Taking Parity Seriously
Some people might find it shocking that the Ruling Elders in our church are permitted not only to preach but also to administer the sacraments. This may seem rather odd even to other confessional presbyterians who, like us, hold to a Biblical two-office view of ordained ministry; namely, the offices of Elder and Deacon. The former principally tasked with meeting spiritual needs and the latter, material needs.
While we distinguish between our Teaching Elders (TE) and Ruling Elders (RE) in terms of the amount of time and involvement we expect from either of them for the church’s ministry, we nevertheless maintain that theirs is one and the same office. I think our full commitment to the parity of office pushes us towards the direction of being persuaded, in principle, that whatever a TE is, so an RE should be. This, albeit the obvious difference that only TEs are expected to have had some form of formal theological training since they will be the church’s vocational ministers of Word and Sacraments.
One practical entailment of this view is that we fully expect our REs, too, to be pastor-theologians alongside our TEs. We are not interested in having elders who merely occupy an honorary or symbolic position of leadership in our congregation. No, we want ALL of our elders to be faithful and reliable undershepherds of Christ’s Church; feeding and caring for the flock that he has placed under their care. This, we are persuaded, is the Biblical standard and model.
For this reason, all of our Elders — whether Teaching or Ruling — are required to subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (1646/7) as their own personal symbols of faith. There isn’t a different, Westminster Lite, standard for REs.
All elders pretty much undergo the same process of examination and candidacy with our presbytery. The only notable difference is that TEs need to appear before presbytery for a closed-Bible floor exam. This is to ensure that the future minister can think on his feet — something that is invaluable in vocational pastoral ministry!
In my own experience, this fulsome view of parity has been a blessing. I have Ruling Elders who are true co-pastors of God’s flock. They are able to preach, teach, administer the Sacraments, and most importantly, they are able to share the burden of shepherding and praying for the congregation with me. I trust them and I submit to them, just as they trust me and submit to me. Together, we work together as undershepherds of the Lord who are peers and partners for the sake of Christ and his Church.
