What if… the Presbytery? - Part 1

Is there still a need for Synods and Presbyteries? This question was raised at the recent General Assembly Council meeting. Yesterday I looked at doing away with Synods. Today I will begin looking at what we could/should do with Presbyteries.

The point of today’s post is to look at the “positive” things that a Presbytery can do. Here is a list that I have come up with:

1. Assisting congregations in times of crisis: In a perfect world there would be no problems in our churches. Just imagine… people getting along together all the time. Fantasy land! I remind my church on a regular basis that the people who attend our church are not “perfect,” we are forgiven! We will not be perfect until Christ returns. All churches are filled with imperfect people—including the pastor; thus, there will be times of crisis within our churches. There have been MANY church crises in my Presbytery over the past few years: clergy sexual misconduct, pastors and church members not getting along for theological reasons, pastors and church members not getting along for “cultural” reasons (believe it or not there are different cultural expectations on pastors across the country), power struggles within congregations, etc. The Committee on Ministry (COM) is a first responder to the local church in times of crisis. This is an important ministry.
2. Assisting congregations in searching for pastoral leadership: Losing a pastor is traumatic for a congregation. The departure of a beloved pastor is very difficult for a congregation--it can feel as though a part of the church body has died. It is also traumatic for a congregation to get rid of (fire) a pastor. The hurt and the sense of betrayal and failure can have devastating consequences on a congregation. The COM can assist the congregation as they go through the LONG search process. The COM can check references of pastoral candidates (this may be the most important thing the COM does to assist a congregation in the search process).
3. Ordaining pastors: The Presbytery can assist people interested in the pastoral ministry. The Committee on Preparation for Ministry walks with a person through the entire ordination process.
4. Assisting congregations in times for financial struggles: Presbyteries use to be able to assist congregations in times of financial struggles—some may still be doing this. More and more Presbyteries are experiencing their own financial difficulties and have little or no funds available to assist struggling congregations. Two years ago I sat in a meeting where a Presbytery was open and honest about their financial situation. They realized that if even one church defaulted on a loan the Presbytery would be financially ruined! At that time, they were looking into the possibility of signing over the ownership of all church properties to the local congregations. Most of our Presbyteries are one major “event” from being financially ruined. There is, and will continue to be fewer and fewer dollars available for the Presbyteries to give to congregations that are suffering financial struggles.
5. Camping ministries: Camping ministries are very important to the smaller congregations. Larger churches “do their own thing” in that area. A Presbytery can help put together a camping ministry.

There may be (and are) some other ministries that a Presbytery is involved in. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list!

To be brutally honest, if the Presbytery closed its doors tomorrow it would have ZERO impact on the church I serve.