The Founders by and large feared the emergence of organized political interests and thought that the Enlightenment-era structures set forth in the Constitution as augmented by the Bill of Rights would guarantee a more noble style of politics in the New Nation than that which had prevailed in the Old World.
By 1800 and the election of Thomas Jefferson as president, however, it became clear that factions were here to stay, and that in addition to the structures put in place by the Constitution, if civil society were to survive, self-restraint on the part of the leaders of the various factions would be critical.
The Presbyterian Church, from the earliest days of its existence in scattered congregations, with ministers of Presbyterian leanings along the Eastern seaboard in the 1600s, has always exhibited factions. Our typical pattern is for tensions to build as the church accommodates itself to changes in knowledge and the culture in which we live and then either some kind of break — permanent or temporary — occurs, or some kind of settlement is reached to allow the factions to remain together. The most frequent solution is for the most alienated to leave.
An important point to be made is that despite the seeming monolithic character of factions in church conflicts, there is in fact an enormous amount of diversity within them. For those at the center inside the faction, the pressures can be every bit as severe as for those caught in the center between the factions themselves. In fact, internecine warfare — within factions— can be even bloodier than that between the factions.
If there is to be a politics of the possible in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), then it is going to be critical for those within the respective factions who do not subscribe to the dictum “Our way or no way” publicly to confront and distance themselves from those in their ranks who will settle for nothing short of “unconditional surrender” or the “total destruction” of those on the other side of their line.
In the last two years, seasoned political observers in the denomination have waited expectantly, first for the left-of-center leadership and, now, for the right-of-center leadership to clarify what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in terms of the manner in which the conflict is waged.
Both sides have failed to do the right thing by publicly stating objections to unChristian words and behavior and destructive methods of conducting the battle for the soul of the church. We happen to know that there have been private confrontations, but nothing public.
In reality the only way the center can hold in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — before irreparable damage is done — is for those on both sides of the dividing lines to say “No” publicly to those in their own ranks whose words and behavior threaten to divide the church permanently.
Saying no does not meant that those to whom the no is directed are to be put outside of the tent, but to make a public witness that some goals and tactics are acceptable and others are beyond the pale.
“Taking over the church,” for example, is beyond the pale. There is no place for that goal in our common life.
On the other hand, it happens. Most would admit that one faction in a bi-polar struggle “took over” a generation ago, and until relatively recently effectively shut the other side out. The fact that there is major unhappiness among those in the right-of-center groups is no surprise. The surprise is that it has taken so long for righteous indignation to be mustered. The challenge now is for the indignation to be channeled into a powerful force for renewing the church without destroying the church in the process.
It may be that there are irreconcilable theological differences within the ordained leadership of the church and that at some point these factions can no longer live together in the same church body with integrity. But in this observer’s opinion, we are very far from being able to make that determination — thus the need for the center, right and left — to restrain publicly those whose words and deeds will surely divide the Presbyterian Church in our time.
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