Recognizing that it’s something of a hard sell to convince folks that it’s a terrific idea to rewrite the denomination’s constitution, the Form of Government Task Force of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) is planning its strategy for communicating to a broader audience the gist of its complicated work.
Questions people are asking include: “Who formed the task force?” and “Why do we need a new Book of Order? Doesn’t the PC(USA) have more important issues” to deal with, said task force co-moderator Sharon Davison, who’s an elder from New York City.
A draft introduction to the Revised Form of Government the task force is proposing states that “we have asked two core questions throughout this work: Who does God call the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to be (the identity of the church)? and What does God call the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to do (the polity of the church)?”
The introduction also states, “our reflections on the church’s identity have been shaped and guided by the ideas of missional ecclesiology. Missional ecclesiology begins in the confession that God has sent the church into the world to bear witness to the activity of God in reconciling and transforming the world, and ultimately in fulfilling in the world the divine creative intent. The core of the church’s identity is its ‘sent-ness,’ its having been called into being as a witness to the work of God.”
The task force is hoping in the months to come to provide answers to “frequently asked questions,” as well as to build support for the changes it’s recommending, Davison said during a task force meeting in May by conference call.
That’s partly in recognition that some folks are paying no attention at all to the task force’s work, but others are watching closely and disagree with the direction the work is taking.
For example, the task force’s Web site includes a draft of a document called “Foundations of Presbyterian Polity” that the Web site states “preserves the basic contents” of the first four chapters of the Book of Order, albeit in condensed form.
But Terry Schlossberg, executive director of the Presbyterian Coalition, has faithfully attended the task force’s meetings, and has written that in that proposed revision, “important concepts are lost entirely. This Readers Digest version of our most basic polity loses much of the meaning and utility of the original version.” (link to full article)
The Advisory Committee on the Constitution may weigh in on the proposed revision in June.
The task force is expected to release its recommended revisions to the PC(USA) by September. And it plans to build support and understanding for its report through posting videos on its Web site, convening conference calls with middle governing body executives, and making presentations summarizing the report at key denominational meetings in coming months.
All along, the task force has been posting drafts of its work on the denomination’s Web site, hoping to spark conversation and constructive criticism.
The task force is weighing comments it’s receiving and waiting to make a final determination on its report until it meets next in Louisville Aug. 16-18.
The General Assembly created the task force in 2006 — hoping it would come up with a revised constitution that’s shorter, more flexible, and focused on mission.
But any revisions the task force presents will need to be approved both by the General Assembly in 2008 and by a majority of the presbyteries.
The draft introduction, which summarizes some of the changes the task force is recommending, describes polity as “the architecture of mission.”
And it states that “a missional polity places the particular congregation in the forefront of the church’s witness because it is the place where the church engages the world. Governing bodies in a missional polity exist to guide, support, and govern the work of the particular congregation, and to connect and coordinate that work with other congregations so that the witness of the whole church may be more effective.”
