Ironic Polity

'Tis the season for church meetings. Last week the Reformed Episcopal Church, in which I was ordained and to which I recently returned, had our 56th General Council last week via Zoom, a year late (thanks for nothing, COVID-19) -- on a related note, the Most Rev'd Dr. Ray R. Sutton's  Presiding Bishop's Report is well worth reading, particularly the comments found on page seven and following that deal with Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and so-called 'Side-B" homosexuality -- and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, in which I was licensed during my time in seminary, had their General Synod last week.  This week the Anglican Church in North America , of which the Reformed Episcopal Church is a sub-jurisdiction, held a meeting of their Assembly, this week and the Southern Baptist Convention met in Nashville. The Presbyterian Church in America's General Assembly will meet the week after next.

As a former Presbyterian (and still a Reformed Christian) I have a number of Presbyterian friends and a  concern that I often hear expressed by those in the PCA -- particularly the Rev'd Dr. Joseph A.Pipa, Jr. -- is that clergy (teaching elders) are over-represented at their General Assembly with many more of them than ruling elders. Although not-uniformly the case, clergy are often less conservative than are laity and in can usually attend such meetings more easily than can laymen, who must take time off from work and often incur considerable expense in doing so. An organization, MORE in the PCA, has been formed to encourage Ruling Elders to attend their General Assembly and to assist some from small churches toward that end while Dr. Pipa has advocated a delegated Assembly, which would reduce the number of those officially attending but would make the Ruling/Teaching Elder balance at least roughly equal.

As a Southerner I know no shortage of Southern Baptists and note that only seven percent of their congregations typically send messengers (delegates) to their annual convention (although registration was very high this year). Ministers don't automatically serve as messengers there, but can usually attend more easily.

Often my Baptist friends, who operate under a congregational polity, and my Presbyterian friends (who, obviously, operate under a presbyterian polity) will falsely assume that episcopal polity -- governance by bishops -- results in the laity being rendered powerless. At least in Anglicanism in the United States as represented by the ACNA and The Episcopal Church that's actually not the case. In many cases, and most particularly in the election of bishops, clergy and laity vote by order and a majority of votes from both must be achieved. The result is that the laity have a very real voice even if outnumbered by the clergy -- an ironic and important safeguard.  American episcopacy is far more representative than it is given credit for.

I have become a convinced episcopalian (as regards polity) but urge all Christian laymen to actively participate in their churches regardless of the polity under which they operate. The risks of not doing so are too high.