Death by a Thousand Cuts?

The Associated Press reported last Saturday, April 15, that our denomination plans to cut jobs at the headquarters in Louisville, KY for the third time in four years. The number of cuts -- from the 600 staff -- will be announced by the end of this month.

The reason is simple: headquarters needs to trim its $114 million budget by 13 percent in the next two years. Officials say that the cuts are needed to change how the PC(USA) does its business. More and more churches are using the funds they raise to run their own mission and social outreach programs instead of being dependent on headquarters.

While I sympathize with those who will be laid off, this is very much a part of being Presbyterian -- reformed and always reforming. I pray for our headquarters staff that this transition will be smooth. Change is always painful, but if there is anything I have learned from working is that the only constant in life is change itself.

I hope that we will come out a stronger denomination as we reform ourselves, and not die in our own version of the Chinese ling chi or death by a thousand cuts.