PLC board member sees his new term
as a blessing and learning opportunity
By Jason P. Reagan, The Layman, Posted Wednesday, April 20, 2011
While he may provide sound financial advice in his professional life, the newest addition to the Presbyterian Lay Committee (PLC) Board of Directors hopes to grow from the advice that comprises the group’s decades of experience.
Joshua Dobi, a certified financia planner and owner of Dobi Financial Group in Cornelius, N.C., joined the board in January and says he has known about the PLC all of his life.
“The PLC was omnipresent in our home from the time I can remember,” he said. Dobi learned about the group’s 45-year history and mission from his father, the Rev. David A. Dobi, who currently serves as the senior pastor of Greenville (Pa.) Presbyterian Church.
When asked what led him to accept the PLC’s invitation to serve, Dobi said he had known PLC President Carmen Fowler for a number of years and was impressed by the group’s consistency in upholding the “reform message that is seeking to encourage and equip our folks in the pews; to stay on that message and to grow in that message.”
Dobi said he expects his time on the board to be filled with blessings and opportunities to show God’s love while learning from experienced members.
“One of the blessings of being on a board like the PLC is that it doesn’t require any one of us to run alone,” he said.
“I want in my very small way to be able to add to what has already been set in place.”
Dobi said the greatest challenge facing both the PLC and the Presbyterian Church (USA) is the possible passage of three controversial denominational proposals.
Amendment 10A, if passed, would change the PCUSA’s constitutional fidelity/chastity ordination requirement allowing the ordination of ministers and officers engaged in same-sex partnerships.
The New Form of Government (nFOG) proposal would rewrite the current Form of Government section in the governing Book of Order and has been criticized as being vague and overly broad. Proponents say the proposal will allow the PCUSA to become more “missional.” Critics warn of greater denominational control over local congregations.
The third proposal advocates adoption of the Belhar Confession into the PCUSA’s Book of Confessions. The Confession was written in 1968 to oppose apartheid in South Africa. Opponents say the confession lacks sufficient Scriptural foundation and could be used to remove denominational restrictions for those engaged in homosexual activity.
Dobi said adoption of the proposals could “significantly change how the PCUSA is governed.”
“It’s a very dynamic time within the Presbyterian Church and I think it is as important as it ever was to stay on message and remember the tenets of the faith that will long outlast all of us,” he added.
Born in West Newbury, Mass., Dobi spent most of his childhood near Pittsburgh, Pa. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.
A 14-year veteran in the financial planning sector, Dobi is a member of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Cornelius where he serves as assistant treasurer and on the church’s finance committee.
Dobi and his wife, Kerri, recently welcomed their first child, Emily Grace, who was born on April 7.
He serves on the PLC board’s Church Relations and Assistance Committee.
“It’s not too often that I get to look around the table and be surrounded by so many folks who are so committed to the body of Christ,” he said.