January 12, 2010: Reading the nFoG
Yesterday, we started looking at the new Form of Government (nFoG). Actually, we started looking around the nFoG. It is kind of hard to figure out where and how to tackle this thing as a complete unit.
In short, the General Assembly is being asked to approve a complete overhaul of the operating system. Now, I am a Mac guy, so I think in these terms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpOvzGiheOM&feature=player_embedded
This may hit a little closer than we'd like to believe.
Look, the Form of Government Task Force is presenting what it was asked to produce; so, please do not read this as an indictment of the people involved. Further, they have worked really hard with integrity to get to this place. Having been invested in its development for four years, they genuinely believe it is better than the current Form of Government.
However, in order to gain approval by the Assembly, there will have to be -- to a very great extent -- an attitude of "trust me." Given the time allowed at the General Assembly, the vast number of issues involved, and the kinds of unintended consequences that will result, there is no way that General Assembly is going to address all the legitimate concerns. It is an incredibly complex thing to try to re-constitute a system that impacts 2.1 million members; 173 presbyteries, 16 synods; a biennial assembly; and an ongoing national staff and program. It is akin to Microsoft, which has to program with all sorts of outside vendors, programs, and hardware (printers and networks) to accomodate.
It is appropriate to use the computer operating system comparison to illustrate the task facing for commissioners and advisory delegates to the 219th General Assembly. Even with a general familiarity with computer codes, I would have a difficult time evaluating all the lines of code in Windows 7 in order to figure out what were the improvements. I also would not be able to pick out all the bugs, the unintended consequences, or what would be most likely to cause crashes.
The same thing is true with the nFoG. No one -- not even the most dedicated polity wonk -- is going to go through this thing line by line. Even if they did, what would they accomplish? Who would read the results of their line-by-line analysis? What is more problematic, though, is that there is no "beta testing" for the nFoG operating system. If approved (by the GA and presbyteries), it would be the operating system and there would not be any option of re-loading what we have.
If that is the scope of the issue, how do you begin reading and making an evaluation?
My suggestion is that you tackle it a couple of ways (at least, my plan is to tackle it a couple of ways):
1. Try to see the big picture. What are the assumptions being made to support this new approach to polity? Will it produce what it is intended to achieve?
2. Trace through our current issues to see how it works. For example, how would the nFoG handle the GA PJC cases that have come through the existing Form of Government? Would it be any different?
3. Imagine how it will be received and used if approved. What actual impact will this have on the life, ministry and mission of our members? How does the existing Form of Government frame and shape congregations, and -- assuming that the same people would be involved -- what would be different under the nFoG? Or, let me put it a little more directly: how does the existing Form of Government frame and shape your congregation, and -- assuming that the same people would be involved -- what would be different under the nFoG?
4. What are the identifiable problems that would be created?What would be most likely to cause crashes? (A quick preview: money and property.)
Recap: the standard for reviewing the new Form of Government (nFoG) involves both the best and worst case scenarios. What is it supposed to achieve and how does it reach that result? What are the side-effects and what is lost if adopted? Remember this: if you can use the words to support a result you would absolutely oppose, you can be guaranteed that someone will.
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