A Case for Ruling Elder Prayer in Worship
There are some conservative Presbyterian churches that currently practice – with pleasing edification – ruling elder-led corporate prayer. In one such church, a ruling elder writes: “Prayer with and for the congregation is foundational for ministry, and corporate prayer led by the Ruling Elders who have come from among the congregation can help teach the people how to pray themselves in a biblical, mature, and thoughtful way.” Another ruling elder adds: “Since the congregation is shepherded by a team of elders, RE-led corporate prayer allows the congregation [to] hear the heart of each shepherd and thereby fosters trust in the team as a whole.”
Two years ago, while working in another state, I worshiped in a local PCA church. While the sermon was weak as dishwater, I walked out of that sanctuary thankful to God that I had heard a biblical, earnest, compassionate, well-delivered congregational prayer. That was the best part of the service. The prayer was delivered by a ruling elder.
Perhaps that’s a shocker to some. If so, why?
In 2021, one of the PCA’s highly regarded pastors wrote that ruling elders “by gifts and calling are not theologically, biblically, or rhetorically equipped for the task” of public prayer. It wasn’t clear to me if he intended to argue that no ruling elders should pray in public, but the door was opened for such an interpretation.
I respectfully disagree.
The reason this piece is bylined by a nom de guerre is not to avoid disagreeing with a leading pastor in my denomination – whom I respect, of whose ministry I think highly – but to protect the identity of those churches and individuals referenced here.
I’m not saying all or even most ruling elders ought to be delivering prayers in corporate worship. But some REs are capable of public prayer, either through gifting, studied practice over years of service – or both. Probably others are doing their best to improve their skills in this area. They ought to be encouraged.
Here are four points to consider regarding the public prayers of those whom a Presbyterian pastor, James E. Blythe (1765-1842), considered to be “the sheet-anchor of the church’s safety” – the eldership:
- Most important, if a ruling elder is “not theologically” equipped to pray publicly (as the article asserted), how then is he theologically equipped to teach God’s Word, as I Timothy 3 requires of an elder? Perhaps part of the apparent disparity between the teaching and the praying of REs has more to do with one’s specific preparation than overall theological equipping. If a ruling elder approaches his scheduled opportunity to lead in corporate prayer with the same attitude he most likely adopts toward teaching a Sunday School class – in other words, this is something that deserves my serious preparation, rather than doing it off-the-cuff – his prayer should be more focused, scriptural, earnest, and edifying. For most elders, this probably includes the use of some form of notes to aid in the moment of delivery.
- Having ruling elders prepared to pray publicly is of service to the church should a pastor suddenly become unavailable. Not long ago, the elders of a church I know were faced with an urgent text message (during Sunday School) from the expected visiting pastor who reported he was stuck in traffic. (Thankfully, he made it with a few minutes to spare.) Perhaps just as likely in this era, however, what will a church do if its pastor is arrested for his faithful preaching – such as from Romans 1 or I Corinthians 6? The ruling elders should be prepared to step up, to lead and pray. Such a scenario was unthinkable in America a decade ago – but no longer. Think about it. Should churches be forced into homes or underground at some point, REs will have to share the burden of leadership, to include leading in prayer.
- Related to this, could it be any clearer to informed Christians in the pew that the America in which anyone older than 40-ish grew up, is gone? Some have observed the country is experiencing the worst leadership in its history in multiple arenas – politics, education, academia, business, and all too often the church. Almost the only place where legitimate, honorable, godly, and – increasingly – courageous leadership may be found is within those true churches that hold faithfully to the Scriptures and inculcate in her members the fear of the LORD, not of men. Encouraging the lay leaders – ruling elders in the case of Presbyterian churches – to prepare themselves to participate in public prayer is one important way in which leadership is promoted within the flock of God, with potential spillover influence beyond. It ain’t happening elsewhere, so it must happen in the church.
- Finally, there are some conservative Presbyterian churches that currently practice – with pleasing edification – ruling elder-led corporate prayer. In one such church, a ruling elder writes: “Prayer with and for the congregation is foundational for ministry, and corporate prayer led by the Ruling Elders who have come from among the congregation can help teach the people how to pray themselves in a biblical, mature, and thoughtful way.” Another ruling elder adds: “Since the congregation is shepherded by a team of elders, RE-led corporate prayer allows the congregation [to] hear the heart of each shepherd and thereby fosters trust in the team as a whole.” Churches hearing their own shepherds pray, doesn’t that seem valuable? If some churches are doing this well, why not others?
