Consistory Retreat 2016

Bethany Reformed Church
Consistory Retreat 2016
REFORMED
CHURCH IN
AMERICA
Following Christ in Mission

Called To Serve
 Do you believe that God has called you to be an
elder or deacon?
 How did you become aware of this Call?
 How has God prepared you for this Call?
 What does this calling mean to you?
 What leadership gifts do you bring to this
consistory?

An Introduction
to RCA Polity and History
 Who Is the RCA?
 BCO page 5

An Introduction
 Who Is the RCA?
 What Governs Its Life?
1. The Bible
2. Creeds and Confessions
3. The Book of Church Order
4. Liturgy
5. Minutes of the General Synod

An Introduction
 The Structure for Ministry
From the Book of Church Order preamble:
 Since the whole church cannot meet together at one time and place to
deliberate, representative governing bodies must be established on the
various levels…[On a representative basis] the lines of authority in the
Reformed Churches move from the local church to the General Synod.
This is so since Christ, according to the New Testament, has appointed
officers to govern the church under himself. Their authority to govern
derives from him even though they are elected by the people. The local
churches together delegate authority to classes and synods, and having
done so, they also bind themselves to be subject together to these larger
bodies in all matters in which the common interests of the many churches
are objects of concern.

Structure for Ministry
General Synod
General Synod
Regional Synods
Classes
Congregations
Consistory
General Synod
Regional Synods
Classes
Congregations

The Consistory & Four Offices of the RCA: Where do they
fit in the structure
and what do they do?
 Deacon…Provide ministries of mercy, service, and outreach, and
material maintenance.
 Elder…Guide and nurture the ministry of the church through
government, discipline, spiritual growth, and pastoral care.
 Minister of Word and Sacrament…Called to preach and teach the
Word of God, administer the sacraments, and care for the flock
 Professor of Theology…Responsible for sound doctrine of the
denomination and the education of ministerial students
The Consistory consists of the three offices of
elder, deacon, and minister of Word and Sacrament.

Role of Consistory
 Church By-laws
 1st Vice President
 2nd Vice President
 Clerk
 Treasurer
 Chairperson of the Deacons
 Associate Deacon
 Committee Chairs
 Districts

The Role of Deacons
 The Greek word for deacon, diakonos, means servant,
helper, or waiter. The office of the deacon is one of
servanthood and service after the example of Christ.

John 13:12-15
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes
and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have
done for you?”he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and
‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should
wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you
should do as I have done for you.

Acts 6:1-7
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the
Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the
Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked
in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all
the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us
to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait
on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from
among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and
wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and
will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the
word.”

Acts 6:1-7
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a
man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also
Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas
from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.They presented these
men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on
them.
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in
Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests
became obedient to the faith.

The Role of Deacons
 Describe the qualities and the role of a
deacon?

The Role of Deacons
The RCA’s Book of Church Order (BCO) recognizes that
deacons are called by God to be leaders in ministries of
mercy, service, and outreach. It says deacons “shall serve
those in distress and need and shall minister to the sick,
poor, hurt, and helpless.” The BCO directs deacons to aid
the victims of the world’s abuse and express the social
concerns of the church. Deacons are to serve both in the
church and to the world. (BCO 1.I.6 p.19).
As a deacon, what spiritual gifts will you use in this special
ministry?

The Role of Deacons
 As leaders in ministries of mercy, service, and outreach in
congregations, deacons must provide links between needs
and the resources to meet those needs. That involves two
major factors:
Seeking Out Needs
Seeking Out Resources

Identify Needs
 It’s important for deacons to look for needs in the
congregation and in their wider community. A deacon
should look for more than financial need. Suffering comes
in many forms: social (for example, loneliness), emotional
(sadness, depression), physical (illness), spiritual (doubt, for
example) and so on.

Identify Needs
 How can we be more attentive to the needs of the
congregation?
 What can we do to let the congregation know we are
interested in meeting many kinds of needs?
 How can we identify community needs?

