A friend of mine was once an officer on a nuclear
submarine. In an informal conversation with him, about being a submariner, he
said something on the order of, “There are two kinds of vessels in the ocean,
submarines and targets.”
Just yesterday I was reading an internet story
about the WW II marine warfare off the east coast of the United States, and the
discovery of sunken ships and U-boats. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-worldwar/5908.
In conjunction I was reading about the launch of the largest cruise ship in the
world. http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/03/worlds-biggest-cruise-ship-sets-sail-features-augmented-reality-and-cirque-du-soleil.html.
My wife and I were able to sail on one of the
previously “largest cruise ships,” the Allure of the Seas. https://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/our-ships/allure-of-the-seas/
I can assure you it is massive. My friend’s comment comes to mind, again, as I
think of cruise ships getting bigger and bigger, carrying more passengers and
crew members than many small cities across the country. And I remember the Costa Concordia. I
wonder about the causalities if, by some act of terrorism or accident, one of
these sea faring monstrosities were to go down.
Years ago, the Associate Executive of John Calvin
Presbytery, Jim Marlette, asked a session if they were on a cruise ship or a
flotilla of smaller ships. On the cruise ship everybody is going in the same direction,
at the same speed, to the same destination. A flotilla is made up of several
ships, going in the same basic direction, not necessarily at the same speed,
nor necessarily arriving at a given destination at the same time. They responded
they wanted the congregation to all be on a cruise ship. They feared that if
they were a flotilla some might become lost.
Again, my mind goes back to my submariner friend’s
comment. A large cruise ship may be able to offer many amenities, but it is
also a singularly larger target. A flotilla, made up of several smaller ships,
may not offer as many amenities on each ship, but they have greater agility to
deal with the changing forces of the sea. A flotilla presents several smaller
targets.
Over the years, I have seen several mega-churches
go down under their own weight, or due to hidden attack by dark forces in the
deep. When the largest of large congregations go down, the casualties are
numerous. Seldom can they be righted or even salvaged. To be sure, it is a sad
day when a single smaller ship of a flotilla strays off course or goes down. I’ve
seen several of those, also.
One of the things about the larger cruise ships is
one becomes just another face in the crowd.
One might not have contact with a person other than a chance seating
beside each other on deck, and never run into them again. It engenders high
individuality rather than a sense of community. In 1972-73 the United
Presbyterian Church decided that presbyteries and synods were too small. The
result was larger presbyteries and regional synods, rather than state
boundaried synods. One of the soon raised complaints was, “I don’t know
everybody anymore.” After the 1983 “reunion,” once again, presbyteries and
synods were combined. Over the last several years, involving three meetings of
the General Assembly and two different commissions the attempt was made to
reduce the sixteen synod to eight (amended to 10-12). While various
efficiencies were imagined if the super-synods had come about. The one thing
which would have been lost, again, would have been a sense of knowing one
another.
It seems, even though the latest General Assembly scuttled
the idea of super-synods, there are still those who want to insist on
reconsidering the structure of the Councils (as Presbyterians now call
governing bodies or judicatories). My suggestion is we look to reducing the
geographic size of presbyteries and synods to allow for more intimacy and trust
which are the fruits of being able to “know everybody.” For the basics of
congregational care and oversight, and ministerial care and oversight smaller
presbyteries and synods could function better than large presbyteries and
synods. For the holding of events and trainings, several presbyteries and/or
synods could combine efforts and resources.
The further the more inclusive Councils are from
the pews in which members sit, intimacy and trust in those councils are diminished.
Increase the trust in the presbyteries and synods and trust in the General
Assembly is likely to increase.
Are we all on one of the massive cruise ships
which present an impersonal and attractive target, or are we in a flotilla of
smaller, more personal, ships where there is a greater opportunity to get to
know and trust our shipmates? Maybe, just maybe, the larger geography for the
councils of presbyteries and synods, no longer fill the need for which they
were created. The trend might be toward larger and larger cruise ships, but
whose needs are they meeting? I suggest you read Sue Krummel’s, MUSINGS
FROM THE ROAD.
Tom Oden's lifeboat.
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