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Musings of the Synod Executive
by Zane K. Buxton
Synod Executive
zbuxton@att.net |
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Interesting Reading
When I wrote earlier about summer reading, I mentioned The Collected Sermons of William Sloane Coffin: The Riverside Years. I have been reading a sermon a day when in the office. I simply want to report that sermons from the 70's can have staying power. Right now I am also in the middle of Diana Butler Bass' A People's History of Christianity. Her way of giving a description of the circumstances of the church in successive eras, followed by descriptions of the devotion and ethics of the church in each era, makes for good reading. It might be helpful if more people reflected on the impact of too strict attention to getting the words right (orthodoxy). The practice of the church in honoring God in worship and in doing justice is more fruitful. Just purchased and sitting on the corner of my desk is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The subtitle gives you a clear idea of what the book is about. The authors won the Pulitzer Prize for this book. Since hearing them interviewed on NPR while I was driving in Montana one day, I've had a little note – "half the sky" – on my desk. The title comes from eastern thought: that women hold up half the sky. If the authors write as well as they speak, it should be good reading (and it is important).
"Our Shared Regional Ministry"
Once upon a time, synods changed from being mostly state-wide ecclesiastical bodies to being responsible for a variety of programs in a region. We have been living with the consequences of that change for thirty-six years. Today, most synods are moving back to having limited ecclesiastical functions. That is reflected in my ministry as a synod executive.
This year there are five areas on which I am focusing. The first is to continue to be involved in the meetings of the eight presbyteries within the synod. Each presbytery, in ways appropriate to its context, is addressing the challenge of encouraging and supporting mission within its bounds. So far this fall, for instance, I have attended meetings of three of the presbyteries and will be at three more in the next two weeks, including Denver's (the presbytery of which I am member). In most cases, the necessary business is done on Saturday morning, with the Friday time together being given over to worship, fellowship, and shared learning. I am involved with searches for new executive leadership in two of the presbyteries.
A second focus is on the mutual support of presbytery executive leadership (by whatever name) in what we call the Synod Staff Forum. We meet together three times each year for two basic purposes: to be a community of support among those with similar responsibilities in ministry and to work together on ideas for events and programs to enhance the life of the presbyteries that are served. Out of that work together comes some of the planning for the Western National Leadership Training Event (all seven presbytery staff leaders taught at WNLT this year) and for programs like the Cornerstone Project (a program for newly ordained ministers).
A third focus is on developing plans for the 2010 Synod Assembly. The theme for the event is "A Culture of Call." The Coordinating Council has a small team working on development of the plan for that meeting (June 10-12 in Denver). The plan for the assembly is to encourage presbytery delegations to develop plans to encourage all members of Christ's church within our responsibilities in presbyteries and their congregations to understand, affirm, and live out their vocations in the world.
The fourth focus is on the future of our shared regional ministry within this synod. That includes conversations about appropriate presbytery leadership for the future. Several of our presbyteries are aware that it is unlikely the model of a presbytery with a full-time executive can be sustained. Differing models are being explored. At the same time, the Synod Coordinating Council and I asked the Synod Assembly to authorize the formation of what I call the Administrative Ideas Work Group. We are looking at everything related to the administration of the synod, including staffing needs for the future. That work group will provide the information needed for a council recommendation to the Synod Assembly in June.
Finally, I am involved in the conversations about the partnership among the three levels of mission responsibility beyond the local congregation. The General Assembly (meeting in Minneapolis in July of 2010) will be considering our synod's overture asking for amendments to the Book of Order that will allow synods to modify functioning in ways that fit the individual contexts in which we do ministry, rather than requiring that we all fit a one-size model from the past. There will also be at least one overture before the GA asking for the elimination of synods. It is certainly time for an exploration of the kind of structures we really need to support healthy congregations in shared ministry.
It is an exciting time to be a synod executive. It is also a particular gift to be engaged in ministry within this particular synod, with the energy, imagination, and spiritual resources I see undergirding ministry in our presbyteries.
[I wrote the above to share with the Presbytery of Denver in their regular mission-plan update. I don't know how much of it will be used. I thought readers here who are Presbyterian might be interested in some thoughts about the future in this church.]
Generosity
I picked up this tidbit from the Christian Century (11/3/2009). Richard B. Gunderman (in We Make a Life by What We Give) writes: "If intangible resources are more important than tangible ones [and he believes that], then generosity of spirit is more important than generosity of pocketbook." That's if one believes that human flourishing is the point.
Conversation
I am always interested in your ideas about the health of the church and its responsibilities in mission, particularly your ideas about our shared regional ministry. Send me email (zbuxton@att.net), call me, or visit with me when I’m at your presbytery meeting or at your church.
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