Dear CCF,
~From the elections subcomm team of winter 2024.
Hi friends. We wanted to put all of this down in writing for the sake of clarity, consistency, and transparency — for the vision we have for elections this term :)
Our big hope is that this term’s elections event would be awesome.
We want you to come!
We’ve got some juicy ideas in mind on how to spice things up, and we hope you agree. Here’s what we’re thinkin.
Looking Back
Being a subcommittee filled with 5th years (and a few yunger uns), we’ve been through our share of elections. We’ve seen the season come and go, with nominations, candidates, speeches and all — time and time again.
Over these past few years, we’ve always hoped that elections would bring servant-hearted people forward into the necessary roles that the fellowship requires (We need leaders lol).
We’ve always prayed for leaders who were both capable and willing to lead to be discerned, and for the process to be clear and encouraging (this fellowship has been so good to us! God has blessed us so much through it, and we want that to continue!)
As we’ve reflected on these past elections, we’ve also realized that a few aspects of the event could be changed and improved upon (yikes…formal processes…):
- We remembered hearing (and some of us experiencing :c) the awkwardness of “pitching ourselves” during election speeches. It seemed unnecessary for candidates to need to promote themselves, testify to their own qualifications, and articulate a particular “vision for comm” as they discerned alongside the fellowship whether they should take up the role.
- We relate to the feeling of being intimidated by the arduous process of running for elections. Having to fill forms, prepare speeches, as well as discerning for comm is pretty scary. We remember how past election subcomm members constantly needed to go around asking for people to run (sigh…), otherwise there would be very few that would.
- Though an important event for the future of CCF, we remember only a small fraction of the fellowship would participate/attend the event (please come…). Other members (though active and serving) may have felt irrelevant to the process, or that they did not have a place in contributing (despite discernment being a process that should be done communally).
A Small Tweak
Thinking about these issues, we’re proposing a change to the process that will hopefully smooth out everything listed above (hopefully!). The biggest change that we want to focus on is that we want to revise the roles of the candidates and nominators. Essentially, we’re suggesting a change in the tasks of those who run for elections, and those who are supporting these candidates. Here are some details of what that entails:
- Committee candidates (those who run for elections) will no longer need to give an introductory speech (as to why they are running, their discernment process, their visions…etc) as most of that information will be covered on the candidate packages anyway (this part has not changed from before).
- Candidate nominators (those who actively sign and support for a candidate to run in elections) will be more involved in the discernment process. A nominator and seconder (ideally 2) will be asked to speak and “testify” on behalf of the candidate (to explain why they think their candidate would be a good leader, expand on their discernment of the candidate’s gifts/qualifications…etc).
- The open Q&A time in which Candidates answer questions from the fellowship will be extended to allow more personalized and unscripted discernment of the candidates.
TLDR y’all, we’re basically thinking of shifting speeches around to remove some unnecessary aspects, while adding to some helpful and encouraging points. YAY!
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together — Hebrews 10:24–25
Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task — 1 Timothy 3:1
Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses — 2 Corinthians 13:1
The Bible teaches us clearly that discernment for leadership is full of community involvement, and is a good thing to desire. It also gives us insight into the value of having witnesses who testify for another, rather than one person testifying for themselves. Let's get Biblical y’all :D
In Essence
Our vision is really that our fellowship would move closer toward this:
👍 People who actively serve in the fellowship already would know from observation who would be a good fit for leadership. They would go to them and say, “hey! I think you would be good at… What do you think? If you’re interested, I can nominate and support you as you discern for the role…”
- Instead of individuals who want to lead, going around asking friend of theirs to nominate them (because of necessity). 👎
👍 Members of the fellowship who aren’t candidates take a more active role in building the future of CCF (there are less than a dozen comm members compared to everyone else who regularly attends). They get to take part in discerning with the candidate for the role, and speak on behalf of their candidate in their election process.
- Instead of members who aren’t candidates mentally tapping out of the entire elections process because they aren’t personally involved in running. 👎
👍 Our fellowship would come together to discern in community, and this would be a special and enjoyable event — seeing that we handle our selection of leaders differently than how the world does.
- Instead of elections being a poorly attended event, boring due to the predictability, and a selection of leaders heavily influenced by popularity. 👎
Closing Remarks
Folks, let’s make this year’s elections a fun and edifying event! Wouldn’t it be awesome to see our beloved community coming together to prepare for the future of the fellowship?
It’d be nice to jam out to some musical worship, spend some time praying for each other, and hear wholesome stories about other brothers and sisters.
Let’s seek God together and glorify Him as we look on expectantly to the great things He might have for us to come :)
