For the duration of Synod 2019, The Network will be selecting a “Tweet of the Day” (as well as two honorable mentions) to be featured on the site.
So without further ado, here are the top tweets from Wednesday, June 19.
Top Tweet:
Historic moment! The first time that a Deacon is chairing synod as the second clerk becomes the Chair!#crcsynod pic.twitter.com/Nx4QHDWUWo
— Chelsey Harmon (@PastorChelsey) June 19, 2019
Honorable Mention(s):
Wed. AM #crcsynod is up already! It is so cool watching at 1.5x speed. I imagine @JoelRenkema wishes he could make Synod go at 1.5x speed on the floor. :)
— Paul Vander Klay (@PaulVanderKlay) June 19, 2019
Hey, #CRCSynod, for what it's worth: I don't think time limits at the mic is a bad thing. I couldn't *imagine* @RCAonline #RCAsynod without the 2 minute limit. I'm fairly sure RCA delegates would still be in Holland from LAST WEEK'S Synod if there was no time limits.
— Jennifer Lucking (@JenniferLucking) June 20, 2019
Comments
... just a quick note about time limits on speeches at Synod.
We have fallen victim to a Twitter society where everything needs to be said in a very few words.
I served as Synod delegate back in the early 1980s. Synod lasted two weeks and we'd spend hours ... hours .. in heated, wonderful debate on several major issues. Synod back then was indeed a 'deliberative body', filled with thoughtful dialogue and arguments.
We have lost that for the sake of efficiency and expediency ... and that is a shame. I cringe at the thought of having a meaningful debate in 2021 when the gender issues comes to the floor of synod. With speeches being confined to a two-minute soundbite, very little of substance will be raised.
When it comes to a meaningful discussion on things that shape the future of this denomination, what's the rush? Turn off your cell phones, shut down your Twitter account and become engaged in a robust, thoughtful debate. It takes time to listen, it takes time to be heard, it takes time to form a reasoned opinion before a decision can be made.
Thanks Keith those are valid comments. I am treading on dangerous ground here, but I believe that the prayers in future synods done by selected persons may also lead to group think.
I quite agree with Keith. Despite the claim that "Synod is a deliberative body," I think Synod lacks the time to be just that. There is, in my view, just no way Synod can adequately, deliberately, take up all that is required of it in one week. I thought two weeks was hard, one is closer to simply impossible. Of course, more deliberation time is available to advisory committee (they have only a subset to deal with and so can focus), but I think they are strained also.
This time inadequacy is compounded by the fact that the denomination is taking up more and more (our increasing forays into the political world just increases the amount to deal with).
My prediction is that as the years go by, more and more will be "really done" by the COD and with agents of the denomination (e.g., Exec Dir, OSJ, ...), and Synods themselves will be quick stamp of "yeah" or "nay" based on deliberation far more akin to a Twitter conversation than real deliberation. Case in point: Synod 2019 told the COD to figure out what is ecclesiastical and what is not (CO Art 28). A punt, but really, what is the alternative?
Predicting again, another result of this will be a greater inclination to "split the baby" on issues brought to it. Some folks really want this and that while some folk really oppose it. OK, decide something in the middle, especially given that Synod is running out of time. Try to make everyone happy.
I guess we had better pray for our Synod and not worry because it’s in Gods hands! Trust is in short supply!
I guess we had better pray for our Synod and not worry because it’s in Gods hands! Trust is in short supply!
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