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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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V is obligatory upfc > n the highest amongst us . It implies , that the terms high and low are not known in a Christian
Church : but he is to be the highest esteemed who has the most of our Saviour ' s spirit , and ia ready at all times and in every way to be useful to his brethren .
Elders were originally appointed by shew of hands ; but as Christians swerved from the principles of the gospel , this practice degenerated into licentiousness ; and at last the committee itself waa in consequence set aside , and a new set of men , with new
pretensions , took their p lace , exercising lordship over their brethren , and acting by the principles of the world , not those of Christ . But the abuse of a practice is not an argument against its use . In a true Christian
Church , turbulence could not have existed ; and when it begins to appear in any union of Christians , it is a signal for the true Christian to depart from such an association . In these days a
Christian Church will elect its committee of elders by shew of hands or ballot , as one or other may in its judgment be the most expedient , and a diversity of practice in such matters is not of any consequence .
The duration of the committee seems aptly to terminate with the year from its election , and at the annual general meeting of the church the new committee might be elected . In this case it might be found expedient , that one-third of the committee which
had vacated , should not be eligible into the new committee : and the selection of this third might be left to the committee to decide previously to the day of election . The history of Christians points out the necessity of care in this respect , that the committee of elders should neither be nor be suspected of
being led by a worldly spirit . By being intimately united with the church , the Christian spirit will be more nourished : and he who has been frequently in both capacities , that of an elder " and of a private member , will be more capable of instructing others in the duties of both offices . For this reason
might be expedient , that at every election some should be elected who had never been on the committee : thug , if the number waa twelve , two might be always taken frorti the bddy ; * f a less number , one : if the committee
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consisted only of five , one wte © had never been in the committee should be elected into i it once In t # o years . It might seem needless to make the above remarks ; but a due consideration of the relation of a church to its eom ^
mittee will shew , that the real interests of all are thus best consulted , by the introduction of one or more new mem ^ bers into the body of elders . The committee for * the ensuing year having been appointed by the church , its first business would be , if necessary ^
to elect the president or bishop : but as this office might be holden lor two or three years , it would only occur occasionally to elect the officer . The confirmation , however , of the bishop in his office each year , during the time that be might hold it , might be useful ; and if he was not confirmed , the
committee would go to a new election . But the history of past times will be a sufficient guard to every Christian church against the holding of the office of a bishop for more than three years . At the end of this time , a new one would be necessarily elected ; a former one being re ^ eligible after he had been two years out of office .
The character required by the apostle of bishops and elders , points out the nature of the business in which the committee will be engaged . The care of the church is vested in them : they are its overseers , not its lords : and if the Christian temper ha 9 been duly formed in them , whilst they were
private members , they will not swerve easily from it in the exercise of their office . They will regulate the meetings of the church for public worship ; appointing proper persons for the conduct of it , and the reading of the Scriptures , and the delivery of suitable admonitions from them . This mav
be settled before each meeting , so that a member should not be embarrassed by being called upon to take any part of the service . Of course the committee would exercise ita judgment in the bringing forward of the younger members , and adapting every one to
the service for which he appears to be best qualified : for gifts may be very differently diffused among the community ; and as no one will display any for ostentation , so It will be thfc employment of the committee tb see that the talents of no individual should be entirely kept out of sight and toatt
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Oh theCansti hit ion of a Chrirtiad Church , 39 ?
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VOL , . XVI . 3 F
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1821, page 397, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2502/page/17/
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