Offices in the church: contemporary questions and suggestions (proposals)^

Offices in tlie church: contemporary questions and suggestions (proposals) In this article which deals with the offices in the Church attention is given to a fe w contem porary questions with which Reformed theology is confronted today. Apart from the questions which are identified the article also attempts to contribute to possib le answers that can be proposed. Some o f the issues identified as relevant in the current debate on the offices are the follow ing: the view o f Scripture, the view o f the church, the fa c t o f offices in the church, the question o f office o r service, the functionalisation and horizontalization o f the offices in the church, charisma and office and the authority o f offices in the church.


Introduction
O ffices in the church have become the subject o f theological discussion and o f theological questioning.There are even theologians who believe that the situation has become a crisis (Jonker, 1970:8;Trim p, 1982:213 f.).D iscussions concerning the offices are held in churches o f the Reform ed tradition, in Rom an Catholic Churches as well as in charismatic circles and in the ranks o f the W orld Council o f Churches (W CC).O ffices in the church are investigated and discussed from diflferent angles and with different motives.
The theological legitimization o f the offices in the church, also an issue in Reformed circles, is one o f the questions that will be dealt with in this article.There are those who argue that the legitimization o f offices in the church has been wrong up to now and that it should be changed to take more cognisance o f present day circum stances.G. Dekker, in his study D e stille revolutie.D e ontw ikkeling van de G ereform eerde K erken in N ederland tussen 1950 en 1990 (1992), proved that issues such as these can lead to a complete change, not only in the character o f the offices in a church, but can eventually also lead to a change in the character o f a whole church denomination.This fact alone indicates very clearly that it is o f the utm ost im portance for Reformed theology not only to reflect on the nature o f offices in the church, but also to clarify its own viewpoint in this regard.
In this article 1 would like to pose some o f the current questions regarding the offices in the church, and to suggest some answ ers that can be given from the side o f Reformed theology.

2.
Q uestions asked and suggestions m ade

Scripture
At present some o f the m ost fiindam ental questions posed regarding offices concem the norm ative role o f Scripture in the legitimization and the fiinctioning o f offices in the church.T o C. Trim p the fundamental reason for contem porary conflicts regarding the offices is that the W ord itself is being questioned.
The real crisis around the office on which we are being addressed from all sides is at its deepest level the crisis brought about by criticism o f the Scriptures.And as the normativeness of the Holy Scriptures is forced back, another normativeness forces itself up: the social-communicative action within the cadre o f the ideal fellowship (Trimp, 1982:213).
The South A frican New Testam ent scholar G .M .M .Pelser, in an article " Die bedieninge van die Nuw e Testam ent, 'n Ondersoek na historiese wording en prinsipiële regverdigbaarheid" (The m inistries in the New Testam ent.An investigation regarding historical development and fundamental justification) departs from the premise that the Bible is a book o f many different writings with different ways o f theological thinking.He therefore arrives at the conclusion that the New Testam ent picture o f the offices is so diverse that a variety o f models can be discerned: it is impossible to harmonise them into one system.According to him a definite development from the charism atic to the institutional exists.In this process certain ministries have become church offices by ordination, thereby inhibiting charism atic m inistries and causing a division between church office and 'laity'.His own solution is that each denomination should be free to choose a model or develop a structure which will best suit its own needs and circum stances.Provision m ust be made for the central and fundamental ministry, namely the responsible proclam ation o f the gospel, to be pursued.Furtherm ore, every member o f the congregation should be enabled to exercise his or her charism a in a meaningful way and thus to benefit the body o f Christ (Pelser, 1990:1).L.M. Heyns apparently subscribes to the ideas o f Pelser when he states that there are different models o f ministries and offices in the Bible: Biblical authority for one so-called model at the cost o f other models cannot be claim ed (L.M .Heyns, 1993:356).W e find a sim ilar approach in the publication edited by Lukas Vischer -Eldership in the R eform ed C hurches Today (1990).This report states: On the basis of our knowledge of the Bible today, we believe that Scripture does not point to one single church order, and that any effort to impose such an order on Scripture should be abandoned (Vischer, 1990;8).
The report continues: "One clearly defined church order will be discemed only through selective reading and weighing o f some biblical passages over others" (Vischer, 1990:9).Instead o f this, the publication pleads for an approach to offices in the church which starts with: God's great message of salvation for the world and the divine calling o f the church for mission.Within that context, we may then inquire: What tasks of ministry are necessary if the church is to fulfil that calling?What leadership is required to guide the whole church in faithfiillness to that calling?How is that leadership to be chosen and to work together -with the whole churchto the gloty o f God, for the building up o f the Church and the salvation of the world (Vischer, 1990:9).
