In our Episcopal polity it is the vestry which exercises the ultimate authority in matters legal and fiscal. And the vestry also works closely with the rector who exercises the ultimate authority at the parochial level in matters theological and liturgical. Of course, it is the bishop, who at the diocesan level, exercises the ultimate authority in matters theological and liturgical. Thus we have layers of authority, spheres of decision. When, as is the case with St Andrew's, we have a truly affectionate and supportive and collaborative relationship between vestry, rector and bishop it is the best of all worlds. When the right people are in the right positions and all are pulling in the right direction together, amazing things happen. Not much of any good can happen when there is a tug of war going on with people trying their very hardest to pull the parish in different directions.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3)
Thankfully, at St Andrew's there is a profound sense of unity, and a deep agreement about the right direction to be headed. We know who we are. We always have.
It is good to be reminded that all those serving either on the vestry or the associate vestry subscribe to a simple but significant little theological credo which is the following:
I believe the Holy Scriptures to be the written and inspired word of God. By faith, I accept Jesus Christ as God incarnate, the Lord by whose name all must be saved, and my personal savior. I believe he rose bodily from the grave on the third day. I pledge to promote and adhere to the Doctrine, Discipline and Worship of historic Anglicanism and St. Andrew’s Parish as represented by the thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the historic Prayer Book tradition.
We are classic Evangelical Anglicans in the historic sense and the matter is non-negotiable.
We also expect those who aspire to serve in leadership to have made a self-sacrificial commitment to the parish in terms of the stewardship of their time, treasure and talent. One must be a pledger of record for at least two years even to be considered. This matter rather concretely separates the seriously committed from the less than serious. Leadership is no place for pretenders and poseurs.
And finally and most importantly, we are looking for people who have submitted their lives and their worlds to the lordship of another. In answer to the question, "Who is really in control here?" they would unhesitatingly answer "Not me, but the Lord." And as such, people who recognize another as the lord of their lives, their approach to leadership is quite different than those who fancy themselves the masters of their own destinies.
Henry and Richard Blackaby put the matter very well in their interesting book entitled Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda "Too often, people assume that along with the role of leader comes the responsibility of determining what should be done. They develop aggressive goals. They dream grandiose dreams. They cast grand visions. Then they pray and ask God to join them in their agenda and to bless their efforts. That's not what spiritual leaders do. Spiritual leaders seek God's will, whether it is for their church or for their corporation, and then they marshal their people to pursue God's plan. (p.23)."
We are to be people of prayer seeking to do the will of another, of God.