When the result of the decision on congregational officers was announced at the 2005 Synod, there had to be some shaking of heads. When a denomination appears to be agreed about one direction, but then narrowly fails to make the change needed to continue in that direction, what has been gained?

The question of whether congregations should have their own officers—such as a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer—has been brought up at the Synod meetings since 2001. Everyone would agree that this is not, in itself, one of the key questions of our time. But it is based on some principles that are biblically essential, such as the role of elders, the bounds of Christian liberty, the use of members’ gifts, and the unity of the body of Christ.

Last year’s Synod, after having carefully considered the question for three years, voted 4-to-1 to eliminate officer positions in the congregation, except for the ordained offices of elder and deacon, and for the position of treasurer, who would serve under the elders. No longer would there be, for example, a congregational chairman elected by the congregation to run the congregational meetings.

Synod decided to send its decision down in overture, which meant that it would have to be ratified by two-thirds of RP sessions and by a majority of elders. Overtures are routinely made in cases where significant changes are proposed to the RPCNA Constitution, thus providing further checks and balances in the system.

The votes in those session rooms throughout North America, however, showed less consensus toward change. Synod’s decision failed in overture—by the margin of just one session vote. Nothing, ultimately, has changed, then; the current system of congregational officers remains in place. To what purpose, then, was all this work, all this reasoned consideration?

For one thing, we can rejoice that we have a biblical system of elders and different “courts” that do help to check and balance one another. We can be glad that our “subordinate standards,” which many generations have, with great care and careful debate, interpreted from the Bible, cannot be changed without similar great labor and consideration of the Scriptures.

We can see, too, that history’s final book has not yet been written. We do not always know the end results of today’s decision making process. But we do know that a church that seeks vigorously to apply God’s Word in every aspect of its congregational and daily life, and then goes out and in good conscience applies it, is a blessed church.

For a detailed report of last year’s discussion of this issue, go to RPWitness.com, where you’ll find an archive from the 2004 Synod issue of the RP Witness.