The Presbyterian’s Alphabet: A is for Adherent

Adherent is the Presbyterian term for a baptised person who is a regular attender at, and contributor to, a church, but who has not made a profession of faith. That person might be called a baptised member as opposed to a communicant member. Also, for the purposes of this description, that person would be considered to be of age.

The concept comes from the definition of the visible church: the body of the baptised. As the efficacy of baptism is not tied to the moment of time of its administration, and as effectual calling comes at God’s appointed and accepted time to those ordained to eternal life, and as a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before having the assurance to make a profession of faith, so we have the adherent.

The external responsibilities of an adherent are to regularly attend public worship and to give practical support to the church. The internal responsibility is to seek those things signified in baptism.

The privileges of being an adherent are, first, to be under the sound of the gospel.

Second, to have a say, as a contributor, in temporal matters concerning the congregation.

Third, to have a concurrence in the election of office-bearers. While election belongs to communicant members, after the election, adherents may have their names added to a concurrence with that call. In cases where adherents make up a sizable portion of the congregation, this may help the relevant Eldership to gauge the unanimity of the whole congregation.

Fourth, to be under the discipline of the church. Taken widely, this means that adherents are under the church’s pastoral and diaconal care. When taken more narrowly, problems arise between theory and practice. While baptised members may be admonished or rebuked, the privileges from which they might possibly be suspended are few.

Fifth, perhaps, to have access to baptism for his or her children. This is a contentious matter as a comparison of the views of Samuel Rutherford (for) and of Thomas Boston (against) on the subject will show. There is also the case put forward by John Kennedy, Dingwall, that should an adherent ask for baptism for a child, he or she should be given it if the session would have given the person communicant membership should his or her conscience have allowed the person to make that request. Disputed points of ecclesiology and complex cases of conscience make for hard resolutions.

The presence of adherents is a reminder of the sovereignty of God and of experimental religion, a reminder that election and effectual calling are within the visible church as well as without, and a reminder to preach the gospel to the baptised.