The Layman – February 2003 Volume 36, Number 1 – Posted February 17, 2003

The disease of defiance Notwithstanding its lack of constitutional merit, the most compelling argument by the moderator and the stated clerk against calling the 214th General Assembly back into session probably was that it would have butted up against the regularly scheduled 215th General Assembly. The gist of that contrived argument was that the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) required a 120-day review of matters of constitutional interpretation or possible amendments before the called meeting could be convened. A careful and unbiased reading of the constitution requires no such thing; otherwise, every General Assembly would be hog-tied by “can’t do” Presbyterian leaders – led by the stated clerk – that have dug in against enforcing the constitution’s “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard. But even if the two assemblies had to meet back-to-back within a matter of days, there’s an urgency to deal with widespread constitutional defiance that would have justified that abutment. A meeting of the special assembly would require few staff members – a handful from the Office of the General Assembly. Thus, the special assembly could have met without undue staff lobbying and performed, as every General Assembly should, as a true deliberative body of elected leadership. It would have been a forum that could have served the denomination better without the clutter of distractions that abbreviate debate during regular General Assemblies to mere sound bites. The distractions are mind-boggling. Example: The General Assembly Council voted recently to send 425 staff members to the 215th General Assembly. The Office of the General Assembly will send others – boosting the number of staff at the session to nearly 500. Besides the bloated cost (roughly $500,000) for staff travel, hotel rooms and food, that’s an unconscionable ratio of nearly one staff member per commissioner. The staff literally overpowers the elected leadership. In addition, elected and voting commissioners must vie for debate time with non-elected delegates representing youth, theological students and ecumenical bodies. The time allotted for plenary debate is further reduced by a stream of video commercials and presentations promoting PCUSA programs, addresses by ecumenical delegates, “get-acquainted and feel-good” committee gatherings, speak-outs that have nothing to do with the issues and countless other interruptions. The denomination’s most important forum becomes a carnival. The moderator and the stated clerk have said the 215th General Assembly can handle the constitutional issues. That didn’t happen when the 214th General Assembly met in June 2002. If the 215th General Assembly conducts business as usual, there’s scant chance that anything will be accomplished to stop the spread of the disease of defiance.

Respond to this article Index of Layman editorials Home · News · PLC Publications · The Presbyterian Layman Online Reviews · Archives· History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links