Ministerium Okays Revised Rules of the Ordered Ministry

The revised Rules must be approved by delegates at this week's Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church before they become a working document.

"The ministerium couldn't amend it (the revised Rules), we could only say Yes or No," said Brad Boydston, pastor of Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock, California. "Regional and conference annual meetings addressed some issues and some minor changes had been made. We realized what the limits were at this level."

Later in the meeting, Evangelical Covenant Church President Glenn R. Palmberg addressed the ministerium and discussed the recent changes in the denomination's Department of World Mission. Palmberg and Curt Peterson, chair of the ECC Executive Board, will discuss the same topic in further detail during the Wednesday morning business session of the Annual Meeting. But the 30 minutes of discussion at the ministerium level was helpful to some who wondered about the sudden departure of World Mission's Executive Minister Jim Gustafson in May.

"I think it was important for people to know what was going on," said Randall Wilkens of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Lafayette, Indiana. "And I'm glad that he didn't avoid the questions, but gave a sensitive answer."

In other business meeting news:

• The Covenant ministerium adopted a new constitution and bylaws in order to bring its operation into compliance with the new constitution and bylaws for the Covenant.
• Boydston was named the new president of the Ministerium while Carol Roth was named vice president and Lyle Heinitz was named secretary.
• All ordinands and commissioned staff ministers were approved by the ministerium.

Don Njaa, longtime pastor and the denomination's Executive Director of the Ministry for 14 years, was the guest speaker during Tuesday evening's Ministerium service. He used I Timothy 4 to encourage pastors and ministerial staff members to live lives of integrity, both for their own sake and for the sake of those who they ministered to.

Njaa began his sermon by urging pastors to "look the part," discussing why he counseled pastors to wear ties instead of jeans, t-shirts and running shoes. He then urged his audience to look the part in their way of life, using his biblical text to discuss how one's care of self plays into the ministry picture.

Using the early part of the I Timothy text to illustrate his point, Njaa stated that money, sex and power are gifts from God to be enjoyed. However, he cautioned, "Everything God created is good, but some things need to be handled like explosives...because what is good can kill you."

Njaa reminded pastors to take care of their physical bodies, stating, "You taught me really well that ministers don't live a balanced life." He closed by stating that congregations are watching how we act towards self and others.

"How you live might be more important than what you say," Njaa stated.

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