To train, or not to train. That is the question. Last month we pointed out the need for qualified office-bearers, stating that office-bearers must be selected and nominated based upon their possession of certain spiritual, Scriptural, and personal qualifications.

It is my conviction that qualifications and training are needed to produce effective office-bearers. After all, we do believe this about ministers, don’t we?

Let’s consider more closely why, what, and how to train office-bearers.

Why train potential office-bearers? The answer is simple: So they will know what their job is and how they are to perform it.

The rich culture and traditions ofthe Reformed faith used to be the training ground for the future officebearers of the Church. Scripture, doctrine, and familiarity with Church Order and practice were part and parcel of life.

That rich cultural and traditional heritage has rather rapidly been eroded by life in the modern world. Only in a few areas does culture and tradition provide an adequate training-ground for future office-bearers.

We need to train office-bearers to build them up in areas that are essential to effective service, to insure that these offices remain and function as God intended.

But what areas must we address? Basically, there are three, each necessary wherever weaknesses appear. In other words, if the office-bearers appear to be weak in any of these areas, build them up!

The first area is what we might call Foundational. Foundational training builds office-bearers up wherever their foundation appears to be weak, in such matters as:

1 . Knowledge of the Scripture – Do they understand and are they students of the Bible?

2. Knowledge of Doctrine – Do they know and understand the Reformed doctrine of Scripture, of Salvation, of God, of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, of the Christian life, of Last Things, of the Church, of the Sacraments, just to mention a few. These doctrines cannot be promoted and defended by those who do not know and understand them. 3. Knowledge of Creeds and Confessions – Do they understand our catholic and· apostolic heritage? –the Ecumenical Creeds. Do they understand our Calvinistic heritage?—the Canons of Dordt. Do they understand our Evangelical heritage?—the Heidelberg Catechism.

We cannot afford to merely assume that qualified office-bearers possess a knowledge and understanding of these essential foundations. Knowledge and understanding is discernment, and the Church needs discerning officers.

The second area of training is Practical, designed to help the office-bearer know his job and how to do it. There must be practical training in the Church Order, visiting the membership (pastoral, family, crisis, benevolent), synodical issues, evangelistic calling, committees (what they are and how they function), parliamentary procedures, and leading Bible studies.

The third area of training is Experiential. This is training conducted in teams. Early in the office-bearer’s experience, either the pastor, an elder, or deacon, should be sure that new office-bearers experience a hospital visit, a spiritual concern call, an evangelistic call, and a benevolence call.

Do we have any alternatives to training? Not an acceptable alternative. Without office-bearers who are trained to do their job effectively, the problem of increasing professionalism in the Church will continue! Without discerning office-bearers, decisions of assemblies will be left solely in the hands of ministers, boards, and paid professionals! Without equipped office-bearers, the arguments for women in all offices based on “functional equivalence” will continue to rage! Next month we will investigate ways to implement the training procedure.

Rev. Stephen M. Arrick is the pastor of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church at Lowell, Michigan.