Here's the place to discuss all things classis - vision, ministries, meetings, retreats, reports, budget, staff - and more.
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Diaconal Ministries
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In one classis where I served, most of our attention and energy was focused elsewhere. Even though we had our share of struggling congregations, time was mostly taken up with denominational issues.
In response to the news that choosing by lot had been part of the selection process, someone commented that it was good to see us trusting the Spirit just a little. What do you think?
Over the last ten years classis Chatham has conducted more than fifteen exams. My overall impression is that one exam is pretty much like another, even though the purpose of each exam is different.
My father was ordained as an evangelist. Though he served under a different title, the work he did is not that much different from what I do as a minister of the Word.
The classical appointment might be an endangered species. While understandable given a surfeit of preaching resources available, its passing may further fray our communal identity.
I once read that organizations should periodically clear the decks, disband every committee, and run lean for a season. Classes may soon be given the opportunity to do something like this...
“The extremely long pastorates of our day place a great strain on many a congregation and especially upon its minister.”That comment may sound familiar, but it is not new.
I am not sure I’ve ever heard a deacon speak up at classis. We will soon be able to test whether this is simply a failure of my own perception.
Years ago I was a guest at a Presbytery meeting that broke into advisory committees. I recently heard of a CRC classis that did the same. Why don’t more classes break up the work in this way?
Is 100 members the threshold for congregational viability? If so, what might that mean for congregations seeking pastors and candidates seeking a call?
“I doubt that church visiting is very effective anymore.” In spite of comments like that, church visiting is one way classes can help strengthen congregations.
While talking with a church council, it became clear that few members could remember a time when their church felt engaged and motivated by classis. Few knew much about classis at all.
Over time our official descriptions of what pastors do have grown longer. The latest evidence is a recommendation to add engaging in “the work of diaconal outreach” to the list.
In “Why Staff?” I suggested that unclear expectations may be one reason many classical staff positions seem to be falling by the wayside. Another reason might rest in the nature of the positions; they cannot help but function as consultants.
Classes that once had interim pastors, youth ministry consultants, or ministry coordinators, either no longer have these positions or have left them vacant. Perhaps we weren't clear about our expectations for these positions.
The persistence of questions about the purpose of classis suggests that we are still not sure what the role of classis is.
Not long ago a smaller church in our classis closed. I thought it represented a failure of imagination.
When I first started attending classes, meetings were always in a church sanctuary. That is rarely the case anymore.
The region some call Cascadia reminds us that national identities are not the only factors that affect ministry in North America.
A fellow pastor mused about leaving the Christian Reformed Church as a classis. As I reflected on this, I came to see that my connection to Classis was different from my relationship with other ecclesiastical bodies.
“How do we encourage people to serve as elders and deacons?” This is one of the more frequent responses to the church article 41 questions on the credentials for classis. That makes me wonder whether we are asking the right question.
Sometimes I wonder whether When Helping Hurts hurts helping.
A pastor I know once visited a church he’d served some years before. During the visit a member of that church had apologized for the way he’d acted while my colleague was his pastor.
The succession plan outlined in the Board of Trustees (BOT) supplement to the Agenda for Synod indicates that both the previous interim Executive Director and deputy Executive Director will continue on in other roles until March of 2015. Does any other organization work this way?