It is indeed true that many contem porary theologians, including those within the Reformed world, read the Bible as a mere collection o f historical documents.This approach takes no cogniscance o f the Bible's unity, its specific perspective and its specific interpretational fram ework that has been supplied by the long history o f the church's reading and interpretation o f it (Jonker, 1994:20).
T o my mind this approach to the Bible -as a collection o f different w ritings with very little, i f any coherence -is typical o f an approach in which Scripture is loosened from its original historical context and the way in which it w as understood by the church through the ages.It seems significant that John Calvin in his theology concerning the offices, continuously refers to the way in which Scripture w as used and understood in the early church.The fact that he used this historical evidence to guide him in his own form ulations on the offices is also significant.Such an approach tow ards Scripture can have and has had very specific results regarding not only the structuring o f the congregation but also specifically the offices in the church.In practice, it can lead to Congregationalism (Dingemans), independentism and even, what is called for by some, privatization o f the office (Grey, I990:v).In some cases it even raises the question whether offices are still essential for the church, or merely functional (L.M .Heyns, 1992:52 f ) .To my mind such an approach will inevitably lead to great harm.Church unity, the building up o f the church and its spirituality will all be affected, even though this is possibly not the intention o f the proponents o f such viewpoints.
Reformed theology has alw ays laid great em phasis on the unity o f Scripture as the revelation o f God.V a n 't Spijker has pointed out quite correctly that we can only claim sola Scriptura i f we m aintain tota Scriptura ( V a n 't Spijker, 1993:325).It cannot be accepted that the Bible is a mere collection o f different theological writings.The Bible is the one revelation o f God which also contains, am ongst other things, guidelines for the structuring o f the church and its offices (J.A. Heyns, 1992:8).The Reformed confessions o f faith also attest to this fact {Confessio Belgica, art.30; see also articles 5 and 7).Reformed theology will have to maintain this fundamental point o f departure regaiding its view o f Scripture and its confession o f what Scripture teaches on the offices in the church.
In m aintaining this viewpoint more often than not Reformed theology is The fact that we accept these foundations means that we -in sympathy with the church throughout the ages -m ust also fmd the Scriptural foundations or principles for the structure o f the church, its offices and its official ministries.As far as the Old Testam ent is concerned, it must always be seen in the light o f its fulfilm ent in Christ.In this sense, the Old Testam ent offers very valuable material regarding the offices which present day Reformed Theology must take into account.As regards the New Testam ent, it is not true that the gospels teach different principles concerning the offices than does Peter or Paul, for instance.The basic principles or foundations that Scripture gives on the offices in the church are the same and they complement each other as they are given in various parts o f Scripture.It is the task o f theology (i.e.Reformed theology) to find and form ulate these foundations in Scripture.
I believe that it is wrong/incorrect to begin by saying " Scripture does not point to one single church order, and that the effort to impose such an order on Scripture should be abandoned" (Vischer, 1990:8.)Scripture does not give us a church order at all.Scripture gives us the foundations or principles that ought to be brought to a structure (a church order) by every church in accordance with its own position in history.Church orders are made by churches in a certain period and in accordance to the time in which they are made.They are better or worse, in so far as they take into account all the God-given foundations for the church/offices and as they succeed in being a living witness o f continuing obedience to the W ord o f God.
T his does not, however, mean that Reformed theology must ignore the latest viewpoints in Biblical research and in other fields o f research, or that it should not also make use o f the findings o f these scholars -on the contrary.Some very valuable insights have been revealed by Biblical and other scholars, specifically with regard to the offices in and the governing o f the church.It would be shortsighted not to make use o f these con clusions or to evaluate these results critically.The starting point must, however, be the acceptance o f the unity o f the Bible as the W ord o f God and not the reading o f the Bible as a collection o f books by a variety o f authors.

The church
It seems as if the position o f Reformed theology on the offices in the church is also challenged by the call for a new theological approach to the church.In the past, it was said that pastoral theology focuses on the pastor and his actions in the congregation.Theories for church practices were based on the actions o f the pastor.In our time, however, the em phasis has shifted fi-om the pastor to the congregation.The congregation, and not the pastor, has become the subject o f actions in the church.In effect this means that there has been a shift aw ay fi-om a theology o f offices in the church to a theology o f the congregation.This can also be expressed as a shift fi'om a dogm atic ecclesiology to a practical-theological ecclesiology (L.M .Heyns, 1993:356).
This whole issue is also m anifested by the way in which the so-called 'shepherd-fiock' model o f the church is contrasted with the so-called 'body-of-C hrist' model.The first model is an example o f the dogmatical ecclesiology and the second is an example o f the practical-theological ecclesiology.By im plication, this new approach has laid a much greater em phasis on the role o f the 'laity' in the church as is evident in publications such as This approach not only has far reaching consequences for the offices in the church but it also challenges Reformed theology.This approach m aintains that all believers are ordained into a m inistry through their baptism .There is therefore no need for the ordination o f offices in the church or even for the laying on o f hands any more.It states that by the second h a lf o f the twentieth century this approach has freed church members both theologically and ecclesiastically (Heyns, 1993:358-359).
