The 220th General Assembly of our denomination will convien on June 30th. I wish I could go to Pittsburgh with them, but I was not chosen this time... But I hope to go some day. Each presbytery elects elder and minister deligates and sends them with their blessing. The Presbytery can't tell them how to vote. Their church can't tell them how to vote. No one can bind a person's conscience. Your prayerful decisions are between you and God.
In our flavor of the Presbyterian church we believe that a group of people prayerfully making decisions can better find the will of God than individuals alone. That is why an elected session is in charge of the church, not the pastor; why the presbytery is run by its members, not the executive; and the General Assembly is run by the delegates not the moderator. So if you don't like the decisions, don't go villanizing the moderator. It is on our heads!
Now, if you thought the last General Assembly was controversial... There are some very sensitive issues up for vote again this year. Many are worried if the General Assembly will make the right decision. That is where we have to trust our political process. Can the Assembly make a wrong decision? Yes, it is made up of sinful human beings just like us. But we trust that the wisdom of the body will be better than a single individual.
Our denomination is almost as clearly divided on issues as our country itself. So there will probably be 40% or more who will believe that the wrong decision has been made. So what do we do? Many say, "Well if the vote doesn't go my way, I am leaving the denomination!" That did happen in a few cases last time. It is painful and unpleasant, because ir seldom will be a whole congregation that leaves. Many churches split over it. Suddenly they believe that they can't sit and worship together if they do not agree on such and such an issue. "I can't take communion with that person." They wash their hands of the brothers and sisters that they have loved for years. It makes me sad. I know it makes God sad.
At the last presidential election I heard people say "If (insert the candidate of your choice here) gets elected, I am moving to Canada!" I don't know of anyone who actually did. They stuck it out and waited for the next election, where they will have another say. That is what I beleive is the faithful response to a General Assembly vote that you do not agree with. You are still part of the family of God.
I believe that God is bigger than our denomination! So, if we make a decision that truely goes against God's will for the church, God can fix it! Look at how many times the disciples got things wrong. Peter in particular was good at getting things completely backwards. Jesus just corrected them and moved on. If we are truely praying for God's will, then things will eventually go along God's plan. If you just walk out when things don't go your way, then if you are right in what you wanted to happen, then you will miss out on being part of God's solution. And remember we are all human. If the vote goes against what you want, you may need to consider that your opinion is the one that would have gone against God's plan.
So what will I do if some votes the General Assembly makes don't go my way? The same thing I always do... pray, and keep loving and working with my brothers and sisters. I believe that is what Jesus would want me to do.
"How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity." Psalm 133:1
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