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InSights Opinions
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Written by Karen Sloan
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Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:00 |
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The wedding season is upon us! Given the large number of single female Ministers of Word and Sacrament, I am amazed that I am one of this year’s brides.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Derek Maul
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Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:00 |
My friend Peggie was in her 50s when she answered God’s call to ministry. She’s active in the local church, serves on the leadership team, preaches on occasion, and is naturally gifted in evangelism.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Bob Davis
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Wednesday, 02 June 2010 18:20 |
Perhaps the most stunning piece of business coming to the 219th General Assembly is Recommendation 42 proposing to create a commission (the COGA Commission). As I first read it, my jaw dropped, I sat back in my chair and felt all the wind whistle out of me. I did not see it coming.
My hat goes off to the stated clerk for making this General Assembly a lot more interesting. It is unprecedented to see the chief constitutional officer of the denomination being quoted, “The structure coming out of reunion is clearly devolving.” The implication of that sentence is enormous.
If approved, the COGA Commission has the potential to be a game-changer. It may be the most impactful piece of business coming to the General Assembly since the 1983 reunion.
Specifically, the recommendation is for the Assembly to approve a 21-person commission on Middle Governing Bodies with six enumerated powers. It is the fifth power that is extraordinary:
5. In response to actions of the 219th General Assembly (2010), or upon request of the presbytery and synod, the commission is authorized to act as the General Assembly according to
a. G-13.0103m: “to organize new synods and to divide, unite, or otherwise combine synods or portions of synods previously existing;”
b. G-13.0103n: “to approve the organization, division, uniting, or combining of presbyteries or portions of presbyteries by synods.”
Because it would be a commission, the decisions of a majority of these 21 people would be the same as a decision of the General Assembly.
Thus, if the 219th GA approves the commission, every congregation and every presbytery will have to figure out how they plan to navigate the devolution. It will not be hypothetical as in, What might we have to do at some point in the future? Perhaps the most important question will be, How do we convince 11 of these 21 appointed people that they should grant our request?
There will be no such thing as maintaining status quo; granting one request has consequences of fellowship, finances, mission, and ministry for everyone else.
For example: imagine the COGA Commission is approved, as is. Then by a slight majority (say, 81 yes: 79 no), San Diego Presbytery requests the COGA Commission to:
» Dissolve the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii (our synod);
» Create two new synods: an “emergent” synod and a “traditional” synod;
» Split the assets between the two new synods;
» Create parallel presbyteries in the synods (i.e., San Diego Emergent, San Diego Traditional);
» Require every congregation within old synods to determine — by vote — their affiliation to presbytery and synod.
Now, imagine you are in a congregation in Los Ranchos or Riverside Presbytery (both immediately north of San Diego). You like how things are and do not want this result. What then? You would be required to engage in some sort of campaign to get the COGA Commission to deny the request or to propose an alternative solution.
I am not saying it would happen, I am saying it could happen.
Is there a better option than a commission? If the status quo is not sustainable, if devolution is reaching a critical stage, and if a commission is not the right mechanism for change, what then?
A commission may be the only realistic mechanism for dealing with the question. Not limited by time or other responsibilities, it could delve into the questions, problems, challenges, and opportunities that re-constituting poses. It affords flexibility and opportunity for experiments. Yes, it is fraught with potential problems; but, again, what is a better alternative?
In Southern California, we often hear about “the big one.” In General Assembly terms, this is it.
BOB DAVIS is pastor of the Chula Vista Church in Chula Vista, Calif.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Jill Duffield
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Monday, 05 April 2010 02:37 |
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On this particular Sunday we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper by intinction. The congregation has been served except for those in the nursery.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Amy Butler
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Monday, 05 April 2010 02:34 |
(ABP) The snow has stopped falling here in Washington. At least for the moment. After almost two weeks, we are still digging out from a few weeks ago when whoever is in charge of weather patterns mistakenly thought we were Alaska and dumped multiple feet of snow on our unsuspecting city.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Ann Lewis
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Monday, 05 April 2010 02:31 |
Just before Christmas I received notice that a childhood friend had written a book. He had gone on to college to major in Religious Studies. He had been very serious, but the book was described as a satire, written to make people laugh. I was intrigued. I couldn’t wait to read it and got it right away.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by John G. Hamilton
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Monday, 05 April 2010 02:23 |
Have you ever had one of those moments when you knew, you KNEW, God was present? I did recently.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Tom Ehrich
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Monday, 22 March 2010 01:51 |
As faith communities venture into a new era, they face rethinking "membership."