Identify Resources
 Which organizations in our community can
help us meet needs?
 Greatest resource: Bethany

6 areas
 Special individual and family concerns
 Stewardship education and congregational
giving
 Mission involvement
 Volunteer service
 Disaster response and hunger advocacy
 Caring for creation and simple living

Special individual and family concerns
 How can you as deacons lead the members of our
congregation to discover individual and family
needs in our church and community?
 In what ways can you as deacons help people to
respond to and meet these needs?
 What are you as deacons doing to help address the
issues (depression, domestic violence, unwanted
pregnancies, etc.) that lead to individual and family
concerns in the church and in the larger community?

Stewardship and congregational giving
 Deacons are called to remind the church that it
exists to serve to get people out of the pews and
linked to the needs of neighbors and people around
the world. How can you as deacons help the people
in our church become faithful stewards of the
resources God has given them?
 How do deacons distribute funds? (see Deacons
Fund Guidelines and Finance Tips for Deacons)

Mission involvement
 Deacons help make local and global mission a
priority in their congregations. How could our
congregation expand our commitment to mission?

Mission involvement
 During worship services, provide information about the
missionaries and mission programs that the congregation
supports.
 Invite mission speakers and use mission resource packets to
tell what God is doing in the global church.
 Encourage people to take part in a learning experience that
crosses cultural boundaries, either locally or globally.
 Support RCA mission programs by taking a Partner-in-
Mission share.

Volunteer Service
 Do you as deacons help connect people with
opportunities to use their gifts through
volunteer service? How? Could you find
more effective ways to do this?

Disaster Response and Hunger
Advocacy
 Deacons are the vital link between
congregations and RCA’s response to
disasters. How do you as deacons help our
members open their hearts, hands, and minds
to respond? How do deacons help people
learn the root causes of hunger and how to
take action?

Caring for Creation and Simple Living
 How can you as deacons help our
congregation find ways to live in a way that
respects creation and satisfies the desire
many people have to live more simply?

Respond
 A woman in the congregation has just been
diagnosed with terminal cancer. She has a
supportive husband. They have three children, a
baby, a preschooler, and a first grader.
 What are the needs of the family? Identify clearly
the areas where they need support.
 How might the deacons and congregation work in
partnership with elders and the pastor(s) to support
the family?

Respond
 What if the woman attends your congregation but is
not a member? Would that change your response?
 (See Luke 10:29-37: The Parable of the Good
Samaritan)

Respond
 We’ve learned a lot about the role of deacons. How
can we apply what we have learned to our own
congregation? What steps can we take to set up an
efficient yet caring system to connect needs with
resources, or to improve the system we have?

Respond
 It takes time to grow a vibrant ministry of diaconal
and congregational service. With that in mind, what
three steps can we take right away to better serve
the members of our church and community.
 Step 1
 Step 2
 Step 3

Respond
 Now let’s turn these steps into an action plan with
definite goals. How will we organize our service to
members of our church and our community? Who
will we build partnerships with to accomplish our
goals? How will we communicate with each other
and follow up to make sure that the needs we want
to address are being met?

Summary
 Deacons are local church members chosen for their:
1. Spiritual commitment
2. Exemplary life
3. Compassionate spirit
4. Sound judgment

Summary
 Deacons are set apart for a ministry of mercy, service, and
outreach.
They gather gifts and offerings, care for them faithfully, and
distribute them with wisdom and compassion to persons in
need and for purposes that advance God’s kingdom on
earth. Deacons visit and comfort the distressed, provide for
whatever necessities may arise, and assist the congregation
at services of worship.
-From “Ordination and Installation of Elders and Deacons,”
Worship the Lord p. 45

Summary
 The office of deacon is one of servanthood and service
representing Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit
(BCO Part 1, Article 1, Section 10)

The Role of Elders
 What was your ordination to the office of elder like for you?
 Complete the following sentence: “At the time of my
ordination, I remember thinking that an elder was someone
who…
 If you’ve been serving as an elder for while or have served
before, do you now see the role of elder differently? In what
way?
 What gifts will you use in this special ministry?

The Role of Elders
 In the Old Testament, the word for elder literally means “a
full, gray beard,” while in the New Testament, the term
presbuteros means elder or older or bishop or overseer.

