One of the problems I've pointed out many times is that the leaders in the authoritarian system want to be portrayed as both caring and competent. When mistakes are made, they will circle the wagons and play one against the other. So, the law and order was forgotten because they were so intent on providing the utmost of care, or caring was secondary to making sure that the procedure was followed.
It seems like Second RPC is having trouble properly emotionally manipulating a few of the members in the congregation. So, now the Session is "grieved" because their "apologies" have not resulted in "reconciliation". I say these in quotes because I doubt the sincerity. My reading on it is:
The Session is upset because the members correctly identified that their apologies were insincere and realized that there was no reconciliation when one party is still convinced they are in the right. So, the Session is now going to try and bring in 3rd parties (although hopefully skewed towards justifying the authorities if at all possible) who are going to bring Psalm 133 and some obey your leaders garbage to put the members back in their place.
Assuming the complaint is correct, and I don't see any disagreement by the Session, the whole situation was brought on by BOTH a lack of caring and a lack of following law and order.
The background seems really simple. Some members of the congregation saw someone they thought would make a good Ruling Elder, and made a petition that the Session call a congregational meeting to vote on whether this person should be called.
The request IS technically out of order. As a member, I can ask the Session to call a congregational meeting to elect an elder, but it is out of order to say, "We want an up or down vote on John Doe." There is a procedure for these meetings and it is to call a meeting, ask for nominations, and proceed. There are good reasons for this, and I would argue, also good reasons why the Session should never nominate someone.
But, instead the Session made some critical mistakes.
Background on the Session clique:
Before I go any further, I want to talk about my experience. I was seen as a potential elder in a congregation in the GLG. As far as I know, there was never any formal "qualification check" but I was given more and more visible responsibility in the church, until a person or persons discovered that I held that women could be deacons (i.e. the official position of the RPCNA). At that point, the leaders did pretty much everything in their power to cut me down in the eyes of the congregation, while also trying to use me for my gifts.
So, the way I see it, the Session is like the popular girls at a high school. They want to maintain a power base and control the next generation of that power base, but their manipulation and abuse can't be obvious because being mean and catty could make them unpopular. So, they are constantly, and I mean constantly looking around for other people to pull in and people to cut down. Now imaging that the popular girls has a Constitution and law and order. The law and order says that gossip is wrong and that pre-judging people is wrong, but the Session wants to be ahead of the curve, so, of course, they are going to gossip about all the potential entrants to the Session.
Back to the issue at hand:
So, the Session has already gossiped about John Doe and they've already decided, for one reason or another that John Doe would not be a welcome addition to the popular girls table - it could be for many reasons, maybe legitimate, maybe not. Now a significant group in the congregation says that they think John Doe would make a good elder.
Now, if they were clever, they would "seriously consider" the petition and get their story straight. Perhaps now is not a good time to elect an elder, or maybe they hadn't thought about John Doe in that way and they need time to consider (how to undercut) him in his potential leadership. But, instead, they let it slip that they "didn't consider him qualified" having done no consideration on the record (in constituted court).
The "Oh Crap!" moment:
Instead of "submitting", the members called the Session out for the glaring mistake. The Session, now stuck in a corner, decided that their way out would be to allow the election, but, presumably, undercut John Doe so that he would not be elected. Instead, the congregation voted 85% in favor of calling him as a Ruling Elder. OH CRAP! So, now the Session is in a situation where they don't want someone to join the Session, but this person is too popular to reject on the basis of approval rating. They are now under a microscope. The Session gives their "apology" to the congregation while trying to backtrack the severity of their mistakes.
The backdoor conversation and resignation:
Since anything "public" will be scrutinized, the Session decides to have an "off the record" discussion with John Doe. Most likely, John is told that he really doesn't have what it takes, and that the congregation is ignorant about what it takes to be an elder, and disrespectful towards the Session by calling them to account instead of "submitting". Doe is likely told to quietly resign because that's best for the congregation. However, aspects of this conversation demonstrate that the "apology" is bogus. So, John resigns, but does so in a way that calls out the Session for their abusive tactics.
Damage control:
The Session now has to figure out how to regain their position of caring curators of the law and order of the church, despite having been exposed for a lack of care and a lack of consideration for the law and order of the church.
Oops, we did it again:
Remember that the Session doesn't want their REAL discussions to be on the record, but no decisions can be made off the record, so the solution is to have a Session meeting without telling the congregation so that no one can show up and hold them accountable. So, the Session freezes the members out of their continued John Doe discussion by holding a secret meeting (thanks, Dave Long for the inspiration!!!) where the only thing on the record is accepting the resignation.
We're "grieved"!1!!
So, after demonstrating a total lack of respect for John Doe, the congregation and the law and order of the church and being called out for it, what is a session to do? DARVO => Deny, Accuse, Reverse Victim and Offender.
Deny - The Session is going to damage control by alternatively portraying themselves as caring (this was somehow best for the congregation, but you're too stupid to understand right now), and keepers of the law and order (this isn't how elections are done, so we mistakenly accommodated your request and look where it led!) The session will also meet to control the narrative. Only the approved timeline will be represented, and everything that members remember will be 'not how it happened'.
Accuse - The Session might theorize that this is all some sinister (Satanic?) plot to undermine God's ordained servants in the eye of the congregation and start calling out members for their lack of respect and submission when they disagree with the Session's approved narrative.
Reverse Victim and Offender - Since the complaint is mainly that the Session misused the law and order of the church, we are most likely going to see "caring" weaponized. I think the complaints are already pre-groomed since they said:
We believe the elders had good intentions through much of this process. We respect and acknowledge their authority and their many years of faithful service and love for the congregation. We believe that the 2RP Session has acted sincerely to do what they believed is for the good of 2RP.
I don't believe this. If they truly believed what they were doing was good and for the good of the church, then they have conflated their will with the will of God. That is, they made idols of their personal perspective. The law and order of the church is there for a reason, and disregarding the law of the church is putting oneself as judge over current and previous authorities.
Let me put this a different way. If the Session were authoritative about who should or should not be the next Ruling Elder, the RPCNA would be the Reformed Prelacy of North America. The whole point of congregational elections and Session qualifications is that the church as a whole recognizes that God can and should bring alternative and contradictory views into leadership, and that it is the sheep who recognize the shepherd, not necessarily the religious leadership.
The actions of the 2RP elders scream out that they are afraid of a possible alternative or contradictory view joining the Session, and that fear is most likely in black and white. John Doe CALLED THEM OUT for their abusive tactics. So, put two and two together. The Session of 2RP is scared that John Doe will hold them accountable for their abusive tactics and did everything in their power to maintain abusive control. How exactly could we understand that as being "caring" and "for the good of 2RP"?
