New Form of Government (nFOG)

Shortcut link for sharing: http://bit.ly/GAnFOG

The 2006 General Assembly created a task force charged with proposing to the church a revised Form of Government. In fulfillment of this charge, the task force sought to create a briefer, leaner polity that equips the church for mission and ministry. The task force brought a proposed new Form of Government to the General Assembly in 2008. That General Assembly sent the nFOG back for more study, feedback, and work, and it now returns to GA for consideration by the body.

The 219th General Assembly (2010) amended the proposed nFOG and recommended the amended version to the presbyteries for approval. [GA: approved 468-214-6] (link to PC-Biz)

Websites

• Form of Government web page: www.pcusa.org/formofgovernment/ - includes the following resources:

• Link to Proposed Amendmendments to the Constitution - part 1 of 3 (PDF): this is the GA-amended nFOG to be considered by presbyteries; sub-sections include:

• Foundations of Presbyterian Polity — lays out the principles that are foundational to government, worship, and discipline for the PC(USA). Preserves the vast majority of the material in the first four chapters of the current Form of Government. 
• Form of Government — in six chapters, spells out the constitutional framework for government of the PC(USA) as it seeks to respond to God’s call to life in mission. 
• Advisory Handbook for Councils — an aid to councils (governing bodies) of the church for developing the policies and procedures to carry out their mission.

• Link to Proposed Amendments to the Consitution - part 1 of 3 (insert) (PDF): this includes a letter from the Stated Clerk, recommendations from the 219th General Assembly (2010), general information, and a study guide

• Frequently Asked Questions - address key issues about the task force's report 
• What is Missional Ecclesiology? (Rev. Paul Hooker, task force)
• A Letter to PCUSA Elders (Elder Carol Hunley, task force)
• A Brief Reflection on the Foundations of Presbyterian Polity (William Chapman)
• Comparison Chart: New to Old =OR= Old to New
• Powerpoint Presentation on nFOG [.ppt]

• Presbyterian Coalition - nFOG Resource Page - multiple reflections/analysis from conservative viewpoint.
• Association of Stated Clerks, "Analysis of Amendments to the Constitution (2010)" - see pp. 1-2 for nFOG analysis and pro/con summary
• Dan Williams, pcusa4nfog - blog with multiple posts pro-nFOG by Dan Williams, who served as co-moderator of the FOG task force (2008-2010) and as vice-moderator of the Assembly committee on FOG revisions (2008)

Articles
(according to most recent posting date) - when reading articles prior to July 2010, note that the General Assembly amended the proposed nFOG; so double-check specific language critiques with the final GA-approved version.

