CHARTY | Elder Training

Along with new members, DOWNTOWN CHURCH is preparing to install the first class of elders at our December 5 Charty. Technically, they will be “ruling elders” and collectively with the pastor(s) they will constitute the “Session.” Excuse the jargon, but it is important that you know who to blame when things go sideways and who deserves a cupcake when the church remains faithful to its mission. That’s not to say you, the church, are abdicating all the leadership authority to a group of strangers. Each year, you will nominate and elect three new elders to serve a three year term.

The commitment isn’t small and the responsibility is real.

Of course, we recognized the challenge of selecting, training, and sustaining a healthy leadership team as an opportunity to challenge the status quo. As we’ve learned, never miss an opportunity to try new things when the object of your experimentation is new itself.

Over the next two weeks, I’ll share a series of posts that each highlights one distinctive characteristic of our Session. I believe it’s critical that you are aware of the “why” as much as the “what.” The “how” will always be a fluid exercise in experimentation, so I won’t have much to say about that.

The complete list isn’t comprehensive and you shouldn’t read it as a manual of operations. It’s not policy, but I do think it captures the spirit of how we hope this leadership team and those in the future function.