Overture 80
On Amending G-14.0502a Regarding Election of
a Pastor—From the Presbytery of Cimarron.
The Presbytery of Cimarron respectfully overtures
the 217th General Assembly (2006) to
direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed amendment
to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes:
Shall the first sentence of G-14.0502a be
amended as follows: [Text to be inserted is shown as italic.]
“a. When a church is without a pastor,
or after the effective date of the dissolution of the pastoral
relationship is announced, the congregation shall, with
the guidance and permission of the committee on ministry, G-11.0502d,
proceed to elect a pastor in the following manner.”
Rationale
Our current call process is broken in as much
as it only allows congregations to begin the call
process after the effective date of dissolution has passed.
Presbyteries are skirting this portion of the Book of Order
in various ways, the most common of which is by allowing churches
to begin the search for a co-pastor when in fact there is no
intention of establishing or maintaining a co-pastor model of
ministry.
When taken to the extreme, the incoming co-pastor
may only serve in that capacity for one day, becoming pastor
upon the almost immediate exit or retirement of the current
pastor. This is not only deceptive, but also cheapens the true
co-pastor model.
This amendment would accomplish several things.
It would level the playing field for all sizes of congregations.
It would prevent churches from losing momentum resulting from
long vacancies. This amendment would render unnecessary the
“technical duplicity” of current practice.
It should be noted and highlighted that this
would not bind a particular presbytery. A particular congregation
could only proceed with the guidance and permission of the committee
on ministry of that presbytery (G-14.0502 and G-11.0502d). It
would not shortcut or bypass a particular presbytery’s
requirements for mission studies and other work prior to allowing
the congregation to proceed with a search.
For these reasons we urge prayerful consideration
of this overture.
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