Reformed theology needs to be very clear on the questions and the im plications which this approach poses.The priesthood o f every believer is something that cannot be be denied.It will be a great mistake if the denial o f the believer's priesthood should ever enter Reformed theology.History has shown, however, that there is always the real danger o f spiritualism if the very im portant connection between the Spirit and the W ord is not m aintained throughout.The priesthood o f every believer means that every believer has the right to minister his/her fellowman.This, however, is not the only principle o f which we read in Scripture and which must be taken into account in the structuring o f the church.Ephesians 4:11 ff. also tells us that "he gave some ... for the perfecting o f the saints, for the w ork o f the m in istry ...".Versteeg (1988:51) formulates this aspect o f m inistry thus: Christus heeft niet slechts voor alle gelovigen eigen gaven gegeven, Hij heefi ook uit de kring van de gelovigen sommigen gegeven die als speciale dienst hebben er zorg voor te dragen, dat de aan alien geschonken gaven op de juiste wijze functioneren.In deze speciale dienst is niets anders dan -wat wij noemen -een ambt te onderkennen (Versteeg, 1988:51).
[Christ did not only give gifts to all the believers.From the midst o f the believers He also gave some who have the specific ministry to see that the gifts o f all the believers ftinction in the right way.This specific ministry is nothing other than that which we call an office in the church.] It is also with specific reference to the functioning o f gifls that Paul writes to the Corinthians that "God is not the author o f confusion, but o f peace, as in all the churches o f the saints.... Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Cor.14:30, 33).Just as Reformed theology cannot deny the fact o f the priesthood o f all believers, so it also cannot deny the fact o f offices in the church and o f the specific ministry that they have to fulfil in the church.Similarly the office bearers are called by Christ through the congregation to this ministry.This approach grants every office bearer in the church a place in the midst o f the congregation and also binds him to the congregation.At the same time, he has a mission/calling to fialfil within the congregation in the Nam e o f Jesus Christ.In this sense office bearers represent Christ for/to the congregation.For instance, it is not fitting for each and every one to cUmb onto a pulpit and start preaching.
To fulfil this m inistry, one has to be sent, and this mission emerges through the charism a w hich God has given (V a n 't Spijker, 1993:190 f ) .
The question facing Reformed theology is not that o f a dogmatic ecclesiology (offices fi-om above) in contrast to a practical-theological ecclesiology (charism atic church members from below), where the solution would lie in the one being freed from the other.It is rather a question o f Christ the Lord giving gifts to all His m em bers and assigning a specific public m inistry to some members.These members have to fiilfil this mission in the name o f Christ in the midst o f the congregation, aiming to add to the benefit and the building up o f the w hole congregation.

The fact of offices
T he discussion whether offices still have a right to exist is often motivated by the church's quest for the m ost appropriate form o f church organization that will enable them to preach the G ospel in the world and to shape their service o f the Lord ( Van G inkel, 1975:5).
In his report o f 1970, B erkhof questions w hether the traditional oflFices can still serve to build the Christian com m unity in m odem society.According to him, a discrepancy has arisen between the role expectation o f the congregation regarding the m inister and the m inister's own view o f his office.The congregation still expects a genial, paternal figure and a faithfixl home visitor to attend to them in their jo y and in their sorrow.The m inister, however, feels that he is expected to perform tasks that can be better handled by others.B erkhof sees in this discrepancy the reason why m any theological students are not prepared to make themselves available for ministerial office, but w ould rather perform specialized tasks (B erkhof, 1970:57 f ) .
In his work D e K erk binneste buiten (The church inside out) (1965) J.C. Hoekendijk goes much further than B erkhof He asserts that we should do aw ay with that m assive block which we call the 'church' because it stands between m odem man and the message o f Christ: the message o f the Kingdom.The church, with its offices, church orders, traditions and codes, as well as its unworldly and prudish lifestyle dare not worm its way between m odem man and Christ.The church is only the vehicle which carries the Gospel into the world, and, as such, only exists to the extent that it perform s this duty.This means that the church does not exist, but happens, only in so far as the Gospel message is conveyed and to the extent that the church allows itself to be used as an instrument in the hands o f Jesus C hrist, the real apostle.Ultimately, the church is only a function o f the apostolate (Hoekendijk, 1964:51).But this apostolateaccording to Hoekendijk -has nothing to do with the traditional offices o f the church, but rather has everything to do with the dynamics o f the lay apostolate (mission).For Hoekendijk, the church is mission; and its structures should reflect this apostolic function rather than 'w orm ' itself between m odem man and C hrist' s message as has been done in the past.
T o give effect to this change o f emphasis, the 'monumental com plexes' which characterise many church buildings should give way to buildings that resemble tents.The large official structures should be replaced.
Instead o f the congregation meeting in a large meeting place smaller groups, consisting o f people drawn from sim ilar vocational or social backgrounds, such as students, nurses, flat dwellers, the aged and military personnel, should come together (Hoekendijk, 1965:92).This structure would enable the church to meet the needs o f our m odem mobile society more efficiently.It would also mean that the church could do aw ay with offices.Since modem members o f the church are m ature individuals, they will assert structures against the offices because they are seen as levers o f conservatism , guardianship and hierarchy in the church (Hoekendijk, 1965:90 f ;Deddens, 1988:36-37).
There are people, like Dingemans (1987:116, 121), who assert that offices in the church do not rest on Biblical grounds but that they are the result o f an historical development in the early Christian church.For definite reasons -inter alia a lack o f spiritual pow er -a need has arisen to give a m ore perm anent form to certain services in the church.The church offices were created to m eet this need.
One result o f this point o f view is that church members are empowered to establish and to abolish offices arbitrarily.It also allows that a church without offices would then be p ro o f o f a church with higher spiritual m aturity than one with offices.Ruler, 1965:89) To this discussion on the origin o f the office should be added the observation that the office arises from the ranks o f the m embers o f the congregation.These members m ust therefore be closely involved in the identification and placing o f a fellow-mem ber in an office function in and for the congregation ( c f Acts 6:3; 6:5; 6:6; 13:3 and 14:23).The believers in Jerusalem were told by the apostles that they had to look for seven men, full o f the Holy Spirit and o f wisdom, who could be appointed for a specific task (Acts 6:3).This injunction m et with the approval o f the believers and they elected the men (A cts 6:5).A fter the men had been chosen, it w as the believers who took them to the apostles to pray for them and to lay hands on them (Acts 6:6).A cts 13:3 records how the Holy Spirit commissioned the prophets and m inisters, w ho were meeting in Antioch, to set apart Paul and Barnabas to do the w ork to w hich He had called them: " ... then, after the congregation fasted and prayed they laid their hands on them and let them go" .In A cts 14:23 we read that elders were chosen in every congregation and after the congregation had fasted and prayed they committed them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. The

Office or ministry
Present day discussions on offices in the church have been com plicated by confusing and unclear concepts.Some see the concept office itself as problem atic.For some it is quite acceptable given certain assum ptions, while others prefer the concept service, especially as it is used in the Bible.It is also clear that there is often a difference o f opinion on the concept office as such.This difference lies not only in everything that a office holds b u t also in the fact that it is often understood differently as a result o f definite preconceptions.
Other concepts and expressions com plicating the debate on the office are for example the distinctions made between a general and a special office, the office o f the believer and his priesthood, official versus spontaneous service, official and specific services, ordered and unordered services, and ordinary services (minister, elder and deacon) and extraordinary services (apostle, prophet and evangelist).
The question how many offices are found in Reformed churches should also be considered.For example: are there only m inisters, elders and deacons, or can there also be more offices in a Reformed church than those m entioned here?
In last instance clarity is needed in discussions regarding the meaning o f concepts and m atters such as calling, gifts and services, the holding o f an office, the laying on o f hands, office and charism a, as well as the relation betw een these concepts and other matters.
If Reformed theology is to be seen as relevant in our day, then it m ust be clear on all the above-mentioned concepts and expressions and any others that m ight arise.
Among the gifts and services given by the Holy Spirit to the church a certain category exists that in some churches came to be Icnown as 'offices' in the course o f the history o f the church (Church O rder 1990; Art. 3, D utch Reformed Church).In other churches this category is spoken o f as the 'services', while others still have w hat they call 'ordained services' in the church as distinct from other existing m inistries (BEM report, 1982).
A workable distinction which can eliminate much confusion appears to be that o f m inistry and official m inistry [diens en am psdiens].Van R uler points out that both the term s office and m inistry are problem atic and need clarification when used (Van Ruler, 1952:67).The fact rem ains that within the totality o f service in the church the service o f som e takes on a unique character.
The difference between office services and the other services in the church is indicated in several ways.To some, the characteristics o f the office service are m anifested in the following way: ♦ The office service orders the fiinctioning o f the other services in the church.
♦ The office service shows a regular and continuous character and ♦ it has received pow er o f attorney from Christ for the perform ance o f this m inistry over and against the congregation (Trim p, 1982:118).
O thers discern the typical character o f the official m inistry in the church as the service o f some for the sake o f all the others.Expressed differently, this m eans that the official ministry o f the church has arisen from its obligation to equip, to care for and to give guidance to all the m inistries in the church.The official ministry should ensure that all believers have the opportunity/possibility to serve in the body and that those things that hinder or impede the service o f the believers are eliminated (Versteeg, 1988:49).
It m ust be pointed out that while some o f the other services in a congregation could also function as a group for the good o f the whole congregation, their service competence rem ains limited to the service they render.In contrast, one o f the characteristic features o f the official m inistry is that its service com petence affects all the other services in the congregation.

Functionalízatíon and horízontalízation
Functionalization and horizontalization form another area in which questions with regard to the offices are being asked in contemporary discussions.
W hen considering an office in a functionahstic sense, the question is not so much whether the office should be perform ing a definite service, but rather what the service to be rendered imphes.
In contrast, in a horizontahstic consideration, the service o f the congregation is mainly directed at its fellowmen and thus it merely merges into a kind o f fellow ship (Trim p, 1982:116-117).
In the context o f these two approaches the congregation is fi-equently known as the bearer o f all G od's intentions for the world.The peace (shalom is preferred) o f the Kingdom o f God m ust be dem onstrated by the congregation in and to the world.This demonstration o f peace is m anifested when the diaconal service o f the church makes itself effective by different forms o f fellowship in society.This diaconate can extend from personal aid-rendering for common cares to socio-political involvement in the struggle against enslaving structures.Official ministries in the church, with their special commission, are not necessarily needed for this type o f service-rendering.M ore suitable are innovative and creative leaders who can mobilize the "volunteer legion" (Trim p, 1988:238).As a result o f this process the church merely becomes an institution for national spiritual health needing nothing more than a num ber o f disconnected functionaries who can render aid to mankind by virtue o f their expertise (Trim p, 1982:116-117).In this horizontal understanding o f the task o f the congregation /church the emphasis does not lie on C hrist equipping His congregation through office bearers to establish faith and love, but the focus is on the congregation offering volunteers to the world for the liberation o f mankind.This approach often results in the ministry o f the W ord ultimately fading into the background (Trim p, 1982:238-239).
Reformed theology m ust be certain o f the function and purpose o f offices in the church.
Versteeg believes that offices in the church are necessary because the charism atic structure o f the congregation is not autom atically present and in die Skrijlig 29(3) 1995:371-393 does not function autom atically (Versteeg, 1990:23;Ridderbos, 1966: 497).The indicative o f the charism ata does exist for the congregation: C hrist has bestowed the gifts.The imperative attached to these gifts is, however, not alw ays as evident in the life o f the congregation as it should be.Ephesians 4:11, 12 states that Christ has equipped the believers for service and for building up His body, so that ultim ately we will all come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge o f God.Verse 15 urges us all to grow up into Christ.Believers, however, need support in this process because false teachers continually attem pt to lead believers astray by their false doctrine.Through His gifts G od has given aid specifically for this purpose.
According to Ephesians 4:12 it was the task o f the apostles, prophets, evangelists and the pastors and teachers (the offices in the early church?) to equip the believers for their service and for building up the body o f C hrist.Different opinions exist whether this verse mentions three functions (equipment, service and building up), two functions (equipment and building up) or only one function o f the offices.Nevertheless, it can be accepted that Ephesians 4:12 refers to only one function o f the offices, nam ely the equipment o f the believers.Only such an explanation is in accordance with verse 16, where the building up o f the body is seen as a fiinction o f the whole body (Versteeg, 1990: 26).The offices are given by C hrist to equip the believers so that they can render their service with the gifts which they have received, in this w ay building up the body o f Christ.
Ephesians 4:16 also offers a special perspective on the function o f the office with regard to the church as the body o f Jesus Christ, the Head.
Through a substantial etymological and sem antic investigation, Versteeg arrives at the conclusion that the Dutch geledingen and voegselen should be translated ju stly and accurately as jo in ts.
It is accepted that the haphe (joints), mentioned in Ephesian 4:16, denote the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers mentioned in verse 11 -the offices in the church.According to Ephesians 4:16, the service o f the offices thus implies to be the joints o f the body.
Haphe, a concept from the medical world o f that time, not only denotes connecting links between the different parts o f the body but also implies supply or channel routes for food to the different p arts o f the body.As a result o f the service o f the haphes, the whole body is knitted together into a unity.At the same time the haphes are also channels by means o f which the body is provided with food (Versteeg, 1990:24;Roberts, 1963:158 f).Versteeg points out that reference to both these functions o f haphe are present in Ephesians 4:16.On the one hand the unity o f the body created by the service o f the joints is referred to when the author o f the letter to the Ephesians states that the different parts o f the body fit together.On the other hand, it is stated that when every part o f the body ftilfils its function, the body builds up itself in love -the food is able to reach all the parts o f the body by means o f the supply channel.This dual function induces Versteeg to see the service o f the offices in the church as co-ordinating (linking together) and stim ulating (supplying food) (Versteeg, 1990:25).While it is possible for the different charism ata in a congregation to surpass or even to counteract one another, the joints can prevent this: they join the parts o f the body to form a unity.Van Ruler refers to the offices in the church as "ambtelijke gebinte" ('official ties') o f the church (Van Ruler, 1952:55, Versteeg, 1990:24-25).At the same time, the different charism ata in the congregation need to be be stimulated (nourished) continuously.The body does not grow on its own.The offices must provide the congregation with the necessary nourishment.W hen the members o f the congregation are equipped, stimulated and nourished, all the members o f the body can fulfil their functions; the body o f Christ will build up itself in love; and it will grow tow ards Christ the Head (Versteeg, 1990:25).Versteeg believes that there is an order o f precedence in the function o f the offices.According to him, the co-ordinating function o f the joints is to nourish the body and not the other way round.Ephesians 4 raises the need for the nourishm ent and the growth o f the body, the growth tow ards Jesus C hrist, and the growth to attain the m easure o f the fiillness o f Jesus Christ.This need thus actually becomes the focal point o f the service work o f the offices.In a certain sense one could speak o f the 'curiological' service that the offices have in respect o f the other members o f the body o f Jesus Christ.
Summing up, we can say that Ephesians 4:12 and 16 give us a general description o f the purpose and function o f all offices in the church.It is the task o f every office in the church to equip the believers to render their service, to nurture themselves for it and to co-ordinate themselves into a unity as the body o f the Lx)rd Jesus.By means o f this process, the deeply devoted behevers, both as individuals and as a body, become as perfect and as m ature as Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 4:12, 16 indicates that the functions o f offices in the church imply the equipment, nourishm ent and binding together o f the congregation so that they can achieve the m easure o f the fullness o f C hrist.These Scripturally interpreted tasks o f the offices in general, and o f certain offices in particular in the course o f the churchs' history, must find a form under definite circum stances (either social, political, geographical or otherwise).The tasks, as such, fundamentally belong to the existence o f the church o f Christ.The form s they assum e vary from time to time and according to the exigencies o f circum stances.A given church therefore should find the best form o f expression to perform the functions that Christ has commanded the offices.There is alw ays the danger that a church will put its own form on a p ar with Scripture.C hurch polity and church government therefore should alw ays be theologically attuned to and critical o f the functioning form s devised and im plem ented in a particular time.
In conclusion.Reformed theology is not concerned merely with whether certain functions are being perform ed in the church.O f equal importance is the question; by whom and for what purpose are those fiinctions perform ed in the church?There is such a thing as a basic order f o r the church that m ust be kept in mind and which must be obeyed.Furtherm ore, these fiinctions do not only entail aid to m ankind by virtue o f certain expertise.Offices in the church are prim arily there to serve Jesus C hrist and His rule in the life o f His followers: this means equipping the members o f His body so that they can render service and come to the fullness o f Christ where He is everything in everybody.

Charisma and office
There are individuals who operate from a spiritualistic point o f view in which they contrast charism a and institution when they reflect on the offices o f the church.They cannot accept a theological justification for office in the church and regard an institution as inferior to the work o f the Holy Spirit.According to these people the Holy Spirit turns m an's face to God with the result that m an's back is turned on the banalities o f humanity.
From this point o f departure there can be no Biblicaltheological justification for an oflFice in the church.As a hum an society, the church necessarily requires leaders and therefore one finds leaders in the church.This is not a Biblical necessity but because people spontaneously come to the fore by virtue o f free charisma.According to Trim p, one finds these protests against offices as a Biblical imperative in certain utterances o f the M ethodism, in many forms o f the so-called evangelical Christiandom, in Congregationalism, as well as in certain forms o f Independentism (Trimp, 1982:116).
In the life o f the believers, both in the church and in His Kingdom, the one grace (charis) o f God, through the all-powerfiil working o f the Holy Spirit leads to a variety o f actions/functions and qualifications or charism ata and services, as they are called inter alia by Paul ( c f Lom bard, 1976:43, 46).All these actions, functions and qualifications are designed/given to equip and build up the congregation so that it can attain the full greatness o f Christ.This building up is a continuous process and concerns the individual believer.It, however, also concerns the church.As a unity, the church m ust grow to perfection and must reveal in its existence the fiillness o f the grace it possesses in Christ.
Service is the typical way in which gifts function in the congregation.Charism ata can hence also be seen as service in the church -in fact it is in its service character that the destination and criterion o f charism ata lie (cf. 1 Peter 4:10,11).Thus the charism ata/services should alw ays focus on the glorification o f God in Christ as its ultimate aim ( c f Ephesians 4:12; I Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16, 17).These charism ata/services in the church are not in contrast to the so-called institutionality o f the church.On the contrary, the charism ata incline tow ards the institutional.Throughout the New Testam ent there is clear evidence o f the stability, the orderliness and progress, i.e. the institutionality o f certain services and charism ata in the church.The concept o f service already carries the meaning o f a particular activity perform ed by particular persons.
