“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” So the Apostle Paul exhorted the church in Rome. That command may be difficult to apply in the days after the adjournment of the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). But I urge you to try. In the next issue of the Outlook I will speak directly to those weeping in these days. In this moment I want to speak to those pleased, more or less, with the decisions made at the assembly.
For some among us, the eight-day sojourn in Detroit Lions’ country will be remembered as a modern triumph on the level of Daniel’s sojourn in the lions’ den. Those hoping for major change of one kind or the other needed to make their case and sometimes gave some ground, but in the end prevailed almost every time.
What a contrast from the 221st GA two years ago in Pittsburgh! That assembly “steeled” itself against change, rejecting proposal after proposal in committee, and then in the case of committee-approved changes, rejecting many of them in plenary.
A do-nothing GA this one was not.
Now that’s not to say that a singular party line got all it sought. Those recommending social justice and peacemaking actions — including reviving efforts to adopt the Belhar Confession — mostly prevailed. But the proposal to divest from fossil fuel companies was referred for study. The proposal to promote Young Adult Advisory Delegates to commissioners without requiring ordination was turned back, too.
Those who voted in the minority often were not rejecting all things new. Less politicized matters were approved: trimming 16 synods down to between 10 and 12; adjusting allocations of two of the four annual special offerings (Peacemaking is now Peacemaking and Global Witness; the Joy Offering’s portion for racial-ethnic schools will incorporate other forms of leadership development for racial ethnic Presbyterians); dissolving the Hanmi Presbytery in California; studying a proposed replacement for the Directory for Worship.
While one of the two biggest issues, the votes for marriage equality, reflected the concerted efforts of those self-described as left-of-center, that other biggest proposal, to divest from corporations supporting Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, the pro-con sides crossed standard party lines. Nevertheless, change was in the air.
If you are reveling in such changes, by all means, rejoice. For the church to break out of the status quo, to find its prophetic voice, to throw caution to the wind — aligns it with leaders ranging from Moses to Susan B. Anthony, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King.
But this is also a time to weep with those who are disappointed. Fissures are multiplying in this fragile fellowship, and you can either multiply or minimize them. If only for that reason, please moderate not only your celebrating but also your capitalizing on the actions taken at the assembly. Don’t vanquish the opposition. Don’t pile on.
In fact, the biggest reason your proposals took flight in 2014 was that self-described conservatives largely stayed away from this GA. The number of behind-the-scenes supporters of evangelical causes has shrunk by nearly 90 percent from where those were just a few years ago, some having moved to other denominations, others just having lost hope in a system that seems to them to favor the relentless efforts of the change agents.
In other words, a plurality vote in a General Assembly does not mean a plurality enthusiasm back home. And the feelings of alienation will only be exacerbated by victors’ triumphalism.
Instead, please befriend those whose votes came up short. Reach out, invite a conversation, take the time to listen deeply, to empathize, to comfort.
Those in disagreement are not your dread enemies. They are your sisters and brothers in Christ. They may not be the folks you would have chosen to be your friends, but they are your family members, called to share fellowship with you by a sovereign God. It’s time for us to rediscover how to be family together again.
