“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” – Paul, the Apostle
After two months of leader nominations, prayer, conversations, a town hall meeting, affirmation ballots, and more prayer, our 2026 elder selection process has come to its conclusion. The results will be announced during our Sunday morning service and I’m eager and curious, to say the least, about who we have affirmed as a congregation.
As a pastor, I’ve been reflecting on the reality that our congregation is not of one mind concerning the gifts that are given to God’s people, with some of us holding to an egalitarian understanding of gender and leadership and some of us holding to a complementarian understanding. This is not the only theological question about which we hold diverging convictions, but it’s one we feel keenly during our elder selection process. So how are we to be community when some of us are pleased and some of us displeased with the results of the same elder selection process?
As I think of this moment, I’m drawn to the last part of Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he addresses some tensions between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus who are trying to do life together as Christians. Before that discussion in chapters 14-15, Paul lays out some important practical exhortations in Romans 12:9-16:
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer… Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.”
What do you think of Paul’s exhortation to “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn?” Is that possible for us to do simultaneously at this moment? Can we be happy that someone else is happy even when it goes against our conviction? I am willing to say this—I will continue to try to better understand those who don’t agree with me, though I am not neutral on the theme of gender and leadership in the church.
A few exhortations for us going forward. If you’re pleased with the elder selection results, it’s fine to be grateful, but it’s not okay to gloat. If you’re not pleased with the results, it’s fine to feel disappointment, but it’s not okay to grumble. We would all do well to remember that our convictions are fallible, subject to our own limited perspectives, and can change over time. Within our own biological families, we spend time each holiday with family members who don’t share our voting habits, ideological commitments, or theological understandings. We still find ways to love them. May we do the same for one another. Finally, please pray for the new team of elders. They desire and appreciate our prayers. Thank you for participating in the elder selection process.
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