The Wisdom of the Elders: A Guide to Provocative Polity
What Does a Ruling Elder Do Anyway?! This question probably gets asked often in many congregations, and probably not often enough in others. When asking people to let their names stand for election as elders, this question may be asked. It may be raised when elders are being trained. Perhaps some members that you visit may want to know what else elders do besides visit their district. Sometimes experienced elders need to take a new look at their ministry and their responsibilities. What an excellent question!
This course will look at this question in detail. The role of the ruling elder in Presbyterian polity will be explored in terms of their work within a congregation, as part of a session, with the courts of the church, and in relationship to teaching elders, or ministers of word and sacrament. Written as a dialogue between fictional elders, the course is readable, provocative, and full of practical information. The course will be structured around the exploration of an acronym based on the word "session" and will explore the themes as listed below: