An issue closely related to when the people should vote is tenure of office. How long should the term be for a pastor? How long should deacons serve? The Bible does not address these and related questions, but the biblical flow of authority and the respective roles of the ministry officers support the practical insights offered in this section. Healthy churches are proving these principles work. Unhealthy churches are proving how badly they are needed.
Many congregations need to change their thinking on pastor tenure. They cultivate frequent turnovers with their short term limits and reelection requirements. Their purpose should be to find and keep God’s choice as shepherd. The initial term of office should be long enough to allow him to prove his love and begin to implement the vision God has given. We have told pastors it will take several years to solidify their position in the hearts of the people.⁵² Their first term has to be long enough to allow it. Subsequent terms should be longer. A revolving door for the parsonage suggests God’s will is not the church’s priority.
On the other hand, many pastors need to change their philosophy of ministry if it does not call for long term commitment. The man or woman of God should approach every assignment with an expectation or, at least, willingness to stay there for a lifetime. Pastors with two to three year patterns of longevity do not have the accumulated total of their ministry years as real experience. They have two or three years of experience repeated.
Sometimes it shows. When they cycle to the end of their typical tenure, they also reach the end of their outlines and developed resources. It is easy then to begin to think God may be leading them elsewhere. Pastor, resist the temptation until you know God, not expediency, is speaking. Seek God for new and relevant insights, His voice for your people today. It continuously will be your best material and, if God does send you somewhere else, it will be the first you want to share.
The Bible gives no guideline for how long deacons should serve. The two tracked after their selection in Acts 6, Stephen and Philip, soon moved on to become evangelists,⁵³ miracle-workers,⁵⁴ and, in the case of Stephen, a martyr.⁵⁵ There is a job not many would rush to fill.
The Acts accounts demonstrate the limitless potential of God-called servants. God can do anything He wants with a person full of faith and the Holy Spirit, but the experiences of Stephen and Philip do not suggest how long an individual should be a deacon. As a practical, healthy church mechanism, it is wise to have a rotation on the church board.
Deacons are called and gifted for service and that needs to be evident. They can be fruitful for a lifetime, but caution is in order that no individual take ownership of the position. There is no divine right for deacon, and even godly individuals entrenched become a problem rather than an answer for the church.
The constitution and bylaws of every church need to require deacons periodically to sit out of office for a specified time. The most common pattern seems to be two three-year terms then a rotation off the board for at least one year. A full term out of office probably would be better but may not be practical in smaller congregations. Whatever the length, there needs to be a specified time and distance with provision for someone else to come onto the board.
Some churches have implemented a system which rotates oversight of finances but allows deacons to continue serving without interruption. They have a 12-member deacon board but a three-person official board which deals with church finances and administrative matters. Deacons in this system may serve indefinitely, doing the work of deacons but not dealing with money matters or setting salaries.
The deacons select from their ranks the three members of the official board. These three may not succeed themselves. The official board rotates membership in order to stay fresh and to assure that no individual maintains control of church finances.
These practical measures all are designed to allow good deacons to fulfill their ministries without holding the purse strings too long. A healthy system will keep them in ministry not money.