Strategic Plan: Identifies Challenges Inside and Out
A key item for discussion at the forthcoming 38th General Assembly in Nashville, Tenn. (June 29-July 2), will be the “2010 PCA Strategic Plan” recently produced by the Cooperative Ministries Committee and approved by the Administrative Committee (AC). Here, four PCA pastors and leaders offer a variety of thoughts on the proposal, which examines key issues for the PCA’s future in the face of dramatic societal and cultural change.
“[The Plan] is a thorough evaluation—looking back, looking at the present, and thinking about how we should move forward,” said Christopher Hodge, senior pastor of Napierville (Ill.) Presbyterian Church. “I think the Plan identifies a lot of challenges both inside and outside the church. It’s not so much providing solutions as it is pointing out things we need to retool for finding solutions.”
Hugh Barlett, senior pastor of Chesterfield (Mo.) Presbyterian Church, says he sees the Plan as “a good start to help the denomination in wrestling with these issues. It provides a great vocabulary for beginning a meaningful discussion.”
But others have a different perspective. “The Plan offered cultural analysis of the church, but very little biblical analysis,” said Dr. Joseph Pipa, president of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Greenville, S.C. “I’m more interested in learning, ‘Where are we in line with what Scripture says? What should the PCA look like [in terms of reflecting biblical values]? How should our presbyteries and General Assembly function?'”
Chris Hutchinson, senior pastor of Grace Covenant Presbyterian in Blacksburg, Va., also expressed reservations about the Plan. “It seemed heavy on sociology, but light on faithfulness to the means of grace. I think a better strategy is to help local churches preach the gospel better, through the faithful study of God's Word, and pray more. As we do that, and truly love all those God puts around us, that will allow us to reach all of the demographic groups. It really is that simple.”
Distinctives versus Commonalities
One issue that readers of the Strategic Plan seem to differ on is the extent to which the PCA should focus on its distinctives versus its commonalities with others.
Introducing “safe places” to foster the open exchange of ideas is important for the PCA’s future, according to Hodge. “Any time you can get dialogue going on within the denomination, talking about issues in ways that are productive rather than divisive, is always helpful.” The denomination must embrace the importance of “looking like the culture and constituencies we’re trying to reach,” he said. “We need to get a good representation of people from different groups—socioeconomics, race, and gender.”
Hutchinson would prefer to see the PCA more clearly define itself as a Reformed people, and is concerned about the blurring of its identity. “I think we need a renewed emphasis on our distinctives, whereas the Plan seems to be going in the opposite direction.”
Pipa agrees. “I don’t see the need for the church to adapt to the culture. We’re supposed to gather and perfect the elect. When we do that, the culture will be changed.”
Further, he says, “Our denomination’s use of [our confession of faith] is becomingly increasingly varied and diverse. So let’s face reality: If we don’t really believe all of our confession let’s have the integrity to go about changing it.”
Grooming Future Leaders
Regarding himself as one of the PCA’s younger leaders at age 42, Hodge admits sometimes wondering about the significance of his own involvement at the denominational level. “The PCA seems to run quite well without me and other guys my age. It’s still dominated by men closer to 60, but many of the men now in their 60s were founding fathers of the denomination.
“Some of them have been my mentors and I trust them, so I don’t feel a need to interfere. But they aren’t going to be here forever. We’re on the cusp of the first generation [passing on the baton to a new generation of leaders]. That first generation is finishing well, but the Strategic Plan is trying to address the necessary question of, ‘Now what?’”
This question, whether applied to future leadership or cultural change, needs to be approached “with prayerful expectation, as opposed to fearful anxiety,” Barlett observed. “But if we are prayerfully and expectantly looking to God, we could see amazing opportunities over the next 20 years."
John Batusic, senior pastor of Chestnut Mountain (Ga.) Presbyterian Church, who has been a pastor in the PCA for 29 years, also applauded introducing more avenues for the exchange of ideas, no matter how divergent. “People should have the opportunity to share their views and feel people are listening to what they have to say. That doesn’t mean we have to ordain everybody.”
Administrative Committee Funding
Although the four pastors interviewed for this article have different opinions about various pieces of the Strategic Plan, all agree that the current denominational rate of giving to the Administrative Committee is disappointing and must be addressed.
“I’m probably a great example of many in the PCA,” said Barlett. “I don’t have any hostility toward [the AC]. It’s more casual indifference. My heart gets much more excited about church planting and missionaries than administration. But I understand it’s important, and the fee proposal seems very practical for getting congregations to share in the ministry together.”
Hutchinson says he is open to hearing more about the funding proposal. “Something has to be done about the funding situation, though I would like to hear other options explored. One idea is for all committees to give a portion of what they raise to the AC.”
Pipa acknowledged that the fundraising issue needs to be addressed, but is opposed to the AC funding proposal. In his view, a larger overhaul is needed. This is a wise strategy on the part of the Plan, he said, because those who attend GA will pay less. But in his view the proposal seems to be a form of taxation. “If the PCA had a more unified approach to budgeting, that might solve the problem. We need to go back to square one and revisit the idea of stewardship.”
Barlett concedes that the proposed AC funding plan would require more giving from his suburban St. Louis church, but he still sees value in the change. “It means adding to our budget in a challenging time, but I support it—it will help the denomination to become more focused.”
This is the third in a series of articles reporting pastors’ reactions to the 2010 Strategic Plan. To read the first article, please visit here. Article number two can be found here.
To read the Strategic Plan, or to watch Bryan Chapell’s presentation of it, please click here.
To review “Frequently Asked Questions” about the plan, click here.
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Bill
Schweitzer
England
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Marshall
St. John
Signal Mtn, TN
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Wes
White
Spearfish, SD
http://johannesweslianus.blogspot.com/2010/05/updated-news-commentary-roundup-on-pca_19.html
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Randall
Kirkland
St. Louis
On another point, I believe it would be helpful for the actual voting results (to the extent there were actual counts) to be published. Thank you.
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Kathy
Erickson
Colorado Springs