Presbytery: The Judicial Center of Gravity

I was recently asked by a co-worker which church I attended in town.  He was raised in a non-denominational church and still attended one, so he had many questions for me upon hearing that I am an elder in a Presbyterian church.  I went on to explain what a Presbyterian was and the distinguishing characteristics from other denominations.  My co-worker was most interested in hearing about Presbyterian church government as he found it to differ drastically from the independent, congregationalist style form of government he was use to.  His congregation is subject to no external jurisdiction.  There are no checks and balances between his local church and an external entity should an internal dispute arise.  For example, should his preacher begin preaching heresy, there is no external entity to deal with the pastor.  On the other hand, nor is there protection for his pastor should his congregation turn on the pastor.

In Presbyterianism, there are three levels of courts to deal with disputes.  The first level of court, or session, consists of elders elected by and from among the local congregation.  In addition to the administration of sacraments, the session is responsible for resolving local disputes and, if needed,  the exercise of discipline.  This much my co-worker was vaguely familiar with in his own congregation. 
 

What if the nature of a dispute boils over the ability of a session to handle?  What if the integrity of the session itself is called into question by one or several members of the congregation?  In such cases the regional church, or presbytery, the second level of court would address the issue.  A presbytery consists of a pastor and an elder commissioned from each congregation over a predefined geographic area.  This level of court is really the judicial center of gravity for Presbyterianism.

Occasionally, disputes are not resolvable even at the presbytery level.  In these cases the general assembly, the third and highest level of court, would address the issue.  This level of court consists of a number of pastors and elders from among each presbytery.  While the potential power of a general assembly is great, it rarely flexes such might unless it is truly needed.  Instead, a general assembly, acknowledging that the judicial center of gravity resides at the level of presbytery, provides counsel to a presbytery in which the dispute arose.  In short, the general assembly tends to just tell a presbytery to man up and do their job with a bit of advice thrown in.  I exaggerate only a little.

While biblical and the best form of church government available to fallible men, I told my co-worker that the Presbyterian judicial system only works as well as those running it.  We are far from perfect.  I have noticed recently the very issue of presbyteries not living up to their judicial role, although perhaps this has been an ongoing problem for years.  Complaints are brought before presbytery and are ignored.  Charges are brought forward only to be adjudicated without trial.  Well meaning judicial committees and politically powerful clerks of presbytery are tempted to sweep issues under the rug as they may be viewed as an embarrassment if made known at the general assembly level.  In some respects, this embarrassment is warranted as it is a testament to a presbytery’s failure to “do their job.”  The result, however, is a tolerance for the intolerable, all in an attempt to maintain a false front of unity.  The problem is that such false fronts and the neglect of judicial proceedings are more likely to only cause real fractures within a presbytery.  Yet, that is why the general assembly exists; to provide presbyteries counsel and wisdom from a wider pool of individuals, objective in their discernment.  May general assemblies keep presbyteries living up to their judicial responsibilities.  The ultimate health and welfare of the visible church is at stake.

Note: The above picture is of the Jerusalem Chamber located in Westminster Abbey.  The Westminster Assembly met in the Jerusalem Chamber from the Winter of 1643 until its dissolution in 1653.  In this room the Assembly debated the form of Presbyterian church government in addition to the drafting of the Westmister Standards, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and other documents.