What Does It Mean to "Represent?"

We live in an era of what I call radical democratization, the off-spring of radical individualization. In our civic life, we expect those we have elected to make decisions which only reflect the will of the electorate or of their special interest group. If the NRA has contributed to the election of a legislator that “representative” is expected to vote in accord with the NRA. It is too bad we have perverted the true idea of a democratic republic. Preeminent in a democratic republic is not the will of the electorate, but what is best for the city, state, or country. Rather than judging the performance of a “representative” on the basis of have they acted in my/our best interest, but have they acted in the best interest of the whole. It is possible the best interest of the whole will not reflect what I think is in my personal or group’s best interest.

Our errant civic understanding of what it means to be a representative gets carried into the church. This runs through every level of the councils of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). At the local church it is expected that elders will “represent” the interest of a particular constituency (women, youth, seniors, contemporary worshippers or traditionalist and the list goes on). The same holds true as one moves through the more inclusive councils.

In a few short months the General Assembly will meet. The gathering of commissioners, at its best, is a deliberative and discerning council. In plenary there are too many items for the commissioners to enter into extensive deliberation and discernment. The majority of deliberation and discernment takes place in the committees which then make recommendations to the plenary for vote. On the floor of the plenary, the pros and cons around the particular recommendation are presented in a two or three minute sound bite appeals. When all is said and done the actions of the Assembly will be judged on how those decisions square with “my” particular perspective. We may decry, “They sure don’t represent ME, I’m out of here to join with others who think like I do.”

As members of this particular portion of the Church we have an official corrective to the common understanding of who the elders (teaching and ruling) are to “represent.” In the Foundational section of the Book of Order we find, Presbyters are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ. (F-3.0204) This does not mean the elders completely ignore the ways and thoughts of those who elected them or of their special interest group. That voice is a piece of the data which goes into the voting of the commissioners, but it is not the only basis for making a decision. If Moses had made decisions solely on the basis of what the people wanted, he would have turned around, gone back to Egypt, and recommitted to the life of slavery under the task masters, making bricks without straw.

When the elders gather, whether as a session, presbytery, synod or General Assembly, they are to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ. That is a far weightier responsibility. We should expect the gathered elders to represent the will of Christ rather than our particular will. When their decisions do not match up with our wants, desires or expectations, we should ask, “How is Christ speaking to the church, the world and ME in the decisions which conflict with my personal perspective?”

We do not hold the decisions of the church councils as infallible. Now though it will easily be admitted that all synods and councils may err, through the frailty inseparable from humanity, yet there is much greater danger from the usurped claim of making laws than from the right of judging upon laws already made, and common to all who profess the gospel, although this right, as necessity requires in the present state, be lodged with fallible men. (F-3.0107) It is therefore, possible that a future council may consider the same issue and reach a different, if not opposite decision than previous gatherings of the councils.

In our civic and ecclesiastical life, we must drill down to the radical meaning of who and what those we elect are to “represent.”