OSL Leadership
Leadership resources in the Order of St. Luke the Physician
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Chapter leaders and lay ministers are the heart of the Order of St. Luke and comprise a strong body of leaders. Each chapter is led by a Convener with a Chaplain. Groups of chapters throughout various states make up a Region and that Region is led by a clergy person called the Regional Director. The Regional Director is supported by leaders from the individual chapters. The North American director is the administrator and spiritual leader for all the regions in Canada and the United States.
The Convener's Role
The Convener, or the co-Conveners, are chapter leaders and organize the activities of the chapter; promoting and providing resources for the use of study materials and gives focus to the chapter in terms of its goals and conduct of business. He or she works out active programs of teaching about the healing ministry and provides ways for the members to learn by participating as well as by listening. In addition, the Convener supports associates as they prepare for full membership and makes arrangements for their inductions.
Responsibilities of the Convener include:
- Publicizing meetings by notifying members of upcoming meetings and events, notifying area churches with bulletins, e-mail, telephone calls, postcards or newspaper announcements. Invites various church congregations to attend meetings and participate or receive prayer for themselves or others.
- Promoting the OSL by reaching out to the community through healing services, missions, retreats, workshops or other events.
- Encouraging personal healing ministries for the members, such as visiting the sick, taking Communion to the ill or infirmed and providing prayer ministry for physical, emotional or spiritual healing. Included may be other ministries such as serving as volunteers in prison ministry, as lay hospital chaplains, and in other community service.
- Meeting with Conveners of other chapters nearby from time to time to share ideas about chapter and OSL activities and possible cooperation with missions or other events
- Overseeing the records of the chapter, storing documents passed down from former chapter leaders, maintains or opens back accounts as needed and keeps the chapter informed of chapter finances. (A Treasurer can assume this responsibility in a larger chapter.)
- Maintaining membership lists. Notifies the Convener liaison of changes in the chapter's chaplain, Convener, or member mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers. (Also supplies chapter information to the webmaster of the OSL web site)
- Establishing OSL junior or youth groups.
The Chaplain's Role
The chaplain's primary role is to be a spiritual advisor to the Convener and members of the chapter. Many chaplains actively participate in the training and development of leaders within the Order, and others give the lay ministers a great deal of authority and leadership. Chaplains also conduct services of healing; officiate at services of induction, serve as the spiritual advisor for a chapter in matters of policy, program, and teaching. A chaplain must be an ordained minister who is a member of the Order of St. Luke in good standing, and acknowledged leader of spiritual, moral, and intellectual character, whose mind and will are centered in commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior, Healer, and Divine Son of God, and who accepts the "Basic Concepts of Christian Healing " as set forth by the Order in the Handbook.
The Director's Role
Note: Warden means "watchful guardian" and has been used for many years to indicate our leaders. We call our National and Regional leaders Directors as of January 2005.
The objectives of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician are to bring about, among the Christian denominations, clergy, doctors and other medical personnel, and lay people, an increased understanding of spiritual healing and wholeness as an essential part of the teaching and practice of Jesus Christ as set forth in the New Testament, and to encourage believing Christians to understand that all believers may have an active part in Jesus' healing ministry. Candidates for Regional Director shall be nominated by the Council for that Region and elected by the members of the Order in good standing who are resident within that Region by mail ballot. . . . Upon election, Regional Directors become members of the North American Director's Council. . . . A Regional Director can be ordained clergy or a layperson person who has been active as a Full Member of the Order for not less than the preceding three years, an acknowledged leader of spiritual, moral, and intellectual stature, whose mind and will are centered in commitment to Jesus Christ, Savior and Healer, Divine Son of God. The Director shall be inducted into office at an Annual Meeting by the laying on of hands of Regional Directors, in the name of Jesus Christ. The term of office shall be three years, and the Regional Director may be reelected only once. After a lapse of two years, a previous Regional Director shall again be eligible to serve. A Regional Council shall be formed to help in the work, and to plan a Regional Conference and business meeting. A Regional Director shall take office one month following the Regional election, or at the Regional Conference next following the election, whichever shall occur first.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Regional Director shall be primarily responsible for spiritual policy and leadership, which includes:
- As Chief Missioner for the region, conducting healing missions at large, and to promote the work of the Order throughout the region.
- Setting policy to meet the objectives of the Order
- Developing leadership
- Arranging for the preparation of teaching and training materials
- Appointing and reappointing missioners (clergy and lay) and to provide for their training
- Encouraging healing conferences and to spread the teachings of the Order
- Planning missionary outreach into areas untouched by the Order
- Planning denominational outreach by appointment of denominational representatives, or in such other ways as are appropriate, and by providing promotional materials
- Providing guidance for Chaplains and Conveners through a quarterly newsletter, or such other ways as are appropriate
- Authorizing appointment of ordained ministers who are members of the Order to serve as Chaplains (Nonmembers may be appointed Acting Chaplains until they qualify and are inducted into Full Membership.)
In addition, the Regional Director shall:
A. Oversee the election of one delegate to the North American Director's Council, clergy or lay, for three year terms, so arranged that the Regional Director and the delegate are elected for different terms. Ballots for Regional Director and for delegate to the North American Director's council shall provide for more than one candidate for each vacancy to be filled. Elected delegates to the North American Director's Council shall take office at the Annual Meeting following their election.
B. Govern the region along with the Regional Council, which shall include the elected delegate to the North American Director's Council plus a representative from at least four chapters within the Region. Regional Directors and Regional Councils do not have the authority to incur financial obligations in the name of the Corporation. Regions and Chapters may not use the North American Order's Federal Tax Identification Number.
C. Each Region is to seek to fulfill the objectives of the Order, cooperating with neighboring Regions when feasible. Missioners from without a Region, when sponsored by the Order, should have the approval of the Regional Director.