My day began with the Restricted Funds Oversight Committee. We met for four hours this morning and wrapped up business for this round of funding. Official notifications will be sent to all those who applied within a couple of weeks. The committee's report will be given to the full Council on Saturday. (If you applied, I would encourage you to please wait for official notification by mail and not call staff. The letters will give more details.)
This committee, which began a few years ago, has usually made grants of small amounts to applicants. A couple of more recently established funds are resulting in grants that, in some cases, top six figures. The RFOC will implement new procedures shortly for the application process, and for oversight functions, for larger grants. More on that to come in the next few weeks.
The GAC Plenary kicked off at 3:30 this afternoon. Each GAC member was supplied with a laptop, and the business was conducted using the Les system, which is still under construction. We received a brief orientation. This system will be used for the General Assembly meeting next summer. We are the test group for the early versions of the system. I like it, but I have heard some complaints. As with any technology, there is a learning curve, but I think this will be a great asset to the church. Kudos to the staff that has been developing it!
This afternoon's meeting featured reports by the Moderator of GA, Moderator of GAC, Stated Clerk, and the GAC Executive Director. All gave reports that seemed to be about moving boldly into the future. Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, referencing the book Tipping Point, mentioned five things that will need to characterize the church as we move forward:
- Staying biblically grounded as new things are birthed out of the biblical story.
- Articulating anew those things Presbyterians have historically stood for.
- Driven by the grassroots. Bottom-up operations.
- Young adult participation and leadership.
- Motivation by cohesion not coercion.
Council Moderator Nancy Kahaian reminded us that God always is on the move toward new things in the world. She cautioned against dropping anchor and trying to stay put or simply trying to recreate some new model of an idealized past. We must be radically focused on and devoted to following Jesus.
GAC Executive Director John Detterick speculated that the GAC of the not-to-distant future will be smaller, focused more on mission standards than programming standards, active in networking like-minded people, and may be geographically dispersed throughout the country. He also noted that there are almost certainly more budget cuts and staff reductions ahead. But he also expressed optimism because the present GAC, more so than ever in his seven-year tenure, appears ready to take on the challenges. His biggest concerns were that the staff would be too reluctant and the elected GAC members would not be bold enough.
All three speakers express what I have been sensing; that we are at a rapidly accelerating turning point in the denomination. There has been much hard work by Council task forces, but I share the concern that we are not being radical enough. At this meeting, we are getting a first comprehensive look at where the task forces are headed. I serve on the '07-'08 Mission Work Plan Task Force. We are coalescing around the need for clear priorities using outcome-based objectives. The '05-'06 Mission Work Plan was a tremendous improvement, and I believe the new work plan will go well beyond it. There will still be much room for improvement after that.
I know many are concerned that we are just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic. I appreciate this concern. I was a little unsettled at my first GAC meeting a year ago by the seeming lack of urgency for a resolution to significant problems facing the denomination. I confess I still have some concerns, but I see a considerable awakening to what is happening among several GAC members. Furthermore, I believe the leadership gets it.
On a closing note, the Joining Hearts and Hands campaign now stands at $18,662,211. That amount is expected to be $23,000,000 by month's end. That will move the campaign past the halfway mark to $40,000,000.
We ended our day with worship.
As I have asked with each post, please keep us in your prayers. Tomorrow I will be in the Mission Support Subcommittee all day. Tomorrow evening, we will discuss the Peace, Unity, and Purity Task Force report.
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