Over the last several days you have heard about some of the dynamics of what is happening at General Assembly over these last few days. You have heard about worship services, committee meetings, ....
In this evening’s blog I want to spend a few paragraphs talking about something that may seem a little mundane. Although we have another full day and a half of meetings still to be held, we have had 197 votes. These votes have been taken by voice, a show of hands or electronically using key pads like the one you see in the picture below. When they are taken electronically the results are posted within a few seconds on a large screen in the front.
On most of the votes we also have had the chance to listen to the opinion of advisory delegates. These advisory votes while not binding do help the commissioners understand the opinions of our youth advisory delegates, theological advisory students, missionary advisors, and ecumenical advisors.
Often our votes have been about routine items that have had little or no controversy. Other discussions and votes have been more contentious and have taken at times more than an hour before a vote was finally taken. Even after much discussion the votes are rarely unanimous.
With all of this going on, Presbyterians have the audacity to believe that God’s Spirit can and does speak to us in this discerning process. While we are not so naïve or proud as to believe that a majority vote always speaks for the voice and mind of God, we do believe that this is both a valid and treasured way of discovering God’s leading. Even after an extraordinaly long day of work, the spirit of the commissioners here at General Assembly is truly a testament to God's work.
David Endriss
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