Split vote marks election of GAC’s new executive
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, May 24, 2006
The General Assembly Council, by a split vote of 41-13 with one abstention, has elected a corporate lawyer as the council’s executive director. (See related story by the Presbyterian News Service.)
The selection of Linda Bryant Valentine, an elder at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, must be approved by the 217th General Assembly when it meets in Birmingham on June 15-22 before she can succeed the retiring John Detterick. Detterick was unanimously elected to successive four-year terms by two general assemblies.
The members of the council voted on Valentine’s nomination by secret ballot during an executive session in Chicago.
Contacted by The Layman Online by telephone Wednesday, several members of the council commented about the executive session, the split vote and the changing course of the council. They asked not to be quoted by name.
All said they believed Valentine, a corporate lawyer, had the gifts and skills to be executive director. But they said concerns were expressed about:
1. The closeness of the vote. One council member said the margin was “borderline” on acceptability. Asked whether a presbytery would raise a red flag if a congregation voted by a similar margin to call a minister, another council member said that, generally, anything less than a 30-percent negative vote is acceptable. The council vote was 76 percent to 24 percent in Valentine’s favor.
2. Valentine’s membership in Fourth Presbyterian Church, the largest congregation in the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, was questioned. John Buchanan, the senior minister of Fourth Presbyterian, founded Covenant Network with the sole purpose of ending the denomination’s policy of forbidding the ordination of practicing homosexuals. The congregation has been a leading contributor to the network and hosted some of its major meetings and conferences. But council members said Valentine described Fourth Presbyterian as being a congregation with a “diverse” membership. They also said she gave assurances that she was not an ideologue.
3. Valentine was also asked about her view of the denomination’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity. Her response, council members said, was to praise the unity of the task force but not to give any judgment on its recommendations.
4. Several questions were asked about her transition from her work as a corporate lawyer to become the executive officer of a 400-employee church bureaucracy. One council member said Valentine, in making remarks about the “bottom line,” did not initially respond well. “For managing a corporation, the bottom line is important,” that council member said. “But for the church, we operate out of the mission of the body of Christ.” That council member also added, “Her heart is in the right place and her love is Jesus Christ.” The council member suggested that Valentine may need some help in the “language of the church.”
5. Some council members were concerned about Valentine’s lack of experience with middle governing bodies. Although she has been a elder at Fourth Presbyterian, her resume does not show any service at the presbytery or synod levels. The restructuring of the General Assembly Council, which is being proposed to the 217th General Assembly, calls for the national headquarters and the GAC to be more responsive to synods and presbyteries. But one council member told The Layman Online that Valentine’s noninvolvement in middle governing bodies may be a plus – inasmuch as she may not be as susceptible to pressure from Presbyterian groups who support pet causes. “She is not thoroughly imbedded in this whole network of GAC,” that council member said. “She has not been involved in the whole political things.” On a skill level, that member added, Valentine is qualified to work well with others. Still, he asked, “What’s the political level of this?”
6. Some council members said Valentine was not especially articulate about theological issues – but one said that could be an advantage. “I don’t think the theological bent should be the issue. We should oversee the work at the office.”
7. Some members of the council said there were a few council members who opposed Valentine because she came from the corporate world rather than the pulpit. The belief that a minister ought to be appointed to be executive manager is part of the “good old boy” network, one council member said disdainfully.
8. In one specific case, Valentine’s background as a corporate lawyer was cited as a possible conflict with Presbyterian social policy. She served for 18 years as senior vice president of Motorola. The 216th General Assembly called for “selective, phased divestment” of Presbyterian holdings in corporations that do business with Israel, and the denomination’s Mission Responsibility through Investment Committee later identified Motorola as one of those corporations. In open session, Valentine said she supports “constructive engagement” and “my role is to carry out the directives of the General Assembly and I welcome it.”