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Voices

Should I stay or should I go?

It had been one week since the gavel was laid down at the General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala. My energy level had rebounded--it can be tough work as an "observer." But, I was finding it more difficult to bounce back emotionally and vocationally from GA. After hours of debates in committee, debates on the floor, asking whether or not the minority should become the majority report, trying to figure out LES (the electronic report system) and hearing countless people refer to the decline of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and threats of leaving, I was left wondering isn't there more to life than this? Is there a place to start over fresh? Is staying in this denomination worth it?

Voices

Tomorrow’s Church

This is what we know:                              

God's people will continue to meet together, for worship, support and encouragement, inspiration, and mission. They will design this in ways that make sense to each of their culturally stratified situations. 

 

This is what we have learned:

It is really hard to change existing churches! It is not only hard to accomplish but it may not be fair. Consider the pastoral implications of demanding that a generation, who has worshiped meaningfully and successfully with a particular style of music and liturgy, suddenly give all that up because kids don't like it. It isn't fair to anyone.

 

This, then, is what we can do:

New churches; new faith communities in existing churches; new worship services, new fellowships, new identities and new strategies!

Voices

Should We Separate? A Theology of Unity and Disunity*

 

Should we, as evangelicals, separate from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?

Many of us are now asking this question. We know there is no genuine theological solution to the homosexuality issue. We know that any continued unity would be contrived. So, why can't we just admit the presence of irreconcilable differences in our marriage to the PC(USA) and file for divorce? Such a decision, although unfortunate, seems increasingly desirable for many of us.

But should we pursue this as an option? After all, we know that a divorce would probably be messy. There will be no "gracious separation" as some of us may have hoped - far too much money and power is involved for that to happen. Do we want to have a nasty, public fight?

We may be thinking, "Sure, it will be nasty, but it will be worth it in the long run." But surely this can be our choice only if we are convinced that we are fulfilling the will of God. That's where the confusion creeps in.

Some are saying that schism is repulsive to God. Others are insisting that separation is necessary for us to remain faithful. These conflicting voices bewilder us. What we need is a theology of unity and disunity that would help us understand whether separation might be in the will of God or not. To spark thinking in this direction, let's first look at some of the most relevant Scriptures about unity and disunity, as well as two classic formulations from church history. Then let's draw out some of the implications for the present situation in the PC(USA).

 

Voices

Called to love

John 17:20-26: I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

 

I think this text is an important touchstone for all of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at this particular moment in our history. It is a time in which many of us are down on our knees praying for the peace, unity, and purity of our denomination -- a time when it is imperiled, when talk of schism is in the air. I find myself sticking very close to John 17 during these troubled days, for I need the reassurance it provides that the Lord Jesus is praying for us too -- and whenever I turn to it, I find it a powerful experience to overhear him speak our names before God in fervent prayer for our unity.

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Mission networks growing in numbers, energizing efforts, says Browne

LOUISVILLE--Mission networks have proved to be a valuable component of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s international mission work and their importance will grow, declared a PC(USA) mission leader after a gathering of mission network leaders here July 13-14.

"The network experiment has been successful beyond expectations," said Will Browne, associate director for Ecumenical Partnerships, in an interview. "Networks are here to stay to help the whole of the PC(USA) engage in international mission. They are generating a growing energy across our church."

Leaders of 20 of the denomination's 26 mission networks came together for the consultation. Mission networks are groups of Presbyterians who share a common interest in a country, people group, or programmatic emphasis. An outgrowth of mission partnerships developed by synods, presbyteries and congregations, networks provide a venue for partnership participants to relate to international partners, connect with PC(USA) international mission staff and mission personnel, think about common strategies, coordinate efforts and share best practices.

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New Wineskins association takes shape

TULSA -- What exactly the New Wineskins Association of Churches is -- and what it wants to become -- is still shaking out.

The group will hold its third convocation Feb. 8 and 9 in Orlando, after a flurry of other gatherings that may shine some light on the mood of the evangelical wing of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) A steering committee will have more recommendations then.

