Saperstein's Top Ten

Stated Clerk Cliff Kirkpatrick has his list of the top ten issues before this Assembly. Here is mine:

1. The fog over the (n)FOG: The proposed new Form of Government is a direct and faithful response to what GA 217 requested. Yet it has been met with suspicion on the right and apathy on the left. The bigger question is, Why is there no enthusiasm for this proposal when it addresses the stated concerns of the church?

2. PUP, part II: It took almost two years to clarify the actions of the 217th General Assembly (the Bush decision got it 95% correct), and people are confused and angry. The John Knox overture (05-12) seeks to reassert the flawed arguments of the PUP task force two years ago and undo both the work of the 217th Assembly in amending (i.e., correcting) the core recommendation, and the GAPJC in interpreting it. For an analysis of the action of GA 217, go to http://www.plainsandpeaks.org/Default.aspx?tabid=512&DMXModule=1288&Download=inline&mid=1288&EntryId=295

3. The Stated Clerk election: Gradye Parsons is the official nominee (deservedly so) and the process is stacked in his favor. However, there is a history of the Assembly rejecting official nominees (1984, 1988, 1992). Challengers Ed Koster and Casey Jones are capable and honorable men. Oddball William Tarbell (who has abused the church judicial process with vexatious litigation) is at best a vanity candidate. No matter what happens, look for the process to be changed yet again for 2012.

4. Bureaucratic showdown: Definitely for GA junkies only. The Foundation squares off against the GAC and the OGA in the battle over control of obsolete funds. The best analysis I have seen is by blogger Michael Kruse http://krusekronicle.typepad.com/kruse_kronicle/2008/06/my-thoughts-on-the-general-assembly-council-and-presbyterian-foundation-controversy.html.

5. The PJC and gay marriage: The Baltimore Overture (04-08) becomes the flashpoint in the fallout over the GAPJC decision in the Spahr case, made more timely (and confused) by California's recognition of gay marriage.

6. The financial crunch from denominational decline: This is the elephant in the living room that affects almost every item of business. How do we fund and conduct mission in an age of consumerism, institutional distrust, and social marginalization? As mission partnership funding ends, what will be the future of synods and presbyteries dependent on these funds?

7. The church for future generations in the US: A corollary of #6. Denominational decline will accelerate as our most faithful givers die off, and fewer young adults replace them. Not just a Presbyterian problem, but there are no clear answers in sight.

8. Slaying the six-headed beast: There is little coordination and accountability among the six GA entitites between Assembly meetings. A task force is being formed by this Assembly to study the problem, but look for the territorial battles to become more open at this Assembly.

9. Dealing with schism: Issues related to the dismissal of disaffected churches will crop up: the ACC is advising the Assembly that presbyteries ought not dismiss churches to "transitional presbyteries" (07-13); the Stated Clerk candidates will undoubtedly be asked to address the property trust clause and the so-called "Louisville Papers"; and the New Wineskins Association will find a way to be heard.

10. Social witness policy, Israel, and anti-semitism: A late blooming issue made prominent by the pro-Israel lobby's public campaign against the PCUSA. A preliminary document on "Vigilance against Anti-Jewish Ideas and Bias" issued by the Office of Interfaith Relations was replaced by one which offers a more balanced approach to the Israel-Palestinian issue (and is also more faithful to PCUSA social witness policy). It's not officially before the Assembly, but look for Commissioner's resolutions and a flood of bad press. The new document can be read at http://www.pcusa.org/interfaith/vigilance.htm.