Questions and Answers: Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick

What do you see as the most important issues facing the church and the General Assembly and why?

I believe the most important issue facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today is that of reconciliation. Two years ago we celebrated the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Confession of 1967. As we focused on that confession across the church, I came to a renewed conviction that this confession, written in the turbulent decade of the 1960s, centered on the primary issue before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in our time— how the church can give faithful expression to the good news of Scripture that “God was in Christ reconciling the world…and giving to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19).

We live in a world that, on all sides, is hungry for reconciliation. It is a world where:

•warfare, poverty, and violence seem to be getting out of control,
•people desperately need the reconciling love of God in Jesus Christ,
•religious communities are in deep discord and threatening to produce a “conflict of civilizations.”

We also are part of a church that is hungry for reconciliation—reconciliation with Christ and with oneanother so that we might be Christ’s agents of reconciliation in a divided world. I have sought in myministry as Stated Clerk to be about those things that can bring Presbyterians together around the deeperreconciliation that we find in Christ and to be about this ministry of reconciliation in the world.

Our Book of Order makes the bold claim that “the Church of Jesus Christ is a living demonstration of what God intends for all humanity” (G-3.0200). Since God’s ultimate purpose in human history is to reconcile the world, as we find so clearly stated in Scripture and in the Confession of 1967, no task could
be more urgent for the church than to model the reconciling love that God intends for us in the body of Christ, not as an end in itself, but as a living demonstration of what God intends for the whole human family. May it be true for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) in our time!

What is your vision of the church for the future, and what specifically would you do as Stated Clerk to assist in accomplishing that vision?

My vision is that the PC(USA) will become a church that is a living expression of the vision of the church found in the first four chapters of our Form of Government. It is a church:

•with a renewed commitment to the living Christ, who is “Head of the Church,” to the Great Ends of the Church, and to the historic principles of church order and church government (chapter 1);
•devoted to Scripture and grounded in the theological vision described in The Book of Confessions
•alive in mission as “Christ’s faithful evangelist” (chapter 3);
•that seeks unity and honors diversity, both within the PC(USA) and with the broader Christian community, and that seeks to order its life in accord with the principles of Presbyterian

As Stated Clerk, I will continue to lift up this vision by:

•promoting what unites us as Presbyterians,
•lifting up to the church the great strengths of our Constitution,
•upholding the Great Ends of the Church, •calling us all to rediscover glimpses of a New Testament church in a new century,
•supporting and seeing through to a successful conclusion the work of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church,
•sponsoring Common Faith, Common Mission consultations that focus on the core values of our Constitution for the renewal of the church,
•reshaping our polity to enable the PC(USA) to be a truly evangelical and multicultural church in the 21st century,
•serving as our church’s chief ecumenical officer and representing us in major leadership positions in the ecumenical movement and the global Christian community,
•leading us in ecumenical breakthroughs such as Lutheran-Reformed Full Communion, concurrent General Assemblies with the Cumberland Presbyterians, and strengthened relationships with the Vatican and with Churches Uniting in Christ,
•reshaping our General Assemblies from “political conventions” into biennial spiritual gatherings that seek to discern the mind of Christ for the church,
•providing leadership to the Presbyterian Historical Society, which is the repository of the lived experience of these values in American Presbyterianism,
•renewing and strengthening the relationships among our governing bodies,
•bringing a spirit of cooperation among agencies of the General Assembly in service to our congregations.

The General Assembly Standing Rules state, “As an officer of the General Assembly, the Stated Clerk shall preserve and defend the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and support the decisions, actions, and programs of the General Assembly.” Describe your understanding of the
Stated Clerk’s role in carrying out this constitutional function.

I have a unique claim to understanding the vision behind the call upon the Stated Clerk to “preserve and defend” our Constitution. This provision originated in the former Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) in 1974 when it was added to that denomination’s Standing Rules for the General Assembly. If you read the minutes of the PCUS, you will find that Clifton Kirkpatrick was the person chairing the meeting of the Committee on Assembly Operations (their version of what we now term the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly) when this provision was proposed.

This is not an indication that I was shaping the constitutional policy of our church in 1974 as a newly ordained minister! Rather, it was my father who was moderating that meeting as a faithful elder with a deep commitment to our Constitution—one that he shared often with me. This commitment to “preserve and defend” the Constitution is deeply rooted in my family and is a responsibility that I am called and privileged to undertake as Stated Clerk.

The first task of the Stated Clerk is to uphold the Constitution (both The Book of Confessions and the Book of Order). The Constitution proclaims our faith to the world and to the church, orders our church life, shapes our worship, and prescribes our procedures for discipline. Without such there can be no
Presbyterian Church. The Constitution is the foundation on which the other duties assigned to the Stated Clerk are to be carried out. The Stated Clerk is called to uphold the Constitution first and foremost by publishing and distributing the Constitution (in an increasing number of languages) and by upholding its vision and proclaiming its theology to the church. The Stated Clerk makes clear to the church the process of constitutional revision and reminds the church that while the honoring of dissent is a deeply held
Presbyterian value, defying the Constitution is not. Such defiance, if left unchecked, will clearly damage our covenant community.

The Stated Clerk should make the Constitution accessible to the church as a living document. The Clerk should support colleague stated clerks in synods and presbyteries and clerks of sessions in congregations in upholding the Constitution. He or she should also offer advisory opinions on the meaning of the Constitution, provide constitutional advice to those who seek to faithfully follow its precepts, and enable the church to adapt the Constitution to new realities in line with its foundational principles and authoritative interpretations. The Clerk should manage those processes and institutions, such as the Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Permanent Judicial Commission, that enable the Constitution to find expression in the church’s life, and provide conferences, educational materials, and resources (like our new Common Faith, Common Mission curriculum for church officers) to the church.

