LOUISVILLE — Two hundred Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders gathered today Sept 26), seeking to find their way out of the maze of denominational membership loss, downsizing, financial trouble and debilitating disputes over a variety of divisive issues.
Peace River Presbytery executive Graham Hart introduces "appreciative inquiry" to the first-ever joint meeting of the GAC and middle governing body executives. Photo by Joseph Williams. “Leadership at all levels of the church find themselves hot and tired,” said the Rev. Graham Hart, general presbyter for Peace River Presbytery, who introduced the theme of the gathering, “A New Way for a New Day: Beyond the Maze and into the Labyrinth. “The dominant question is, how can we find our way out of this maze?”
The two-day meeting brings together for the first time members of the General Assembly Council, which continues later into the week, and the executives of the church’s synods and presbyteries. More than 120 of the PC(USA)’s 189 middle governing body executives are present.
Hart, a member of the meeting’s planning team, promised “an intense time. We do not often get to ask the important questions. Why? We don’t have time. Decisions must be made, the urgent presses us on. Doing the same thing and expecting different results means we will keep losing members year after year. We are in a maze and desperately trying to get out.”
Graham Hart talks with GAC chair Allison Seed as joint meeting participants engage in "appreciative inquiry." Photo by Joseph Williams. Hart introduced the methodology for the meeting’s discussions: appreciative inquiry.
“Every organization has something that works well — the positive core. Finding that core means finding the way forward,” he said. The method is rooted in relationship and story-telling … so that we can begin having meaningful, efficacious and ongoing conversations that address how we can faithfully respond to what is truly important and essential for us to be faithful to Jesus Christ.”
The result, Hart held out, is “that instead of feeling we are going in circles, or wondering if we have been here before, we may find our way.
“The point of the labyrinth is not to find a way out, but to find a way through.”
In an accompanying paper, Hart posited the 11 issues/questions that the group will be discussing over the next two days:
- The search for a common vision;
- The question of purpose;
- The care of relationship and connections;
- The question of leadership — who leads, why and how — issues of polity, governance and power;
- The congregational dilemma — from membership focus to missional focus;
- The congregational dilemma — what is job one? (“The denomination has not lost members; local congregations have lost members.”);
- Do we have a fundraising problem, a stewardship problem, or a spiritual problem?
- Who’s talking … who’s listening…? — communication, interpretation and new technologies;
- Beyond compartmentalization into cooperation and coordination;
- Developing an immune system for the PC(USA) and in each presbytery (“In the best sense the many advocacy groups and their publications raise questions that need to be addressed, but in the worst case they spread dis-ease, disinformation, distrust and a negativity that is hard to overcome.”);
- Can we discipline ourselves to focus on what is most important?
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