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From the Moderator
I have a dream that the Assembly in September can free us from unhealthy conflict that continues to beset us, so we can move on more strongly in mission. But I know that if this is to happen a lot of committed sharing has to happen in the meantime.
It is time to look for the big picture of what is happening for us and what the next few months could hold for us. It is time because the seasonal activity and holidays are over. It is time because the immediate prospect of an Emergency Meeting of the Assembly has been resolved in the meantime (see box below). It is time to look at the big picture because it can be so easy to focus on our own little corner, or our own perspective, rather than the wholeness of the Church.
It seems clear that the matter of homosexual people in leadership will be introduced at the General Assembly in September. We are faced with mutually exclusive positions, and unless something happens then we face the same win-lose situation.
Over the years I have had the privilege to listen to perhaps more people than most on this question. There are three things that are moving me to facilitate some initiatives.
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The first is the deep conviction I find in the positions people hold. The Spirit is working in people with different convictions, and God is addressing us in each of the mutually exclusive positions.
The second is that in most congregations I meet people with these different convictions who worship and serve together, without recrimination and conflict, because they know each other and are committed to mission.
And thirdly, a lot of people say to me things like "I have my own views on this, but I don’t want to exclude others with different convictions or sexual orientation. Until now, when votes have been taken, I have been forced to be a party to excluding some whom I want to include." On the other hand others (from very different positions) express to me the understanding of the Bible and strong beliefs that lead them to a view that will likely exclude some. "It’s a bottom line issue for me."
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So we reach a point where we ask "Can we be a Church that values and honours very different convictions? Is that the kind of Church we want to be? What do we value most?"
Over the next few months I will be encouraging conversations to address four dimensions of the issue. The conversations will be grounded in the belief that both the health of congregations and the wholeness of the Church are important for effective mission. The initiatives will focus particularly on the wholeness of the Church, not just keeping the Church together. In addressing the four dimensions I look forward to working with others and including as many as possible and appropriate.
<typohead type=3>1. Relational</typohead>
One of the most powerful witness statements of the early Church (and since) was the love that bound the members together with all their differences. The main initiative will be the invitation to engage in Committed Conversations. Committed conversations will offer members, elders and ministers the opportunity to engage with others with different perspectives; to speak with integrity and conviction, listen with respect, and discern with faithfulness in an atmosphere of grace. There will be no predetermined outcome, no hidden agendas, and no debates to change the convictions of others.
Someone has written to me: "If I were part of one, I would want three things to happen
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I would want to hear from a variety of people the conclusions they have reached about homosexual leadership, the theological thinking and personal stories involved. That would help me understand their position and the issue as a whole, and help me affirm their integrity.
I would want to be able to ask appropriate questions for clarification not debate.
I would want to explore and discuss all the options available to the church as we consider moving on."
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Moderators will be prepared and available. Would you (a) be willing to moderate a committed conversation group, and/or (b) be willing to gather a group of participants to be a group? Please be in touch with me –
thawley(at)attglobal.net
The conversations will contribute to the big picture. Around July/August I will travel to meet face-to-face with as many groups as possible, to hear where the conversations have led.
<typohead type=3>2. Theological and Missional</typohead>
There is an urgent need for theological and missional insights that do not seek to persuade, to hear a range of voices. I envisage two elements to this:
(a) a series of brief Occasional Papers from a variety of people and sources, and
(b) publicising where people can access material on the internet or in print.
Material in this dimension may well be useful in Committed Conversation groups.
<typohead type=3>3. Political</typohead>
This is about institutional power and control and how that is used. For example, one side of this is about our processes and whether they are appropriate in this situation. The political resolution of the matter by seeking majority decisions in the Assembly has strongly influenced the way we have debated the matter to date. There is a need to work on this still.
Some of the questions for us to talk about should include:
(a) In what ways might the body of Christ and its members appropriately use institutional power and control.
(b) Recognising the faithfulness of others, how can we live together in one Church allowing each other space to stand with integrity, honouring the call of the last Assembly to the Church; namely, "mindful of deeply held convictions and sensitivities on all sides and debates within the Church, (the Assembly) urges everyone to respect all other persons, seeking to avoid depersonalising others, caricaturing their convictions or questioning their motivations" ?
(c) Are there specific provisions that need to be made in the ordering of our life to provide this space?
<typohead type=3>4. Cultural</typohead>
God’s Spirit works within and through the ethno-cultural framework that shapes each of us. This dimension will need to take into account both general and specific questions.
(a) How does culture influence each of us on this matter?
(b) Are there specific provisions that are appropriate to particular ethno cultural groups?
It is time to look at the big picture for the wholeness of the Church. What kind of Church will we be? The big picture includes you, and I’d be grateful for any feed-back, and your thinking about what and where you can contribute to this big picture. I am probably getting close to the limits of the role of Moderator; perhaps, in your view, beyond it. But I cannot sit on my convictions about the wholeness of the Church and I am not yet persuaded my dream is impossible. "Impossible is nothing" Where have I heard that?
Emergency Assembly
Following the release of the Judicial Commission’s report, I received, in December and January, requests from 4 presbyteries, 2 Sessions/Church Councils, and 110 individuals in one Presbytery and one member of another Presbytery for an Emergency Meeting of the Assembly with full representation under Reg. 352. I have declined the requests on the following grounds:
(a) There is deep concern and anxiety in some places, but the injury to the peace and unity of the Church is not, in my experience, widespread.
(b) There is no certainty that an Emergency Meeting will result in the clarity and certainty sought by the petitioners.
(c) Such an Emergency Meeting could be convened, at the earliest, just five months before the next ordinary General Assembly
(d) The threshold one might normally require to constitute an "important emergency" has not, in my view, been reached. It is also recognised that, should it so decide, the Assembly in September 2004 can adopt decisions in the interim while those decisions are before the Church under the Barrier Act.
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