Questions on the Church.
By Editor
1. THE deacon of our church was elected elder. Has he thereby lost his office of deacon, and must we elect another deacon in his stead? ANSWER.—The two offices are distinct, yet an elder may perform the duties of a deacon. It is always held that in a church, the higher officer may discharge the duties of the lower, but the lower cannot discharge those of a higher. An evangelist may discharge the duties of a local elder, and a local elder may discharge those of a deacon; but the order cannot be reversed. A deacon may not discharge the duties of a local elder, and a local elder cannot discharge the duties of an evangelist. So much for the authority, or right to act. Whether or not it is necessary for this church to elect another deacon depends altogether on circumstances. If the church is small, and one officer can discharge all the duties which it requires, of course no other is needed. But if it is large, and one could not well serve all the interests of the church, then another should be elected. It is a question to be determined by each church for itself. Even if the church is small, and it has those who are considered qualified to serve, it might be well to have both offices filled, as there are many questions arising where it would be well to have more than one for consultation and joint action. 2. Our church has no elder, as we have no male member who can consistently take the office. A sister leads the meetings, and does it acceptably. But a person wishes to unite with the church, and other matters of business come up; is it proper for this sister to act as presiding officer in the transaction of business? There might be questions raised on such a course which would be liable to lead to unpleasant results. All such questions should be avoided. Therefore we should advise that, if there were any male members in the church, one be chosen to preside for the time, as moderator of that meeting. But if any matters come up which present points of any difficulty whatever, you might better postpone the business and ask the Conference or some minister who may be near, for assistance. Sometimes troubles arise which are not settled for months by unadvised action in matters which might be postponed till help can be obtained. At the General Conference the question of the ordination and powers of local elders was considered by a large committee, and their report was unanimously adopted by the Conference. This decision varies somewhat from the position which we took in our article on "The Church." To show that there is no conflict of opinion, we will state that we drew up the report, and presented it to the Conference. And this again shows the great benefit of general meetings, where brethren can consult and counsel together. "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." The report is as follows:— The Committee to whom was referred the subject of the ordination of local elders, would respectfully report that we find there is a difference of opinion existing, and there has been a difference in practice in different Conferences, in regard to the jurisdiction of local elders, or to the extent of their authority to act. In some places, the jurisdiction and ordination have been looked upon as confined to the church which elected them; in other cases they have been permitted to administer the ordinances wherever they might chance to be, as unrestricted as a minister. We have tried to canvass the ground thoroughly, and find that there are difficulties in both positions if separately traced to their conclusions. All agree that it is to be regarded as purely a matter of church discipline, and we believe there is truth in both positions which may be combined into one consistent system. We therefore offer the following recommendations:— 1. That the jurisdiction of a local elder, or his authority to administer the ordinances, be confined to that church which elected him as elder; the only exception to this is where the Conference Committee deems it advisable to instruct him to go to another church under special circumstances.151 2. If he is re-elected, or properly elected elder of another church, his ordination shall stand good. He need not be re-ordained. 3. But in case of his removal to another church or another Conference, the fact that he has acted as elder over another church should not be considered a ground for calling him to act as elder again. The church should consider his qualifications just as they would if he had never been an elder; and if there is any doubt, inquiry should be made of some minister or of an officer of the Conference, to ascertain whether he filled the office acceptably. 4. It is well understood that a license from the Conference does not authorize the licentiate to celebrate the ordinances, to administer baptism, or to organize a church. And, therefore, if a local elder receive a ministerial license, it does not enlarge his sphere of action as an elder; it gives him no authority to celebrate the ordinances outside of the church of which he is acting as elder. 5. And, finally, though his ordination shall stand good for all time, except in case of apostasy, whenever and wherever he may properly be called to act, he cannot exercise the functions of an elder beyond the time for which he was elected, unless he is re-elected, or elected by another church. But if from any cause there should be a failure to hold an election, he may then act until his successor shall be elected.