#GA2018 report 7a – Report of the Council of Assembly Strategic Plan

Number of deliverances – 11 specific
Length of report – 7 specific

Whats the report about?
The Council of Assembly give guidance to everything that isn’t already a part of the four councils or the theological forum. The function is carried out by the principle clerks office. The division is clarified here out here.

Whats the key point of the report?
This is a debate about the strategic plan for the Church Scotland as presented by the Councils of Assembly. It was approved at with slight changes at the February 2018 meeting of the Council of Assembly and actively put in the second mailing to commissioners (10 days before assembly). As we have not seen the strategic plan I discuss what is published in the blue book and its specific deliverances.

It stands in dissonance with the Church Without Walls report.
“3. The Hidden Calling of the Church: Shaped by God and for God.
The purpose of the Church is to be shaped within history by God and for God. The seductive danger of our managerial culture is to imagine that we are involved in the re-engineering of an organisation.” (page 12)

Thought on deliverances.
3 – no – I struggle with a document putting itself in dominance with biblical imperatives and our struggle to interpret the bible.
4 – no follows on
5a – no
5b – no
5c – no
5d – no
5e – no
6a – no
6b – yes
6c – no
7 – no

Thoughts on the report.
2.1
How we Got here.
2.1.6
it emphasises the consultation but what is appropriate consultation for a church with this many members?
2.1.8
13 priorities is too much for an organisation to work with.

Section 2 2.2 Key element of plan
2.2.1.1.
“…our overall mission was already agreed at the Assembly in 2017 – Love God and Love our Neighbours”
I restate the opposition to the lose of the examining of yourself. the personal connimtnet contained in Matthew 22v37-39 but left out or at best implied here. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]

2.2.2.1 Strategic plan, are people unfamiliar with this document? It seem like the tenor of the document is wrong, i.e. you are talking down to us.

the report is confusing as the summing up on the official line is unclear.
Either the vision is summed up by
1 love God and love Neighbour or
2 It is summed up “as three two word phrases :Worshipping God – inspiring faith – connecting people.” or
3 It is worship, active discipleship and connecting with communities

2.2.3 overarching goals
2.2.1
Stewart points out that the objectives are not objectives, as such the plan should be thrown out on that basis. The objectives the blue book tells us about are – Worship, Active Discipleship, Connecting with Communities.

2.2.3.1
now eight overarching goals? what?

2.2.6.5. Specific imlimentation targets
Saying the plan is grass roots, when presented in a top down way by the business administration of the organisation and its top court is not good. If you are that confident it is owned by grass-root congregations it why not have then consider and vote for it via the barrier act?

2.3 implementation and ‘buy-in’
What does “buy-in” mean in the context of a grass-roots document?

2.4 moving forward
If the Strategic plan requires Local Church Review to change via a review, does the existing Local Church Review need to change or adjust the proposed strageic plan?

2.4.2
Annual update to General Assembly – Yes

Appendix 1
Appendix A
By 2020
High quality resources, are all our resources not high quality?

By2021
Do we have lay members? Perhaps what active discipleship was driving at.

By 2023
Strong links, doesn’t the world mission dept do this already?

Wellbeing and resilience with the workforce. Doesn’t speak of a broken people. Illness discounts from workforce?

By 2025 presbytery to forge links with local and global partners. Doesn’t the national church do this?

By2028
Ministiry teams. In place

Presbytery to have a plan for all buildings

Questions or amendments or suggested new deliverances.
If you are that confident the strategic plan is a grassroots document, why the talk of “Buy-in” and why are you not putting the plan to the barrier act?

If the Strategic plan requires Local Church Review to change does the existing Local Church Review need to change or the proposed strategic plan?

Link to previous Reports to General Assembly
2017