F.A.Q.'s For the Congregational Summit
Congregational Summit March 9, 2008
Frequently Asked Questions
How are decisions made at the Church of the Good Shepherd?
The government of our church is mandated by the Bible and the Reformed Church in America's Book of Church Order.
Historically there have been three main kinds of church government: 1) Episcopalian, or Catholic, 2) Congregational and 3) Presbyterian. Episcopal government has the power at the top, with a Pope or Bishop making decisions and handing them down to pastors, churches and church-members. Congregational government has the power with the people and while there are many forms of congregational government they are normally democratic. The Presbyterian model holds the power with church leaders both in the local congregation and in areas of ministry.
General Synod, an annual denomination-wide meeting of ministers and elders representing classes and regions, makes decisions that affect the life and work of the entire Reformed Church. At this annual gathering, the members of the General Synod reflect on, celebrate, and oversee the ministry, mission, and operations of the church.
Regional synods support the classes (classes is the plural of classis) in their geographic area and enable congregations, classes, and the denomination to work together. The RCA has eight Regional Synods. We are a part of the Synod of the Far West.
A governing body called a Classis oversees ministers and congregations in a specific geographic area. This group is where most of the power in the denomination lies. They appoint pastors to local congregations, and any changes in the denomination have to pass a 2/3rds vote of classes. We are a part of the Classis of the Cascades which covers all of Washington, Idaho and Oregon.
Our church and denomination uses the Presbyterian model of government. Each RCA congregation has a body called a Consistory that oversees its ministry. Besides the minister(s), the consistory includes elders and deacons who are elected from the congregation. This group is at the same time servants of the church and the ultimate decision making body of the church-two roles that if done right work in perfect harmony. They are not elected to represent a constituency, like a congressman; instead they represent the congregation before the Lord. They are ordained based on God's calling in their lives and are asked to seek God's will on behalf of the congregation. Our book of church orders expresses the representative role of the Consistory with this example: "The consistory shall endeavor to learn the mind of the congregation with respect to any person who may be called to the ministry of the church. The judgment of the congregation in such matters shall be considered to be of significant weight, but not binding." (BCO 1.I.2.Section 3)
While elders, deacons, and ministers of Word and sacrament are called from among the people, we believe the Spirit of the Lord appoints them to their special tasks, and they are responsible first of all to the Lord of the church.
Based on this structure decision at CGS are made by the Elders and Deacons and not on congregational vote.
How was the decision made to only have the flags displayed on patriotic holidays?
A few years ago a few people from our congregation requested that we display the American flag and Christian flag during our worship services weekly. Prior to that we had them proudly displayed during the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and many other holidays. We even had a Cub Scout color guard march them down the aisle on a few occasions.
When the request came that they be displayed weekly, the matter was taken to the Consistory. We spent two months looking at Scripture, church history and the practices of other contemporary churches. Our discovery was that there is no Biblical precedent of national symbols used during public times of worship, nor is there a command to forbid them. Studying history, we found it to be a fairly recent and American tradition to have flags displayed in worship. Churches today have many different practices. Based on this research and our prayers we that though there was not sufficient biblical mandate for weekly display of the flags, we did not want to forbid them. Therefore we asked Jay Reihle, who was a deacon at the time, to put together a list of holidays when they should be displayed.
This decision shows our government in action. A request was made to the Consistory. The Consistory spent time in the Bible, in research and in prayer and then made a decision. This decision, even if not made unanimously in the meeting, is unanimously upheld and supported. The decision was then communicated to the person who made the request.
How Were the Decisions Made to Hire Our Staff?
Another way we can see our decision making process in action is in the hiring of our staff members. While pastors need to be approved by Classis, the Consistory has the ability to hire contracted staff members. So when a recommendation was made to hire Don Brandt to be in charge of the West of 50's ministry, the Elders discussed and reviewed the idea and then made a recommendation to the Consistory.
More recently we spent time in prayer asking the Lord what areas of ministry we should be emphasizing. The two answers we received were very surprising - Youth and Music. This lead to a process of prayer, posting ads and networking. Soon we considered Kimberlee Richards who had attended our church with her parents and had recently graduated from college. She had the right spirit and great training so the Consistory outlined an interview process which resulted in her coming on at first part time and now full time as our Youth Director.
For the musical part of our worship services we knew that we have an exceptionally talented group already in place, but we also discerned the need for something more. On faith we began to look and pray for the right person for this position. Once Shaun was identified (through many providential steps) he was interviewed by the Consistory and asked to lead worship for us for a few Sundays. The response was so overwhelmingly positive and the interviews so well handled that on faith the Consistory decided to offer him a contract.
In these three instances of staff hiring we can see that the Consistory responded to suggestions, historical programming and leadings of the Holy Spirit to make decisions.
What is our plan regarding style of music in our Sunday morning worship services?
