutive years, and continuance in office for further periods of three years shall be on the favourable vote of 75% of the members present at a general meeting.
14.3. Elders shall become members of the executive.
The proposed constitutional section on elders
14.1. The church may appoint to the office of elder a member recognised as filled with the Holy Spirit, and who meets the qualifications as detailed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.
14.2. Elders serve the church by leading, teaching, overseeing, shepherding, and praying while remaining accountable to the church.
14.3. The executive may, from time to time, identify suitable candidates for the office of elder, who may undergo a six-month period of testing where necessary. Thereafter the executive may present a recommended candidate at a general meeting. The name of the candidate shall be included in the notice of the meeting. Appointment to the office of elder shall be confirmed by a favourable ballot of at least 75% of the members present and voting at the meeting.
14.4. An elder shall serve a term of two consecutive years. At the conclusion of this term, the executive may recommend the elder at a general meeting for reappointment for a further period of two consecutive years. The name of the candidate shall be included in the notice of the meeting. Reappointment to the office of elder shall be confirmed by a favourable ballot of at least 75% of the members present and voting at the meeting.
14.5. The executive may if necessary recommend the removal of an elder from the office at a general meeting. The name of the elder shall be included in the notice of the meeting. Removal from the office of elder shall be confirmed by a favourable ballot of at least 75% of the members present and voting at the meeting.
I have read the proposed change to our constitution, and like many other, only now discovered 1 or 2 point that might be disturbing. The fact that the executive may from time to time recommend suitable candidates as elders and forward these name to church, needs to be clarified. Can a member recommend and second a suitable candidate as elder or deacon, or can only the leaders do so?
Hey Jackie,
That’s a good question. Let me clarify what our constitution means when it describes elder nomination.
There is more than one way for a motion to come before the congregation. A nomination could arise from the floor. A member may recommend and another second a suitable candidate. Such a motion cannot be suppressed. It must come to a congregational vote. That, however, would be an unusual way for an elder to be recognised.
Our normal practice follows a clear biblical pattern. As Luke records, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church (Acts 14:23). Paul left Titus in Crete to set things in order and appoint elders in every town (Titus 1:5). The New Testament shows that the identification and testing of elders rests primarily with those already entrusted with oversight. Don’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, Paul warns Timothy, a leader in Ephesus (1 Timothy 5:22). So we take time.
Here is how that works out among us. The elders identify a man who meets the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. A man filled with the Spirit, above reproach, able to teach. We invite him into our meetings. We watch his life and doctrine over a year or two. We test his character. Only then is his name brought to the executive, and finally to the church. That season of testing is our safeguard. It protects the flock. It honours the biblical command to test before appointing.
The proposed section 14 simply puts into writing what we already do. It does not take away the congregation’s right to bring a name forward. But it does ensure that any candidate is examined with unhurried care.
So, can a member recommend a candidate? Yes. The church is not gagged. But the ordinary, biblical, and safe path is for spiritual leaders to take the lead in recognising the Spirit’s work in a man’s life.
I trust that helps.
Mark