Micah 6:6-8 is a familiar yet challenging scriptural text about what a covenantal God requires of people of faith. In this passage, the prophet Micah juxtaposes components of worship, such as “burnt offerings,” “thousands of rams,” and “ten thousands of rivers of oil,” with the moral requirements that worshipers “do justice,” “love kindness,” and “walk humbly with your God” in their everyday lives. One theme in the Old Testament prophetic literature is that corporate worship and ethical practice cannot be separated. Presbyterians understand this when we pursue faithful congregational witness. But the same standards must apply to our denominational agencies and seminaries.
After recent and significant personnel cuts by Presbyterian Life & Witness and Columbia Theological Seminary, I am deeply concerned about the crises of trust our denomination is facing. Theologian Sallie McFague observes that every Christian has a working theology — “one that makes a difference in how we conduct our personal lives and how we act at professional and public levels.” McFague’s emphasis on working theology across personal, professional and public life is important for our agencies and seminaries. Just as our congregations cannot proclaim an outward message of God’s love and justice in their neighborhoods if they are not practicing love and justice among one another, neither can our agencies and seminaries.
Just as our congregations cannot proclaim an outward message of God’s love and justice in their neighborhoods if they are not practicing love and justice among one another, neither can our agencies and seminaries.
Learn more about recent restructuring at Presbyterian Life & Witness and Columbia Theological Seminary.
One purpose of our agencies and seminaries is to provide resources for our members and councils (sessions, presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly). But these institutions are also called to an operational soundness that exhibits a working theology that is honest, trustworthy, fair and excellent. I am therefore dissatisfied with the lack of clarity surrounding Presbyterian Life & Witness (then known as the Interim Unified Agency) and its elimination of 54 mission co-worker positions, as well as Columbia Theological Seminary’s elimination of 11 staff positions. I join many others in asking questions about how these decisions were made, communicated and enacted.
Faithful institutional practice does not mean avoiding difficult decisions. Agencies and seminaries will sometimes need to restructure, eliminate positions or make other painful choices. The theological question is not simply whether such decisions are made, but how they are discerned, communicated and carried out.
Related reading: “Columbia Seminary addresses restructuring at GA227 luncheon; board member Anderson says ‘much hurt was caused’” by Eric Ledermann, Outlook reporting
I reject the notion that our agencies and seminaries cannot operate with the same moral clarity we expect of our congregations because of institutional complexities. The thinking goes, “Our organizations can’t function like congregations because the issues we face are so complicated and the decisions we have to make are so hard.” In addition to teaching seminary students, I visit churches, presbyteries and synods throughout the country and talk with a diverse array of pastors and laypeople. I can attest that our congregations also discern how to navigate complex webs of fiscal, interpersonal, missional and spiritual challenges. Yet, instead of supporting congregations, some of our agencies and seminaries are presenting painful examples of what not to do. These institutions cannot effectively guide our denomination if they do not practice what they preach.
These institutions cannot effectively guide our denomination if they do not practice what they preach.
What makes for a stronger and more faithful working theology in our institutions? We Presbyterians seek God’s wisdom collaboratively because we believe no solitary individual has all the answers. I offer three insights, recognizing that they are subject to ongoing reform as I live, work, pray and fellowship with others in this priesthood of all believers we call the PC(USA):
1. Institutional leaders may not always be able to communicate fully, but they should always communicate truthfully.
We understand that leaders cannot divulge every detail about the decisions they make, especially regarding staffing and restructuring. But trust can erode quickly and deeply when leaders take this inability to communicate fully to an unhealthy extreme. Leaders must communicate honestly and with appropriate transparency, answering questions as directly as they can without weaponizing inside information or prayer. Leaders should not insinuate that employees and others who raise questions would think differently if “you knew what I know.” Nor should they shut down uncomfortable criticism by emphasizing how hard they prayed with their boards and executive leadership teams. I do not doubt the sincerity of these prayers, but I know from both church history and my own life that part of the holy mystery of faith is that sometimes we pray hard and still get things wrong.
2. Institutions must build a foundation of support and accountability for all employees, marked by consistent but not incessant feedback.
Caring for employees means providing abundant support while also offering thoughtful guidance – and correction when necessary – so that every worker has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Employees should not feel as though their supervisors are always looking over their shoulders, but they should know that their work is seen and appreciated. Every employee should also understand how their work contributes to the larger mission. Institutions cannot navigate restructuring and other significant operational changes well if they lack this foundation of support, accountability and clarity.
3. Institutions must value all employees equally without showing partiality to those at the top.
I am not suggesting a leveling of compensation in which every employee receives the same pay, nor am I suggesting that every employee receive the same public attention. Different roles carry different responsibilities and authority. But our institutions must practice an ethic of equal dignity and fair treatment. A vital part of equal dignity is ensuring that every employee receives just compensation so that no one is working for exploitative wages or benefits. Institutions must also make every effort to protect the well-being and reputations of all employees.
Many of our agencies and seminaries are governed by boards of volunteers tasked with supervising only one employee: the highest-ranking executive. Consequently, board members may spend much of their limited time with a small coterie of executive leaders. This governance model deserves greater scrutiny. Our Presbyterian polity for local congregations insists that a session comprising a plurality of ruling elders who are active in the life of the church govern together with clergy. Yet institutional boards can be asked to approve consequential decisions without a sufficient grasp of the organization from top to bottom. When boards primarily encounter an institution through its executive leadership, they risk prioritizing the interests and viewpoints of a few employees rather than adequately considering the experiences of the whole organization.
Related reading: “Columbia Theological Seminary President Victor Aloyo, Jr. to retire” by Columbia Theological Seminary
As Presbyterians gather to worship in churches big and small, we are empowered and equipped to enact the love and justice of God in our lives and communities. There is a whole lot of good happening in the PC(USA), as congregations address complex realities and injustices in their communities. I yearn for our agencies and seminaries to support our members and councils in both word and deed. We need more than manuals, guidelines, calendars and books. We need every agency and seminary to operate with honesty, fairness and excellence.
The credibility of the gospel does not rely on these institutions, but the credibility of our witness partly does.
As a church historian and Reformed believer, I hold two theological impulses in productive tension. I trust in God’s sovereignty and know that God is more powerful than our human institutions. Nothing can halt the God who creates, redeems, sustains, rules and transforms all things and all people. Yet I also heed the call to costly discipleship, which requires me to possess a working theology that is humble, just, loving and righteous. Every Presbyterian can expect more and demand better from some of our agencies and seminaries. The credibility of the gospel does not rely on these institutions, but the credibility of our witness partly does.
