01-15-2008, 09:53 PM
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 | Puritanboard Sophomore | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
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The practice was instituted in the continental reformed churches, as also recognized by the Church Order of Dordt. Believe it was first instituted in Geneva, however, or even perhaps earlier, in the churches of Hesse, Germany, or else by Zwingli in Switzerland. Quote:
Article 27
The Elders and Deacons shall serve two or more years according to local regulations, and a proportionate number shall retire each year. The retiring officers shall be succeeded by others, unless the circumstances and the profit of any church, in the execution of Articles 22 and 24, render a re-election advisable.
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This is what Prof. Hanko notes in his syllabus on the article: Quote:
The elders and deacons shall serve two or more years according to local regulations, and a proportionate number shall retire each year. The retiring officers shall be succeeded by others, unless the circumstances and the profit of any church, in the execution of Articles 22 and 24, render a reelection advisable.
Decision pertaining to Article 27
In case of difficulties in the congregation, the officebearers then serving shall continue to function until their chosen successors can be installed.
(Adopted by Classis of June 6, 7, 1934; Synod of 1944, Arts. 66, 67.)
This article has a rather important history. The principle, namely that the offices of elder and deacon are not permanent, was maintained already by John Calvin. He was afraid of the hierarchy of the Romish church and found nothing in Scripture to indicate that the term of elders and deacons must be for life. He therefore instituted the principle of mandatory retirement.
In the early history of the Reformed churches, both in Geneva and in the Netherlands, the term of office was set at one year. Soon it was extended to two years. And later to a longer term yet.
Our present article dates from the 1905 revision in the Netherlands and the 1914 edition adopted by the Christian Reformed Church in our country.
At present, in the Netherlands, longer terms are common, sometimes extending five or six years. In our churches, the general rule is three years.
The principle of the article is, negatively, that the office of elder and deacon is not permanent. Scripture itself is silent on the matter. It is, therefore, a matter to be decided upon by the general principle of the well-being of the church. The chief reason for maintaining a limited tenure is the constant and very real danger of hierarchy within the church. (For detailed arguments pro and con, cf. VanDellen and Monsma, pp. 125, 126.)
The article speaks of a limited tenure, the minimum of which is to be two years. This is considered to be the minimum for effective labor in the offices referred to. Generally speaking, two years is indeed the minimum; longer terms are surely desirable. Both the profit of the officebearers individually and the profit of the congregation are served by longer terms. Even with three-year terms, one-third of the consistory changes every year. Especially when some problem is with the congregation for an extended period of time, changes in the consistory make it difficult to deal effectively with the problem. This is, however, a matter of local regulation and is under the jurisdiction of the consistory.
Definite retirement from office means that those who have filled their terms shall retire and be succeeded by others. This retirement must be on a proportionate basis. Since the retiring officebearers are to be succeeded by others, they are not eligible for reelection. The period of retirement is not
stipulated in the article. This, too, is a matter of local regulation. The minimum is, of course, one year. This minimum is the general rule in our churches for the reason that qualified men should not be idle.
Provision is made for reelection under certain circumstances. The article reads: “… unless the circumstances and the profit of any church, in the execution of Articles 22 and 24, render a reelection advisable.” This usually refers to the possibility of failing to obtain a new nomination of qualified men. But should a man be renominated without the minimum of one-year retirement, he must retire first and then be reelected.
The footnote speaks of one exception to the rule concerning retirement. It permits continuation in office in case of difficulties in the congregation. These difficulties are of such a kind that they make installation of new officebearers unwise or impossible. These difficulties may be trouble in the congregation, trouble involving one or more of the retiring officebearers, trouble involving one or more of the newly elected officebearers. Installation is then postponed temporarily.
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__________________
Bert Mulder
Elder of the First Protestant Reformed Church of Edmonton
Edmonton Alberta Canada
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