Have you ever wondered what the Presbyterian Church believes about the future? It seems that so many people today have clear-cut views about the specifics of the future. One bumper sticker declares confidently, "In case of rapture, this car will be uninhabited." The approach of the millennium will be the occasion of increasing discussion about the future of the world. Do Presbyterians have anything to say?
For those with a lot of Scotch in their bloodstream January 25, the birthday of Caledonia's poet -- Robert Burns -- is the highest of holy days. All over the globe the wandered Scots gather for a rare evening of amity devoted to St. Andrew, St. Haggis, and St. Robert. At least once in a lifetime every Presbyterian should elect (Presbyterian elect -- get it?) to attend a Burns Supper.
Milan Opocensky, professor emeritus of Christian social ethics at Charles University in Prague, is the MacKay Professor of World Christianity at Princeton Seminary for the 2000-2001 academic year. From 1989 to 2000 he served as general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), which represents 215 Reformed, Presbyterian, Congregational and United churches and links 75 million Christians in 106 countries.
Jerry Andrews, co-moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition, has made it clear that "the Coalition itself is not committed to the confessing church movement." This is so because the PC(USA) "is a confessing movement -- it has not watered down its confession."
This interview with Eberhard Busch, professor of Reformed theology, University of Göttingen, Germany, was conducted and translated for The Outlook by Darrell Guder of Columbia Seminary. It is the first in a series of Outlook interviews with leading figures on the topic of the Reformed confessional tradition.
A self-proclaimed "confessing church movement" has been endorsed recently in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) by dozens of sessions and several interest groups that are deeply disappointed over the demise of Amendment O and the Dirk Ficca affair.
For a very long time John 3:16 has been read as a summary of the gospel, which indeed it is. This well-known verse tells of God, the world, love, the Son, giving, sending, believing, eternal life and salvation. Paul gives an even shorter summary when he says, "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." But John and Paul do not provide the only summaries.
Ten is a good round number. There are lots of lists of 10. After spending more than 40 years in the field of Christian education in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I would like to share 10 things I have learned about Christian educators.
Who are the educators? They are the DCEs, pastors, certified educators, graduates with majors in Christian education, part-time staff and volunteers. They are the ones who see Christian education as a high calling of service, to equip the saints for ministry, to build up the body of Christ.
Many people today are wondering what the future holds for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our differences seem to be getting bigger rather than smaller. Our denomination is one that is seeking unity. But, so far, real unity has eluded us. Trying to achieve unity is like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:14). The harder we try to attain it, the more it slips through our fingers. What is it that will bring us together?
Two deleterious movements began after the celebratory march down Peachtree Avenue in Atlanta following the reunion vote in 1983. Groups began to move in different directions and factionalism took on new life. Second, the predecessor denominations’ commitment to racial integration and interest in economic justice were moved off center stage and replaced by issues associated with human sexuality.
The views expressed in this article are my own, not those of the Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity on which I serve. In successive editorials, Outlook editor Robert Bullock voices high hopes for the task force. His expression of confidence in the task force and his offer of prayers are most welcome.
An eagerness for peace lies at the heart of five overtures to the 214th General Assembly meeting this summer, each having to do with the denomination’s process for amending the Book of Order.
Olympia Presbytery sounds the concern plainly. As a rationale for proposing that the General Assembly vote on amendments to the Book of Order only every fifth year, Olympia writes, "The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been in a constant battle over divisive constitutional issues for years and years and years."
Teaching at a theological seminary has its fun moments, but it is mostly the serious business of trying to provide survival skills for the leadership of the church. Presbyterians especially obey Our Lord's command to worship God with the mind (Mk 12:30; Mt 22:37; Lk 10:27). Obviously we need first-rate institutions to nurture first-rate ministry. I am truly grateful for my quarter century on a seminary faculty and the importance of the subjects I teach.
People who think outside the box threaten to become invisible. They do not fit within the conventional categories. In our situation, theological and political liberalism are usually linked. Theological and political conservatism are also linked. Few find this situation odd, even though a case could be made that, properly, theological liberalism tends toward political conservatism, and theological conservatism toward political liberalism.