From the beginning of the art, music has walked a fine line between secular and sacred. Music was created by Jubal - the grandson of Lamech (the Bible's second recorded murderer) and the great-great-great-great-grandson of Cain (the Bible's first recorded murder). So music was birthed from the line of humanity that had walked away from God - not from the line of Seth who walked with God. This human history is actually a replay of spiritual history in which Lucifer, the worship leader of heaven, grew proud in his reflected glory and sought to become an object of worship himself-an act of treason that lead to the first separation of a living being from God. In a sort of "Survivor Series, Heaven Edition" some angels followed Lucifer and were cast away from God's presence.
Throughout history the church has adopted instruments, songs and melodies used for secular entertainment and transformed them into acts of worship. In other words, music is a bridge that takes notes, words and melodies and helps hearts turn to the glory of the Lord.
The Church of the Good Shepherd is a missionary outpost in one of the least churched states in America. While we don't plan to adopt a style that completely mirrors the culture, we do need a musical style that will make sense to spiritual wanderers. In this pursuit we will try to incorporate songs with meaning and substance, refusing to sacrifice theology for a contemporary feel. In our communication of that theology, however, we need to be careful to avoid "church jargon" so that those new to the faith can make sense of our songs. This means that people who prefer hymns and people who enjoy contemporary praise songs together will have to make some changes since the line "here I raise my Ebenezer" is equally difficult for an un-churched person to understand as "there's no God like Jehovah".
Is the Music Too Loud?
There have been one or two questions about the volume of our music. The people who run the sound board use a decibel meter and have looked into legal and church-music listings to discern what volumes are recommended. We tend to fall on the softer side by comparison. Hearing assistance technology is available in the sound booth which allows the user to directly control the volume that they receive.
Why Do We Have Music After the Sermon?
There is a biblical pattern of God initiating so that people can respond, so we try to craft services where a majority of the congregational singing is after the sermon so that we can respond in worship to the spoken Word of God. We also take our offering after the sermon and celebrate communion for the same reasons. While every service will not have this structure, we do believe it is helpful and many people have told the Elders and Pastors that songs of response have helped them "own" the message of the worship service.
How are the current members of the church looked after and supported for ministry?
Current members of the church are as important to us as those outside. For those far from Jesus, the next thing Jesus wants for them is to come into a relationship with Him. For those close to Jesus, the next thing Jesus wants for them is to embrace life as a prayer-filled missionary to America. Our current vision is aimed to help both groups take that next step.
Along side this, our elders regularly have candid discussions and implement action to follow up with and support people who are part of our church or who have left. We work hard to stay close to individuals, though this is an area in which we can grow. Our hearts ache for the lost sheep and we try our best to help them be gathered back to the fold.
Is the mission, vision and direction of CGS in line with our denominational leadership's desires and calling?"
In the year 2003 our denomination adopted a 10 Year Goal: Following Christ in mission together, and led by the Holy Spirit, we commit to become 1,100 fruitful and faithful congregations by 2013 for the glory of God.
To accomplish this goal our denomination is committed to church planting and church revitalization. "Revitalization" is a clumsy word that expresses the need for new life in established churches. Tony Vis defined this sort of church in the March 2008 Church Herald "Revitalizing congregations are those hungry for ministry and mission. They are attentive to the world around them-particularly the world beyond their walls-looking to reach out with the love of Christ to the lowest, the least, and the lost."
Our denominational leadership is working to help churches focus on North America as a primary mission field. That means that there is a denomination-wide emphasis on communication styles, music and activities that will help people far from Jesus connect to Him and to His church.
CGS is an early adopter of this revitalization mindset, and was the first church in our classis to have a Church Health Team, a congregational team that is now required by the Regional Synod. Mark Sanders is leading our Church Health Team and is focused on Passionate Spirituality. This team has been conducting Focus Groups, has made recommendations to the Consistory, and is continuing to pray, listen and study to discern ways to kindle a passion so that every heart will reflect God's glory. So far three focus groups have been conducted and three to four more are scheduled. All recommendations will be made through the Consistory, but the biggest so far have included changes to our prayer ministry and an imitative for our leadership to be reading sections of Scripture together.
To anyone who is having a difficult time adjusting to this revitalization and missionary mindset, we would recommend Elmer Van Drunen's article in the recent Church Herald Reaching Out, Changing Within. Elmer served as an elder in a church that moved from a traditional hymn singing congregation to a contemporary movement with an outreach orientation. Many of his friends left and he missed the way he used to worship (he was a part of the choir and sang in a quartet that was working on an album). From his article:
In the midst of this dilemma, God reminded me of my admiration and appreciation of cross-cultural missionaries-people who forsake everything near and dear (except for their faith) to make Christ known. They leave family, friends, church, culture, language, and conveniences, all for the sake of the gospel. It was then that God spoke to me, not audibly but in my mind and heart: "Elmer, why can't you be a missionary in your own church?" That was revolutionary to me and it transformed my approach to our dilemma. ...My comfort zone is being pushed continually, but I am reminded that God doesn't cull us to a life of comfort, but to a life of faithfulness.
We believe that CGS is in the center of God's will and the center of our denominational leaderships' goals as we strive to be a healthy, growing, and missionary minded church.