In the meantime, some pieces have fallen into place. And on some other things, the New Wineskins convocation, meeting July 19 to 22 in Oklahoma, decided, "Not yet."

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New Wineskins supporters explore defining, implementing movement;
Weaver likens it to “wet cement”

TULSA -- What does it mean to have unity in Christ?

For some supporters of the New Wineskins movement, unity is getting new interpretations -- focusing in part on finding unity with Christians in the Southern hemisphere, or among evangelicals in other settings, but not necessarily within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

"If we're going to talk about unity in the church, we have to talk about the church -- not the American church, but the body of Christ," crossing every race and place, Dean Weaver, a Pennsylvania pastor and the co-moderator of New Wineskins, told that network's national convocation July 20.

"What we are about here today is not about how we realign a small group of American Western Presbyterians," but how Presbyterians fall into line with what God is doing around the globe, Weaver said.

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Down the middle

The 217th General Assembly was a "down the middle" Assembly. It elected a moderator who seemed moderate and open-minded. It approved the report of the Theological Task Force (TTF) on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (for short, "PUP Report"), which most regard as offering more leeway for the ordination of gay and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) church members. But it resolutely refused to consider amending the Book of Order to delete the prohibition in G-6.01206b; it refused even to keep these overtures alive by referring them to the next General Assembly.

The key recommendation of the PUP Report was Number 5, in which the Task Force called on the 2006 General Assembly to adopt an authoritative interpretation ("AI" for short) of G-6.0108b. This AI acknowledges formally that 8b has already established the legitimacy of "departures" ("scruples" in the language of the Adopting Act) from adherence to the letter of the Constitution, as long as they are not violations of the "essential and necessary" features of Reformed faith, practice, and polity.

 

Voices

The parable of the wheat and the tares

Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43

 

Jesus was surrounded by religious/political circles whose membership required strict conformity. The Zealots were gaining strength and their agenda was set in concrete. The Qumran community insisted on the rigid obedience of all members and the Pharisees demanded strict observance of the Law (as interpreted by their own leaders).

Clearly, Jesus did not accept such attitudes. Matthew's Gospel asserts that there was opposition to Jesus' message and in chapter 11:12 Jesus says, From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. In such a world, how can the Kingdom of God, envisioned by Jesus, function when violence is inflicted on it? Must fire be met with fire? Many must have thought that there was no place for a tax collector or Zealot in Jesus' fellowship. Matthew 13 appears in such a context.

Voices

Did the Theological Task Force succeed?

On June 20, after four years of work by the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, nine months of church-wide discussion of its report, and many hours of testimony and debate in the 217th General Assembly, the Assembly approved recommendations from the task force that were intended to dampen if not end the party strife that has roiled the Presbyterian Church for decades. Fifty-seven percent of commissioners voted in the affirmative, making the task force recommendations church policy. Then, within a few hours, both a coalition of conservative "renewal" groups and More Light Presbyterians announced their displeasure with the Assembly's action and promised to promote proposals to the 218th General Assembly (2008) that would remove one or another feature of the "balanced package" the TTF said it was presenting.  

Did the task force succeed or fail?

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Leaving the PC(USA): What Are The Facts?

Recent discussions in many quarters are focused on congregations and presbyteries considering removing themselves from the denomination. Questions about dissolution and secession or expressions of grave concern about future relationships with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have arisen largely in response to the Report of the Task Force For the Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) and possible responses to it by the General Assembly meeting in Birmingham. 

The clearest expressions of concern came from presbyteries and congregations, and also from coalitions of Presbyterians not officially connected with the PC(USA), governing bodies and groups that opposed the recommendations, usually  from a conservative evangelical perspective. The Presbyterian Coalition, for example, indicated in a statement released on October 10, 2005, that the PUP report, "... if adopted, will undermine the church's purity and exacerbate the denomination's disunity. Indeed, it will promote schism by permitting the disregard of clear standards of Scripture and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The Coalition will meet in Atlanta with the recently formed Presbyterian Global Fellowship after the General Assembly, presumably to make common plans about direction in a post-Task-Force-Report church. In its mission statement the latter says that it considers the PC(USA) to be in a deep crisis, an inward looking organization that is "an aging, dying, visionless denomination."

