Yesterday I had the delight of being partly involved in a presbytery meeting here in the Ballarat presbytery. Well, it wasn’t in Ballarat itself rather at the Presbyterian Church in Ararat. To give you a heads up, no I haven’t gone crazy.

I was there on official business as the Church I attend, of which I’m also a member, was vacant up until yesterday. I was at presbytery performing the role of a commissioner. I had to present why it was that Grace Presbyterian Church was putting forward a call for a minister. This ended up with a favorable response from the minister with further details to be worked out throughout the year. For the rest of the day I was there as an observer.

It was a fun experience and rather different from the university student union and even workplace politics I’ve experienced in the past. It is that difference I am drawing a highlight to. People. People make the difference. Not the people themselves who are more than capable to hold their own politically, rather that the focus of the members of the presbytery was on loving and serving the people of their respective congregations.

Many people would easily highlight that the Presbyterian denomination is rather politically oriented and rather strict. Yes, I will agree that there are some churches (not going to point fingers) who choose to get bogged down in the system. The politics though is there for a reason, and that is to provide boundaries and structures for the love and service of the people. The structure is there so that things are done in an orderly manor so that the people may grow in their faith of Jesus as disciples.

Several months ago, in early November 2009 if memory serves me correct, a couple of gentlemen from the PTC came and gave a discussion on discipleship and small group dynamics. This was a well attended seminar, predominately of elderly men, though unfortunately one that seems to have born little fruit. Though in God’s providence he seems to be driving the point as there is another discipleship seminar being organized for later this year.

This brings me back to my point that politics, is a wonderful thing that is designed to facilitate and encourage people. Particularly within Church denominations it is there to facilitate the making of Christlike disciples.

So, instead of callously fighting the system as I know I’m prone to do. Understand that the structure is there to encourage and build up disciples who are like Christ. Disciples who as they go about their daily lives make disciples who are like Jesus.

Yes, it has taken some time for me to understand this, having thought about it from first principles aided by experiential circumstances and guided the Holy Spirit as I read scripture and attempt to walk in God’s light.

The Church is about making disciples. It is about building disciples that make disciples. The structure of the Church is there to support and encourage the making of disciples who are like Christ. It is all about the people, not about the politics.

God bless,

Matt