Ministry of Fear

Should Williamson’s ministry not be revalidated, there is the possibility that his supporters might question the ministries of liberal ministers around the denomination. If this does happen, I have one question for those who would initiate such actions: Are you doing this out of concern for the church or revenge?

What course should the Western North Carolina presbyters take? That is their business. I hope they make a decision based on the evidence placed before them and their face-to-face knowledge of Williamson and his work. There are some folks around the country who have entered the fray with claims that a lynching is in progress. I don’t buy it.

An official process is in place and it is being followed. Let it take its course. Western North Carolina Presbytery is not a hotbed of liberals, madly intent on revenge. In 1998 the presbytery voted 188 to 98 for Amendment B, the fidelity-in-marriage, chastity-in-singleness rule for ordained officers.

As a journalist I have long taken exception to The Layman’s style of “news” reporting. True, the paper’s graphics are much improved over the cutouts of witches and policemen that once graced its pages. And, like everyone with a computer and a modem, they have a Web site. But this is the same journal which, without checking its facts, printed the rumor that Syngman Rhee was connected to the North Korean Communists. Rhee, who was recently a very popular General Assembly moderator, has personally forgiven the Lay Committee, but I still have doubts.

Maybe that’s because The Layman seems to practice Fox News’ style “fair and balanced” reporting. When the liberal pastor of a big-steeple church was accused of having an extramarital affair, The Layman couldn’t report enough about it. But when big-steeple pastor — one whose theology matched the Lay Committee’s — faced the same situation, I could not find a word about the affair in The Layman.

The lack of libel lawsuits against The Layman is not proof that its news is not slanted or unfairly damaging. Libel is hard — and expensive — to prove and The Layman is well-backed with both legal advice and money.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) needs critics. It’s both necessary and inescapable. But in this role I would give The Layman a grade of C-. That’s passing, but not by much. Surpassing Williamson and Co. in the role of watchdog are other evangelical/conservative organizations — the Presbyterian Coalition, Presbyterians for Renewal, Presbyterian Forum, etc. — which try to speak to the whole church, not just the one-tune choir. With the increased use of the Internet for communication, The Layman’s influence — if not it’s large-but-unsolicited mailing list — has waned.

The Layman preaches about putting situations and church officials in the revealing light of “the truth,” but what it and Lay Committee have really done is produce a “ministry of fear.” They have the power to take anyone in the church with whom they disagree and make them fearful — for their careers or their church lives — and that’s a power far removed from the teachings of Jesus Christ.

If you disagree, then consider this. After I wrote the editorial “Don’t Follow Their Lead” (Dec. 1), I received numerous supportive comments of this nature: “Please don’t print this, but I agree with your editorial.” They weren’t espousing causes counter to confession or Scripture. They were just commenting on an editorial (which, by the way, also did neither of the above).