“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace…everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” I Corinthians 14:33,40.
Can you encounter God in context of order? Is process important to a vibrant Christian experience? Are there any rules to follow – any hierarchy involved? These questions can grate on the thin skin of the protestant like us – we came out of protest! But read through the letters of Paul to the churches – there was definite protocol on how services should be run and how important behaviour was in the community. So let me take a couple of minutes to comment on how this works in the Alliance churches in
Canada. The word ‘alliance’ is an important one, because we have people from all different church backgrounds who make up our congregations and every once in a while people ask – why do we do it this way??
STYLES. There are a number of styles of running a church but here are the main ones:
Episcopal. This is a hierarchical style like the Roman Catholic church where authority flows down from the top – from the head person (pope) to cardinals, bishops and local priests of congregations. One of the strengths of this style is that the individual pastor isn’t the main thing – tradition and liturgy is. So the congregational experience is predictable. On the other hand, it moves very slowly and can lose personality.
Congregational. This is a style where all decisions of the church are put to vote by the people. Many Baptist churches are congregational. This style encourages people to be involved and have their say. On the other hand, the church can suffer from ‘paralysis of analysis’ in trying to get everybody on board and it tends to work only in smaller congregations.
Autocratic/mega church independent. This is a very popular style today – usually led by the dynamic visionary founder of a church that grows under his leadership and often plants satellite churches that take their lead from the centre. Sometimes these movements are literally owned by the founder, as with Jimmy Swaggart. The upside is that you can get a lot done for the kingdom. The downside is that it depends on the leader – succession is extremely difficult and if the leader falls into sin the movement crumbles, as we have seen with Mars Hill and Willow Creek.
Presbytery. This is us in the Alliance. It’s a representational style where the people elect elders to represent their wishes. I’d say it’s similar to the Canadian political setup – and we know the pluses and minuses of that system! The upside is that you balance between hearing from everyone, yet get things done. As with all the styles, the downside is if you get carnal people in positions of power.
OUR CHURCH. The ultimate authority in our church is the voting member. Each year they elect an elders’ board to represent their interests spiritually and to manage the church in a responsible manner. An elected nominating committee presents names of people who are spiritually attuned, and the membership elects them to limited terms. Elders only wear their elder ‘authority’ hat when they are meeting together. When the meeting is over, they take off that hat and put on the hat of ‘congregant.’ So you will see elders teaching children’s church or serving on a worship team. They manage one employee – that’s the lead/senior pastor. The lead pastor then manages the pastoral staff and answers to the elders for what they do. A wonderful thing that this elders board does is, in addition to monthly board meetings, they have breakfast together every week. Having led elders’ boards for over 40 years, I can say that this has been the most helpful thing that a board has done.
The Alliance in Canada is divided into six districts – ours is the Canadian Pacific District led by a district superintendent who works with an elected ‘elders’ board elected by pastoral and lay leaders in our district. They function in essentially the same way as the local church, ensuring fiscal and doctrinal fidelity. They also administer a high level ordination process that helps produce responsible pastors.
The same thing happens nationally (our headquarters is in Mississauga). Assembly is held every two years where a national ‘elders’ board is elected to work with their single employee – the national president – who currently is Rev. Darren Herbold (former missionary and pastor at Beulah Alliance in Edmonton). National office manages our worldwide missionary force as well as Canadian ministries like chaplaincy. Currently we have 150 Alliance chaplains – 24 in our district which Pastor Carol oversees.
Our Assembly recently voted to double our reach in the next ten years (as we did in the 80s). With the retiring Boomer pastors and expected pastoral needs over that time, my son Chris Throness has come onto National office staff as Director of Leader Formation. He is challenging people who are feeling the call of God to serve in pastoral roles and in early days has found great resonance.
Yes, we can encounter God in the river where he is flowing, but it also means banks on both sides that keep us accountable, giving us more power together than when we are alone. It’s certainly not perfect – no system is – read Paul’s letters, but ministry is good when done in a fitting and orderly way!
Pastor Leon Throness
