• September 2021

    • Elder visitation

      Author: Rev. Douglas McCallum

      Dear CPC family,

      In this month’s pastoral letter, I would like to talk to you about the subject of elder visitation. The Lord Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd who knows his own sheep (see John 10:14). Given that elders are called to shepherd the flock of God that is among them (see 1 Peter 5:2), it stands to reason that we who serve in this capacity should know the people among whom we labour. How else could we fulfil our calling with any degree of effectiveness?

      One way in which we seek to get to know you and to minister to you is by visiting you. There are, of course, other ways of developing a relationship with the people under our care, such as speaking to you on a Sunday, especially after the services. However, I believe that the best context in which to forge deeper and more meaningful fellowship with the flock is through pastoral visitation.

      The benefits of such a practice are immense, both for the elder and for the congregant. For the elder, it enables him to find out what the particular needs, cares and concerns of his flock are, as well as their joys and thanksgivings. He learns what it is that makes each member ‘tick’ – their interests, their desires, their ambitions. He discovers how Christ is at work in their hearts. He finds out what their gifts are and how they might therefore serve in the church. All of this means that the elder can pray more specifically, preach with a greater measure of pastoral application, and pastor from a position of deeper knowledge.

      For the congregant, having an elder visit gives them the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any concerns they may have. It means they get to know their elders better, which, I trust, is generally a good thing! It should also inform their prayers for those who have been called to shepherd them and to keep watch over their souls. In other words, elder visitation is a means by which God builds and blesses his church, perfecting them in peace and love.

      This is why Peter, Donald John and I think it is very important to visit you as much as we can, ideally in your home, but, if this is not possible, having you round to our homes or meeting up with you in another venue e.g. a café. And this is why we spent a fair amount of time on our recent day away talking about how best to conduct elder visitation. Two main things resulted from those discussions.

      First, we have decided to split the congregation into two and have assigned particular responsibility for one half of the church to Peter and the other half to DJ. The thinking behind this is that it will ensure no one at CPC is unintentionally overlooked when it comes to elder visitation. Peter and DJ now know who, in particular, they are to look out for and visit (they will, in due course, send you an email if you are in their group), and this will help to give them focus and direction in their pastoral work. It also means that you will know who, as it were, ‘your’ elder is, which we hope will be of benefit to you. (And, just in case you were wondering what I will be doing while Peter & DJ oversee their groups, I can assure you that I too will be involved! My aim is to try to visit all of you at least once during the course of a year.)

      Second, we want our visits to be as beneficial and profitable as possible. For this reason, as well as having some general chit-chat, we will aim to make the conversations we have with you on our visits as spiritual as possible. This will mean, for example, asking you questions such as: how are you benefitting from the current sermon series? What are you reading in the Bible at the moment? Are you praying on a daily basis? Are there any particular sins you are struggling with? Have you recently told anyone the gospel? We hope that, in asking these and other, similar questions, you won’t feel as if we are putting you on the spot or testing you like a school master. Our intention is not to discourage you or to burden you unnecessarily. We simply want to help you grow in your faith and to become a stronger Christian.

      We trust that, as we visit you, the Lord will mature us as a body and cause us to grow up in every way into him who is our head.

      We look forward to seeing you soon! With much love in our Saviour,

      Doug