Voices

Why I will stay Presbyterian

 

Many of you have heard me preach that I am "sinfully proud of being a Presbyterian." After each General Assembly I ask myself "Are you still?"  And the answer is always yes--even after attending 27 straight.

I never agree with all the decisions made, but I still come away Presbyterian. I've always been proud of our historic heritage in forming the United States. I know the break-aways always try to claim this "as well" but they can't quite pull it off. 

And all of you who have heard me know there is one thing I consider the most important of all -- mission, mission, mission.

Voices

Becoming the “Turnaround Denomination”

These are times of high-velocity intense change in our denomination. John Detterick and the many now-departed members of our national staff have been a blessing to our church in this time of change. The General Assembly has just ended a challenging meeting. Linda Valentine, the new executive director of the General Assembly Council, along with the rest of the national staff and the GAC, have much to contend with.

All of us are eager for a new and transformational chapter in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The church is doing many things that matter. The thing that matters most to a great many of us is the design of transformational, missional, and innovative congregations who worship God while passionately engaging their communities to make disciples and to meet human need -- which is in some contrast to our present reality.

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New Wineskins meeting opens to call for action; new association, possible denomination, proposed

TULSA -- They've come from all over the country, fired up, Presbyterians wanting answers for a church many of them think has jumped off the cliff.

"Why are we here?" asked New Wineskins co-moderator Dean Weaver July 19 during the opening session of the Wineskins' second national convocation.

They are here, he replied, because "everything has changed" in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). "We are here because everything has changed, but God has not."

And the church, he said, "is not a denomination."

Around the globe, Christianity is exploding in faithfulness, fervor, and numbers, Weaver said -- and Presbyterians want to be part of that. But the PC(USA)'s General Assembly did things in June that have caused the Presbyterian Lay Committee's board of directors to say the assembly has "broken covenant and invited schism" and taken a "plunge into apostasy" -- things the Lay Committee contends cannot be fixed from within.

Weaver said one online blogger announced recently: "Enough is enough, and we are going to take action."

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PC(USA) mission personnel, partners in Middle East reported safe

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission workers and ecumenical partners in the Middle East have not suffered physical harm from the violence that is gripping Lebanon and Israel.

 "All our mission workers, partners and other colleagues are reported safe," said Victor Makari, the PC(USA)'s area coordinator for the Middle East, on Tuesday. "This includes pastors in southern Lebanon very close to the border with Israel. All our colleagues (in Lebanon) are stuck in their homes, some sleeping in hallways away from windows and outside walls."

The violence between Israel and Hezbollah, which began July 12, has claimed the lives of 210 Lebanese and 24 Israelis as of Tuesday, according to media reports.

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Discovering together what is “acceptable and faithful”

BIRMINGHAM -- Now that the General Assembly has blown through town, what does the map of the Presbyterian world look like?

First, for a lot of Presbyterians, things look exactly the same. The world did not end because a General Assembly met for a week in Alabama. Presbyterians still bow their heads to ask God's blessing and work to make the world a better place, as they have done for generations. And perhaps those faithful Presbyterians carrying on without pause may help to balance out those who can't sleep for thinking about what the assembly just did.

For the insomniacs, the reality is settling in something like this.

It will take time -- months, maybe longer -- for the repercussions of the assembly's decisions to echo through the church.

Some say the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has handed presbyteries and sessions a loophole for ordaining sexually-active gays and lesbians, others aren't so sure. It's likely the Presbyterian church courts will play a role in sorting it out.

And in the meantime, Presbyterians will have to figure out what being faithful means for them. Some pastors and congregations are scouring their consciences about whether to leave the PC(USA), although many conservatives are counseling people not to run for the exits.

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“The Presbyterian Panel” survey, like the Assembly, supports PUP

"The Presbyterian Panel," the denomination's ongoing study of a representative sample of Presbyterians, was surveyed just before the General Assembly about some big issues before the church, especially the report of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (PUP). The results of that survey were not tabulated nor analyzed until after the Assembly. We can now get a first look at how members, elders, pastors, and specialized clergy (those not serving congregations) think about PUP.

