Voters’ Guide

Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 1, no. 3 (September 1992)

Each year, there is a congregational meeting at Knox Church. As a member, before the meeting you are invited to nominate men for the offices of elder and deacon, at the meeting you are called upon to vote in elections for church officers, and after the meeting you are asked to promise support for and submission to the officers.

What does your nomination mean?

What a nomination is: a written note to the Session, signed by you as a communicant member of Knox Church, giving the name of a male communicant member of Knox Church who you think would make a good ruling elder or deacon, and the office for which you want him to be considered.

What a nomination is not: it is not a formal procedure that places the name of the man we’re talking about on the ballot for the election. There are several ways to think about the fact that, when a member submits a name to the Session (including members who are already ordained officers), the man nominated is not automatically a recognized candidate for the office.

First, we must remember that Knox Church is not our church, really—it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King and Head of the Church. As King he has provided for a government in his church by giving gifts to men to do the work of ruling in the church, on his behalf. The elders, as a Session, are to exercise this rule in order to maintain the peace (good order, harmony) and purity (doctrinal and moral integrity) of the church, and as rulers they have the duty and prerogative of examining prospective officers. It is their obligation to Christ to make certain that no one is presented to the congregation who is not biblically qualified for the office or who has not been adequately trained.

Second, from the purely organizational standpoint, it is wise for a nominating committee (in this case, the Session) to review suggestions for officer candidates, screening them for their willingness and qualifications to serve and for their agreement with the principles of the organization. It is good for any organization when people are nominated with forethought to hold responsible positions—much more so when there is a sacred trust involved.

Your nomination is meaningful because it is the beginning of the discernment that all church members should have and exercise with regard to whom Jesus Christ is providing with gifts for leadership in the church.

It is meaningful even if the man is not presented for election at this time. If that happens, it is perhaps because the man has the gifts but needs to gain experience, under the training and guidance of the Session. Or, it may be that he is unable to make the commitment to serve at this time.

What should happen between the nominations and the election?

The Session, having called for nominations from the members, reviews the list of names submitted to see if any or all of the men can be presented to the congregation as being qualified according to the biblical requirements for officers. Very briefly,[1] the main qualifications are:

  1. the man must desire the office
  2. the man must understand and agree with the doctrinal and organizational principles of the church and denomination
  3. the man must have the gifts needed for the exercise of the office
  4. the man must have had experience and training in the duties of the office.

In addition to these general requirements, the OPC Form of Government also requires the man to have been a member of Knox Church for at least one year, and to have completed certain training and certification procedures defined by the Session.[2]

After considering the qualifications of those nominated, the Session will formally decide in each individual’s case whether to “certify” him as a qualified candidate for the office to which he has been nominated. The names of the men so certified are then announced to the congregation, usually together and well in advance of the election.

When the members learn who the candidates are, they should begin to make a prayerful evaluation of the candidates individually, since the election will be a YES/NO vote on each man rather than a choice of one over another. While it should be meaningful that the Session considers the candidates qualified, each member has the duty to make up his own mind privately about a candidate’s qualifications and whether his service would be pleasing to God, edifying that member and the church as a whole. If there is some doubt about a candidate, the member should make a reasonable effort to resolve the doubt in a biblical manner by speaking to the candidate directly. If a member has a serious objection to a particular nominee, this fact should be made known to the Session in writing or by meeting with the Session.

What does your vote mean?

The OPC Form of Government provides for the congregation’s making its advice concerning officers (elders and deacons) known in three situations:

  1. The congregation determines by vote whether to have officers serve indefinitely or for three-year, staggered terms. At Knox Church, the practice is to elect elders and deacons for term service on the Session and the Board of Deacons, respectively.
  2. The members may propose men to be considered for office, and the congregation votes for or against the candidates for the offices that are presented by Session.
  3. The congregation may petition to have an officer removed if his services do not appear to be edifying to the congregation. Obviously, the only one of these three situations that occurs regularly is the annual voting for candidates.

When voting on a candidate, what does a YES vote mean? What does a NO vote mean?

A YES vote for a candidate means that the member believes that the candidate is gifted by God to serve in the office and that his services would be edifying to Knox Church. A YES vote should not be an expression of affection for the man or of gratitude for some gifts he may have faithfully exercised that are not related to the office for which he is being considered.

Generally, a NO vote for a candidate means that the member believes that the candidate at the time of this vote is not equipped by God for the office, or that his services in that office would not be edifying to Knox Church. A NO vote should not be used to express dislike for the man or for an opinion that he is free to hold as a Christian.