So, while disagreeing with the 2021 article in one respect, I wholeheartedly agree on the need for “thematic order,” employing “scriptural language,” and, “urgency and earnestness” in public prayer. Let our churches – led by pastors who model such prayers – encourage their elders to equip themselves for this shared ministry task, thereby to bless Christ’s flock and honor the One who alone draws near to “all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).
-
Your Secrets Keep You Sick
When we as believers live life in the light, we should still expect the “father of lies” and his minions to taunt us with shame scripts and whispers of lies. How do fight this? In Luke 10:19, Jesus tells us “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”
We were stuck. “I’m done with the marriage,” she said. Years of subtle neglect had shut her down. She would remain married, but there would be no marriage. He was desperate. He heard his wife’s hurt and confessed his neglect. He was willing to change. In our sessions thereafter, he appeared earnest and his actions seemed to prove his sincerity. But she didn’t trust him and wouldn’t let down her guard.
Deep down I felt something was amiss, but didn’t know what it was. Several times she assured us that there was no other man involved.
Then the day came. I knew from the moment I greeted them in the lobby that something was very different. His face was shattered. Her mascara was smeared. As soon as we were in the room it came out, she had been having an affair.
Making space for grief and truth, healing could finally begin.
Satan’s shadow is shame. Jesus calls the Enemy the “father of lies” “because there is no truth in him” (Jn 8:44). We might also call him “the father of secrets.”
“No one will understand.” “I’ll lose my job.” “My children will disown me.” “My wife will leave me.” “No one will look at me the same.”
The voice of shame is consistent. It catastrophizes and wants us to hide our secrets. Shame begets more shame as we create new secrets to cover up past secrets. It tells us that the pain will be too much, that things will get better over time if we just keep our secret hidden for a little longer.
Shame is a liar. Your secrets will keep you sick.
Have you ever disclosed sin to a trustworthy and godly friend? What happened? Did your friend shun you? Crush you with unfeeling rebuke? I bet not. I bet they listened. They might have teared up with you. Perhaps they put a hand on your shoulder. They thanked you for your honesty and told you that God was with you.
John reminds us that “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5). The Enemy hides in the shadows, but God illuminates our hearts.
Read More
Related Posts: -
Margherita Datini—The Wisdom and Faith of an Ordinary Medieval Woman
Margherita couldn’t have imagined that, 447 years after her death, her letters would be discovered and studied. And she couldn’t have imagined that, about 150 years after that, readers could sympathize with her challenges and draw from her wisdom.
Church history books are beginning to devote more space to women. Treatments of Medieval Christian women, however, is usually limited to a few queens and nuns – those who could express themselves at a time when most women’s voices were dismissed.
Recently, scholars have turned their attention to the correspondence, discovered in 1870 behind a staircase, of an Italian merchant and his wife – a collection comprising over 150,000 letters and 500 account books.
To historians, this is a rich documentation of how both trade and daily lives were conducted in fourteenth-century Italy. The wife’s letters in particular (over 250) afford the unique opportunity to hear the voice of an ordinary Medieval businesswoman and wife. To Christians, they represent an interesting account on how she met her daily challenges with faith.
Becoming a Merchant’s Wife
Margherita was born in 1360 to the noble Bandini family, who had moved from Florence to Avignon, France, following political exile (both Margherita’s father and her mother’s family had been accused of plotting against the republic). By that time, the papacy had also moved to Avignon, bringing further prosperity to the city.
In 1376, at age 16, Margherita was given in marriage to Francesco Datini, a wealthy merchant from Prato, Italy, who was 25 year her senior. Taking advantage of the papal move, Francesco was thriving in the new papal seat by selling luxury goods and art to cardinals and other clerics who lived there.
The age difference between Margherita and Francesco was not uncommon. In reality, Francesco had been so absorbed by his business that he would have gladly avoided marriage altogether. He had lovers, and had even fathered a son in 1374.
But it was his Prato neighbor Niccolozzo Binducchi, a father figure after Francesco’s parents died of the plague, who insisted that he should marry. A marriage, Niccolozzo expected, would produce legitimate children who could take over Francesco’s business and benefit from his work. As happy as Niccolozzo and his wife Piera had been about the birth of Francesco’s son, “having a legitimate son will bring you more honor before God and the world,”[1] Niccolozzo reminded him. Sadly, Margherita proved to be unable to conceive – a source of great sorrow for the couple.
In 1383, Francesco and Margherita moved back to Prato, where he traded in clothes, weapons, iron and salt, extending his business to other Italian and even Spanish cities and dealing in international commerce. In later years, he dabbled in the banking and insurance business. In reality, charging interest was still forbidden by canon law, but Francesco eased his conscience by saying he would leave his money to the poor when he died.
