  
 What
does “Presbyterian” mean?1
On the one hand,
we must remember that the church is a living organism ,
full of supernatural life and energy. On the other hand, we must
never forget that the church is also an organization ,
with structure, order, and leadership. When either side of this
balance is neglected, the church's effectiveness is weakened,
either by a shallow sentimentalism or a hollow institutionalism.
The Presbyterian tradition has sought to articulate and follow a
few basic principles of church government. “Presbyterian”
comes from the Greek word for “elder,” presbuteros.
 | Church
government is conciliar ; in other words, the church is
to be governed by multiple officers, not just one person.2 |
| Presbyterian churches seek to follow the pattern of church
government seen in the New Testament, which was itself based on
the pattern of the synagogues (though, of course, there have been
developments over the years). In Presbyterian churches, we have
the following classification of officers:
| Elders
, who shepherd the flock of God's Church. There are two
types:
- Teaching
elders , whom we normally refer to as ministers or pastors,
men specially charged to preach and teach the Word and celebrate
the sacraments;
- Ruling
elders , who guide and govern the church.
|
|
| Deacons
, who lead in ministries of mercy and in other supportive
areas. |
|
| Following the biblical pattern, officers are men
chosen by the people, though their election only recognizes the
gifts for office that are given by Christ. The people elect, but
they elect the ones with wisdom for the job of leadership.3 |
| The
historic Christian rite of ordination is done by the ministers and
elders. There is a sense in which they have “veto power”; they
set apart, but they do not elect.4 |
| The
Scriptures also teach a connectional principle of church
government. In the Presbyterian system, assemblies of ministers
and elders serve as councils with real authority over all the
churches represented.5
In
the Presbyterian Church in America , there are three such
councils, often called “church courts,” because they can
function as courts of appeal in church disputes: |
| The Session
is the governing body of the local church, and consists of
the senior pastor, any associate pastor(s), and the ruling elders. |
| The Presbytery
is the governing body of the regional church. Church of the
Redeemer is a part of the Northern New England Presbytery.6 |
| The General
Assembly is the governing body of the entire Presbyterian
Church in America , and serves to coordinate our joint ministries
and to settle issues that arise. The Assembly meets annually. |
|
|