It is not strange that beside the charism ata o f m anagement reference is also made to leaders in the church ( c f 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Romans 12:8).Similarly the charism ata are not only spoken o f as powers but also as definite persons ( c f 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11).All these references indicate that the charism ata are not given to the church on a here-and-now basis only but that a certain stability in structure and a way o f fiinctioning form part o f the charism ata which the Holy Spirit bestow s on the church (Ridderbos, 1966:492-499).
W hen considering the requirem ents for elders, it would seem that preference for this service should be given to those church members who are particularly gifted in the areas o f managem ent, leadership, teaching and the ability to preach the W ord.This does not necessarily imply a tension/distinction between the official ministry and other services in the church.The nature o f the official m inistry can be as charism atic as these other offices/services in the church.W hen writing his Pastoral letters, the latest o f his letters, Paul paid more attention to official ministries.This fact m ust be seen against the background o f the recipients o f these letters, who were attem pting to consolidate themselves into congregations based on the teaching o f the apostolic tradition and doctrine.To do this effectively, they needed those charism ata which Paul had indicated were basic and indispensable to the office o f the presbyter-episkopos, namely the gift o f managem ent, the ability to teach, the ability to discern false fi'om true doctrine and to have a lifestyle that w as acceptable to outsiders ( c f 1 Tm .3) Paul thus entrusted to the office o f elder the care and supervision o f the congregations so that these aspects would continue to be well-managed and cared for even should the apostles and their assistants no longer be there (R idderbos, 1966:513).
In Reformed theology we can indeed say that official m inistry is founded in the gifts (the charism ata) that Jesus C hrist gave to His church.By implication not only m ust the offices in the church serve with the charism ata that have been given to them, but the church must also constantly ensure that each and every office bearer in the church is indeed a m an/w om an o f G od (1 Tm. 6:11).

Authority
One o f the biggest problem s which the office o f the church has to face in our day is the challenge to its authority posed by the process o f secularization.The status and authority originally bestowed on the offices clash with the m odem view on authority.M odem m an has reached so-called maturity.He upholds a democratic concept o f authority which, essentially conflicts with the Biblical concept o f authority despite apparent resemblances.This diflFerence has far-reaching consequences concerning both the foundations and the nature o f ministerial authority in the church.Consequently, it leads to all sorts o f problem s and tensions regarding the offices (Jonker, 1970:16).In the past, the authority o f the offices in the church w as generally accepted, especially the authority o f the pastor, but the process o f dem ocratization has changed this.The authority o f religious leaders is being challenged and their authority is no longer accepted without question.The ordinary members o f the congregation claim that they also have gifts and a ministry to perform; it is not only the offices in the church which have authority.It is also argued that the offices receive their authority in a democratic way from the members o f the church: they are therefore responsible to the church com m unity for the way in which they exercise their authority (L.M. Heyns, 1993:359).
There are also those who think that the way in which the authority o f the offices is exercised, in reality contradicts the image o f servant figure which the Bible ascribes to offices.They therefore argue that offices in the church should only serve and not be authoritative positions at all.Quite apart from the above viewpoints on the authority o f the offices is the position held by Rome, which asserts that the authority o f the office clings to the person o f the office bearer.The office bearer receives this authority through the sacram ent o f ordination (sacram entum ordinis); thus in person becom ing a representative o f Christ (Hendriks, 1990:88 f).
Then there is also the view o f those like W . Zijistra, for wiiom the authority o f the office rests with the attitude and communicative ability o f the office bearer.This viewpoint eventually leads to an experience o f liberation and revelation for the counselee (A.N.Hendriks, 1990:103-109).
These differing viewpoints all challenge Reformed theology to be very sure o f w hat it believes regarding the authority o f the offices in the church.
Reformed theology has alw ays m aintained that the authority o f the offices in the church can only be exercised to the extent to which they are bound to the service o f the W ord o f God.It is not an authority that is given to the office bearer as a person: authority accom panies the service o f the W ord o f God.For this reason the authority o f the office bearers in the church alw ays has a service character.The office bearer has authority, not because he is in a specific office, but because as an office bearer he brings the W ord o f God, and as such, is a instrum ent in the hand o f the Holy Spirit (Hendriks, 1990:84 f).This m eans that an office bearer has no authority i f he does not minister the W ord o f G od to His congregation.This unique authority o f the office bearer in ministering the W ord is m anifested inter alia in the authority to give peace to or to take it from a house; to give guidance to a congregation from the W ord; to preach the W ord; to lead in the practice o f church discipline; and to co-ordinate, nourish and thus build up the congregation (Van Bruggen, 1984:37 etc.).Thus the ministerial service is also a service over and against the other services in the church (Versteeg, 1988:49).In this respect mention should be made o f what Brockhaus term s "das rechtliche Element" (the judicial element) as characteristic o f the m inisterial service (Brockhaus, 1987:25).It also means that this service alw ays has to be coupled with an authoritative supervisory function.
