Bureaucratic Bishopric

“This is the besetting sin of American presbyterianism. When an association of independent churches, or the representatives of presbyterian churches, makes the mistake of establishing a permanent headquarters somewhere (minium requirements: one desk, one phone, on file cabinet), a certain type of bureaucratic mind is immediately attracted to the important task of getting the papers on the left side of the desk over to the right side of the desk. A person with this mindset soon learns where all the levers under the desk are located — what they can do, and how much they can control. Thus a bureaucratic bishopric is born, which soon dominates the representative meetings of the church — setting agendas, controlling missions, determining budgets, and so on” (Mother Kirk, p. 163).