For either case, a YES vote or a NO vote, the member should desire to use his vote intelligently, in a manner pleasing to God. This implies preparation for voting, and a certain reverence for the process of determining who it is that God would have serve as officers—ultimately this is what your vote means. It is customary and reasonable to regard the outcome of the voting as an instance in God’s providence of all things needed by the church. God is in control, and he raises up or does not raise up to office those whom he will. In recognition of God’s providence in the selection of officers through their voting, the members ought to consider their vote a high privilege and solemn duty. Whether the outcome will be according to a member’s

vote or not, he should be prepared even as he votes to honor God by respecting and supporting the men who will be revealed by the voting to be God’s choice at this time.

What should happen after the election?

Unordained candidates who have been elected to the offices of elder and deacon are then ordained and installed. Ordained candidates who have been elected to serve on the Session or on the Board of Deacons only have to be installed.

What is ordination? Ordination and installation of a man is the public ceremony of setting him apart for an

office and investing him with the powers and duties of the office. The ceremony starts with the minister’s statement of the warrant and nature of the office, the character to be sustained by the officer, and the duties to be fulfilled. Then to the candidate are posed the following five questions:

After the candidate answers YES to each of these questions, the minister asks the members to raise their right hands to give their YES answers to the following question:

Then the minister declares that the man is in the office and is entitled to the honor, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord that go with the office.

What is installation? Installation of an officer who was ordained previously follows the same form as ordination, except that the officer is asked the following, one question:

Notice that there are promises and duties on both sides: the officer’s and the member’s. These are well summed up in the Larger Catechism’s questions and answers about mutual responsibilities of “inferiors and superiors” (Q/A 123-133, included below with the reference materials). Sincere effort and grace from God is needed by both for these responsibilities to be met.

Reference Materials

1. Biblical qualifications for church officers[3]

“This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop,[4] he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless,[5] the husband of one wife,[6] temperate,[7] sober-minded,[8] of good behavior,[9] hospitable,[10] able to teach;[11] not given to wine,[12] not violent,[13] not greedy for money,[14] but gentle,[13] not quarrelsome,[15] not covetous,[14] one who rules his own house well,[16] having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

“Likewise deacons must be reverent,[17] not double-tongued,[18] not given to much wine,[12] not greedy for money,[14] holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.[5] Likewise, their wives must be reverent,[17] not slanderers,[19] temperate,[8] faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife,[6] ruling their children and their own houses well.[16] For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”—I Timothy 3:1-13 (New King James Version).

“For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless,[5] the husband of one wife,[6] having faithful children[16] not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop[4] must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed,[13] not quick-tempered,[15] not given to wine,[12] not violent,[13] not greedy for money,[14] but hospitable,[10] a lover of what is good,[20] sober-minded,[8] just,[21] holy,[22] self-controlled,[9] holding fast the fathful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine,[11] both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”—Titus 1:5-9 (New King James Version).

2. Session procedure and policies for certifying candidates

The Form of Government of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, with respect to the selection of ruling elders and deacons, states that

“In order that these sacred offices not be committed to weak or unworthy men, and that the congregations shall have an opportunity to form a better judgment respecting the gifts of those by whom they are to be governed and served, no one shall normally be eligible for election to office until he has been a communicant member in good standing for at least one year, shall have received appropriate training under the direction of or with the approval of the session, and shall have served the church in functions requiring responsible leadership. Men of ability and piety in the congregation shall be encouraged by the session to prepare themselves for the offices of ruling elder or deacon so that their study and opportunities for service may be provided for in a systematic and orderly way.” [XXV.3]

In following through with this constitutional requirement, the Session of Knox Church has adopted various local rules and procedures, summarized briefly in the following paragraphs.

The process of certification Session affirms that the process of certifying a man to be a qualified candidate for service in the office of ruling elder or deacon shall include:

  1. a determination that the potential candidate possesses the biblical qualifications and gifts for the office, including the desire to serve in the office;
  2. a determination that the potential candidate has received “appropriate training” and has “served the church in functions requiring responsible leadership”;
  3. a determination that the potential candidate can in good conscience answer all of the ordination questions given in The Form of Government in the affirmative, this determination including the judgment that any exceptions held to by the potential candidate are not so weighty as to nullify his subscription to the church’s constitutional documents;
  4. a determination that, if the potential candidate holds a view on something recognized by the General Assembly as an area of Christian liberty, he is able to hold it peacefully and responsibly, does not judge others with a different view, and desires to serve as an officer for all the members; and
  5. a determination that Session can present the man as a qualified candidate for the office and gifted for service in the office, realizing that the confirmation of the man’s calling to serve in the office in Knox Church is determined not by Session but by a vote of the congregation.

Note that in items 3 and 4 there are references to “exceptions” and “views.” These are included because as a man studies the Westminster Confession of Faith and other constitutional documents, it may happen that he cannot quite agree that a particular statement is biblical. Or, he may feel that he holds to these documents, and that the prevailing interpretation or practice of the denomination or of Knox Church departs in some way from them in a particular respect. Within our denomination there is a recognized variety of opinion on some aspects of doctrine or practice, and within that range of opinion there is agreement that men with different opinions can fellowship and work together in one Church. In keeping with this tradition, the Session of Knox Church has adopted the following policy:

Men who meet the biblical qualifications for the office of ruling elder or deacon and who can in good conscience subscribe to the secondary standards of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church should not be considered ineligible for these offices on the basis of their view on something recognized by the General Assembly as an area of Christian liberty.