Francesco’s work caused him to travel for long periods of time, but he stayed in touch with his wife to receive news from home and reports about his business. He also sent her seemingly incessant instructions and reminders, to the point of becoming annoying.
From 1384 till his death in 1410, they corresponded about every two or three days. At first, Margherita, who had only learned to read (mostly her prayer books, typically written with the Gothic alphabet) had to dictate her letters. In her late thirties, she surprised Francesco by learning to read and write in the current “commercial” alphabet. This new ability allowed her to write whenever needed (without having to look for a scribe) and to be more honest in her letters.
Daily Challenges
As most women at that time, Margherita suffered from her husband’s repeated absences, which left her alone with her servants. Apparently, after marriage Francesco continued to be as work-driven as he had always been, so much that Niccolozzo had to exhort him, “You are rich enough, thanks be to God. Don’t want it all, don’t want it all, don’t want it all.”[2]
She was also distressed by Francesco’s extramarital affairs, which he carried on as usual. The birth of her husband’s second son with a sixteen-year-old servant troubled Margherita so deeply that she became seriously ill. Francesco found a husband for the girl, but the baby died after a few months.
Francesco was not irreligious. He often worried about his sins, interpreted contrarieties as God’s punishment, and kept promising to become “a new Francesco.” He never mentioned any sin in particular, and adultery and infidelity might have been low in his concerns, since they were not considered as serious in men as they were in women – something most wives had learned to accept.
While accepting the traditional position of submission to her husband, Margherita felt free to advise (and even reprove) him when it came to religion and morals. This was included, at that time, in the wife’s duties toward her husband, and was encouraged by preachers.
And Margherita had many pearls of wisdom to share – most likely, pearls she had gathered as she juggled the many responsibilities Francesco had placed on her shoulders, and as she persevered in spite of her loneliness, infertility, and chronic illness (which caused her debilitating pain with each menstruation).
Read More
Related Posts: -
So You’ve Been Told You Should Read Some Old Books…
If I had to plot out a short reading list with one book from each era, I might go in this order: The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, A Little Book on the Christian Life, Holiness, Knowing God, Confessions, the Religious Affections. Either way, I hope this article brings some clarity and motivates you to explore some of the true classics of the Christian faith.
A reader of this site recently got in touch to ask me for some book suggestions. She has been a believer for quite a long time and along the way has heard of the value of reading “Christian classics.” Yet she hasn’t been sure where to begin and asked for some guidance. I was glad to take on that challenge!
In this article I will offer some suggestions that cover various eras from the early church until the late twentieth century. I should note that these recommendations will tend more toward literature that is devotional than scholarly or purely theological. And I should note as well that there is not a person in the world who will agree with every book I’ve included and every book I’ve excluded—and that is just fine because there is always a degree of subjectivity to these things. And now, without further ado, here are some Christian classics to consider reading.
John Bunyan allegorical The Pilgrim’s Progress is one of the bestselling books in all of history and a great place to begin. It has never gone out of print and in one way or another has influenced every generation of Christians since it was first published in the late 1600s. For those reasons alone it is well worth a read. Though you can find modernizations that adapt the language either lightly or significantly, the original is still surprisingly accessible. There are also some lovely audio versions available. If you’d like to listen to it, I recommend the Nadia May recording. If you’d like to read a slight modernization, this one by Crossway is well done. Otherwise, perhaps try this edition. (Most editions contain part 1 and part 2—the journeys of Christian and Christiana. You can consider yourself to have read The Pilgrim’s Progress once you complete part 1 since that is the original work.)
We should go back in time a little to make sure we don’t neglect the earliest Christian classics, which include the most noteworthy work of Augustine: Confessions. It is available in a multitude of editions and translations.
I know little about the 1,000 years between Augustine and the Puritans so don’t have a lot to offer here beyond names like Dante and Thomas Aquinas. But as far as I can tell, this was not an era in which there were a lot of devotional works that have since been affirmed by Protestants. (Authors like Thomas à Kempis and Brother Lawrence are still read and treasured today, but typically not by Reformed Protestants.) Calvin’s A Little Book on the Christian Life gets us into the Reformation era and is an excerpt of the most practical section of his Institutes.
You may have heard of the Puritans and been told you should try reading their books. When we talk about “Puritan books,” we are talking about thousands of titles written over more than a century, many of them incredibly voluminous, so there are more options than any one person could read in a lifetime (except maybe Joel Beeke).
Read More
Related Posts:
