On Sunday, January 13, 2008, we will install new Elders to serve on the Session's Class of 2010. Here are the constitutional questions they will be asked from our
Book of Order followed by the questions for the congregation. Prayerfully consider how you will answer these questions.
The Constitutional Questions to Elders being Installed
The minister shall ask those preparing to be ordained or installed to stand before the congregation and to answer the following questions:
a. Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
b. Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God's Word to you?
c. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?
d. Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?
e. Will you be governed by our church's polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's Word and Spirit?
f. Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?
g. Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?
h. Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?
i. Will you be a faithful elder, watching over the people, providing for their worship, nurture, and service? Will you share in government and discipline, serving in governing bodies of the church, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
The Constitutional Questions to the Congregation
Do we, the members of the church, accept these elders as leaders of this church, chosen by God through the voice of this congregation to lead us in the way of Jesus Christ? Do we? We do.
Do we agree to encourage them, to respect their decisions and to follow as they guide us, serving Jesus Christ, who alone is Head of the Church? We do.
Consitutional Questions
