CHURCH. The universal Church consists of all persons in every age and nation,
together with their children, who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and
commit themselves to live by Word and Spirit in a fellowship under his rule. Particular
churches and their governing bodies are local expressions of the universal Church, and
the higher governing bodies are geographical expressions of a more extended portion of
the universal Church.
GOVERNANCE. Governance is the whole system by which the Church makes its
decisions, orders itself, and adopts its policies concerning its faith, life, worship, mission,
and discipline, by presbyters gathered in governing bodies under the authority of Christ's
Word and Spirit. [See also, Polity.]
POLITY. Polity is the structure and system of rules that govern an organization.
Presbyterian polity refers to a form of church government, which is by presbyters (both
elders and ministers of the Word and Sacrament) elected by the people and gathered in
a representative system of graded governing bodies, operating under the Lordship of
Christ and a particular constitution, and so organized as to give expression to the unity
of the Church.
PRESBYTERS. Presbyters are elders and ministers of the Word and Sacrament, who
share ecclesiastical jurisdiction jointly in the representative governing bodies of the
Presbyterian Church. Presbyters are elected by the people of God, and set apart to
office by the act of a governing body. In decision making presbyters are not simply to
reflect the will of the people, but also to seek together to find and represent the will of
Christ.
REPRESENTATION. Representation in general is an act or instance by which
something stands in the place of another. In polity, representation is the presentation of
the perspectives and concerns of a particular constituency by a person or a group of
persons who are authorized to speak or act for the constituency in a setting where
decisions are made which affect the constituency. In the Presbyterian Church
governance is "by representative bodies composed of presbyters, both elders and
ministers of the Word and Sacrament." "A larger part of the Church, or a representation
of it, should govern a smaller, or determine matters of controversy which arise therein;
that, in like manner, a representation of the whole should govern and determine in
regard to every part, and to all the parts united."
STRUCTURE. In general, structure is the total arrangement of parts in an institution or
organization to constitute a whole system. In the Presbyterian Church the structure
includes the members, particular churches, officers, committees, and staff of particular
churches and governing bodies, all of the governing bodies themselves, and all of the
boards and agencies of the governing bodies as well as their administrative units and
staff. In the governance system of the Presbyterian Church, the structure is limited to
officers from the particular church to the General Assembly, when they are gathered in
their respective governing bodies to make decisions for the constituency represented.
DELEGATE/COMMISSIONER. In general, a delegate is a representative, someone
sent and empowered to act for another; likewise, a commissioner is a representative,
someone who has been granted authority to perform some office or to act for some
official body. There is no essential difference in meaning between these terms or
between them and the term representative [see, Representative]. The Book of Order
speaks of "representation by delegated authority," of the elder appointed to attend
presbytery meeting as a "representative," and of the membership from lower governing
bodies to higher governing bodies as "a representation" of the lower body. It also
speaks of representatives from lower governing bodies to higher governing bodies as
commissioners. It also uses the term elder, delegate, and representative
indiscriminately for the same category of lay representation from particular churches to
union presbyteries. However, there has developed in Presbyterian polity a tradition that
a delegate is one who can be instructed how to vote by the constituency represented,
whereas a commissioner is free to vote according to informed conscience. The Manual
of the General Assembly provides for several categories of delegates to give advice "so
that the assembly may be assured of hearing and taking cognizance of their special
viewpoints." Neither the voice of the delegates in the assembly nor the voice and vote
allowed them in the assembly's committees is qualified by responsibility to "reflect the
will of the people" or "to find and represent the will of Christ," but only to represent their
"special viewpoints."
MINISTRY. All church members are called to ministry, which is service to God, to the
Church, and to the world. This service includes: proclaiming the good news, taking part
in the common life and worship of a particular church, praying and studying Scripture
and the faith of the Christian Church, supporting the work of the church through the
giving of money, time, and talents, participating in the governing responsibilities of the
church, demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church, responding to
God's activity in the world through service to others, living responsibly in the personal,
family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life, and working in the
world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment. However, those duties which
all Christians are bound to perform by the law of love are especially incumbent upon
ministers, elders, and deacons, because of their calling to office and are to be fulfilled by
them as official responsibilities. Ordained officers differ from other members in function
only. To those called to exercise special functions in the church God gives suitable gifts
for their various duties. They must also have the approval of God's people and the
concurring judgment of a governing body of the church.
MISSION. Mission is the totality of the task which Christ has assigned to the Church
and empowered it to carry out in his name. Mission includes the proclamation of the
gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the
children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the
promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the
world. (The Great Ends of the Church).
ADMINISTRATION. "Administration is the process by which a governing body
implements decisions. It involves working with and through persons to accomplish goals
and includes developing leadership, planning, communicating, organizing, budgeting,
supervising, and evaluating."
DISCIPLINE. Discipline is the Church's exercise of authority given by Christ, both in the
direction of guidance, control, and nurture of its members and in the direction of
constructive criticism of offenders. The purpose of discipline is to honor God by making
clear the significance of membership in the body of Christ, to preserve the purity of the
Church by nourishing the individual within the life of the believing community, to correct
or restrain wrongdoing in order to bring members to repentance and restoration, [to
affirm faithful discipleship,] to restore the unity of the Church by removing the causes of
discord and division, and to secure the just, speedy, and economical determination of
proceedings.
PARITY. Parity means simply equality. It may have reference to equality in numbers or
in authority. In the Reformation the concept denoted the equality of all clergy, i.e. that
the episcopate did not constitute a higher office than that of the presbyterate; hence, all
ministers are equal (bishops=presbyters). However, in some Reformation churches
ministers and lay officers (elders) possessed equal authority when acting together in the
courts of the church. Later, the term parity was extended to the lay elder to denote that
ministers and elders are equal in authority, and both are presbyters in the government of
the church. The term is not used in the Book of Order; however, the concept is present
in the provision, "When elected commissioners to higher governing bodies, elders
participate and vote with the same authority as ministers of the Word and Sacrament,
and they are eligible for any office" [G-.6.0302]. In synod and in General Assembly
meetings, there are equal numbers of ministers and elders, and there is a provision
which enables presbyteries to correct an imbalance. In addition, commissions and
committees on ministry of governing bodies are to be made up of equal numbers of
ministers and elders, if there is an even number of members; but if there is an odd
number, the additional member may be a minister or an elder. The concept has been
extended more recently with respect to the membership of some councils and
committees to require twice as many lay persons as ministers, without regard to whether
the lay person is a presbyter or not.
ACCOUNTABILITY. Accountability is the liability to be called to give an account for
one's views or actions. Members, officers, staff, agencies, and sub-units of a governing
body of the Presbyterian Church are accountable in various ways directly or indirectly to
the Lord of the Church, to the governing body, and to the people who elect or appoint
them. All church members, officers, and lower governing bodies, are under the
supervision of their respective governing bodies; and the appropriate governing body
may inquire into their faithfulness in fulfilling their responsibilities. In certain
circumstances and under certain conditions the names of members and officers may be
deleted from the rolls of particular churches and of governing bodies. In disciplinary
cases, members or officers may be rebuked, temporarily excluded from office or
membership, or removed from office or membership.