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InSights Opinions
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Written by bill tammeus
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Monday, 22 March 2010 01:43 |
Much of pop culture both astonishes and appalls me. But perhaps nothing does that more than the run-amok habit of celebrities to reveal their bad decisions, transgressions, and destructive impulses to the whole world. And worse than just revealing, they revel.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Derek Maul
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Monday, 22 March 2010 01:36 |
Recently, I sat in a pastor’s office and asked this question: “Why is it important to have a Presbyterian Church in this community?”
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Earl S. Johnson Jr.
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Monday, 22 March 2010 01:16 |
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Gambling is a pervasive part of our culture in every state of the union.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Kazimierz Bern
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Monday, 08 March 2010 23:30 |
A guest commentary by Kazimierz Bern
Gay marriage will not undermine families or the institution of marriage.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Janet Edwards
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Monday, 30 November 2009 05:37 |
In the Gospel of Luke, an expert in religious law stands up to test Jesus, asking what he must do to earn eternal life.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by John Galloway
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Monday, 30 November 2009 05:32 |
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It seems we have unofficially added a new season to our liturgical calendars.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Kristin J. Tremba
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 18:43 |
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A Response to P. Mark Achtemeier’s And Grace Will Lead Me Home Address to the Covenant Network Of Presbyterians on November 5, 2009
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Lawton W. Posey
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Monday, 20 July 2009 14:31 |
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While watching a recent tribute to Michael Jackson, referred to by many as the King of Pop, I realized that Jackson bore, in his life, much resemblance to King David of the Bible.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by DAVID GUSHEE
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Thursday, 07 May 2009 00:29 |
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(ABP) -- Dear Jesus, Everyone seems to be talking about the poll put out last week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Samuel A. Schreiner III
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Sunday, 05 April 2009 16:54 |
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I went to the movies recently to be entertained and I ended up being spiritually inspired.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by David Gushee
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Friday, 13 March 2009 16:14 |
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Editor’s Note: The OUTLOOK reported recently that the membership losses that have been shrinking mainline denominations now appear to be impacting the Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Richard S. McConnell
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Friday, 27 February 2009 19:51 |
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The presbyteries are beginning to debate and vote again on the controversial “fidelity-and-chastity statement” in our Book of Order (G-6.0106b).
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Robert D. Gillette
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Thursday, 29 January 2009 21:43 |
Reading and reflecting on Erwin C. Barron’s three-part essay on the perennial controversy over ordination of gay and lesbian pastors — (November 10, 17 and 24, 2008 issues of The Presbyterian Outlook), as well as subsequent related letters from readers — has been a discouraging experience for this observer. A highly contentious vote of the presbyteries is coming, and a basis for genuine consensus does not exist. No matter which side “wins” the presbytery balloting in coming months, the issue will not be settled and will not go away. It seems probable that continuing contention in the short term will only delay the adoption of a widely accepted way forward, but that forbearance in the short term could favor success over time.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Mieke Vandersall
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Thursday, 29 January 2009 21:39 |
I was five when I was baptized. I don't know why they waited, but one Sunday my parents took me and my little brother to the local Presbyterian Church. I vividly remember standing in front of the congregation, excited, knowing something very special was happening but entirely unsure of what it was. An elder from the Session gave us each a tiny embroidered rainbow as a reminder of God’s Covenant. It still hangs in my childhood room in my parents’ home.
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Case Thorp
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Monday, 12 January 2009 22:06 |
Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) was a Canadian become American, a Lutheran pastor become Catholic priest, a political liberal become conservative, and an all-around intellectual. His life journey made for an interesting mix of convictions and perspectives that, frankly, speak the language of so many post-moderns being dubbed the “O-generation” (hint: “O” for Obama).
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InSights Opinions
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Written by Ron Ferguson
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Monday, 05 January 2009 19:25 |
She was birdlike and petite, with a hawk nose and an attractive smile. She was routinely mocked in parliament by big angry men shouting "Go back to Moscow" or "Go back to Israel." Yet this indomitable Jewish woman could make strong men tremble. Oh, and she helped break down the walls of apartheid in South Africa.
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