Church of God Administrative Bishops should be Pastors?

At the 2012 General Assembly of the Church of God I offered a motion relative to the qualifications of Administrative Bishops.

That we amend page 100, S21. STATE OVERSEERS, II. Qualifications, by adding the following as paragraph 6:

6. Must have at least 10 years experience as a local church pastor (This motion will not affect those under current appointment).

The motion was referred to committee and eventually fell into a black hole. I am happy to see a version of that motion on the agenda for the 2018 General Assembly:

Item XIX

That page 124, S32. STATE OVERSEERS, II. Qualifications—be amended by adding the following as item 6:
6. Have served as the senior/lead pastor of a local church congregation for a minimum of five years or after having been elected to an international position. Any exceptions can be made by the International Executive Committee.

I support this motion for the following reasons:

First, the biblical office of bishop is a pastoral office. Bishops are shepherds who are charged with soul care. The apostle Paul gives us the paradigm for the office of bishop: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). The motif of leader as shepherd is prevalent throughout the ancient world and a favorite in the Holy Scriptures (Psalm 23; John 10:11-12; 21:15-17). Following the biblical model of shepherd, the bishop offers guidance, care, nourishment, and protection to the church. There is an implied functional relationship between the words “bishop” and “shepherd.” This suggests that the shepherding ministry of bishop is to reflect, and even represent, Christ who is the “Chief Shepherd” of the church” (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4).  My point is that the concept of the office of bishop as primarily administrative is alien to the New Testament. (Click here for a detailed exposition of the office of bishop).

Second, I support the motion out of a concern for a practice in our church – that of appointing State/Regional Bishops who have “little to no” pastoral experience. Many of our Regional Bishops are being appointed from the ranks of state youth directors or denominational administrators. We have developed a leadership culture – an ecclesiastical bureaucracy known as “the system” – that has very little relationship with the local church and local church pastor. Our leadership culture has dismissed pastoral ministry as relatively insignificant in the leadership paradigm. If one aspires to the office of administrative bishop, serving a long tenure as pastor is not a leadership track. Rather, serving in the denominational or regional offices is the preferred track. Often such persons have little or no experience in the regular preaching and care of the people of God.

Third, the State Overseers Qualifications Report issued to the 2014 General Assembly confesses that the office of administrative bishop “has become a managerial role in many respects.” An administrative bishop once told me that his office was becoming the equivalent of a director of business and records. The report presents the need to “return to an apostolic role where mentoring, coaching, and church planting is part of the vision and mission of the office.”  If we are going to “return to an apostolic role” then it would seem that several years in the pastorate would be a primary qualification for a person who is to be appointed as bishop of churches and pastors. If administrative bishops are appointed who have served as pastors with the proven gifts of administration and leadership, then the office of administrative bishop will reflect the pastor’s heart and will better reflect apostolic vision and passion.

According to our polity, the only prequalifier for the office of state/regional administrative bishop is to be an “ordained bishop.” A former general overseer once told me that “the only qualification for state overseer in the Church of God is three votes from the executive committee.” I suggest the Biblical prequalifiers are where we should begin – integrity, familial fidelity, honorable, beneficent, temperate, educated, and experienced (1 Timothy 3:1ff). Several years as an effective local church pastor should be the proving grounds for state/regional bishops.

I intend to move to amend the motion by striking the last sentence because it makes the whole motion void. Also, I would like to see prospective administrative bishops have more than 5 years of pastoral experience. But this is a good start.