Church leadership: term limits

Christian ethics and theology with an Anabaptist perspective
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mike
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Church leadership: term limits

Post by mike »

I would enjoy a discussion on the pros and cons of term limits for church leadership offices such as minister, bishop, pastor, elder or deacon. I'm asking this in the conservative Anabaptist context where leadership is elected from the church body. Typically these positions are for life, and removing a leader from office is rarely done except in cases of extreme failure.

What would be the pros/cons of having, say, five or ten-year terms, after which a new election is held?
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Heirbyadoption
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by Heirbyadoption »

With respect, I think the first question ought to be, what Biblical precedent or example is there for term limits versus ministering for life? Without sacrificing the place of the congregation to recall a brother for legitimate reasons, it seems to me that we see ministry til inability or death in Scripture and early church history, and really even the OT. But it also goes hand in hand with a plural ministry, it would seem.
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mike
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by mike »

I don't know whether the NT prescribes that church leadership is or is not a life-long position. It does have a lot to say about the qualifications. One of the pros of term limits might be the fact that a leader's qualifications can change over time. A new leader may emerge with better qualifications. A leader's term ending allows a non-confrontational way for the congregation to evaluate these things and choose its leadership accordingly.

Term limits would have the effect of the congregation having a stronger role in determining its governance. Whether that is a pro or a con depends on the spiritual health of the congregation. The bottom line is that elections would happen much more frequently.

A con would be that it could make the position more "political" - an ordination can always be so, but more frequent elections could bring pressure/stress on an elder to perform well so that he is re-elected. An elder for life knows he is there to stay unless he dies or becomes severely disqualified or unable. It could give opportunity for ambitious would-be leaders to angle for the job.

In my church experience, term limits are used for almost every other responsibility, such as teachers, music directors, custodians, etc. This seems to work well. Why would it not work for leadership offices?
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Josh
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by Josh »

We effectively have term limits in the sense that ministers are expected to retire at some point. I think our system where we retain them as ordained men, but let them be "without charge" works well. It does bother me that some ministers seem to be expected to go 100% until their health doesn't allow it anymore, or until they become too feeble of mind.

Ultimately, I think instead of term limits, there needs to be some realism about the fact that sometimes a congregation (or some other source of authority) will need to remove a minister. I think term limits would replace this with the congregation just trying to "wait it out" when there are serious leadership problems.

The current process we seem to have to remove a leader is for the majority of the congregation to leave. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It does mean that the congregants don't leave unless they are really serious about it, which is good.
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Once Again
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

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If there were term limits, would the leaders be so concerned about being "re-elected" that they might be tempted to go with popular opinion rather than following a Biblical stance on divisive issues?
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mike
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by mike »

Once Again wrote:If there were term limits, would the leaders be so concerned about being "re-elected" that they might be tempted to go with popular opinion rather than following a Biblical stance on divisive issues?
If a leader is more concerned about popular opinion than being Biblical, wouldn't this be a problem regardless of whether he is in for a term or for life? I have known leaders who were in "for life" who seemed swayed by popular opinion, or even by the opinions of a minority of members that they were trying to please or protect. So these temptations are not limited to leaders who are in for designated terms.

I guess the question is whether term limits would exacerbate a leader's tendency to cater to popular opinion over standing on principle.
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ohio jones
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by ohio jones »

Our practice is for ministers to be appointed for an indefinite term, though with expectations of retirement in accordance with conference policy. We also have elders who are elected for a specific term on a rotating basis, and it's generally almost a given that they will be reelected if they are willing to serve another term. When an elder wants to retire, he can serve his final term alongside his replacement as a mentor.

This sort of bicameral arrangement in combination with a plural ministry seems to work well, allowing the elders to adjust the responsibilities of the ministers to fit their gifts and experience (or reduce them to nearly zero in extreme cases), determine when additional ministers are needed, etc.

[bible]Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.[/bible]
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Josh
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by Josh »

mike wrote:If a leader is more concerned about popular opinion than being Biblical, wouldn't this be a problem regardless of whether he is in for a term or for life? I have known leaders who were in "for life" who seemed swayed by popular opinion, or even by the opinions of a minority of members that they were trying to please or protect. So these temptations are not limited to leaders who are in for designated terms.
If the environment provides incentives to follow popular opinion, leaders who are more concerned with being Biblical will either avoid the ministry or won't get ordained in the first place. Leaders who follow popular opinion would get ordained and then re-ordained.

We can't use the idea of "Well, leaders should have pure hearts in the first place" to somehow make a flawed system OK.
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jahertz
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by jahertz »

If the environment provides incentives to follow popular opinion, leaders who are more concerned with being Biblical will either avoid the ministry or won't get ordained in the first place. Leaders who follow popular opinion would get ordained and then re-ordained.

We can't use the idea of "Well, leaders should have pure hearts in the first place" to somehow make a flawed system OK.
I see the concern here, Josh, but doesn't your prediction sort of presuppose that both the leaders and the majority of the congregation are carnal?
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RZehr
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Re: Church leadership: term limits

Post by RZehr »

I'm much more comfortable with the preachers retiring at a certain age, than regular elections. Reminds me of the presidential elections compared to a supreme court appointment.
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