Repent, Reform, Overcome: Vote “NO” on Christian Educator Amendments 02-A, 02-C

Problems with Certified Christian Educator Amendments

While the place of Certified Christian Educators in the life of our denomination is not a front-burner topic for most Presbyterians, we would do well to carefully scrutinize the ten proposed amendments to the Book of Order on which presbyteries will vote this year that are related to Christian educators. If approved, the amendments will establish a specialty of “educational ministry” within the office of Minister of the Word and Sacrament and will enable Certified Christian Educators to be ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament, marking a very significant change in our understanding of the office of Minister. Other amendments will result in all Certified Christian Educators (whether they are ordained Ministers or not) relating to presbyteries in a manner very similar to that of Ministers of the Word and Sacrament, blurring the distinction between the two.

Persons holding Certified Christian Educator credentials are poised to play an increasing role in our denomination. Currently there are 414 Certified Christian Educators. An additional 279 persons are working toward certification. There have reportedly been another 300 inquiries into the program during the past five years.1 The report sent to the General Assembly indicated a “terrible scarcity” of persons with gifts and training to lead educational ministries and stated that churches telephoned Churchwide Personnel Services daily seeking names of experienced Christian educators, but only 20 educators were registered with the Church Leadership Connection.2 Certified Christian Educators have an increasingly active presence at meetings of General Assembly and currently are granted voice without vote at presbytery meetings by the Book of Order (G-14.0705c).

Before briefly addressing the specifics of the amendments, it is important to focus on the shift in foundational understandings that would occur if these amendments were to be enacted. Although Christian educators play a vital role in the life of many congregations, so do directors of music, youth ministry leaders, children’s ministry specialists, administrators, and a variety of other staff. Among church staff, many are persons of deep faith and exemplary commitment. A number of church staff are highly educated and hold advanced degrees. All of them perform work that is crucial in the life of the church and worthy of our respect and recognition. But none of those persons functions as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament.

The calling of a pastor is central to our understanding of the office of Minister. The Book of Order describes the work of pastors in this way: “The pastor is responsible for studying, teaching, and preaching the Word, for administering Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, for praying with and for the congregation. With the elders, the pastor is to encourage the people in the worship and service of God; to equip and enable them for their tasks within the church and their mission in the world; to exercise pastoral care, devoting special attention to the poor, the sick, the troubled, and the dying; to participate in governing responsibilities….” (G-6.0202b).

The Book of Order also recognizes specialized validated ministries, distinct from that of pastor, to which Ministers of the Word and Sacrament may be called: “When ministers are designated as educators, chaplains, pastoral counselors, campus ministers, missionaries, partners in mission, evangelists, administrators, social workers, consultants, or in other specific tasks appropriate to the ministry of the church….” (G-6.0203).

The Book of Order therefore already contains provisions for Ministers of the Word and Sacrament who perform special work as “educators,” just as it does for Ministers of the Word and Sacrament who serve in specialized ministries as “chaplains” or “pastoral counselors.” Why formalize a ministry specialty in Christian education, but not in theology, or New Testament, or pastoral counseling? The proposed amendments even remove the current ordination requirement that a sermon be preached to the ordaining presbytery or its committee. The amendment would allow teaching of a lesson to be substituted. It seems quite odd to ordain someone to the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament when it is anticipated that the person’s work will involve neither preaching the Word nor administration of the Sacraments.

The constitutional amendments related to Certified Christian Educators on which presbyteries will vote this year are presented in two groups on the Office of the General Assembly’s web site.3 Group “02-A” creates a specialty of “educational ministry” within the office of Minister of the Word and Sacrament and authorizes ordination of Certified Christian Educators as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. Group “02-C” deals primarily with the relationships of Christian educators to presbyteries. A summary of the specifics of each proposed amendment is presented below, followed by a brief critique.

Five amendments are presented in the “02-A” section. The Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC) recommended that the General Assembly “disapprove” of all of these amendments.

02-A.1: Add “or teacher” to the historical paragraph derived from the original 1789 Form of Government which was added to the Book of Order last year as G-6.0202a. The paragraph describes a number of “names expressive of the duties” of a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. The amended version would read, “As he or she feeds them with spiritual food, he or she is termed pastor OR TEACHER.” The ACC recommended against this amendment since it “would violate the primary motive of adding this section to the Book of Order, namely to recapture the historic definition of a minister as pastor.”4 While the change is meaningless, it exemplifies an unnecessary tinkering with the Book of Order which accomplishes nothing.

