LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
MARCH 28, 1987

9:15 a.m. Session
JMB Notes

Opening Remarks —
Setting the context —
or

There is a method to cur madness

— ee eS

(THE HISTORIC PRINCIPLES OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT ) -copies distributed

One of the pecularities of church work is that the bottom line is

different...
Bottom line in busines — profit
Industry - production

Athletics - winning

It's not whether or not you win but how you play the game (What is exact

quote? Grantland Rice}
is simply not true —
It is net quite the opposite -

i.e. - we do have some honor —

i.e. - Whe Universities pay young women to have sex with recruites as part

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of the enducement package - we gal into action and tell them the
Zame can't be played for a whole year —-

We'd like to win and play the fame right ~ like Joe Paterno---~
but in church ~ the how is as important as the what —

The product - is not just souls saved, building built, budgets

accomplished, programs launched -

The how - the process - of identifying what we want to do and how to go
about it - is a major part of the bottom line for the Church. (If you
don't know that, a church meeting can make you crazy - and a General

Assembly ~ an example of absolute wast and insanity —) till you realize

that what they are doing is being church ~ and that that is what we are

call to do BE CHURCH.

Intrigued to read about Constitution connection - Philadelphia - 1787
- parcess was important -
early device was to make th into a committee of the whole -
Washington was presiding officer — at each Session - he opened, then turned
gavel over to chairman of committee -

debates - resolution - of committee men then resubmitted to some men
sitting as convention.

It worked!

There is a theology built into the system —-

see Radical Principles
tao be understood against the backdrop of history ~ which for a thousand
years had said -

Authority comes from God and is given to chosen people to exercise on

god's behalf over the rest of the people.

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Monarchy is the name for it - and Divine Right of Kings was the
theological rationale -

Clearly — the authority of the King was dispensed by God.

Ecclesiastically - the name is Episcapacy - which became, in history ,
Papacy -
If you are invested in that system, to suggest that authority is lodged
elsewhere is revolutionary - and teasonous -

Politically it has meant persecution - death

Ecclesiastically ~ not many decades ago the official Roman Catholic
position was that democracy is morally evil -—

Our system is based on assumption that God gives authority te the
people -

— not to individuals -

We are suspect of too much power in one person, or

Calvin - a bit of an aristocrat - let loose in histery the radical
notion that in religion and politics people have authority - right - to
have a say in their governance —

that they should chose their authorities (he was no pure democrate)
and that leaders are accountable — not to the boss, King, Pape — but to the
folk -

All of which means that the individual is terribly important.

And that when elected representation get together - the processes by

Which they make decisions is very important.

Thus — this day -
A short course in the Mission of the Boards -

Session - t¢

set the sails and point the direction

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, worship, education, fellowship, and mission
to answer to people and Presbytery for the life of church
(Pastor is moderator - leader, too — not just presider} -
bigger the church, the more leadership is important.
So - I will participate as well as moderate
but within the system
Deacons - to care for the needs of members and to express church's
concern for the world
~there are decisions to be made - but it get sticky when Deacons - act
like Session.
Trustees — to keep. ship afloat: ta know what the directions are — and
wha get to set the directions and then to see that ship is equipped to move
ahead.

-”

Our mission is te be the church -

our faith is that God's spirit is always a resource and always nearby
- and that the Spirit is given - through the gifts of the individuals
involved.

Allof which is to say this is a very important event and thank you for

coming.

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LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
MARCH 28, 1987

JMB Notes, 2:00 p.m. Session

There are two ordination/installation vows which I particularly like:

~Do yo promise to further the peace, unity and purity of the church?

-Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence,
imagination and love?

I like them because they contain the aesthetic of Presybterianism and
the vitality of this particular church, past and present and future, Ged
willing.

Ponder those strong words - peace, unity and purity

energy, intelligence, imagination, love —

Reflect on the fact that there is an internal dynamic, a dialogue
between them,

that if you serve with energy, it may be hard on the peace...

«that if you are too heavy into the unity - it may not be conducive
to imagination -

--that if your are obsessed with the purity of the church you may
net risk intelligence and love —

What is going on here is a way of being the church that makes a virtue
out of diversity ~

~that begins with the unity Jesus Christ gives his church and then
encourages and celebrates individuality — which means the eccentricities,
strengths, weaknesses, peculiarities which make up the bersonhood of each
one of us.

And the gifts... We believe that what we bring to our vocation as

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Jeaders of the church are gifts the spirit has given us.
Ponder them ... identify them - in others - in yourself.
His gift is analysis
Her gift is good procedure
His is passion for justice
Hers is balance sheets
His is grace to laugh - human
His is a of God's love for the poor —
and at the end of this time together - let us marvel at what we have and
what we have been given.
What's ahead?
the adventure of continuing to discover what it means to be the church
here -
and the arduous process of deliberating, discussing, arguing, and
deciding
~because ~ in that process — we become the Church -
There are some goals {move}

~fo reach out in love

to our neighbors
Urban people - near north — and our new neighbors who will
continue to surround us - we have enormous task to be church for that many

{we're only church I know that fills up every time )

te Urban Poor -
to expand ~ make a difference —
to world beyond our city and nation - to offer oneness of whole
world

To be lively, energetic and creative in this unique place

To dare to speak a word for God - to the city

To build up the body -
with programs for growth
and with pastoral care for all
To ask - seriously - what can we do — what do we need to do —
A measure of discomfort with status quo is necessary — never change for
change's sake - but a consistent asking of the question -
is this what we intend

and

is this what God wants us to do and to be -

God has blessed us richly -
with a tradition

with strength

and with this wonderful abundance of skilled, dedicated leaders —

you make the future very exciting.

Unison Prayer

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