The Role of Elders
 Exodus 18:13-27
 From this Scripture passage and from what our church
understands, what are the qualities and role of an elder?

The Role of Elders
 1 Peter 5:1-3
 Peter’s words point to several important qualities of an elder.
He begins by identifying himself as “an elder myself,” not
as an apostle talking down to elders but as a fellow elder.
He says, “Tend the flock of God,” and then, “as God would
have you do it.” He is careful to add, “Do not lord it over
those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.”
 How are you, as an elder, being an example to the flock?

Spiritual Oversight
 The church depends on its elders like a tree depends on its
roots. In the Reformed Church elders are central to the
mission and ministry of the church.
 Elders, together with the deacons and the pastor(s), oversee
the entire life and mission of the congregation. Along with
the pastor(s), they are responsible for spiritual oversight of
the church.
 The Book of Church Order says that elders are “to oversee
the household of faith, to encourage spiritual growth, to
maintain loving discipline, and to provide for the
proclamation of the gospel and the celebration of the
sacraments.”

Spiritual Disciplines
 How do you nurture your life of prayer, discernment, and
Scripture reading? How do you as a board of elders nurture
the disciplines in your congregation? How has serving as an
elder impacted your faith?

Preaching
 In what ways do your pastor(s) and congregation listen
together to the Word and act on it?

Sacraments
 As you have participated in serving the Lord’s Supper, what
have you learned about the meaning of the sacrament? How
has it been significant to you to serve the bread and the cup
in your congregation? As you have participated in the
sacrament of baptism, what have you learned?

Discipling and Discipline
 What does it mean to you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?
 List ways that elders can guide and nurture God’s people in
the way of Christ.
 What images come to mind when you think about
discipline? What you think of discipline as different from
discipling? In what ways?

 Robert White In Ministry of the Elder
“The words discipline and disciple have the same root. The
positive purpose of church discipline is to guide members to
mature discipleship. Ministers and elders lead first by
example. They accept the cost of discipleship themselves.
Then they challenge others to do so in freedom and love.
The goal of church discipline is commitment, not mere
compliance. Discipline means discipling.”

 Means of Grace
 Membership Standards
 Membership Categories and Definitions
 Reviewing membership roles.

How Would You React?
 Bill and Carol Smith have not attended church for over a
year. They say they resent the consistory’s stewardship
campaign that suggested they increase their pledge to 10
percent. They share that they are thinking about joining
another congregation.
As spiritual leaders, what are some ways you can communicate
care for individuals who need to reconnect?

Conducting a Grace-Full Visit
 Getting to know people is a vital part of the ministry of
elders, and one of the ways they do this is through visitation.
(See handouts pgs. 32-35)

Role of Elders
 Three situations

Respond
 We’ve learned a lot about the role of elders.
How can you apply what we have learned to
our own congregation? How can we become
more effective overseers of the spiritual lives
of the people in our congregation?

Respond
 What three steps can we take right away to
better serve the members of our
congregation?
1.
2.
3.

Summary
 Elders are local church members chosen for their:
1. Spiritual maturity
2. Exemplary life
3. Compassionate spirit
4. Sound judgment

The Role of Elders
In the local church, elders…
 Have supervision of the church entrusted to them.
 Have charge of all matters relating to the welfare and good order of the church.
 Have oversight over the conduct of the members of the congregation and
seek to bring that conduct into conformity with the Word of God.
 Have exercise and oversight over the conduct of one another, of the deacons,
and of the minister(s).
 Make certain that what is preached and taught by the minister/s is in accord
with the Holy Scripture.
 Assist the minister(s) with their good counsel and in the task of visitation.
 Seek to guard the sacraments of the church from being profaned.
 May administer the sacraments if authorized by the board of elders.
 Pray and study the Scriptures.
 Supervise the membership of the church.

Summary
 The office of the elder is one of servanthood and
service representing Christ through the action of the
Holy Spirit (BCO Chapter 1, Part 1, Article 1,
Section 4)

Committees
 Rules of Order
 5 Committees

Consistory Retreat 2016

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