Responsibility has to be accepted for the growth o f the congregation tow ards C hrist while at the sam e time adhering to the truth in love.
W hile Reformed theology cannot accept that the offices in the church are responsible to the congregation for their actions, it has alw ays accepted the right o f the congregation to judge the actions o f the office in the light o f Scripture.The congregation's role is thus not one o f unconditional obedience, but rather one which continually tests the actions o f the offices against what A.N. Hendriks calls the M agna C arta o f the offices: the W ord o f God.In this way both the offices and the congregation must serve the authority o f Jesus C hrist in His C hurch (A.N.Hendriks, 1990:85-86).

. C onclusion
Perhaps there is validity in the questions raised during the last few decades about the vitality o f Reformed theology and its practices regarding the offices in the church.This might be the reason why Reformed theology has been attacked from so m any different angles.These questions must be taken seriously, and Reformed theology m ust face its responsibility to ensure that its answers are well-grounded and theologically legitimate.
Part o f the problem might lie in the fact that some people who held certain view s' regarding the offices and their functioning, have not allowed their opinion to be subjected to theological criticism.Thus a church's concept o f its offices can become rigidly hierarchical, democratic, bureaucratic, sacram entalistic or spiritualistic.Entrapped by such rigidity, it is easy for a church to be robbed o f its vitality as the church o f Jesus Christ.
Similarly, other fixed views can have a negative influence on a particular office concept and office fiinctioning.For instance, all sorts o f claims made by m odem secular, democratic and sociological views can challenge the church's position.O f course this does not mean that Reformed theology and church practice m ust not take note o f w hat is going on in other sciences or that the results in these fields cannot be o f use.Before these results, however, can be incorporated into the church, they m ust be carefiilly scrutinized, using theological methods.
M aintaining/ensuring the vitality o f Reformed theology, and particularly its view o f the offices, will require that both church and theology remain vigilant in their assessm ent o f their own view o f the offices and o f the way in which these offices function in practice.It will also mean that they m ust be open/willing to continually assess the validity o f those questions raised and the proposals made regarding the offices in the church.
In addition to all this.Reformed theology m ust meet the challenge both to practise a theology and to ensure its implementation in the offices o f the church in such a way that it is consistent with the basic principles o f Reformed theology.

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Paper delivered at the International Theological Congress: "The Vitality of Reformed Theology", 20-24 June 1994, held at Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands.Financial support by the Centre for Science Development (HSRC South Africa) to attend the Congress is hereby acknowledged.
L a y people in the Church, a Study f o r a Theology o f the L a ity (1952) by Yves C ongar, A Theology o f the L a ity (1958) by Hendrik K raem er and A Theology o f P ersonal M inistry.Spiritual G iftedness in the L o ca l Church (1981) by L.O.R ichards and G ib M artin.
fundamental m otivation underlying the fact o f offices in the church com es from the W ord o f Jesus Christ H im self He is the One w ho served to the utm ost and who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, still calls and appoints His servants to render service to His flock.The service o f Christ is therefore o f fundamental and decisive importance for the service and office o f His church(Van Genderen & Velema, 1992:664; Trim p,  1988:240).

Offices in the church: contemporary questions and suggestions (proposals) 374 In die Skriflig 29(3) 1995:371-393
This raises the question whether the above interpretation is indeed what the Bible teaches on the origin o f the office. 1 C orinthians 12:28 refers to people to whom God has given a particular task.Ephesians 4:11 refers to the gifts o f apostles, prophets, evangelists, ministers and teachers which C hrist gave to equip the believers for service.In A cts 20:28 Paul warns the elders o f Ephesus; "Keep w atch over yourselves and over all the flock o f which the Holy Spirit has given you charge" .Peter writes to the elders about those "whom God has entrusted to you" .All these pronouncements are too explicit to enable one to adm it that the offices are merely the result o f an historical development.This is indeed G od's order for His church.It is part o f the way that God used to fill everything with the presence o f C hrist (Ephesians 3:19; 4:10).It has already been said that the special office has originated from the deed and gift o f the Holy Trinity (Van ANON. 1982.Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry.Faith and Order Paper no.  111.Geneva : World Council o f Churches.BERKHOF, H. 1970.Wat is er aan de hand met het ambt?Studierapport over het ambt, aangeboden door de generale synode van de Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk, krachtens besluit van haar vergadering van 18 Febniarie 1969.'s Gravenhage ; Boekencentrum N.V.