January 9, 2004
by John Filiatreau

LOUISVILLE - The Rev. Robert "Bob" Davis, executive director of the Presbyterian Forum, has announced that he is running for stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Davis, 39, said his candidacy is an opportunity for the PC(USA) "to go in a new direction" and "establish what really is the Presbyterian witness, at a time when we've gotten lost in process, and the system is breaking down."

Davis, 39, said he wants to "change the ethos" of the PC(USA) so that the focus of national leaders is on "equipping the people of the church to do the work of the church ... rather than having the work done for them."

The election of a stated clerk - the denomination's top ecclesiastical officer - is on the agenda of this summer's 216th General Assembly of the PC(USA) in Richmond, VA.

The incumbent, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, is expected to run for re-election to a third four-year term. The Rev. Linn "Rus" Howard, of Venetia, PA, has said he also is a candidate, but has not made a formal announcement.

An effort to reach Howard by telephone was unsuccessful.

The GA-elected Stated Clerk Review/Nomination Committee is expected to announce its nominee in April.

David said his decision to "pursue this call" to run for stated clerk "was made only after a yearlong journey of extensive prayer and lengthy conversations with people of discernment."

In a press release announcing his candidacy, he said: "We need to be intentional about our responsibility as a faithful part of the church historic in a dynamic world. ... The ways by which we build our covenant life together must be clarified so that we give witness to the saving grace found only in Jesus Christ."

Davis said in an interview with the Presbyterian News Service that he also would like to "broaden our understanding of ecumenism" in a way that would reduce emphasis on the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches and acknowledge "that real ecumenism is taking place in local areas, where people are getting together to proclaim Jesus and do mission and discipleship together where they are."

Davis is an associate pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Escondido, CA, an evangelical congregation that is part of the Confessing Church Movement.

He said he agrees with Kirkpatrick that the role of the stated clerk does not include being a "prosecutor" in church disciplinary cases, but he said the clerk could use the "persuasive authority" of the position to "put much more focus on getting the system to work as it's supposed to work."

When a PC(USA) official or entity refuses to submit to church authority, he said, "We should respect that - but it should also be clear that a statement of 'non-compliance' will have consequences."

Asked about sessions' withholding or redirecting of per-capita payments to PC(USA) governing bodies, Davis said he agrees with the ruling of the national Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) that it's a matter best left to individual congregations. His own church does pay its assessments, he said, because it wants to be involved in presbytery and synod affairs and to "participate in the life of the whole church."

Davis said he wants to help the PC(USA) reflect "an identity that people can respond to," partly by giving pastors and sessions "the tools necessary to think theologically on the front lines" of ministry, "in everyday life."

Davis, an attorney, attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, and earned a J.D. degree from Indiana University-Indianapolis in 1989. He was in private practice in Indianapolis, IN, from 1989 to 1995. He also is a former employee of the Indiana Department of Insurance. In 1996 and 1997 he was on the staff of the Genevans, an organization dedicated to helping to prepare PC(USA) members to serve as commissioners to the General Assembly. He also has served on the staff of La Crescenta Presbyterian Church in La Crescenta, CA.

He earned an M.Div. degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2000, and now serves as moderator of the San Diego Presbytery's ecclesiastical committee and as a member of its PJC.

A lifelong Presbyterian, he grew up in Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Chester, PA, and was a member of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.

He lives in Escondido, CA, with his wife, Jennifer, and their three daughters: Kaley, 14, Brooke, 13, and Abigail, 4.

The Presbyterian Forum states that it is an organization dedicated to reforming and renewing the church by providing information and training to PC(USA) ministers and members. It is closely aligned with the Presbyterian Coalition.

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