Stick to the Code

So what do I do at 3:30 in the morning when my nose is so stuffy that it's got me wide awake?
I update my blog, apparently.

As I was laying here thinking how annoying allergies are, I was thinking about a new members class that I taught last night. We got into a discussion about church government and someone asked the question, "Why do we have a higher government if the individual church is able to make up its own rules?" That's not precisely verbatim, but that's the gist of what he was asking. I'm not sure how clearly I answered his question beyond saying that our task as a church is to interpret how our Presbyterian polity informs our decisions, always rooted both in scripture and in Jesus Christ. Sometimes that does mean we do things differently from other churches, but our Book of Order gives us a framework as a church. Almost like boundaries.

After the meeting, and in the recent wee hours of the morning, I've been thinking more about my response and what it truly means for us as a church to have "higher government" (If you are not aware how the PCUSA government works, there are levels over goverment much like the national government. Church sessions are subject to Presbyteries, who are subject to synods, who are subject to the General Assembly). Having levels of government means that decisions are not made in a vaccuum; the session, for example, keeps detailed meeting minutes and submits them for approval to the regional presbyteries every year. The presbytery signs off on those minutes or points out places where the church might have "strayed" from our polity. If there is a discrepency, we hope that it's an easy fix. Otherwise, the church is subject to the rules of discipline as found in the Book of Order if the discrepency is severe enough and unable to be remedied.

Likewise, presbytery proceedings are subject to the approval of the synod. One presbytery operates differently from another presbytery, but both presbyteries' interpretation of polity are subject to approval by the synod, who is subject to approval of the General Assembly. In this way, there is a system of checks and balances that help us do things "decently and in order."

Churches will usually interpret the rules as they apply to their individual situations. Ours is a polity that allows us to make those choices. Like the pirate code in Disney's, "Pirates of the Caribbean," our polity is a "guideline" open to interpretation. Now you might ask why have a code if it's is just subject to interpretation. We might, in fact, ask the same thing about scripture. After all, with all the translations out there isn't scripture always left us up to interpretation, too? And don't people interpret scripture to fit their own agenda?

Sometimes.

Despite the challenges facing the unity of the church, our polity is a way to maintain unity. While our interpretations of the Book of Order may occassionally differ from our brothers and sisters within the denomination, we are all essentially rooted in the same thing: Christ. Jesus Christ is the head of the church, giving the church her future, her hope, her authority, and her very life. Jesus Christ is (or ought to be) the center of all that we do and how we interpret our polity should be in line with how we believe Christ is calling us as a church. What I really appreciate about being Presbyterian is this sense that no decisions are made without a proper checks and balance system. Sometimes we make fun at the phrase "decently and in order" and it's earned us nicknames like "the frozen chosen." In reality, though, decently and in order means that decisions are group efforts, always subject to the rule of Jesus Christ.

As hard as it sometimes is to sit through Presbytery meetings and as frustrating as I've been at the General Assembly, it is all there for a specific purpose; that purpose allows us to work towards maintaining our unity even in those times when we disagree.

God is so good and God has done such great things within the church. I know in my heart that the church has the potential to live up to the standards that God sets for her and it is my hope and prayer that we continue to strive towards remaining unified in Jesus Christ despite those things -- and God knows there are plenty of things -- that might otherwise tear us apart.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Becki