The two announcements came only days apart. Rev. Dr. John Vissers has been elected to stand as sole nominee for moderator of the 138th General Assembly, and he has been appointed director of academic programs and professor of historical theology at Knox College, Toronto.
He will be installed as moderator when assembly begins in Oshawa, Ont., on June 3 and will begin his work at Knox on Jan. 1, 2013.
“I’m quite excited,” Vissers said of his election as moderator nominee. “It’s a call by the church and I’m ready to serve.”
Vissers is currently principal of the Presbyterian College, Montreal. Between General Assembly in June and the end of the year, he said he plans to “wind down work” at the college and balance his various responsibilities. He will be moving to Toronto to begin his appointment at Knox in January, but his wife and children plan to remain in Montreal until the spring.
“January to June will be a little hectic,” he admitted. “But it is what it is and we’ll make it work.”
Vissers said he had originally planned to stay at the Presbyterian College for 10 years. After 13 years, he said, “I think it’s time for a change for myself and the college. … I’m quite happy to slide from being a principal back to a faculty position.”
He also said he was going to do some listening as he prepared for his moderatorial year. “I want to be sensitive to what the church needs and what the church is saying and what God is saying. I think we’re at an important time in the life of the church. … What I’m concerned about is the fact that most of [the discussion around a vision for the church] is driven by anxiety, and institutional survival and flourishing. I think we need to think more broadly than that. What’s our call to participate in God’s mission in the world? … We should have confidence in the gospel, in who we are as God’s people, instead of being preoccupied by ourselves all the time.”
Though he doesn’t have a stated theme for his moderatorial year, he did share some of his passions: “Things like theological education are important to me, along with leadership and missional leadership, theology and Reformed theology and biblical preaching and spiritual renewal. I will continue to travel the church and be who I am and say what I’ve been saying.”
Vissers is a member of the Theology 101 committee for the Presbyterian Record, helping to shape and direct the themes discussed in that monthly column. He has an article in this month’s issue introducing a long series on Living Faith.
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Interview with Rev. Dr. John Vissers — Nominee for Moderator
