FAQ on Baptist Church Councils

by Daniel R. Brown and Kevin T. Bauder.

What Is a Church Council?

A church council is a representative body of pastors and messengers, invited from fellowshipping churches, called by a particular congregation to advise it on matters of organization, ordination, or resolution of disputes.

Who Calls a Church Council?

Only a local church can call a council. It then invites pastors and messengers from churches of like faith and order. Typically, each church is asked to send a pastor and two brothers, but this is usually regarded as a suggested number. Individuals may be invited, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. All of the pastors and messengers gather at the stated time and place.

How Is a Council Organized?

The council organizes itself. Sometimes the inviting church will supply a temporary chairman and clerk, but most times the council itself will elect the temporary chairman and clerk. Once this is done, the temporary clerk will call the roll of invited pastors and messengers. A motion will be entertained to seat the council, and the members of the council will vote. Once seated, the members of the council will elect a permanent chairman and clerk. At this point, the council can proceed with its business.

Should the Inviting Church Choose Its Own Moderator?

The whole point of the council is for the inviting church to solicit advice from churches of like faith and order. Therefore, it should avoid any action that gives the appearance of attempting to sway the council’s business. Though the council is called by the church, it is not an agency of the church. It must be free to transact its own business, including the election of its own moderator and clerk. Unless there are mitigating circumstances, the host pastor should avoid chairing a council his church has called. The church council is intended to provide an independent source of advice for the inviting church.

What Business Does a Council Transact?

A church council must address only the business for which it was called into existence.

What Authority Does a Council Have?

The only authority that a church council can exercise is the authority to offer advice. The church that calls a council wants advice in a particular area. The council asks whatever questions it must in order to give good advice, but it has no authority to interfere in the affairs of the church. Among New Testament churches, no entity outside of the local congregation can usurp the congregation’s authority under Christ.

Must the Church Take the Council’s Advice?

The authority of a church council is purely advisory. It is the choice of the church to follow or ignore the council’s advice. The local church cannot rightly surrender its prerogatives to any party outside of itself. The council’s advice is never binding upon the church.

Can One Side in a Church Dispute Call a Council?

This procedure is known as an ex parte council. Such a council advises only one side in a church dispute. The problem with ex parte councils is that they hear only one side of the story, and therefore they are not in a position to offer complete advice. Usually, if pastors and messengers know that a council is ex parte, they will refuse to attend.

Should Non-Baptists Be Seated at a Baptist Church Council?

Normally the answer is no, although the inviting church has the prerogative to invite whomever it wishes. Exceptions might include family members of an ordination candidate or messengers from a Bible church that is “Baptistic.”

How Is a Council Conducted?

The council itself will determine the process it is to take. While customs dictate some form, as in the case of ordinations, the council may proceed in any direction it desires within the limits of the church’s request. At an ordination council, the candidate will be examined for his Christian experience, his call to ministry, and his beliefs. At a recognition council, the members of the council will examine the governing documents of the church. When a council is called to mediate a dispute, the council will listen to all sides of the argument. Once the council has examined the evidence, it will generally go into executive session and then render its advice.

What Is Executive Session?

The members of the church are normally welcome to observe most of the council’s proceedings. When all evidence has been examined, however, the council needs a period during which the pastors and messengers are able to discuss the matter privately. At this point, everyone who is not actually a member of the council is dismissed from the room. This private conversation is called the “executive session.” This is the conversation from which the council’s advice will be offered.

How Does the Council Give Its Advice?

The council renders its advice in the form of recommendations that are adopted during the executive session. These recommendations will be read to the church and its leaders by the council’s clerk at the end of the council. Written copies of all recommendations will be supplied to the church.

How Does the Council Dissolve?

The last business that the council transacts is to vote itself out of existence. This vote usually occurs after the recommendations have been read. When the council has given its advice, its reason for existence is complete.

What Does the Council Do After Dissolution?

By definition, the council has no power to act after it is dissolved. That particular council will never exist again. The clerk and moderator, however, are usually charged to ensure that the results of the council are properly published. This will include sending copies of the council’s minutes to all council members and, upon request of the church, sending notices of the main recommendations to relevant publications. In some cases, ensuring that the results of the council are properly published may include offering assistance to the church in announcing future events such as the ordination or the constituting of the church.

Why Are Councils Important?

Councils are the main venue through which autonomous local churches are able to counsel one another. At the practical level, councils become the main filtering mechanism for ensuring that the convictions of fellowshipping churches do not become diluted or distorted over time. Councils are the arena in which the pastors and messengers of churches are able to remind one another of their most important beliefs.

A Dialogue-Anthem

George Herbert (1633)

Christian.

ALAS, poor Death ! where is thy glory ?
Where is thy famous force, thy ancient sting ?

Death.

Alas, poor mortal, void of story !
Go spell and read how I have killed thy King.

Christian.

Poor Death ! and who was hurt thereby ?
Thy curse being laid on Him makes thee accurst.

Death.

Let losers talk, yet thou shalt die ;
These arms shall crush thee.

Christian.

Spare not, do thy worst.
I shall be one day better than before ;
Thou so much worse, that thou shalt be no more.

Dr. Daniel R. Brown is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Central Seminary (Plymouth, MN). He has a B.S. degree from Faith Baptist Bible College, M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, and a D.Min. degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He served as senior pastor at Kendall Park Baptist Church (Kendall Park, NJ). He also served at churches in Michigan and Texas and at camps in Texas and New Jersey. He and his wife, Mary Jo, have four daughters.

This essay is co-authored by Dr. Kevin T. Bauder, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). Not every professor, student, or alumnus of Central Seminary necessarily agrees with every opinion that it expresses.