It’s almost that time of year again…

Thanksgiving, yes it is, but that’s not what I mean.  Christmas? Advent?  yes.. but no.

Where is he going with this??

It’s almost time for officer nominations.  We as a congregation are not led by me, the pastor.  We aren’t led by the staff.  Ultimately we are led by a group of elders and deacons.

What is leadership?  What does it mean to lead in the church?  How do we go about choosing the right people?  Who is “qualified?”

This is one of the most confusing topics we ever have to wrestle with.  Both during this time and later.

It is easy to default to a board that makes plans.  These things are important for sure.  But we need to keep the main thing the main thing.  Elder is a word that means overseer.  They are called to teach and shepherd the people of God.  Deacon comes from a word that means servant.  They are called to serve the congregation in a variety of ways.

I found a couple of great articles that describe the roles and responsibilities of elders and deacons.

I would encourage you to take a few minutes and read it.  Think about if you know someone who is already doing these things.  I have always felt that a person shouldn’t be called by the church to do a new job, rather we should look for folks who are already doing it and then call them to serve officially in that role.

Let me know if you want to nominate someone to this important office.  jared@bismarckcc.org