Elders in Pastoral Visitation
Tim Worrell
Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 6, no. 3 (July 1997)
The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America enjoins upon sessions their duty of inquiring “into the knowledge, principles and Christian conduct of the church members under its care...” (BCO 12-5). The Book of Church Order further states in paragraph 8-3 that, “It belongs to the office of elder, both severally and jointly, to watch diligently over the flock committed to their charge, that no corruption of doctrine or of morals enter therein.” In Acts 20:28, Paul commanded the Ephesian elders/overseers, both teaching and ruling to “shepherd” or “pastor” their flock of God. Shepherding requires intimacy with the people of God, and this cannot be accomplished solely on the Sabbath day. Elders must not only be willing to show hospitality to the people committed to their charge, but visit them in their homes as well. Paul himself affirmed that he “kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house.”
In our day pastoral visitation has become a much neglected duty among elders, but it has not always been so. Pastoral visitation has a long standing tradition with the Reformed churches. In 1648 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ordained that every elder should have a district assigned to him which he was to visit regularly and report to the session any scandals and abuses found in it. Pastoral visitation as it was practiced among our Puritan and Presbyterian forefathers was viewed as a stewardship from God, and was performed out of love for the brethren. It also was spiritual in its focus and was carried out in dependence on God.
If we are to be faithful in this duty of pastoral visitation we must first be gripped with the fact that the Chief Shepherd has given us a stewardship in which He expects, yes, demands, faithfulness. The writer of the books of Hebrews, in seeking to buttress his plea for church members to obey and submit to their rulers, states that the rulers “watch for your souls as they must give account” (Heb. 13:17). When we recognize that we have been given a trust by God, our efforts will be to please God and not men. The Apostle Peter exhorts elders to “Feed the flock of God,” promising that faithfulness to the task would ensure their reception of a crown of glory at the Chief Shepherd’s appearance (1 Pet. 5:1-4).
Secondly, the people under our care must be dear to us. We must be willing to impart to the sheep not only the gospel of God, but also our very own souls. The flock must see this love demonstrated in sincere affection and gentleness toward them (1 Thess 2:7,8). As David Dickson has written, “much of our usefulness will lie in not only knowing the wants, natural and spiritual, of our people, but in having that heart-sympathy with them which will make us open our hearts to them, and will lead them to open their minds and hearts to us in return.” When the sheep see our love for them they will more willingly accept our reproof (Prov. 27:5-6). Richard Baxter said it well when he stated, “Most men judge of the counsel, as they judge of the affection of him that gives it.”
Thirdly, our desire for those under our care must be that they would walk worthy of God, who has called them unto His kingdom and glory. To that end we must speak God’s Word to them, exhorting, comforting, and charging them as a father his own children (I Thess 2:11-12). Samuel Miller exhorted regarding pastoral visitation, “Let there be as much of heavenly wisdom, of solid instruction, and or solid impressive exhortation as you can possibly crowd into the time allotted.” Our visits with our sheep should not be merely social visits. The intent of our visits should be to build up the brethren. Our teaching should demonstrate integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech which cannot be condemned (Titus 2:8).
Lastly, we must carry out our duty in the recognition that without Christ we can do nothing. In our attempt to present every man perfect in Christ, we must labor as the Apostle Paul, “striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily” (Col 1:29). Not only must we ask the Lord to bless our feeble efforts to communicate God’s truth to our sheep, we also must pray fervently that our sheep would stand perfect and complete in all the will of God (Col 4:12).
Many in our churches recognize the need for deeper fellowship and accountability among the brethren. We need no new programs in the church for this task. Let us return to the Biblical model of pastoral visitation practiced by our Puritan and Presbyterian forefathers.
Tim Worrell is presently an M.Div. student at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary while he serving as a ruling elder at Grace Presbyterian Church in Aiken, S.C.