In so doing, resources were shifted away from those activities that had dominated in the post-World War II era, chiefly evangelism and new church development. During the 1960s, when the reallocation began to occur, the judgment of some leadership was that the old methods of growing the church during the time of the so-called “religion boom” in the 1950s were no longer producing the results they once did. At the same time a prophetic word (and action) from the church regarding the social crises was desperately needed. Across the board, activities and programs that had once nurtured the soul, the family and the congregation were downgraded, dismantled or otherwise neglected.
Civil rights and anti-poverty legislation, the expansion of women’s rights and roles, criticism of an unpopular war and of the nation’s defense establishment, and an embrace of vast new waves of knowledge being gathered and disseminated through the educational and media centers of the culture moved to the forefront of the national Presbyterian agenda.
This shift in mission focus was accompanied by a second major undertaking: the reorganizing of the governing bodies and bureaucracies of the former UPCUSA and PCUS following the 1983 merger of the two denominations.
In addition to these two developments, whether or not directly linked to them, there were continuing membership losses, declining vitality and institutional floundering. Moreover, there was also a high level of internal conflict among organized interest groups. These conflicts, in turn, arose as a result of deeply divisive cultural issues, primarily human sexuality (including human reproduction).
The central task of the Presbyterian Church now is, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to seek to be led in the rebuilding of community in every place — if that be possible. The goal is a return to clarity and resolve in the church’s mission. That task will require the work of the Holy Spirit, and the church’s prayerful hope that the fabric of community that has been stretched thin will somehow be restored.
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