Examples of the variety of opinion that the Knox Session, in following the practice of the denomination, respect as biblical positions:

In particular, the Session of Knox Church acknowledges that men who hold to the view that only the inspired Psalms may be sung in public worship, and men who do not hold to this view, do work together peacefully in our denomination, and that by the grace of God Session is willing that this harmony should also exist in Knox Church.

Training Programs

The Session has developed course outlines and study materials for training those men who aspire to an ordained office in the church. In addition, programs of practical training in areas such as visitation have been set up. Those who teach or who serve in various other positions of responsibility (whether they aspire to office or not) are approved by Session for those positions.

3. Mutual responsibilities of officers and members.

[At this point in the original, Larger Catechism Questions and Answers 123-133 are reproduced.]

4. Bibliography

Endnotes

[1] Details of the biblical qualifications of church officers are in the accompanying reference materials.

[2] A summary of the Session’s procedures for certifying candidates is given in the accompanying reference materials.

[3] Words in italics are supplied by the Bible translator.

[4] Literally, overseer.

[5] “...a man who habitually strives to walk by the rule of God’s Word. A blameless man will not be found doing what he knows is plainly wrong....lf he wrongs another in any way, he will not need to be prodded to make right the wrong he has done” (L. Eyres, The Elders of the Church).

[6] Not necessarily a married man (Paul was not married). “The real force of the words is that elders must be chosen from among men who have only one wife at a time.”

[7] Or “vigilant” (KJV); more like “serious-minded” or “down to earth” than free from wine, according to Eyres, since non-addiction to wine is mentioned separately.

[8] Connotes “soundness of mind, prudence, self-control” (Eyres), like “in his right mind” in Mk 5:15.

[9] “...means one who exercises that sort of self-control that enables him to manage all the outward affairs of life. All three terms [temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior] taken together mean that every elder ought to be one who has a good mind, able to look at things objectively and fairly. He must be able to rise above his own feelings about anyone, above his own prejudices. In a word, he must be a man of good mental discipline, able to control his own emotions” (Eyres).

[10] “The hospitable man is one whose heart is first open to the lonely, the rejected, the alien among men of all kinds and in all conditions...a loving heart [is] the test of hospitality” (Eyres).

[11] “...includes the idea that the elder must be a good learner—‘teachable’...Yet the thrust of the words is on the elder’s ability to set forth sound doctrine.... at the very least, an elder must be able to deal with people on a one-to-one basis, applying the Word to the needs of the individual” (Eyres).

[12] “God’s men must have full control over their appetites, especially the appetite for strong drink.... True, total abstinence must not be made a test of either fellowship or office. But the office bearer at least must so conduct himself as to be above reproach...” (Eyres).

[13] Or “no striker” (KJV). Also not self-willed, but patient (gentle). “An elder must not be self willed, stubborn, arrogant, or overbearing.... How do we spot this type of person? Look for the man who, when his mind is made up on a difficult and complex subject, takes the attitude that anyone who questions his conclusions is questioning God himself!... Paul’s alternative is the gentle, patient man, the one who is fair-minded, fully willing and able to understand a different point of view—even when he disagrees with it. He is firm when he knows he stands on the Word. But he is always open to being convicted from the same Word that his opinion is wrong, and when convinced he does not find it hard to say he was wrong” (Eyres).

[14] “Money, with other earthly possessions, may not be so highly prized as to hinder in any way the calling to follow Christ” (Eyres).

[15] “An elder needs not only to be in full control of his bodily appetites but also of his emotions. Some men express anger with wild tongues, others with wild fists. The former are the greater menace, but neither has a place of rule or teaching in the house of God” (Eyres).

[16] “An elder must be gifted in the art of ruling...their ability to rule may be judged by their business activities, or their leadership qualities, or their ability in teaching.... But the most natural way to prove a man’s gifts for ruling is to observe how he handles himself in his own home and among his own family members.... Is there a proper balance of fairness and firmness and affection evident there? Do the children show a good attitude elsewhere toward authority? Are they always made aware that they, as a family, are under the lordship of Christ and His Word?” (Eyres).

[17] Or “grave, venerable” (commanding respect): Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible.

[18] That is, deceitful—saying one thing and meaning another.

[19] Slander: “The utterance or spreading of a false statement or statements, harmful to another’s character or reputation” (Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language).

[20] Or “a lover of good men” (KJV).

[21] Or “upright” (NIV).

[22] Or “kind, gracious” (Young’s Analytical Concordance).