Christ the King, Edmonton – Anglican Network in Canada
Rector’s Profile02.01.14
Summary
There is a strong element of idealism involved in drafting a rector’s profile. What parish does not desire a profound preacher and teacher of God’s word, one who is also an effective, inspirational and humble leader committed to fulfilling God’s purpose of mission and discipleship?
Idealism is a good thing. Having said that, idealism should be responsible which means, in this case, the catalogue of the rector’s experiences, qualifications, abilities and characteristics needs to be matched with the parish’s vision. This matching enables the ordering of the items in the catalogue. In other words, some aspects of the rector’s profile are more important than others: the assignment of importance is driven by the qualities and characteristics deemed necessary to enable the parish’s vision, as follows:
- A preacher of God’s Word, one gifted by the Holy Spirit and passionate about the calling to express and expound the message of the Word to our time and place, and to make it applicable to parishioners’ lives.
- An individual who believes in evangelism and has a “heart” for it – one who can lead the parish in achieving its mission of “Making disciples of all people. Teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded.(Matthew 28: 16-20)
- A leader comfortable with and desirous of working with a team of talented, motivated parishioners. The successful candidate considers collaboration as the default mode of operation, agrees disagreement or dissent is not taken personally, and actively pursues giving direction and coming to decisions.
- A person of warmth, with whom others can make a link or connection.
In summary, the new rector of Christ the King, Edmonton must have the capacity to capture the parish’s vision, lead ministry, and guide the parish through the “birthing” process of a new church plant, in perhaps three to four years down the road.
Fundamentals of Belief:
Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) has fundamental requirements for candidates seeking to become the rector of an ANiC parish. Candidates must agree with and support ANiC’sConstitution, Canons and By-Laws. They must also agree with and support the “objects, principles and purpose of ANiC, as outlined in Article 1 of the Constitution, in particular items a. through d. inclusive.” Candidates must satisfy “the qualities of those who are to be ordained as presbyters,” according to ANiC Canons, specifically Article 9, Clauses 1.9.4 (a) through (d).
Candidates are to be evangelical through professing faith in the teaching of Jesus Christ for salvation, pursuing a deepening personal relationship with Christ, and demonstrating through lifestyle, choices, words and practice a life in submission to Christ.
A committed active belief in the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit is essential. Such a commitment means:
- active listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit,
- openness to following the leading of the Holy Spirit,
- effective use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,
- belief in God’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing power through prayer, and
- belief in the reality of the devil and the resultant spiritual warfare to which
Christians are exposed.
Qualifications:
By preference, candidates would be ordained in the world-wide Anglican church. However, applications from outside the Anglican communion will be considered. If such a candidate were to be successful, further training under the guidance of the bishop would be necessary.
Experience as a pastor, either as a lay leader or clergy person, will be helpful, in particular, with a background in preaching and evangelism. Some experience in the world of work outside of the church would be advantageous, but is not necessarily essential, depending on other experience.
An ability to relate to a younger and an older demographic is most important.
Ministry Focus:
In accordance with the desire of the parish to grow and to plant ‘daughter’ churches, the focus of the candidate’s ministry would be twofold: being a preacher who engages the congregation in hearing the authority of the Word of God, speaking the word of life for all of life for all time; and being an enabler of and inspiration to congregation members, leading them in a process of evangelism. Involvement in missions, whether local or international, would typically be part of evangelism.
The candidate mustbe committed in belief and heart to the model of servant ministry.
Personal Traits
Candidates should have a “can do, let’s get going” attitude, with consistent recognition of the Holy Spirit’s leading. They are leaders with the ability to recognize people’s God-given gifts and engage them to effectively use their gifts to God’s glory.
The candidate’s warmth draws people; making people connections is a God-given gift. The candidate also possesses a positive outlook supported by the Holy Spirit.
The candidate is empathetic towards people’s needs, at the same time keeping the fundamental objectives of the ministry in focus.
The candidate is an initiator. He is not bothered by change, but actually embraces it. In this environment of change, the candidate can deal with multiple tasks as required.
The candidate is somewhat of a visionary having the ability to see beyond what exists and extrapolate to what might be God’s ultimate plan. The candidate also possesses above average creativity that complements the visionary aspect. In other words, the candidate is open, indeed desirous, of finding new ways of bringing people to Christ and making them disciples.
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