GAC Governance Makeover

The February meeting of the General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church, USA, will be one of its most significant meetings in recent years. The GAC has had multiple task forces at work, visioning a new way of serving the Church in the Twenty-First Century.

My understanding was that the reports of the various task forces were to be online today at the GAC "Les" website, but as of mid-morning, nothing has been posted. However, Presbyterian News Service has issued a release about the Governance Task Force report Plan would trim GAC membership by almost half. The Mission Work Plan Task Force Report should be available sometime today, and when I see it has been released, I have a post about it as well. (I will link the reports of the task forces here once they are public.)

Here are some key proposals coming to the full council from the Governance Task Force for consideration.

• Voting members will be reduced from about 72 to 39. There will be thirty-six elected and three ex-officio. There will be three General Assembly commissioners from each of the three preceding General Assemblies for a total of nine. Three young adult members ages 18-35. Two presbytery executives. One synod executive. Twenty-one recommendations from presbyteries. Ex-officio members will be the current moderator, the previous moderator, and the moderator for Presbyterian Women.
• Terms will be lengthened to one six-year non-renewable term.
• There will be four goal area committees plus one support committee. The goal area committees are: Justice and Compassion, Evangelism and Witness, Spirituality and Discipleship, Leadership and Vocation.
• One of the two GAC meetings in non-GA years will be a joint meeting with synod and presbytery executives.

Update:

Here are the Governance Task Force Proposal and the Rationale.

[10 Feb 2006: This Council structure was changed slightly in its final form. The number of members from the three previous assemblies was reduced from three per assembly to two. One synod executive and one presbytery executive were added. One young adult member was added. There was no net change in the total.]