Discernment

Do you remember the Saturday Night Live sketch. . .the one with Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd?
The one where they would do that “Point/Counterpoint” news piece?
The one where Aykroyd would proclaim, “Jane, you ignorant. . . .”?

Well, the Polity Committee of GA is nothing like that. Honest.

But it is forty-plus elders and ministers from all over the states – representing all of the different political, cultural, theological, sociological, age, and economic demographics you can imagine. And throw in TSADs (Theological Student Advisory Delegates) and YAADS (Young Adult Advisory Delegates), our moderator and vice-moderator – and the host of folks aiding in parliamentary procedure, advising and the like. . .and the room is quite full. Not to mention the couple hand-fulls of people who sat in on our committee today (they actually chose to be there for the day) and all of a sudden polity – or at least the committee begins to take on a life of its own!

We hit the first break already behind. . .and things did not improve. We Presbyterians believe – and act on – the notion that all together, the body is best at the discernment process. So we speak and listen. . .we amend and substitute. . .we vote up and we vote down – all relying on the presence and direction of God’s Holy Spirit. And we do that a lot. . . all day. . . and into the night. Do we always get it right? Hardly. (Ask me sometime about the item we moved to disapprove, failed to pass; moved to approve, failed to pass; amended, failed to pass; and ultimately moved to disapprove, and passed) But we keep at it. . .cutting dinner short, and going an hour late.

Tomorrow we start with a clean slate, exactly where we are suppose to be on the agenda. And we pray for the Spirit to guide us – this crazy group of people who find themselves thrown together to be at work in the governing of the church. God help us. . .as we seek the mind of Christ!