Whether you're a new or experienced elder, let's use this place to compare notes, share experiences, and ask questions about being an elder in the CRC.
Stanley & Monica
Pastor Church 
Tim
Ken 
David
On May 20, Pastor Church Resources convened a panel not about the logistics of reopening but about the practices and postures that help congregations engage challenging conversations in hopeful ways.
I've heard of councils struggling with the question of how and when to re-open. Sadly, I've also heard of this issue causing pain and division.
Here is a compilation of resources for elders as they try to navigate the Covid-19 environment.
How do you provide spiritual leadership in an environment in which you can't meet with people face to face? Here are some suggestions.
Are we approving one's profession of faith, as though we're giving it a pass-fail grade? Might we instead recognize and welcome?
If someone has committed a public sin (eg an affair), are they eligible to be an office bearer in the future or do certain sins prohibit someone from serving in office for the rest of their lives?
I recently received an email from an office bearer who was heading into a council meeting; the third meeting devoted to a particularly thorny issue. What would you say to her?
Does your church council talk regularly about the spiritual health of your congregation? Here is a set of twelve devotionals that will lead your elders and deacons to focus on your church's flourishing.
Have you ever served your church as an elder? Are you currently an elder? Say "hello" in the comments below!
I've been wanting elders and deacons to weigh in on this question: What do you wish you had known when you were first installed in office?
Here are ten of the many workshops offered that elders will find helpful in their ministry.
Assume that 50 years ago a consistory excommunicated a member for engaging in snowmobile races and missing church on Sundays. Should we apologize for church practices that we would no longer engage in?
Here's a list of best practices describing how churches can make connections with local community mental health services.
The church does a great job embracing the poor, the downtrodden, refugees, the homeless. But we haven't quite figured out how to minister to those who are wealthy.
Elders and deacons sometimes enter their work with great eagerness but little awareness of what they are supposed to do. What comes next? Frustration.
Should an individual that has consistently not taken communion be considered for nomination for elder?
As pastors and church councils know, obstructionists can do great damage in a church. Here's how to work toward the discipline of holy complaint.
Can anyone recommend objective materials that we can use to help present the two sides of the women in office issue?
Have you found any good resources on planning an Inquirers class? Is it still called that?
In light of the recent spate of Article 17 terminations, this is an article worth wide dissemination. I see far too many pastors being pushed out far too quickly for often ill-defined reasons.
Someone recently asked me the question: How did I know it is God’s will for me to be an elder? The answer is intertwined with my story as an elder and the story of Hillside CRC.
This annotated bibliography includes many newer materials and resources, while keeping some old standards, such as Mental Health Ministries, Pathways to Promise, and NAMI FaithNet.
This two-page resource from Faith Formation Ministries equips elders to develop spiritual leadership skills, provide pastoral care, and conduct helpful, warm elder visits with church members.
View sample job descriptions for elders and deacons that can be modified to suit the specific needs, priorities and circumstances within your congregation.
The Professing Our Faith toolkit offers practical, creative resources for encouraging a culture of commitment in your church, preparing people to profess their faith, celebration profession of faith in worship, and more.