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| The windmills of Lewis County, NY |
In 1992, the state of Michigan imposed term limits on the members of its legislature in order to reform the state's politics. It sounds like a good and reasonable move, but the unintended consequence was a loss of legislative skill and wisdom that was lodged in senators and representatives who had served for many terms. Sometimes trying to make things better, makes them worse.
In an excellent article entitled, "The Travail of the Presbytery," Joseph D. Small, formerly of the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (USA), argues that the same thing has happened to ordained leadership in the PC(USA). Many decades ago, it was decided that the denomination (in one of its former incarnations) should limit the term of service of "ruling elders" to two three-year terms. Previously, elders had served without an term limit, which meant frequently for life. According to Small there were two reasons for the change: first, to make it easier for women to become elders; and, second, to rid churches of "bull elders" who stood in the way of change. The unintended consequence of this reform was the loss of an experienced, usually deeply committed ruling eldership that stood nearly equal with the "teaching elders," the pastors. As a direct consequence, the clergy gained considerable power in the denomination at every level. Small observes,
In many congregations, one three-year term became the norm, and the understanding of the eldership was transformed from a called ministry to merely taking one’s turn on the board. Short-term, inexperienced elders also increased the influence of pastors by diminishing the ministry of called, knowledgeable elders. This imbalance, evident in sessions, became especially pronounced in presbyteries where well-informed pastors were accompanied by revolving elders who knew less and less about matters before the assembly.Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't work out the way it "should".
So, then, is one potential avenue for renewal of declining churches to return authority to the office of ruling elders? As fewer and fewer churches are able to afford full-time pastoral care, that would seem to be one key to at least conserving the remaining strength of churches in decline. The goal, however, is not to return power to a once powerful ecclesiastical "office," so much as to return full authority to the session by reducing the power of pastors. Our local churches are chock full of leadership skills, but because we have developed a pastor-centered system of governance, they remain under-trained and under-utilized leaders. Until this changes, churches will be chained to the ever-changing fortunes or misfortunes of the skills and personalities of their ever-changing pastoral leadership.