These are exactly the steps that my colleagues in the Office of the General Assembly and I have taken to “preserve and defend” our Constitution. What we also must do—and have done—is to respect the separation of powers that our Constitution provides to different governing bodies, commissions, and governing body officers. For a Stated Clerk to attempt to assume the power assigned to a governing body to carry out a judicial order or to countermand the decision of a judicial commission will truly lead to
constitutional disorder. Upholding the Constitution is a shared task among governing bodies. As Stated Clerk, I have sought to faithfully carry out the responsibilities assigned to me and to respect the role of other partners in this process.

What do you see as the role of the Stated Clerk in addressing contentious or confrontational issues?

The apostle Paul admonished the Ephesians “to speak the truth in love.” As I have been called upon tointervene in contentious issues to further the witness of the General Assembly, I have sought diligently to follow that admonition.

Two major contexts exist in which the Clerk is called upon to address contentious issues—those within the church where the Clerk is charged to uphold our constitutional standards, and those in relation to the world where the Clerk is called upon to share the witness of our General Assembly for God’s justice and reconciliation.

Within the church, actions are always taken in partnership with the various governing bodies that together are charged to uphold our Constitution. A clear example of this is in relation to the controversy surrounding ordination standards, especially G-6.0106b in the Book of Order. The Clerk’s role is to make clear to the whole church that the provisions of G-6.0106b are “the law of the church,” and unless they are changed through our constitutional processes, they should be upheld by all governing bodies. I have done this through direct communications with all of our governing bodies and through issuing an advisory opinion on G-6.0106b. I have also issued advisory opinions distinguishing between constitutionally protected dissent and forbidden defiance, laying out clear parameters and processes for upholding ordination standards and carefully defining the roles of stated clerks in judicial process. Since presbyteries have primary responsibility for upholding ordination standards, I have provided training and resources to assist them in this responsibility. Because administrative review is the normative Presbyterian way of correcting error, I have also assisted governing bodies, including the General Assembly, in developing careful review processes to deal with potential defiance. At the same time, I have reminded the church of the admonition in the first chapter of the Rules of Discipline, namely, that our purpose in taking these actions is not punishment or retribution, but rather restoration and reconciliation.

As the person charged with communicating the actions of the General Assembly to the world, the Clerk should share our witness in a manner that is pastoral, that works in partnership with other faith communities, and that explains particular actions in terms of their biblical and theological imperatives. Two examples might be in order. Because the General Assembly adopted the Taco Bell boycott and instructed me to further its aims, I spent time with the farmworkers in the fields (I came to be known as
“gringo grande!”) to express our church’s deep pastoral concern for them. I also set up meetings between the Coalition of Immokolee Workers and the leadership of YUM Brands (the parent company of Taco Bell) to facilitate face-to-face negotiations for a just solution. I invited other denominations to join us in this endeavor, and they have! And I have sought, along with the able staff of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, to share with Presbyterians the biblical call for justice for “the least of our brothers and sisters.”

I have taken a similar approach on global issues, such as the Middle East. In seeking to further the General Assembly’s witness related to that region, I have spent time visiting pastorally with the churches there, working closely with the World and National Councils of Churches, meeting with presidents of nations seeking peace, and communicating clearly that political action by the church is based on profound Christian values and the furtherance of Christian mission in that part of the world.

Comment on an item of business before this General Assembly that you are excited about and that you believe will help the church be faithful to its mission to proclaim the Good News.

I believe the most substantive item of business before the 216th General Assembly is the preliminary report and recommendation of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. At the 213th General Assembly in 2001, Moderator Syngman Rhee and I called for the General Assembly to create the Theological Task Force as “a more excellent way” for the church to address how we might uphold our commitment to the peace, unity, and purity of the church at a time of deep disagreements among Presbyterians. This model of bringing together Presbyterian leaders with divergent convictions to seek the mind of Christ and to lead the whole church in seeking the peace, unity, and purity of the church is one that has worked before in our history and is one that I believe God will use again to renew us as a church. The Office of the General Assembly has staffed this task force, and I have a great deal of hope for its ministry among us.

In their preliminary report to this assembly, the task force shares with us its journey, as this diverse group of Presbyterians has studied in depth such issues as Christology, biblical interpretation, ordination standards, and power. The task force has come, in the process, to a common assumption that we as Presbyterians do share “one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all” (Eph. 4:5-6). They report on the excellent videos and resources they have developed for presbyteries and congregations. Most
importantly, they share with us their affirmation that the church does indeed long for peace, unity, and purity, and that the basis for all three of these cherished values is Jesus Christ himself.

The task force recommends that every presbytery and session bring together intentional gatherings of Presbyterians with diverse theological views to covenant together to discuss this affirmation and, utilizing the resources of the task force, to seek ways to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church.

To me, the most important issue facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today is reconciliation. At the heart of the task force’s report is, indeed, the urgent call for us to be reconciled to one another and to God, so that we may, in turn, be God’s agents of reconciliation in the world. The work of this task force is one filled with hope that, in the midst of our differences, we may indeed find our peace, unity, and purity in Christ and move forward together as the body of Christ. I hope that this preliminary report and recommendation will not only be adopted by the 216th General Assembly, but will be lived out with great enthusiasm and deep commitment in our presbyteries and congregations for many years to come.