January 11, 2010: New Form of Government

Today, we begin looking at some of the substantive business: the proposed new Form of Government (nFoG).

Where to find it:

1. Go to pc-biz (www.pc-biz.org ; it would probably be a good idea to bookmark it).
2. Click on the "Explorer" tab.
3. In the "Event" scrolldown menu, make sure it says, "219th General Assembly."
4. Click Search without putting anything in the keywords filter.
5. Right now, the first two items are listed as:

[COM-001] Form of Government Task Force Report to the 219th General Assembly (2010)[Recommendation 1].
[COM-002] Form of Government Task Force Report to the 219th General Assembly (2010)[Recommendation 2].

Which should you click? Either one. They both kick to to the same document; they reference the general recommendations. (By the way, I encourage you to go through this exercise in order to get familiar working with pc-biz.)

There are two recommendations that are part of this report. Remember how to read a report? Look for the bold. That's the actionable part of it.

OK, that's kind of true; but if you look through this report, you will see that most of it is in bold. What now?

This gets us to the substance of the new Form of Government. Today, I want to cover what it is and why it has been produced.

What is the nFoG?

In pc-biz, you can click on the "Rationale" to jump to the explanation of the background of this item. The General Introduction gives a bit of the history:

• The Form of Government Task Force was created by action of the 217th General Assembly (2006) and charged with the task of drafting a Revised Form of Government. (That's the G-x.xxxx sections of the Book of Order). In footnote 12 there is a link to the Minutes of the General Assembly where the tasking is enumerated. Two of the five elements of the task force's charge are critical pieces to see:
  
  2) The focus of the Form of Government shall be on providing leadership for local congregations as missional communities; and
  
  3) The Form of Government shall provide sufficient authority and flexibility to allow the presbytery to assist congregations in addressing the changing cultural, economic, and societal challenges in our new millennial world. The FOG Task Force shall take notice of and address the institutional and structural impediments that currently cripple so very many of our presbyteries. (italics added)
  
  
• The Form of Government Task Force presented its report to the 218th General Assembly (2008). That was the last Assembly. As an object lesson, pay attention to the way that this is phrased in the Minutes, "The 218th General Assembly (2008) approved the recommendation to refer the new Form of Government proposal to the Office of the General Assembly for a period of churchwide study and response overseen by the task force, and to expand the task force to include members from the assembly committee to which the report was assigned. Taking into account the response gathered, the expanded task force was directed to produce a new draft of the documents for consideration by the 219th General Assembly (2010)."
  
  At first, this reads like it was a positive affirmation; but then, at the end, that last line spells out the significance, "the expanded task force was directed to produce a new draft of the documents for consideration by the 219th General Assembly (2010)." In other words, try again.
  
  
• This draft is their latest effort.

What is this draft supposed to do?

Well, it is probably better to let the Task Force explain.

The recommended revisions to the Book of Order do not change the constitutional standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Rather, these revisions return the Form of Government to its original intent—a constitution rather than a manual of operations. By so doing, it establishes a polity that empowers the church to engage effectively in the mission of God in the 21st century. This revised polity lifts up and enhances the core values that shape and govern the whole church. This polity enables the councils of the church to establish the processes through which they can effectively serve God’s mission in their own contexts. As we the church know, affirm, and live out these overarching standards that shape our life together, the work we do will be clearer, more easily understood, and more united in serving our Lord in mission.

Then, it breaks out what is currently chapters G-1 through G-4 into its own separate section of the Book of Order.

The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity lays out the principles that are basic—or foundational—to government, worship, and discipline for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Preserving the vast majority of the material in the first four chapters of the current Form of Government, this section organizes the material into three chapters:

The first focuses on the activity of God in the world in which the church participates. It describes what the church is called to be and do in terms of the Nicene Creed and the Reformation notes from the Scots Confession and the six great ends of the church. It concludes with a section on the church’s openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which calls the church to reform, to ecumenicity, to unity in its diversity, and to openness to God’s mission in the world.

The second describes how the Confessions function in the life of the church.

The third outlines the historic principles of church order and government.

Finally, current chapters G-5 through G-18 are restructured into six chapters.

"The proposed Form of Government spells out the constitutional framework for government of this denomination as it seeks to respond to God’s call to life in mission." That framework is as follows:

Chapter I defines the structure of the congregation and the call to membership in a congregation.

Chapter II details the orders of ministry (formerly called ‘offices’of deacon, elder, and minister of the Word and Sacrament) and lifts up our distinctive commitment to parity between ruling elders and teaching elders in the church’s work of government and mission.

Chapter III reclaims the ancient name of ‘councils’ for those bodies in the church that order its life through deliberation and decisions. This chapter emphasizes the requirement for diversity at every council more inclusive than the session. It describes the work of councils using the marks of the true church: proclamation of the Word, administration of the Sacraments, and right ministration of discipline.

Chapter IV provides for those places where the government of the church engages with civil government.

Chapter V describes the church’s involvement in church union and ecumenicity.

Chapter VI provides for interpretation and amendment of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

To Recap: The new Form of Government (nFoG) is a long report of a re-write including massive changes to the G-x.xxxx sections of the Book of Order.

Tomorrow: How to Begin Looking at the nFoG

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