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Since being elected moderator last June, I have been seeking an effective way that suits who I am in which to communicate with the wider church. What I have finally come up with is the idea to send out weekly (at least I’m trying for weekly) messages via email to anyone who wants to subscribe. [Learn more.]

Three imperatives in the life of the church

Joan Gray responded to a series of questions published in a booklet distributed to commissioners and advisory delegates prior to the convening of the 217th General Assembly. Here’s the Moderator’s response to the question:

What do you consider the most important aspect of our polity?

John Calvin had the radical idea that lay people could actually run the church. Over against more than a thousand years of clergy-dominated church life, Calvin and those who came after him envisioned a system in which clergy and elected laity make decisions together. In my estimation the single most significant fact of our polity is that in the session, elders always outnumber clergy. The practical result is that few churches will ever rise above the level of their elders. [Continue reading.]