• Ed Koster, Church and World (Presbyweb), "Letters" (June 6, 2011) - stated clerk of Detroit presbytery notes the steps he will take if nFOG passes, including advising every church to call an immediate congregational meeting to amend bylaws to set the quorum and call a later meeting to address other items; responding to Bob Davis letter and Paul Hooker response to the Reclaim Biblical Teaching "Problems with Quorums" document
• Bethany Furkin, PNS, "With nFOG Vote Close, Advocates Renew Call to Pass It" (May 26, 2011) - with only 8 or less votes either way to decide it, the Moderator and nFOG task force member, Dan Williams, urge passage
• Reclaim Biblical Teaching, "One Big Effect of the nFOG: 10,000 Different Administrative Manuals" (May 24, 2011) - notes potential administrative burden to presbyteries and sessions of passing nFOG
• Casey Jones, Outlook, "NewFOG: Too Much Change, Too Much Uncertainty, Unintended Consequences, Especially Now" (May 24, 2011) - follows his title; "especially now" refers to the passage of 10-A
• Robert Austell, GAhelp.net, "Floor Speech to the Presbytery of Charlotte" (May 15, 2011) - condensed 2 min. list version of the longer presentation below
• Lowell Meek, Presbyweb, "Viewpoint: nFOG - Radical Push to Hierarchalism" (March 23, 2011) - Meek argues that nFOG redefines higher governing bodies in a way that shifts power to them
• Carol Shanholzer, Presbyweb, "Diversity and Ordination: What does the nFOG say?" (March 16, 2011) - contra nFOG piece in response to Dan Williams (see blog link above); explores several ways that nFOG's diversity provisions could impact the ordination/sexuality debate
• Forrest Norman, Layman, "PCUSA's Poison Pill" (March 15, 2011) - rhetorical piece that nonetheless outlines major arguments against nFOG
• Richard McConnell, Presbyweb, "Viewpoint: nFOG is Destructive to Our Presbyterian Polity" (March 14, 2011) - nine point critique plus several other comments against nFOG
• Steve Saylards, The GA Junkie, "The Fog around nFOG" (March 9, 2011) - comments on the seemingly lukewarm reaction to nFOG across the denomination, due in large part to "sensory overload"; Steve links to this page in the article, so hopefully this will not (or will!) cause some sort of virtual feedback loop :)
• Paul Nazarian, Outlook, "nFOG - Cloudy Forecast Probable - Proceed with Extreme Caution!" (March 2, 2011) - two practical concerns with the language of nFOG (elder terminology and manuals)
• Paige M. McRight, Outlook, "Remarks on Proposed Amendments to the Constitution - Part 1 of 3: Foundations of Presbyterian Polity and Form of Government" (February 22, 2011) - pro nFOG remarks by nFOG task force member (and counter-piece to the piece below; McRight presented pro nFOG at the Presbytery of Charlotte meeting referenced below)
• Robert Austell, GAhelp.net, "Presentation to the Presbytery of Charlotte" (February 12, 2011) - this is an invited ten-minute presentation I gave contra nFOG at my presbytery after a presentation by one of the members of the nFOG task force; it is my "top six concerns" with the nFOG; also available as a 5pp PDF  
• Michael Herrin, Presbyweb Viewpoint, "GAPJC Criticisms of nFOG still Deserve Serious Consideration" (February 3, 2011) - Herrin raises additional concerns about nFOG related to interpretive history, due process, and competing manuals of operation in judicial cases; Herrin is a pastor and Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Mississippi
• Dan Williams // Bob Davis, Presbyweb Letters, "Williams' Letter" and "Davis' Letter" (January 28, 2011) - two letters dealing with whether the significant rewriting of the nFOG threatens current authoritative interpretations of the constitution; Williams (nFOG task force) says no; Davis says yes [several other letters are linked, but don't add much to the content of these two]; also see PC-Biz for GA item 07-11, creating a Special Committee on Existing Authoritative Interpretations; see also follow-up from M. Douglas Harper, Presbyweb, "January 29, 2011 Letters" - on the issue of retaining (or not) interpretative history, from one of the authors of the 1983 reunion Book of Order.
• Jean Southard, Presbyterian Voices for Justice, "Some Reasons for Voting 'No'" (January 24, 2011) - some reasons to vote 'no' on nFOG from a progressive viewpoint
• Sharon Youngs, PCUSA.org, "Special Committee on Existing Authoritative Interpretations Begins Its Work: Develops Process for Its Deliberations" (January 21, 2011) - overview of committee's task if nFOG passes identifies five categories of conflict between old/new language and how each will be handled, specifically in regards to current authoritative interpretations.
• Paul Hooker, "nFOG Panel Discussion" (January 14, 2011) - 45 min. video (viewable online or can be downloaded) prepared for the Presbytery of Southern New England; Hooker is a key author of nFOG
• Bob Davis, Layman, "Knowing, and Voting 'No'" (December 20, 2010) - pastor and former candidate for stated clerk of the PCUSA reflects on the proposed new form of government and writes against its adoption.
• Edward Koster, Outlook, "Re: Arguments Pro and Con on the nFOG (pub. December 13, 2010)" (December 17, 2010) - Koster draws no conclusions, but highlights the significant absence of property and voting requirements in the nFOG, which will default to local state laws
• Dan Williams, Outlook, "Proposed Form of Government: Universalist Creed?" (December 9, 2010) - whether intentionally or not, Williams' article relates to the article below by Goodloe, which accuses the opening paragraph of the nFOG of universalism (read them together)
• James C. Goodloe, IV, Layman, "An nFOG Analysis" (December 9, 2010) - executive director of the Foundation for Reformed Theology finds a serious concern (universalism) in the opening paragraph of the nFOG
• Carol Shanholtzer, Theology Matters, "A Critique of the Proposed Replacement for the Form of Government in the Book of Order" (Sep/Oct, 2010) - see pp. 7-11 of a full issue reflecting on the "Three Important Votes in the Presbyteries and a Fourth Issue [that] Affects Every Congregation" 
• GA Communications Center, PCUSA.org News, "New Form of Government Questions and Answers" (July 15, 2010) - concise overview of the General Assembly action resulting in sending the amended nFOG to the presbyteries (amendments not specified in this article however)
• News, "219th General Assembly Approves New Form of Government" (July 8, 2010) - with commentary from new moderator (and nFOG chair), Cindy Bolbach.
• James Kim, God Revolution, "Revised Form of Government Passes by Vote of 37-5 in Committee" (July 6, 2010) - description of committee work on nFOG leading to recommendation
• Paul Kincaid, Layman, "GA Commissioners Will Consider a New Form of Government" (June 10, 2010) - concisely reviews key points of Shanholtzer and Coalition articles below and summarizes committee 7 overtures.
• Gene TeSelle, Presbyterian Voices for Justice, "The FOG Task Force" (June 4, 2010) - former issues analyst of the Witherspoon Society raises concerns around a new round of controversies, language changes, required provisions for diversity and representation, and consequences of deregulating missional language. 
• Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly (GAPJC), Presbyterian Coalition Website, "Information Sheet in Preparation for the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (2010)" [PDF] (pre-GA, date unknown) - see pg. 5 of this document for a GAPJC position against the nFOG because of the "loss of current interpretive history of the Form of Government" and other concerns.
• Merwyn Johnson, Presbyweb, "Letters to the Editor" (May 7, 2010) - centrist affirmation of small steps in the current nFOG and hopes for ongoing work through Item 07-05 
• Beau Weston, Gruntled Center, "The New Form of Government for the PCUSA is Still a Good Idea" (May 2, 2010) - sees the nFOG as a way to "end the war" by allowing local variation
• Carol Shanholtzer, Presbyterian Coalition, "How the nFOG Would Harm Congregations: A Summary" (undated) - argues that the nFOG would limit the powers of Session; summarized from longer article
• Bob Davis, Presbyblog, "The Big Picture of nFOG" (January, 2010) - good non-task force overview
• Presbyterian Coalition: "More Harm Than Help" (October, 2009) - concise concerns about nFOG
• Jack Haberer, Outlook, "Cutting through the FOG" (March, 2009) - note comment section
• Robert Kopp, Kopp Disclosure, "Informal nFOG Survey" (January, 2009) - some good Q&A raised
• Joseph Small, Outlook, "Polity and the English Language" (May 26, 2008) - a look at the ways language can be a challenge or a help in the polity of our church
• Jack Haberer, Outlook, "Facing off on FOG: Bolbach and Berkley Debate FOG" (May 2008) - old, but good