The Committee on Church Polity recommended Saturday that the Assembly approve a streamlined, more flexible version of the Book of Order’s Chapter 14 — the provisions about Ordination, Certification and Commissioning — and begin work toward a far more sweeping revision of Presbyterian government.
The Chapter 14 changes would give presbyteries the authority to fill local clergy positions more quickly and remove some barriers about who can do which jobs. The larger revisions, to be developed over the next several years by a task force the Assembly would approve, likely would vastly simplify the Book of Order and give even more flexibility to presbyteries.
All the changes are rooted in concern that the Presbyterian form of government, at once a source of pride and frustration to its members, has grown so onerous that the church cannot adequately respond to the shifting needs of its congregations and society. While the committee’s work drew little scrutiny amid the Assembly’s hot-button issues — about half the chairs for observers were empty – the revisions carry the potential for enormous impact on the work of the church.
‘The church is ready to do a new form of government,’ said Mark Tammen, director of the Office of Constitutional Services within the Office of the General Assembly, which proposed the revisions. ‘Every 25 years we do it. That’s normative for us. What we hope to gain is flexibility across the system.’
The committee considered three sets of changes, all part of Overture 05-11.
(1) Creation of the Form of Government task force, which would be directed to report back to the 218th General Assembly in 2008. (While the committee overwhelming approved the task force, one member noted it was unfortunately named: ‘I don’t know that we need to be led into FOG at this point in time,’ he said.)
(2) A wholesale revision of Chapter 14 (Amendments A) — also approved. It is about one-third shorter than the current version, and it includes a set of amendments to other chapters that flow from those revisions. This revision is similar to one voted down the General Assembly in 2001. But, it excludes the two proposals that denomination leaders believe most contributed to the defeat: moving the ordination questions into the Directory of Worship and allowing interim pastors to be called into installed positions.
(3) A set of six individual amendments to Chapter 14 (Amendments B). These potentially more controversial changes include moving the ordination questions and the provision about interim pastors.
The committee approved three of those individual amendments:
· Moving ordination questions to the Director of Worship (B1)
· Allowing candidates who have competed all ordination requirements except exams to serve an internship in which they could preach and in some cases administer sacraments (B2)
· Removing a requirement that when presbyteries to waive examination requirements for inquirers or candidates, the waivers must be approved by synods (B3).
The committee did not approve provisions:
· Allowing associate pastors could rise to the position of head of staff (B4)
· Allowing interim pastors to be called into installed positions (B5)
· Allowing presbyteries to dissolve pastoral relationships if it finds that the pastor and congregation are incompatible (B6).
