Meeting with the Disciples—A Preview of the #CCDOC General Assembly

                The General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is about to meet in person for the first time in four years. So off I’ll be going to Louisville to the Assembly that carries the thematic phrase “The Kin-dom of God.” I have theological problems with this usage, but I’m not going to focus on it here. This will be my first time attending without a congregation to represent since 1997. I’ve been to all the Assemblies, but one, since 1997. That’s eleven in number. This time I go as Board Chair of the Disciples Christian Unity and Interfaith Ministry (see you at the booth if you’re at the GA). I will be signing books on Saturday afternoon with Ron Allen, my co-author of Second Thoughts about the Second Coming (WJK Books). In other words, if you’re at the General Assembly you might see me.

                This Assembly is an important one. For one thing, we will be re-electing the Rev. Terri Hord Owens to a second six-year term as General Minister and President. While there is the usual number of social justice resolutions, including one focusing on Christian Nationalism (I was part of the small group of General Board members who worked with this resolution), we will also be voting on significant changes to the Design, the governing document of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Business item GA 2343 is titled “AMENDMENTS TO THE DESIGN OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST).” That title sounds fairly unremarkable, but there are some significant changes to governance taken up in these amendments, though I expect more to come in the future.

                In part the amendments to the Design focus on two governing bodies, the General Assembly, which, until COVID hit, has met every two years. The other body is the General Board, which sets the agenda for the General Assembly and handles matters between Assemblies. These changes have been developed as part of what has been labeled the “Covenant Project.” Disciples have been using the term covenant since the 1960s to describe the relationship between the three manifestations (we don’t like hierarchical terminology) of the General, Regional, and Local Church. What binds us, we tell ourselves (that is, if we understand the concept as developed, though I don’t think most congregational leaders have a clear understanding of covenant) is a covenant. It’s not contractual, which is a legal term, by covenantal, which is a theological term. The question we’ve wrestled with is how to live out the differing elements of these relationships. More specifically, how might congregations better engage the work done by the General Church?

                So, the essence of the changes proposed in GA 2343 comes down to matters of governance, whatever theological terms we use. Here are the primary changes:

1.       General Assembly:  First off, the GA will move from meeting every two years to every three years, beginning in 2028. We are still scheduled to meet two years hence in Memphis. Besides the hybrid (in-person/online gathering) every three years, there will be an online gathering in the intervening years. Each congregation will get three representatives (there is a question here of representation for larger congregations). Though I’m on the General Board, I’m still not clear on the role of clergy, who heretofore have voting rights at Assemblies.

2.       General Board:  The General Board is a smaller body that generally meets, annually (I believe, I’m new to this body), and has included representatives of all thirty plus Regions, General Units (As Board chair, I get to represent CUIM on the General Board), and at-large members appointed by the Nominating Committee. Regional Ministers and General Unit Presidents have voice but do not vote. It’s a rather large body as you might imagine. The idea here is to restructure the board, making it more compact (Regions and General Units will no longer get automatic representation). For the most part, the board will be made up of at-large members who will be divided into three working groups: Mission, Finance, and Executive. According to the Resolution: “Committees will meet and work together on an ongoing, regular basis. The General Board will be reduced in size. Rather than the board having representatives from regions and general ministries, board members would be mostly at-large and selected by the General Nominating Committee for essential skills and experience, while also reflecting the diversity of the church.”  One concern I have in this new lineup is that there is no explicit provision for theological input (we do not currently have a Theological Commission).  The General Board will have responsibility for producing such things as statements on Social Witness and establishing Mission priorities.

The Resolution first assumes that Terri Hord Owens will be re-elected for a second term, and rather than serving six years, it provides for a seventh (because of the change in meeting schedule from every other year to every three years) and the creation of an implementation team who will work out all the details. While I understand the need for the changes—the Design was developed when the Disciples of Christ was a denomination of over a million members. We’re much smaller than that now. Additionally, holding General Assemblies and General Board meetings is expensive. Once upon a time, a General Assembly might be nearly self-supporting, but attendance/participation has fallen dramatically in recent years. That said, implementation will be challenging, especially since there is concern from congregations, Regions, and General Units about representation (Representation was a frequently used word in the discussions of the resolution at the General Board).  I will vote yes even if I do have questions left unanswered.

                Governance-wise, these are the two big issues. There will be forty-eight minutes given to discussion. We’ll see how that goes. Since the General Board is recommending passage, I’m assuming that will happen.

                The other major areas of discussion will be the matters of Social Witness. Unless there are emergency resolutions (there are always emergency resolutions), the primary concerns center on the following:

1.  GA 2337: “Recognition of a Truth and Healing Council to Honor Our Covenantal Relationship with Indigenous Peoples and to Discern Ways of Reparations for a Path of Reconciliation.” 
2. GA-2338:  Concerning Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and Environmental Justice. 
3. GA-2339 Compelled to Witness: Answering the Cry of Our Palestinian Siblings.  This is one of those resolutions that will get twelve minutes of discussion, have a vote, and get us in trouble with Jewish groups. There is no good way of dealing with this intractable area of concern that has festered for the entire seventy-five-year existence of the State of Israel. 
4. GA-2340: “Building On Our Church’s Commitment to Faith-Based Investing.” This is one of those areas that we’ll vote on, but as we were reminded by the Financial Ministries, it’s more complicated than we’d like to think.
5. GA-2341: “Calling the Church to Oppose Christian Nationalism.”  I will comment on this one below because I was part of the small group that was charged with reviewing and recommending to the full General Board the adoption of this resolution.

                So, regarding Resolution 2341: “Calling the Church to Oppose Christian Nationalism,” our small group agreed with the intent of the resolution as submitted, but we felt it needed considerable reworking before it would get acceptance at the General Assembly. Some of the language was deemed inflammatory. Additionally, since one of our team members was the Regional Minister from Canada, he wanted to add Canada to the resolution (the original resolution only addressed Christian nationalism in the United States. We were reminded that it exists in Canada as well. All in all, it’s a fairly strong statement that I believe will get support from members of the assembly. Christian nationalism is an ideology that uses Christian imagery and language in ways that run counter to the message of Jesus and brings into disrepute the message of our faith. So, it’s important that we address it. One piece we especially wanted in there was a statement of our own complicity in Christian Nationalism. Too often Progressive Christians want to suggest that it’s a problem that implicates others when our histories as faith communities demonstrate complicity. So, repentance on our part is important. I would have liked to have seen in the background piece a recognition of the Postmillennialism of Alexander Campbell and others in our movement, whose theological vision included something akin to Manifest Destiny and thus a version of Christian Nationalism.

                I’ve been asked to write a reflection on the General Assembly for the Online magazine “Word and Way,” where I am a regular contributor of Book Reviews. So, watch for that after I return from the General Assembly.

                Of course, General Assembly is much more than business items. There is worship and preaching, educational opportunities, and of course, fellowship. Be sure to stop by the Disciples Christian Unity and Interfaith Ministry Booth. You may find me there. If you’re in the exhibit hall on Saturday from 3-4 come by the Westminster John Knox/Chalice Press booth, where Ron Allen and I will be signing books!