Practical Polity: The Elders and the Session
By George “Chip” Hammond
Every now and again it’s helpful to address some of the nuts-and-bolts principles of church government. While every Bible-believing church seeks to base its governing practices on the Bible, it must make practical application of the principles given in that Book. For example, the Bible does not say anything about the frequency of the meeting of the leadership of a church, and churches may have different ideas of how to accomplish the tasks given to the church leaders. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1.6) says it this way: “There are some circumstances concerning the … government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word.”
A feature of Presbyterianism has been that church business must be done “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). While some of the practices of our tradition may seem overly formal, careful, and “stodgy” to those of other traditions (and sometimes they are), the reason for the practices is to help ensure that nothing is done haphazardly, that all things are done fairly and with deliberation, and that there are no “back room deals.”
The Elders and the Session
In Presbyterianism, the elders (Greek presbyteroi) of the local church comprise the Session. The Session and the elders are not the same thing. The elders are always elders, but they are only the Session when they sit as a body to deliberate on matters common to the whole local church.
It is common in Presbyterianism to hear the phrase “severally and jointly,” or to put it in more familiar language, “individually and jointly.” Elders do their work individually in watching over the flock and taking pastoral care of the church. They do their work “jointly” when they sit together as the church’s Session. Because Presbyterianism believes in leadership that exhibits “parity (equality) and plurality (more than one),” the business of the Session is not the same as that of individual elders. The business of individual elders may be (not necessarily must be) appropriate for the Session, but the specific work of the Session cannot be done by individual elders.
Here’s the tricky part for many parishioners to understand. There are rules for when the elders sit as a Session. In our polity, this must be accompanied by certain actions and features. If it is a regular, stated meeting, there must be a docket that is approved at the start of the meeting (it can be amended, but unless it is, this is the agenda for the meeting). It if is a special meeting (not the regular stated meeting) of the Session, the purpose of it must be stated and that business is the only business that may be transacted at that meeting.
The meeting must be attended by the teaching elder(s) of the church and a quorum or ruling elders (calculated from the number of serving elders). There must a Moderator of Session who oversees and ensures that the business is done decently and in order, and a Clerk of Session who keeps records, which will be reviewed by the Presbytery (the governing body of the regional churches to which the Session is accountable).
The important thing to note, however, is that elders are not the Session. Rather, the elders are the people who comprise the session when it is assembled. Let me use an example from the civil world. You can think of it this way: a judge is always a judge. As an officer of the court, he has certain duties and responsibilities even when he is not in court. A friend may ask him about a legal matter, and he may give his opinion, but such opinions are not the same as rulings he makes when the court is in session and he is presiding. We could say, the person is always a judge, but he’s not always the judge.
Some Practical Application
A principle that runs through the Bible is that shepherds (elders) are not CEOs, and the office is not merely an honorary title. The apostle Peter wrote to the elders, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3).
Elders who are faithful to their calling are not aloof from the people. They know them and are involved with them. They are approachable as fathers, not feared as tyrants. Precisely because this is the case, the family feeling that is present can make people forget that we are still Presbyterians, and that means things need to be done decently and in order.
Paul’s first letter to Timothy and his letter to Titus lay out the qualification for elders. Many noble qualities are mentioned, but “mind reader” is not one of them. It is important for church members to remember (or to learn if they didn’t know) that there is a difference between the elders and the Session.
This means that if you ask an elder, “Do you think the Church can do such-and-such?”, all things being equal, he will take that as request for him to weigh in with personal pious advice or opinion. He will not take it as a request for action or decision, since such decisions are something that must be made by the Session.
Likewise, if you send an email to all the elders. To stick with our legal analogy: suppose you were personal friends with all nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. Suppose you had a legal question, so you sent a group email to all of them asking if they could weigh in with their opinion. Suppose that all nine answered your email, and all nine had the same opinion. This fact would not make those opinions a Supreme Court decision. To be a decision, it would have to be placed on the docket of the Supreme Court and decided when the Court is in Session.
It is the same for the Session of the Church. If a member has a question, a request, or business for which he or she would like an official decision, and sends it in an email to all the elders, the elders will assume that this is a request for “several” (individual) non-binding opinions. If what you are looking for is a response or decision from the Session, you must send that to the Clerk of Session with a request that your communication be docketed for the next stated meeting of Session. Remember, the elders are not mind readers. Without explicit request they’ll understand it to be a request for several non-binding opinions.
Conclusion
I hope this either renews your understanding of the difference between the elders and the Session or instructs you in it if you didn’t know the difference before. It’s not “deep theology,” more like ecclesiastical housekeeping. But only houses that are kept remain descent and in order.
