Unification: It’s more than an org chart

These days, whenever I’m hanging out with other church leaders —whether in committees, retreats, or over coffee — the refrain is often the same: “They never taught us this in seminary.”

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To be sure, this isn’t new, but it seems like it carries more urgency now. None of us feel fully equipped to support congregations facing decline, financial uncertainty, and the cultural shifts that demand courageous structural change.

That’s why I believe the work of the Unification Commission matters so much.

The same struggles we hear about in congregations and mid councils —siloed leadership, organizational fatigue, loss of clarity, and wavering trust — are present at the national level, too. And if I’ve learned anything from my years in this work, it’s that bureaucratic tinkering and a patchwork quilt of budget cuts don’t fix the deeper issues.

The 225th General Assembly called for something different: a season of Spirit-led discernment, rooted in both practical necessity and theological hope that would lead to a new and sustainable structure for the ministry of the General Assembly.

A mandate born of discernment

Though this all might seem new, this moment didn’t just pop into existence in 2022. Already in 2016, the report of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Review Committee — which I served on —identified the need for structural clarity. The report pointed to a lack of collaboration and coordination between the PMA and the Office of the General Assembly, and a troubling absence of shared vision.

The charge given to the Unification Commission is more than just creating a new org chart that helps us balance the budget. We have been tasked with designing a truly unified agency — realigning mission priorities and vision with staffing, budgets, communication and governance — to support the whole church in a more nimble, transparent, collaborative and financially sustainable way.

I want to pause a moment to say what a blessing it is to work with such a dedicated group of commissioners and staff. In addition to our full-time work and university commitments, we are devoting upwards of 10 hours a week to this work under the strong and courageous leadership of our moderators, the Rev. Dr. Felipe Martínez and Ruling Elder Cristi Scott Ligon, who have to navigate so much. We do it because we believe in the vision the Assembly cast, and because we feel called to discern how the Spirit is calling the church into a new way of being that is both resilient and effective.

What we’re learning

• Structural clarity feeds mission clarity. We can’t effectively support congregations or mid councils while working within a system designed for a different era.
• Transparency builds trust. Clear, consistent communication —internally, between agencies and with the wider church — is essential.
• Courage must be nurtured. Bold steps aren’t about charisma or recklessness. They grow out of grounded governance, connectional support and financial clarity.
• Change stirs fear. Focused, purposeful adaptation is the best response to irrelevance, but it’s also scary. We’ve seen again and again that honest conversations open pathways to transformation.

Why this matters right now

We sometimes joke that we’re “building the plane while flying it.” But the truth is, the plane we were given was built for another time. This is the kind of change none of us were taught to do. There are no seminary classes called “How to Guide People on a Path Nobody Wants to Walk” or “How to Usher in the Life-Giving Changes That Nobody Wants.” But we’re learning, listening and doing our best to follow the Spirit into a future that requires realignment, not just repair.

Why I do this work (and keep doing it)

Since 2014, I’ve served on the PMA Review Committee, the All Agency Review Committee, the Moving Forward Implementation Commission, and now, the Unification Commission. Recently, I revisited my old notes (yes, I’m a note hoarder). What I found was not just history — it was holy frustration.

Over and over again, in every report, every overture, the same words appear:

• Lack of transparency
• Lack of collaboration
• Siloed structures
• Internal mistrust
• Cumbersome hierarchy
• Poor communication
• Low morale
• Lack of clarity — internally and externally

These aren’t just footnotes in our shared institutional memory and they aren’t just bureaucratic gripes. They’ve been named — not once or twice, but in more than 10 years of interviews, listening sessions, assessments and debates. Ultimately, these are the barriers to ministry that need to be removed. They have worn down our staff, our pastors and our people. And they keep us from living fully into the gospel we proclaim.

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This is why I do this work — not because I love org charts and spreadsheets (which, if I’m honest, I sort of do), but because I believe the church must embody what it teaches. Our structure must serve and grow mission, not stifle it.

People often ask if this work is worth it — if the struggle is too hard, too slow, too thankless. But I keep coming back to the words from our Book of Order (F-1.0301):

“The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life.”

That risk is real. Declining giving, disillusionment, burnout — these are not abstract problems. But they aren’t the end of the story.

Because the church is also:

“A community of hope … a community of love … a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace.”

If we truly believe that, we cannot settle for structures that make mission harder. We cannot maintain systems that obscure our values or drain our energy.

So I keep showing up. Not because it’s easy — but because I believe it is holy. I believe we are called to build something worthy of the gospel we bear.

That’s what the Unification Commission is working toward.

And that’s why I’m still here.

The Rev. Debra Avery is a member of the Unification Commission, which meets July 24-25 online and at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Learn more here.