A persistent question for both PC(USA) and ECO congregations in The Fellowship of Presbyterians is our relationship to the Essential Tenets document – the centerpiece of The Fellowship’s Theology Project. Many of us believe the problems with which Presbyterians now struggle have developed as a result of embracing theological pluralism within the PC(USA). We threaten our very identity as followers of Jesus when contradictory theological affirmations and biblical interpretations are embraced without question or critique. A significant role of The Fellowship as a covenanted order is to provide theological reorientation to a fragmenting church. We created the Theology Project to ignite a robust, ongoing discussion: what beliefs are “essential” to a Reformed expression of the Faith? As we study and use this document, it is critically important to understand what it is and what it was never intended to be.
PC(USA) ordination vows require that we “…sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as reliable and authentic expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do,” and that we will be “instructed and led by these confessions as [we] lead the people of God.” The Fellowship’s Essential Tenets document reflects a synopsis of the ten confessions currently affirmed by both the PC(USA) and ECO, and through them drawing us deep into the Word of God. The Essential Tenets document is not a “new confession.” It is designed to spark ongoing study of our confessions and catechisms, offering us a renewed experience of the richness of our heritage. read more
