There is value in having a retreat which addresses the spiritual and practical needs of elders, not the business of the church which is handled in normal meetings.
The planning group will want to identify topics that people would like to see covered and may wish to consider people who can help facilitate discussion or provide input.
Suggestions for topics
1. Where eldership comes from.
Our ideas of eldership come from a combination of sources: our own experience as Christians, the way people organise themselves in society (eg clubs, schools, businesses), our reading about people called elders in the bible, and what we believe Christian teaching requires.
2. Bible Studies
A bible study to look at the elder and Christian character. This is not a mini sermon, it needs to be a study together which takes some time.
The Bible is important for Christian teaching, what it says about Christian character, the people God used in leadership and the sorts of things that people called elders did in different circumstances.
3. Sharing our call and our experience
To give enough time it may be necessary to break the larger group down into groups of 4 or 5. People are asked to share about how they were called to be an elder, what they thought it was about and how it worked out. People may be willing to share how it has changed their Christian life and the challenges it presents.
4. Refreshing our understanding of the Book of Order, especially Chapter 6 on Ministers and Elders
We are a lot less formal than we used to be in most of our churches, and the new Book of Order gives flexibility about how we do things that can be quite liberating. However we still need to know what it says and make decisions about how it is going to work in our congregation.
It can be a difficulty when several different generations are working together that they have different expectations and understanding about how the church should work. We need to get on the same page and this may require some patience in working issues through.
It may be helpful to go through the chapter and discuss each section in terms of how it is the same or different to what people expected and whether it would change the way we do things.
5. Identifying the big ideas which make presbyterianism work
Behind the different ways different generations have run things in our church are some important principles.
i) There is a concern for order and a certain fear of chaos. Sometimes we want the world to be a tidier place than God does and at other times we take Kiwi informality too far, but Calvin and other founders of Reformed Christianity were aware that if people were to be able to live a Christian life then it was necessary to work out how the church should be organised and led.
ii) The belief that power and responsibility in the church should be shared and things not just left to the minister. The belief that Ephesians 4 and other passages on gifts require ways in which gifts can be recognised, grown, and exercised responsibly.
6. Dealing with major changes in how we do things
One of the biggest shifts in the work of the eldership has been the move from being primarily pastoral visitors to being the leadership team discerning God's will and forming a vision and direction for the parish.
Both these roles are important, and ideally all elders are involved in both these sets of roles to some extent. However not everyone is comfortable in both. Increasingly there is a move to create a pastoral committee separate from the Session. Visitors on that group may include people who are not elders.
This is not just some fashion. In the past the way in which we did church was much more stable than it is currently. People knew what was needed, all that was required was the faith, energy and commitment to get on with the job. Today it is not just a matter of having faith and commitment, we also need wisdom to know how the life of the church needs to adapt to changing needs and changing times. That requires wisdom and the seeking of God's mind. It also requires thinking about what is going on in our communities.
Churches are not the only groups facing this type of issue.
It can be interesting to ask how our situation is similar to
and different from other governance in the community, school boards, sports
bodies and businesses.
John Roxborogh