PCUSA faces big revenue shortages in 2002, 2003
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, January 29, 2002
LOUISVILLE – Some of the top staff of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have begun bracing elected leaders for projected shortfalls of nearly $8 million for the combined 2002 and 2003 budget years.
Most of the shortfalls will be reductions in unrestricted mission giving, although there were hints that the unsteady state of the denomination could have a ripple effect.
John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council, the elected body that oversees congregational, national and world ministries, told the council that “these concerns centered on the national economy, which we now know to be in a recession, and the current denominational climate.”
Detterick did not specify what he meant by the “current denominational climate,” but it is widely known that ongoing debates over sexuality, the lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture have spawned a backlash against the PCUSA’s elected leadership.
The most notable examples of the backlash have emerged in the growing Confessing Church Movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA) and overwhelming opposition among presbyteries to a constitutional amendment that would end the denomination’s historic prohibition against ordaining self-affirming, practicing gay ministers, elders and deacons.
In addition, some sessions are choosing to redirect their per-capita apportionments that support paying most of the salaries at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, as well as the meetings of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council.
Detterick’s report to the council’s executive committee Jan. 29 contained some good news. Last fall, he estimated that the 2002 budget shortfall would be $2.5 million. His current projection is $1.9 million.
But his report also literally underlined the severity of the revenue plunge for 2003. “Total projected gap between unrestricted income and expenditures for 2003 is $5.57 million,” the report said.
Detterick proposed two ways to deal with the shortfalls:
1. Radically change the way money is allocated through “strategic visioning” by earmarking resources that specifically fulfill “the Six Great Ends of the Church.”
2. Spend $1 million to expand fundraising that will ask prospective major donors to underwrite mission giving – with a goal of raising an additional $40 million.
Kathy Lueckert, deputy executive director of the General Assembly Council, presented the report on “Strategic Visioning.” Using the metaphor of a pair of glasses, Lueckert said the PCUSA has strong frames – the Great Ends of the Church – but weak lenses.
“New lenses are needed to focus the GAC’s work and mission,” she said. “In a time of uncertainty, it is absolutely crucial for the General Assembly Council to articulate clearly and concisely what the focus of its mission work is, how the GAC does this work, and with what partners the work is accomplished – and then do the work very, very well.”
In February of 2000, the General Assembly Council went through a slightly different visioning process. It then was asked to establish priorities for its ministries within the “frames” of two ministry emphases: evangelism and discipleship.
But that process bogged down in planning and implementation after it appeared that some sacred cows in the denomination – including the Washington Office that lobbies for primarily liberal political causes – were about to gored.
Detterick’s staff had prepared for that meeting last February by asking General Assembly Council members to individually prioritize all of the programs in Congregational Ministries, World Ministries and National Ministries.
This time, their proposal for a “Visioning Strategy” is less bound to what the General Assembly declares the current emphases to be and more attuned to the “Great Ends of the Church,” a staple in the denomination. Those great ends include:
1) The proclamation of the Gospel.
2) The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God.
3) The maintenance of divine worship.
4) The preservation of truth.
5) The promotion of social righteousness.
6) The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.
Leuckert said there “is a growing consensus that the General Assembly Council has too many things to do and should re-focus on fewer things that could be accomplished with excellence. And a hunger exists through the church for a positive emphasis on mission and a desire to direct energy toward something other than divisive arguments.”
The staff won the General Assembly Council’s approval to begin the process during the current meeting, which will conclude Feb. 2.
Detterick had considered asking that the process be done in executive session without the press. But, after he called some media representatives and solicited their views, he concluded that the budget review would be open to reporters.
To boost revenue, Detterick is calling for a $1-million investment in fundraisers and backup support for what’s called a “Mission Initiative Campaign.” The goal of the campaign is $40 million, much of which would be used as seed money to start racial-ethnic congregations.
Detterick provided members of the council a feasibility study by Marts & Lundy, Inc., which recommended moving forward with the campaign.
The Marts & Lundy study did not skirt the controversial issues in the church.
“There was concern within the church’s central office about the current controversies within the denomination and about the failure of the last campaign to achieve its goal,” the report said. “This was coupled with an underlying concern about ‘where the denomination was headed’ and whether the central governing body could inspire any focused motivation for such an undertaking, given the very real possibility of schism.”
Based on a number of interviews, the report also concluded that the “larger church has been assailed by issues of human sexuality, Christology, abortion, decentralization of governance, local congregations perceiving their destinies in their own hands alone, a sensitivity to ‘colonialism’ within overseas missions, a reimagining of God, a lack of clarity about ‘what the central church is for,’ and the absence of a unifying rallying point. In the midst of these challenges, the central church has suffered a loss of morale along with what might be called a serious ‘lack of faith’ in the denomination.”
But Marts & Lundy added that “such identity crises” have been experienced by other institutions, including other Protestant denominations. “Such turmoil, for the most part, has not stopped strong institutions from moving forward, albeit while making some adjustments and creating various means of reviving their fundamental mission.”
They also said, “Perhaps the fundamentals of mission, church growth, spiritual life in action and partnership can be used to move the denomination into a better era than the present one.”