The 2007 General Assembly of The Cumberland Presbyterian Church (CPC) — a small denomination with which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) participates in several partnerships — convened in June to take dramatic steps toward overhauling the structure of the denomination, sparking a great deal of anxiety among denominational staff and commissioners. The legalities involved in some of the June decisions has made necessary a called GA meeting before the 2008 GA meeting in Japan.
When the 177th General Assembly of the CPC gathered June 18 in Hot Springs, Ark., it conducted a lot of business without a great deal of fanfare: (1) adopted recommendations to emphasize evangelism for the next five years and to develop ways to measure and report evangelistic efforts in local congregations; (2) reaffirmed the value of partnerships between the CPC and the PC(USA), and denied a resolution to find ways to reach out to PC(USA) congregations that are considering making a change in denominational affiliation; (3) approved the concept of establishing the office of certified lay minister; (4) granted permission for licentiates to perform the Sacraments; (5) encouraged presbyteries to designate an agency to examine all ministers desiring to become members of a particular presbytery; (6) reminded congregations and ministers that both must have prior approval of the presbytery or tentative approval of an agency acting for the presbytery before entering into any type of ministerial relationship.
But not all of the General Assembly’s business was without controversy. Of greatest concern to this Assembly was the restructuring of program boards. The General Assembly Council (GAC) is composed of executive directors of each denominational board and institution and 18 members at large, with no more than one member from a presbytery. With church membership declining over the years, complaints have surfaced that the GAC and denominational executives fail to work together in a way that successfully emphasizes the following priority goals:
· Recruit, educate, and nurture clergy and laity for their specific ministries.
· Revitalize and equip congregations and presbyteries to fulfill the mission (vision) of the church.
· Establish new congregations.
In 2005, the General Assembly voted to sell the neglected headquarters at 1978 Union Ave., Memphis, Tenn., and purchase other property. While some staff members wanted to disperse and have no Center, some supported repairing the buildings, and others preferred to sell and purchase other property. The Church did not respond financially as anticipated, so the process continues to drag on, and Center employees ready themselves to move on short notice.
The 2006 Assembly voted to name an Organizational Task Force (OTF) to work with a consultant to accomplish the following assignment:
(1) to evaluate how the present denominational organization and structure work together; (2) to recommend needed changes to the organization and/or structures revealed through the findings of the evaluation; (3) to discern new and innovative ways to meet the priority goals; and (4) to improve the total ministry for the church of the future.
The report of the OTF called for a total restructuring of program boards at the denominational level. Eliminating all program boards and current executive staff positions and blending the work among newly organized teams was promoted as a way to force denominational leaders to work together for the good of the church rather than to be committed solely to the work of their respective boards.
The 25 initial recommendations from the OTF grew to a total of 55 recommendations, finally adopted by the General Assembly. Although the Assembly rejected recommendations to blend the work of the current program boards, it approved plans to dissolve the GAC, to establish the Historical Foundation as an institution, and to dissolve the five remaining program boards (Christian Education, Ministry, Missions, Publication, and Stewardship, Foundation, and Benefits) and carry on their work under the title, “teams.” In place of the more representative GAC, a more powerful 15-member Ministry Council was elected from eleven of the twenty organized presbyteries of the denomination. Current program executives will become team leaders, and no team leaders will serve on the Ministry Council.
The newly formed Ministry Council met August 2-4 to organize and voted to have open information but closed meetings. While council members are exuberant about their mission, denominational lawyers and other church leaders remain apprehensive.
The Judiciary Committee met with the denominational lawyer in late July to discuss actions taken by the Assembly. “The 2007 Assembly did not provide any funds for transitional cost either for the Ministry Council or legal fees,” stated GAC Executive Director Davis Gray. “We are trying to sort out the legal issues and processes required to implement the new reorganization.”
Members of the new Ministry Council feel the General Assembly set an unrealistic time line to dissolve the GAC and program boards by the end of 2007, and to have the Ministry Council and a yet-to-be-hired Chief Ministry Officer ready to assume full responsibility for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church anytime in the near future.
A plan for dissolution/merger of each board will have to be approved by General Assembly in a called meeting and presented to the Tennessee Attorney General for review. Perhaps the most costly process will be a study of each endowment and trust of the boards and agencies. Stated Clerk Robert Rush noted, “No provisions were made by the Assembly concerning what entity would be the trustee when the Board of Stewardship, Foundation, and Benefits is dissolved. It cannot be dissolved until such decisions are made, and that can only happen in a called meeting of General Assembly because we cannot wait until the 2008 Assembly.”
A portion of the denominational property was sold on July 1, forcing some staff to seek temporary office space. A contract has been offered on the remaining property, and the sale could be completed by December 31. Meanwhile, Richard Magrill, Executive of the Board of Stewardship, Foundation, and Benefits announced his retirement effective September 30, and Executive of the Board of Christian Education Claudette Pickle announced her retirement effective December 31. With the sale of denominational property, the loss of long-time denominational leaders, and the elimination of the position of GAC Executive Director Davis Gray, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church faces an uncertain future.
Regarding these changes, concerns and uncertainty, long-time missionary Boyce Wallace (Colombia, S. A.) said it best, “Changes in organization are meaningless unless we labor with hearts changed by the Holy Spirit.”
Pat White is editor of the The Cumberland Presbyterian magazine and executive director of the Cumberland Presbyterian Publication Board.
