Why a Polity Pilgrimage?

It is an odd combination, to say the least.  For many people, "polity" is identified with the arcane minutiae of church law, the legalistic rule-based expression of institutional church bureaucracy. It is the arena of policy, politics, and police -- three words which share a common root with "polity." "Pilgrimage" on the other hand, is often regarded as an act of sheer devotion, a piety of the heart, a discipline of the spirit, an act of embodied prayer.  Could there be two more different expressions of Christian faith?

Jim Andrews, the former Stated Clerk of the PCUSA, described polity as "the practical expression of our theology."  For me, polity has been a defining dimension of my Presbyterian and Reformed faith.  When I first considered becoming a Presbyterian nearly 30 years ago, the pastor of the church I was attending (the Rev. Dale Rose of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles) handed me a copy of the Book of Order and suggested I read it before deciding.  It was an odd form of evangelism, to be sure, but it worked.  I read it cover to cover in a day, and found in it a way of ordering life in the church that was theologically compelling while being clear-eyed and pragmatic about life in Christian community.

Since that initial exposure, I have developed an even deeper appreciation for and understanding of Presbyterian polity.  I have been a reader of ordination exams; served on Committees on Ministry in two presbyteries and moderated one of them; was a member of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission and moderator of PJCs in two different synods; and I currently serve as an Executive Presbyter and a member of the General Assembly Advisory Committee on the Constitution.   Not a day goes by that I don't see some new connection between our polity and the concrete expression of our life, witness, and mission as Christ's church.

I have also studied organizational leadership at the doctoral level in both secular and ecclesiastical contexts, and hold a D.Min. in Executive Leadership from McCormick Seminary in Chicago.  The stereoscopic perspective offered by these two disciplines has helped me to understand polity as the intersection of three essential elements -- Spirit, Power, and Community -- each of which is essential to the healthy functioning of the church as an organization.  I will have more to say about this in future posts.

Suffice it for now to say that for me the combination of polity and pilgrimage makes perfect sense.  My sabbatical goal is to use the discipline of pilgrimage in this quincentennial anniversary year of John Calvin's birth to enter more fully into the spiritual, theological, and cultural origins of Presbyterian polity.