02-A.2: Add a “demonstrated competencies” requirement (for persons seeking ordination as Minister of the Word and Sacrament to “educational ministry”) to section G-14.0310b(3). This is the section that contains the educational requirements for being certified ready for examination, such as presenting a transcript showing satisfactory grades from an accredited theological institution and plans to complete a theological degree, including Hebrew and Greek biblical exegesis. Specific wording is: “those persons seeking a call to educational ministry shall provide evidence of (1) educational skills attested in the supervised practice of ministry and (2) demonstrated competency in (a) teaching and learning, (b) human and faith development, (c) religious education history, theory and practice, (d) educational leadership, e.g. group dynamics, conflict management, and administration, (e) program and curriculum design and evaluation, (f) congregational studies.”

While the current requirements in this section of the Book of Order are objectively described, the educational ministry “demonstrated competencies” that would be required are vague. More problematic still is the fact that these additional requirements apply to “those seeking a call to educational ministry,” but what constitutes an “educational ministry” is not defined. The ministry of most pastors contains a significant “educational ministry” component. To whom would these requirements really apply? The ACC pointed out that since “educator” is just one of the validated ministries listed in G-6.0203, it is inappropriate to specify in the Book of Order particular skills needed by one specialized ministry without adding comparable skill sets for the other validated ministries. The ACC emphasized that the Book of Order already allows presbyteries the necessary latitude for measuring the qualifications and suitability of persons for the office of Minister of the Word and Sacrament and for the particular ministries to which they are called. This amendment adds unnecessary and inappropriate detail to the Book of Order and raises questions about which calls would involve the special requirements. The other very significant ambiguity is that the additional wording printed above (which would become paragraph “b.”) does not specify that this “educational ministry” requirement really is “in addition to” (rather than a substitute for) the diploma from a theological institution plus the specified Hebrew and Greek biblical exegesis requirements found in the current paragraph (which would become paragraph “a.”). Although there is another reference to a diploma from a theological institution in G-14.0402a (“Examination for ordination”), that reference does not specify that competencies in Hebrew and Greek are required.

02-A.3: Allow presentation of a lesson plan as a substitute for preaching of a sermon as part of the ordination requirements. This amendment includes changes to both G-14.0305j(6) “Candidacy process” and G-14.0402a “Examination for ordination.” ACC’s comment was: “This would not only dramatically change the requirements for ordination to ministry of Word and Sacrament, but also alter profoundly the theological bedrock of the office of minister. The Reformed tradition and emphasis upon the centrality of the Word would be eroded and blemished. Simply, this amendment is not needed. Presbyteries already can prescribe to a candidate the need for additional information or demonstration of ability for a specialized ministry.” Do we really want to begin to ordain as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament persons who have never been required to demonstrate to their presbytery their competence in preaching?

02-A.4: Provide a special paragraph in the “Extraordinary circumstances” section allowing certain persons already qualified as Certified Christian Educators and meeting specified time requirements to be “grandfathered in” and ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. The ACC estimated that 100 Certified Christian Educators would be eligible for ordination as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament through this proposed process. It allows for waiving the requirements for a college diploma, a diploma from an accredited theological institution including the required courses in Hebrew and Greek biblical exegesis, and passing the five ordination exams. The ACC found this provision to be unnecessary because of the power presbyteries already have to waive particular ordination requirements by a 3/4 vote of presbytery. If persons currently working as educators feel called to the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament, they are free to pursue such ordination under the current provisions of the Book of Order. It is neither appropriate nor wise to allow a special exemption from particular ordination requirements for Certified Christian Educators seeking ordination as Ministers which we would not allow for others.

02-A.5: Allow a Christian educator already employed by a church to be called as Associate Pastor at that same church. While the first sentence of the amendment applies only to Certified Christian Educators who are ordained as Ministers under the “grandfather clause” in amendment 02-A.4, the second sentence, with no ending date, allows any Christian educator who is ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament after serving in a congregation for at least one year as a Christian educator to be called as an Associate Pastor to that congregation. The ACC notes that this would mark a significant exception to our practice of requiring a full, open search for a minister for an installed position. Such educators would be Ministers, but without the restriction placed on all other Ministers regarding eligibility for a call to an installed position at a church they are currently serving in another capacity.

The first four of the five amendments in the “02-C” group were recommended by the Christian Educator Certification Council. The amendments in this section would make Certified Christian Educators (whether they are ordained as Ministers or not) very similar to Ministers in the way they relate to presbytery.

02-C.1: Create two certification levels of Christian Educators: “Certified Christian Educator” (requiring an M.A. degree or equivalent and completion of the certification process) and “Certified Associate Christian Educator” (requiring a B.A. degree or equivalent and completion of the certification process). The ACC noted that this amendment would tend to move the Book of Order away from being a constitutional document and make it function more as a manual. ACC further suggested that instead of filling the Book of Order with these details, it would be more appropriate for the Educator Certification Council to handle the definition and qualifications for different levels of certification and that these criteria belong outside the Constitution.

