MCC Report

What GA Decisions Mean to the Church

5 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, MCC Report, Naegeli's Laws, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Hundreds of decisions were made in the course of this week’s General Assembly. Tracking the business is a little like maintaining a baseball scorecard. Some runners may get on base but never make it to home plate. The weather may delay the game. An error may be offset by a brilliant field catch. The final score is only one indication of what happened during the game; but the routine plays, the hand signals, and the errors throughout the game reveal the true condition of the team. To carry this analogy into the PCUSA, the Big Decision not to change the […]

What GA Decisions Mean to the Church Read More »

Real Power in the PCUSA

6 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Leadership and Spirituality, MCC Report, PCUSA / By /

One of my favorite verses in my favorite chapter of the whole Bible is this one: 10”But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10-11) As a long-time observer (if not commissioner to) the Presbyterian General Assembly, I have absorbed the ethos of the Reformed tradition in ways not possible

Real Power in the PCUSA Read More »

Two Degrees of Separation

12 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, MCC Report, Moral Authority, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

This is the third and last installment in my series considering the options for a church in conflict, and what happens when separation is necessary for the sake of mission. I have tried to make a case, at least anecdotally, for the positive reasons to separate ministries. And here are two more just to keep us nimble to the idea that separation can be good and honoring of Jesus Christ:  the planting of “daughter churches,” which call out of one congregation a group of people that seed the new church; and the division of one congregation into two or more

Two Degrees of Separation Read More »

How Shall We Handle Open Conflict?

14 Comments / GAPJC Decisions, MCC Report, PCUSA / By /

In a three-part series starting with today’s post, my plan is to put forward thoughts on what is happening in the PCUSA and the short- and long-term scenarios playing out.  The most recent, jarring event is the open refusal of Redwoods Presbytery to go along with the GAPJC’s decision in Spahr v. Redwoods and rebuke her for conducting same-sex marriages. The fine points of the judicial ruling are being debated (for an excellent discussion, see Steve Salyards’ GA Junkie post), but the “spirit of the law” most definitely was violated by the ambush perpetrated upon a presbytery. In the same

How Shall We Handle Open Conflict? Read More »

The MCC Report: What Limits to Our Freedom?

1 Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), MCC Report, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, The Missional Church / By /

Over the last week, I have been reviewing elements and concepts embedded in the recommendations and rationale of the Commission on Mid-Councils Report. As a conversation starter, the Report is excellent and the Commission is to be commended for the thoroughness of its process and product. Not every topic therein has been addressed here. Upon reflection, some sections of the Report do not ring as true or indispensible to me as others. And there is still a matter of interpreting one particular sentence, the seventh of eight “guiding principles.” found on page 81. My inquiry of the MCC moderator as

The MCC Report: What Limits to Our Freedom? Read More »

Understanding the Term “Missional”

2 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), MCC Report, The Missional Church / By /

Continuing an evaluation of the ideas and recommendations of the Commission on Mid-Councils Report, today’s exploration delves into the concept of “missional ministry.” Some care must be taken to define the term, because assumptions about its meaning (especially among Presbyterians I observe, including seminary students) can morph it into a new form unrecognizable to those who coined it. My sense is that the writers of the MCC Report had an adequate understanding of “missional,” and the bibliography certainly reflects wide reading on the subject. No complaints there. I am raising the yellow caution flag for all the interpreters of the

Understanding the Term “Missional” Read More »

The Link Between Theology and Mission

7 Comments / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, MCC Report, PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

I left off last time listing, but not expanding upon, the implication of the MCC Report involving the creation of new presbyteries: Create provisional presbyteries around specific missional purposes.   Right out the chute, the language in the Report is very careful about the formation of non-geographic presbyteries. Those congregations that need a way out of their current presbyteries because of theological incompatibility have a particular challenge because of two conditions given in the report, that 1) these new presbyteries achieve specific missional purposes, and 2) they some how reflect the “rich diversity” of God’s people. In practice over the

The Link Between Theology and Mission Read More »

The MCC Challenge to Presbyteries

3 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, MCC Report, PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

The reinvigoration of presbyteries is a central vision within the Mid-Councils Commission Report. One does not even need to read between the lines to recognize that presbyteries are going to be required to step up to new realities, with less help coming from “above” and more responsibility for what happens “below.” But as the locus of support for congregations, presbyteries have the important calling of fostering creative ministry, facilitating networking, and otherwise fanning the flame of good ideas within its bounds. This will all work if presbyteries can be truly supportive of their congregations in a relational way. If, however,

The MCC Challenge to Presbyteries Read More »

Flattened Bureaucracy without Synods: Necessary, Safe, Effective?

2 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), MCC Report, PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

Oh, where to start? The Report of the Commission on Mid-Councils covers a lot of territory, theologically and practically. Since my calling is to “bring the Word to life,” it is interesting to me that little biblical study is reflected in the Report. I have no doubt that the Commission undertook study of the Scriptures, but its task was particularly focused on denominational concerns. With precious little in the Bible to offer direct guidance on matters of church structure, we are left only with allusions to exodus, exile, and the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, the vision of the church promoted

Flattened Bureaucracy without Synods: Necessary, Safe, Effective? Read More »

Scroll to Top