Why a Regional Assembly of Elders?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace Churches with our executive director. Mark, as you well know and many who check out this podcast know, it is RAE season and regions around the country are gathering together for their regional assembly of elders. And we don't want to assume that everybody knows what happens at the regional assembly of elders or even what it is because this podcast audience is not confined to pastors. So by way of informing those who don't know or reminding those of us who do, share with us your perspective on why regional assemblies are so important.

Mark Prater:

I think they're vital to the strength of our partnership, to strengthen our partnership and really for the sake of our mission, they're vital in terms of serving our churches and the members of our churches, those churches located within a specific geographic region. So for those who maybe are hearing about a regional assembly of elders for the first time, what is that? This strange thing called regional assembly of elders. It is one expression in our polity in Sovereign Grace of really being elder-led. So that happens on a national level here in the States where the Council of Elders gathers once a year to make decisions. It also happens at a regional level. Again, regions are defined as churches within a geographic region and we want those churches as much as possible to be closer in geographic proximity just because they can benefit from partnership throughout the year.

But the regional assembly of elders meet at least twice a year, typically twice a year, spring and fall typically. And they have a number of important things that they get done at a regional assembly of elders. First of all, there's equipping, there's teaching that occurs that equips our pastors to serve our churches and to really speaking to some of the needs pastors are feeling and leading their churches. There's just lots of time for fellowship and laughter, praying for one another, praying together. Then there is also just hearing wonderful updates of things that are happening throughout the region. And then fourthly, doing the business that a regional assembly of elders does in making decisions that they have because of the authority that we see elders are given in scripture.

So a regional assembly of elders is comprised of every ordained elder in a church in a specific geographic region and they'll make decisions about church planting, about ordinations. They'll approve the budget. A lot of good business gets done there and it sounds a little bit boring, but it's actually very essential for us to be able to work together in the planting of our churches, in developing future pastors and seeing them deployed in the ministry, and in just doing that all together in a way that we can fund all that God is giving us. So I'm so grateful for these regional assembly of elders. We've been doing them for about a decade now and I think we've learned how to do them. They will vary a bit from region to region, although they have those basic components I just mentioned. But a regional leader has the freedom to design an agenda for his regional assembly that he thinks will best serve the churches in his region. That can vary from region to region. One other thing, I'm mostly talking about the states, but we're seeing that beginning to be replicated as we develop polity outside of the United States.

So we approved Mexico as a nation last year. They are just one region. So they will gather together more in a national assembly type of setting, but will do the work, the same kind of work I mentioned for regional assembly of elders. And at some point Mexico will have two regions and they will have a regional assembly of elders meeting while having sort of a national assembly, like a council of elders that we have. So just a little bit about how they work, how they're structured, and I'm so grateful for 'em. They really have strengthened our partnership and really have helped us advance our mission of telling people about the good news of Jesus Christ.

Benjamin Kreps:

I mean even the business at an RAE is not boring because it is simply seeking to steward all that God is doing in our region. So actually those business meetings are going to be quite thrilling as we consider where we are sending money, as we discern what God is doing in and through our churches. What does it look like when you attend a regional assembly?

Mark Prater:

I'll just give you a recap of what happened last week at the Northeast Regional Assembly. From an equipping standpoint, I thought Rob Flood, our regional leader, just did a great job of mapping out the topics that he had guys teach on.

So we heard a message from Shawn Woo on navigating the therapeutic because our pastors are saying there's a therapeutic influence that's in the culture that's affecting our churches potentially. How do we lead through that? So it was a great topic. Jeremy Bell spoke on the devotion to God and the pastor's own relationship and devotion to God. And then Nathan Smith did a session on the pastor and his authority because there's a lot in the culture right now about authority and it's really misunderstood where we see in scripture that authority is actually a gift from God and it's intended to be used like God uses his authority for the good of others and for the glory of God. And so Nathan did a great job of unpacking that because it's clear pastors have authority. Scripture is clear about that. Scripture is also clear about limitations of our authority because we serve under God's authority. It's also clear about how authority should not be misused. You think of 1 Peter 5, for example, not domineering over those in your care, and then the right way, that authority is to be used in a way again that is for the good of the church and the building up of the church and just holding out a vision for that was really good.

And then Rob Flood spoke on the spiritual gifts and how do we continue to pursue those in our churches. Those are the topics that we discussed. They were great. We heard a number of updates from guys on different things happening in the region. We heard an update on guys who are prospective pastors who could be ordained at some point. And then we approved ordination for Nathan Lee, who is now an ordained elder at Redeemer Grace in Newark, Delaware. We approved the budget. So that was the business side.

And then we just had a lot of time just hanging out together, sharing meals, laughing, getting updates. It was just very warm and relational. The Northeast, like the rest of our regions. I think it's just a happy place right now. And you were there because your church is transitioning from the Lower Great Lakes region to the Northeast that's now officially done. But you were at the Northeast region last week and then this past weekend you were at the Lower Great Lakes RAE. What happened there, Ben?

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, well my heart is full this week because I spent essentially five days at regional assemblies in a row going the Northeast last weekend and leaving Sunday and getting back on Tuesday. And both regional assemblies were edifying, strengthening, encouraging, a little similar in many ways, but different as well, different regional leaders. And so it was a joy, but a bittersweet joy, to attend our last regional assembly in Ohio with the Lower Great Lakes region. It makes sense though, because when you think Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, you're not thinking the Great Lakes. And so my first regional assembly in the Northeast, I had just been ordained and we voted ourselves out to join this new region. And so I've enjoyed the past eight years there. Ken Mellinger was the regional leader for most of that time. He established that region. He built that region together. And to be in that first regional assembly with just a few guys really, and then at the last one where the region is flourishing now under Jace Hudson's leadership, his fine leadership, with just a packed room full of pastors and a guy who's going to be a church planter, and prospective pastors, what a joy it was.

And we did some very similar things and we sang together, we prayed together, we heard teaching on earnestly pursuing the gifts, similar. So I got a big dose of that. We spent time praying together for specific spiritual gifts and eating together, laughing together. CJ was there and addressed us on building a culture of joy, which is always helpful to hear from him. So yeah, my heart's full, but excited now to be in the Northeast and to enjoy that expression of partnership. And those brothers that are there, I told the guys in Lower Great Lakes region, we're not leaving because there's any lack of appreciation, admiration, respect, no; great deal of affection for those men, but eager to be gathering twice a year now in the Northeast region.

Mark Prater:

And I think your desire to be back into the Northeast is motivated by what I said earlier. We want, as much as possible, our regions to be built with geographic proximity because it just fosters partnership. So that was a motivation. I said to you before we recorded this podcast, you did a great job sharing it, about joining the Northeast regional assembly, but also saying, I have a vision for us to build a region in central Pennsylvania. And I think that's exactly right. That's how we want to build because again, as we get more churches in central Pennsylvania, let's build a region there so they can experience partnership in a very meaningful way.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, we don't just want our pastors to have this great gift of joyful partnership. We also want our people in our churches to enjoy it as well, as much as possible. Now, some regions are massively spread out by necessity, but it will be wonderful in the days ahead as more churches are planted and more are established that are closer together. So not only do we enjoy as pastors, the equipping edification of partnership, but our people can increasingly do so as well.

So praise God for our regional leaders. They are doing a fantastic job from everything I can tell, certainly the two that I interacted with over this past week and are doing a fantastic job. So thanks to all of our regional leaders. Thank you, Mark, for giving us insight into what RAEs are all about. And thank you all for checking out the podcast. We'll see you here next week. Lord willing. Bye for now.