A step toward a nimble denomination

Finally a post on my activities on the day they occurred!

If you thought the committee I was assigned to at General Assembly – Middle Governing Body Issues – would deal with mundane issues, you'd be in for a surprise. This committee is dealing with crucial questions about the future vibrancy of the denomination.

We have spent most of the day wrestling with the question of how to create ways for our middle governing bodes (presbyteries and synods) to be more nimble, more flexible in the fast changing world we live in so they are better able at equipping congregations to do God's work. And we are close to recommending to the full assembly that it approve an overture to create a commission with the authority of General Assembly that "will consult with sessions, presbyteries, synods, and the wider church on the mission and function of middle governing bodies" and "develop models that reflect the roles of middle governing bodies in our polity and the changing context of our witness in the United States and their relationships with other governing bodies."



In our morning session, we heard from presbytery executives, synod executives and even the moderator of the 218th General Assembly, Bruce Reyes-Chow, who spoke passionately about the need to change middle governing body structures to allow the church to more effectively do mission together. Among those speaking was Tom Evans, now executive of Greater Atlanta Presbytery and the former exec of our presbytery, Sheppards & Lapsley.

Here's what Tom had to say: He believes that "God calls us to use the authority of the church to make decisions and go forth and do God's work in the world. The Spirit's will might not be eternal discernment." He said a  commission could act to make presbyteries and synods more nimble, as opposed to a committee, which can only study the issue and report to GA. He said in this cloudy time, we need to be more like a catamaran than an ocean liner in our ability to turn the church in a new direction. "Presbyteries and synods are bleeding and need to be able to respond more quickly. We need to reshape them from governing bodies into bodies that equip our congregations to do mission. "

Others had similar things to say. There were those who opposed such a commission, fearing that it would make changes in synods or presbyteries that are functioning well. That was a concern of our committee, but in listening to staff from the Committee on the General Assembly and other advocates, we learned that any such commission would become involved only at the invitation of specific synods or presbyteries. And as a committee we included a requirement that action of the commission must be approved by a two-thirds rather than simple majority vote.

We are working on item 04-06 and have amended it twice to include language from item 04-05 and clarify other language. The MGB committee still has some additional amendments that will likely be proposed after our dinner break, but I'm optimistic that the committee favors recommending this action to the full assembly. It is my hope and prayer that the full assembly will approve creation of this commission. If it does, our denomination will have the flexibility to adapt to the rapid pace of change we face in the world today to better do the mission of the body of Christ. That indeed is exciting news.