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Article 17 is the Church Order’s prescribed mechanism for ending a pastor’s call to a specific church without ending the pastor’s call to ordained ministry. And while there are many reasons why a church or pastor might request an Article 17 (leaving to study for a PhD, moving to accommodate a spouse’s professional calling, stepping back to care for an aging parent), the fact is that most Article 17 separations arise due to tension or conflict in the relationship between the pastor and the church.
The Article 17 process, as laid out in the Church Order, is designed to facilitate the end of a pastor’s call to a church, but to do so only after the pastor, church and classis have made a sincere effort to understand and address the dynamics that contributed to this present challenge. Because these dynamics can sometimes be relationally delicate, it is critical to engage the Article 17 process well, with clear direction and with compassion for all involved.
Each step on these pages includes information to walk a pastor, a council, and a classis through the process of discerning, averting, or facilitating a pastor’s release from call.
Read An Introduction to Article 17 »
Read the Full Text of Church Order Article 17 »
Note: Copies of this agreement should be given to the pastor, the council, the classis, and the Thrive office.
Note: Synod 2010 adopted an amendment to the above regulation. “This package may not apply in every circumstance of separation such as when a pastor leaves for purely personal reasons” (Acts of Synod 2010, p. 916).
Note: Synod 2010 adopted an amendment to the above regulation. “This package may not apply in every circumstance of separation such as when a pastor leaves for purely personal reasons.” (Acts of Synod 2010, p. 916).
Update the Pastor Profile if relocation becomes necessary.
Inform the regional pastor, congregation, and classis of his/her presence in the new region if the pastor moves to another region.
(Acts of Synod 2003, pp. 623-24)
Note: Councils and classes should take note of the regulations regarding “release from ministerial service” adopted by Synod 1998 (see Acts of Synod 1998, pp. 392-96) and as amended by Synod 2010 (see Acts of Synod 2010, pp. 915-16).
The minister shall participate in the evaluation and assistance process as follows:
Supplement, Article 17-a
Provisions regulating release from ministerial service in a congregation.
If a classis decides a released minister needs evaluation and assistance before accepting another call, it shall specify at the time of release what is required before the minister is declared eligible for call.
The classis shall appoint an oversight committee of no fewer than three persons to plan and monitor an evaluation of readiness for the ministry that focuses on professional competence and personal/ emotional status. An evaluator or evaluators mutually agreed upon by the classis and the oversight committee shall conduct the evaluation. (Pastor Church Resources is able to recommend appropriate evaluators.) Classis shall determine who is responsible for any costs of evaluation or stipulated personal counseling.
The committee, composed of both laity and clergy, may include one council member of the congregation involved in the separation.
The committee, in consultation with the interim committee of classis, shall develop specific expectations for the minister and shall monitor progress toward established goals. The issues addressed shall be determined by concerns raised by the council and the classis in collaboration with the minister.
The committee shall present a progress report at each regularly scheduled classis meeting.
After it has received the report of the evaluator(s), the committee shall make a recommendation to classis regarding the minister’s eligibility for call.
The minister shall participate in the evaluation and assistance process as follows:
The minister shall consent to the release of a detailed report, with recommendations, from the evaluator(s) to the oversight committee.
Based upon the recommendation of its oversight committee, the classis shall make the final decision concerning the minister’s readiness to be declared eligible for call.
If the classis does not declare the minister eligible for call, it shall, with the concurrence of the synodical deputies, release the minister from office.
With the approval of classis, a minister who has been released from service in a congregation may transfer his/her membership and ministerial credentials to a neighboring council within the classis during the evaluation process. If classis declares the minister eligible for call, the council that holds the minister’s credentials shall publicize the minister’s availability.
With the approval of classis, a minister who has been released from service in a congregation may transfer his/her membership and ministerial credentials to a council in another classis after the classis in which the separation occurred declares the minister eligible for call. The council that holds the minister’s credentials shall publicize the minister’s availability.
If a classis decides a congregation that has been separated from its minister needs a time of evaluation and assistance before extending another call, it shall specify at the time of separation what is required before the congregation calls another minister.
The classis shall appoint an oversight committee composed of the council’s classical counselor and at least two other persons to plan and monitor the evaluation process.
In conjunction with the church council, the committee shall secure interim pastoral leadership, preferably a specialized interim pastor, and set goals. (Pastor Church Resources is able to assist with securing pastoral leadership.)
The committee shall present a progress report at each regularly scheduled classis meeting.
Based upon the recommendation of its oversight committee, the classis shall make the final decision concerning the congregation’s readiness to extend a call.
(Acts of Synod 2003, pp. 623-24)
Note: Councils and classes should take note of the regulations regarding “release from ministerial service” adopted by Synod 1998 (see Acts of Synod 1998, pp. 392-96) and as amended by Synod 2010 (see Acts of Synod 2010, pp. 915-16).