When you have an Elisha with you, it’s easier to forget Elijah. Perhaps that’s an odd thought to cross one’s mind when reading the Minutes of Synod.

Being a prophet of God is one of the highest honors ever bestowed on a human being. But the Prophet Elijah was a prophet among prophets, in such a class by himself that Jesus was mistaken for him. Yet in reading First and Second Kings, I am impressed that Elijah’s successor, Elisha, was not a second choice. He too walked with God and did unparalleled works. He so profoundly shared Elijah’s love for God and strength for the work that it was clear an Elijah was no longer needed. God supplied for the needs of that time and that people.

During the memorial service at this year’s RPCNA Synod, and now when reading the memorial tributes in this year’s Minutes of Synod, I can’t help stopping to feel the blow. An unusally high number of veteran leaders passed away in the past two years, leaders who were in a class by themselves. I wasn’t raised in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, but to me some of these folks epitomize our denomination, or at least what we are when we are at our best.

Ministers who passed to glory in 2020-21 include John Tweed, James Carson, Gene Spear, Jack White, Norman Carson, Leverne Rosenberger, George Scipione, Timothy Russell, Harold Harrington, and Noah Shepherd. John Tweed’s wife, Alta, and Gene Spear’s wife, Ruth, also passed away in that time period—along with at least six other ministers’ and elders’ wives. Seventeen ruling elders, many known widely for their wisdom, leadership, and RPCNA work, also went to glory.

These were not people who were satisfied with holding down the job, who merely performed tasks adequately; they were people who, when they spoke, you would put down what you were doing to listen, because their reputation was built on decades of faithfulness. You’ll have to look at the Minutes of Synod for the tributes to these people upon whose shoulders we stand. In God’s providence we have Elishas to lead us, but I will not forget the Elijahs that He also provided.

In the same Minutes of Synod, and also evidenced in the recent Church Planters Retreat, we are reminded that there is much encouraging work being done. We have many leaders who are breaking new ground, who are leading congregations where there has never been an RP Church. Men who were once young pastors are now wise and experienced voices of godly reason. Women and men are being raised up to set examples for us even if they came to the RP Church fairly recently.

While in one sense we no longer need our Elijahs, we do well to remember them, and to give thanks to the God who worked through them. And we can be confident that today’s saints and leaders—all of us providentially made prophets, priests, and kings in service to our Lord—are sufficient for building Christ’s kingdom in the present day.