02-C.2: Add knowledge of worship and sacraments as an area of examination for Certified Christian Educators. The lack of this requirement in the past indicates that worship and the sacraments was not an area of focus for Certified Christian Educators. Indeed, it is absent from the primary duties of Christian educators described in the Book of Order: “Christian educators will perform a variety of tasks including teaching the Bible, recommending curriculum materials and resources, training and supporting lay workers, and planning and administering the educational program of their congregations. Christian educators are accountable to the session and under the supervision of the pastor.” (G-14.0700). This amendment, like several others, increases the similarities between Certified Christian Educators and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. The fact remains, however, that standards for nonordained staff really don’t belong in the Book of Order, but rather should be established outside the Constitution by the Educator Certification Council.

02-C.3: Add more record-keeping and reporting functions for presbyteries that parallel those for Ministers. Specifically, presbyteries would be required to annually report, to both synod and General Assembly, certifications of Christian educators, annually submit a list of Certified Associate Christian Educators (in addition to Certified Christian Educators, as it does now) to the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, and maintain a presbytery roster of Certified Associate Christian Educators (in addition to Certified Christian Educators, as it does now) who are entitled to the privilege of the floor with voice at presbytery meetings. (None of the amendments grant privilege of the floor with voice to Certified Associate Christian Educators, hence that reference in the reporting seems odd.) This amendment establishes a relationship to the presbytery for another category of nonordained staff (Certified Associate Christian Educators) who should more properly be relating to their employing sessions, not to the presbytery.

02-C.4: Add establishing guidelines for compensation and benefits for Certified Associate Christian Educators to the Book of Order as well as requiring presbyteries to provide a service of recognition and for access to the Committee on Ministry for Certified Associate Christian Educators. (The requirement for presbyteries to establish minimum compensation and benefits requirements for Certified Christian Educators is already included in the Book of Order, as is the requirement for presbyteries to provide a service of recognition for Certified Christian Educators and to grant them access to the Committee on Ministry.) This amendment provides parallel requirements for the newly-proposed category of Certified Associate Christian Educators. It is moving in the wrong direction to add to the Book of Order requirements for another category of nonordained staff. There is no reason Certified Associate Christian Educators should have special access to the Committee on Ministry which similar staff, such as youth directors, do not have. In fact, it does not seem appropriate for Certified Associate Christian Educators to have access to the Committee on Ministry at all since “Christian educators are accountable to the session and under the supervision of the pastor” (G-14.0700).

02-C.5: Add to the committee on ministry’s duties the responsibility to serve as pastor and counselor to Certified Christian Educators.

In recommending disapproval of this amendment, ACC pointed out that currently Chapter XIV leaves each presbytery free to determine the manner in which it will carry out its responsibilities regarding Christian educators (which may not be through the Committee on Ministry which is already overburdened in many presbyteries). The ACC recommended disapproval of this amendment because Certified Christian Educators already have access to the Committee on Ministry (G-11.0503). This amendment, however, goes beyond access in requiring the Committee on Ministry to relate to Certified Christian Educators just as it does to Ministers in serving as a pastor and counselor to them and “facilitating relations between congregations, Ministers, and Certified Christian Educators, and the presbytery, and to settle disputes on behalf of the presbytery where possible and expedient.” The amendment significantly strengthens the parallel of having Certified Christian Educators (whether they are ordained Ministers or not) relate to the presbytery in the same manner as do Ministers, which is not appropriate since “Christian educators are accountable to the session and under the supervision of the pastor” (G-14.0700).

It is vital that churches recognize and appreciate the contributions of all of their staff, but it is also crucial that in our efforts to recognize the valuable contributions of Certified Christian Educators, we do not make changes which are inconsistent with our understanding of the office of Minister of the Word and Sacrament and its unique role in our polity. Simply stated, Certified Christian Educators should not be ordained as Ministers or relate to presbytery as Ministers because they are not Ministers. The amendments even go beyond allowing ordination of Certified Christian Educators as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament because by adding an “educational ministry” specialty of Minister of the Word and Sacrament, the amendments open the way for the Book of Order to specify additional requirements for other specialized ministries. We do not need more detailed requirements in the Book of Order. There are many callings in the church. Christian educators should be appreciated and recognized for their unique role, but it is very different from that of Minister of the Word and Sacrament. For these reasons, all of the amendments in the “02-A” and “02-C” sections should be defeated.

This article first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 8, No. 5 (Sep/Oct 2002).