The task force voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to approve three “preliminary affirmations” that it wants the church to affirm as well — with its 20 members taking their first formal vote in more than two years of meeting by standing up and shouting, “Amen!” Those affirmations say that Jesus is the church’s peace, unity and purity.
The task force also recommending that this year’s General Assembly encourage the denomination to do some of what the task force has done — by asking that every presbytery be encouraged to create “intentional gatherings” of Presbyterians of varied theological views, and asking those groups to covenant together to discuss the task force’s affirmations, using resources the task force is developing. Sessions of congregations also would be encouraged to create discussion groups.
That’s exactly what Susan Andrews, moderator of last year’s Assembly, has asked the task force to do — at dinner on Feb. 19, Andrews urged the task force to use its influence to get the whole church talking about hard subjects across the lines of division, what she called giving the church “some time to till the soil.”
This report does not say a word about whether the PC(USA) should ordain gays and lesbians, the one question some Presbyterians most want the task force to answer (and which it has not yet addressed directly, although the agenda for its August meeting is supposed to include the topics, “How to address theological disputes” and “How to address ordination disputes.”)
The preliminary report does say that “some have warned against what they see as lukewarm `compromise’ ” in what the task force ultimately may do. “The Task Force is not seeking any solution that compromises the gospel of Jesus Christ, but rather faithful, truthful and just responses to the complex demands the gospel makes upon us,” the report states.
The preliminary report is expected to be placed on the task force’s section of the PC(USA) Web site soon, once final proofreading is completed.
The report states that the preliminary affirmations will guide the task force’s work over the next two years, until it makes its final report in 2006, and that these affirmations are “rooted in our convictions about the church’s perennial need for grace.”
It states that the PC(USA) already longs for the spiritual blessings of peace, unity and purity — “in the midst of strife and conflict, the church longs for peace; afflicted by quarrelling and division, it longs for unity; weighed down by sin and confusion over the nature of the Gospel, it longs for purity in word and deed.” And its says that the longing is accompanied by “profound good news” — that peace, unity and purity “have already been given to us in Jesus Christ, and the task before the church is to live into the fullness of that gift.”
PEACE
The task force cited the lessons about peace given in Ephesians, where Jews and Gentiles were reconciled to God “in one body through the cross.” And the report states that “for those who are in Christ, divisions and enmities are not the last word” — while the divisions are real, “far more real is the bond of faith forged by Christ’s atoning action on behalf of all people.”
The peace that flows from Jesus is enduring, “more than a temporary halt to conflict,” the report states, and is “based on reconciliation achieved for us at great cost. Accordingly, the Church must draw the strength it needs for peacemaking from beyond itself, from the one who invites us to a common witness and worship.”
UNITY
God unites Christians through baptism and the communion table, and “there is no unity with Christ that is not also a unity with other believers,” the report states.
It acknowledges that finding unity is not easy when disagreements run deep. “The unity we seek cannot be reduced to either uniformity or unanimity,” the report states. “In particular, unity cannot be attained if the voices of some members of the body are ignored” — all voices need to be “heard and respected.” And achieving unity will be complicated “by a long-standing tension between the call to exercise mutual accountability and the affirmation that `God alone is Lord of the conscience.’”
Still, the report states, “unity with one another is not an optional feature of life in Christ. It is a necessity: union with Christ means union with all the other members of Christ’s body, including those with whom one would not ordinarily choose to associate.”
And “the implication of the biblical teaching is clear: Christians cannot even entertain the notion of severing their ties with sisters and brothers in Christ without also placing themselves in severe jeopardy of being severed from Christ himself.”
PURITY
The Bible shows that “Christ’s grace is sufficient to make each one of us pure — sound in our beliefs, upright in our conduct, just in our dealings,” the report states. The purity is not humans’ doing, it comes from God.
“It is often difficult to see how this goal of Christian purity can be squared with the equally important call to unity and peace,” the report states. “Yet in Christ all three are tied together, with no one elevated above the other two. Any effort to achieve peace and unity at the expense of purity cannot succeed … ”
The report also states that “the quest for purity is first and foremost a call to self-examination, repentance and mutual accountability in love. While those who fail to seek purity in any of its forms — truth, goodness and justice — imperil the faithfulness of the church, purity must not become a pretext for division. Those who break the body of Christ on the grounds that some members do not meet a particular conception of righteousness risk putting fallible human judgment in place of Christ.”
NEXT STEPS
The task force stated that its working assumption is that the PC(USA) shares “one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all,” as is stated in the 4th chapter of Ephesians. It also recognizes that some Presbyterians “wonder whether the unity of this confession has been jeopardized” by theological divisions. The task force will study that question. If it finds that the integrity of the confession has not been broken, it will suggest to the church “ways of living together and moving into the future that are rooted in the peace, unity and purity of Christ and that are more constructive and faithful than our current climate of hostile division,” the report states.
The report also says the task force will apply four criteria to any “process” or “instrument” it chooses to present to the church. Those criteria are:
• Faithfulness to the gospel — this is the section where the task force talks about not being willing to compromise the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Theological grounding. “Some have warned that resolutions of earlier conflicts in the church’s history, based chiefly on polity or legal precedents, have often proved unstable,” the report states. The task force members have studied earlier conflicts in Presbyterian history “and intend that our report will not simply pose political solutions but a way of living together that has clear theological and scriptural integrity,” the report states.
• Clarity about the relationship between the PC(USA) and the larger church of Jesus Christ. A basic issue before the denomination is “whether it is a church that is called to reflect the full integrity of Christ’s body in a distinctive way, or is, rather, merely a denominational subdivision of the church whose peace, unity and purity are immaterial, and whose reason for being is more pragmatic than essential,” the report states. So the task force report must address this question: “Does the well-being and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) really matter?”
• Continuity with Presbyterian tradition. While polity alone won’t bring peace, unity and purity, the principles and practices of government Presbyterians have developed over the centuries “will continue to serve us as we move into the future,” the report states. “Any proposals that we see before the church must be the outgrowth of Presbyterian ways of ordering church life and giving it direction.
The task force also pointed out that nothing the task force does will be enough in itself — things won’t really change unless the whole church is willing to change.
“Are the church’s members prepared to work, pray and sacrifice for a more faithful way of life together?” the report asks in conclusion. “If so, we are confident that God will show the way. Indeed, God has shown us the way, and the truth, and the life. God has given us Jesus Christ.”
The day the General Assembly convenes in Richmond in June, the task force will hold a pre-Assembly conference for commissioners and anyone else who wants to attend — a gathering that will be held at the Richmond convention center from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 26.
At that conference, representatives of the task force will explain its work so far, lead worship, share some of the resources they’ve used and lead exercises demonstrating some techniques they’ve tried for getting a group that’s theologically diverse to talk and listen respectfully. The event will end at noon — an hour before the Assembly is scheduled to go into session — with what’s described on the agenda as a “rousing hymn.” 
