A visitor to Corinth recently asked, “I see this is a Reformed Church. Is that Lutheran?”
In Catawba County, churches are overwhelmingly Baptist or Lutheran. Reformed hardly registers on the church-o-meter.
I gently explained to the inquirer that there were three groups breaking away from the Catholics in sixteenth century Germany and Switzerland. Lutherans objected to Catholic teaching on salvation and Scripture. The Reformed agreed with Lutherans on those points, and added alternative views on worship and church government. The final group, the Anabaptists or Radical Reformers shared the sentiments of Lutherans and Reformed on the above items , but also understood Baptism and local church autonomy differently.
We were the “middle ground” of the Protestant Reformation. Another way to define us is that we Reformed are German cousins to the Scotch Presbyterians. (More people have heard of Presbyterians.)
A few weeks ago, I began writing about elders and deacons in this space. We have discussed what the Bible says and also how John Calvin, the 16th century Swiss reformer, understood various church offices.
Two centuries later (1846), the German Reformed church in the United States drafted a constitution that included the following duties of church officers –
· Elders “take heed that the ministers, together with their fellow elders and deacons, faithfully discharge their respective duties. They shall aid in visiting the sick, and contribute according to their ability to the instruction, improvement, and consolation of the members.
· Deacons “collect the alms and other contributions which are designed for the relief of the poor, or the necessities of the congregation; to distribute the alms willingly and conscientiously, and to provide for the support of the ministry of the gospel.”
The role of a deacon is fairly consistent from Bible to Calvin to German Reformed – a deacon cares for practical matters such as finances, care for the poor, and ministry to the sick.
As for elders, this description thankfully loses John Calvin’s strict and exclusive disciplinary and punitive role of elders. However, it seems to decrease the significance of the office of elder vis-à-vis the Bible. Here the elder’s main duty is to keep the professional (minister) on task and offer a little assistance if he’s up to it. Is that really all there is to the office of elder?
Next week we’ll see if the Evangelical and Reformed Church made any improvement.