In our church we are constitutionally committed to a high view of the authority of Holy Scripture. This commitment reflects not only the Reformed tradition, but also (as ought not to be overlooked) the broad consensus of the entire ecumenical church. Although there are still significant differences in the ecumenical church about how to think in accord with Scripture, the day is long since gone when Reformation churches could assume that only they are the custodians of binding scriptural authority.
From its earliest period the ecumenical church has recognized that some forms of life are incompatible with faith in the gospel. Baptism meant not only being incorporated into the church as the body of Christ, but also breaking decisively with the ways of the world. Certain worldly occupations — like prostitution, acting in the salacious dramas of the theater and military service — were regarded as impermissible, especially in the first three centuries. Certain practices, moreover — like incest, drunkenness and the abuse of worldly power — were cause for at least provisional excommunication. Bishops, presbyters and deacons, as officers in the church, were expected especially to live lives worthy of the gospel.
I start with a basic intuition. Whenever a long and protracted debate rages in the church, chances are that it cannot be resolved because significant truth actually exists on both sides. In such cases neither side can discern the truth represented by its opponents. Nor can either accommodate the truth important to the other within its own, highly polarized modes of thought. Only by thinking outside the box can the controversy be resolved.
When the General Assembly appointed a task force to explore what ails the church, the task force members decided to call their group the "Peace, Unity and Purity Task Force." These simple words have been in our ordination rubrics for decades: "Do you promise to further the póó, uóó and póó of the church?" Any minister and almost all officers can fill in the blanks. And yet, those three little words ensnare us in controversy when the going gets rough in the church. As it is now.
Common sense tells us that you canÃt have it all. A sign in a farm equipment dealerÃs repair shop states: "We do three types of jobs — Cheap, Quick and Good. You can have any two. A good quick job — wonÃt be cheap; a good job cheap — wonÃt be quick; a cheap job quick — wonÃt be good."
A Statement of Conscience
Respectfully submitted to the Presbytery of Yellowstone
By the Session of 1st Presbyterian Church
Anaconda, Montana
March 4, 2002
We, the Session of 1st Presbyterian Church of Anaconda, Montana, after careful study and prayerful reflection, respectfully inform the Presbytery of Yellowstone that we cannot in good conscience comply with any interpretation of Book of Order provision G-6.0106b that restricts the rights of governing bodies to discern the will of Christ in choosing leaders. Therefore, we declare:
In democratic America every person is supposed to be equal to every other person. However, in spite of this quondam theory, a lot of people regard themselves as superior not equal. They prefer to be leaders rather than followers. This is a perfectly understandable desire because on a sled run, only the lead dog gets to look at the scenery. All the other dogs are looking at something else. In fact, what the other dogs see and what they do can both be described as a "running behind."
The church is constituted — i.e., is brought into being — by its participation in the reality of what God has done in Jesus Christ. This reality is embodied and proclaimed in the narrative of God for us, Christ with us and the Spirit among us. It is this reality — this dynamic story of God’s engagement to be our God — to which the Scriptures, as the Word of God written, bear witness.
The National Board of More Light Presbyterians recognizes with regret that Amendment A has been defeated. We are profoundly grateful for the 29 presbyteries and overture advocates, the Ordination Standards committee and the 212th General Assembly that sent Amendment A by a margin of 60 percent to all of our presbyteries for discernment and consideration.
With the vote of South Louisiana Presbytery on Feb. 19, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has obtained the simple majority needed for the defeat of Amendment A, maintaining the "fidelity/chastity" provisions regarding ordination standards in the Book of Order. Should the current voting patterns continue in the presbyteries remaining to vote, where the pro-gay proposal is being rejected by a two-to-one margin, the defeat will signal the strongest affirmation to date on the part of the vast majority of Presbyterians in preserving the biblical witness to marriage between a man and a woman, and in upholding those standards for ordained leadership. This is an encouraging sign of renewal.
With unofficial results showing that a majority of presbyteries have
rejected proposed Amendment 01-A, the Covenant Network of Presbyterians
released the following statement:
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