The PUP report began with a traditional theological foundation, and the survey shows that the church agrees. In response to basic claims, taken directly from the PUP report, overwhelming majorities of members, elders, and pastors -- more than 90 percent -- agree, "my faith is in the God of Israel who raised Jesus Christ bodily from the dead." Likewise, more than 80 percent of each group agrees, "Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through him." Most specialized clergy, always the most liberal group of the four, also agreed with both traditional claims, though at a lower level (84 percent and 64 percent, respectively). Above 80 percent of each group believe that the Bible is the true Word of God, reaching more than 90 percent among pastors.

Editorials

Why stay?

At times like these the words of conservative icon Harry Hassall come back to mind. I first heard them after the Wichita General Assembly (1994) voted overwhelmingly to declare, in its response to the Re-Imagining God controversy, that "Theology Matters." We were headed out to dinner to celebrate the joy we felt over the vote. Harry suppressed his glee for a moment to express words that cooled our shared giddiness. He said:

"I have come to realize that, in Presbyterian Church politics, when things look really, really good, they're not as good as you had hoped, and when things look really, really bad, they're not as bad as you feared."

Many folks attending this year's General Assembly at Birmingham spoke in apocalyptic terms about "the end of Presbyterianism as we know it." 

Other folks popped corks in celebration of "the end of injustice as we know it."

Well, the apocalyptic end of times was followed by a sunrise; the reports of the falling sky had grown out of inaccurate meteorological reports of last night's sunset.

That blinding sunrise stunned hung-over revelers into the reality that yesterday's injustices had not been eradicated in a single stroke. 

Voices

On the day after adjournment

On the day after adjournment of the 217th General Assembly, I began a weekend of preaching at the Smyrna Campmeeting in Conyers, Georgia. Families have gathered at this place since 1827 for a week of morning and evening worship services. In those 179 years, the only time campmeeting was not held was the year a gentleman named Sherman was touring the neighborhood. The first campers came in wagons and lived in tents. Those with children brought a cow to supply milk, and the only air conditioning was provided by breezes and shade trees. Worship was held outdoors until an open air, tin-roofed tabernacle was built about 100 years ago. Sermons often went more than an hour.

Voices

Should I stay or should I go: On being called to covenant community

I'd like to be totally candid and just lay open my heart about where I think we are as a denomination in the wake of the 217th General Assembly. Though I have been called a leader of "moderate evangelicals" in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I also speak as a 30-year old whose passion for Christ makes all church politics seem a distasteful waste of time, as immersed in it as I am.

In the wake of the General Assembly's recent decision to localize the determination of essential requirements for ordination, I have been receiving lots of advice. Many conservatives feel pressed with the question of whether or not we should be staying in or leaving the PC(USA). This inner turmoil results from the fact that after debating for more than thirty years about whether to ordain persons who are sexually active outside of marriage, the recent Assembly's action was the first time our denomination's policies have actually changed. By passing a new authoritative interpretation of our church's Constitution, it would appear that we have given local governing bodies the license to ordain and install individuals who live in open violation of the church's standards.

Voices

Lines in the sand

"Where do we draw a line in the sand?"  I heard that question more than once as we approached the June General Assembly in Birmingham, from pastors and elders wondering what would be the outcome of the "Peace, Unity, and Purity" report with its provision for the right of presbyteries and sessions to allow "scruples" with regard to specific constitutional standards for ordination to our three ordered offices. Many are wondering if they could or should remain in a denomination that will not honor uniformly the provision of G.0106b regarding the expected sexual behavior of ministers, elders, and deacons. I confess that the question has crossed my mind as well, and thus this brief reflection on the subject.

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Outlook interview: To depart or to divide?

Editor's Note: Little did they know. Having served on the Session of the Southminster Church in South Daytona Beach, Fla., Linda Davis was none too proud when her young adult son, Lloyd, was ordained and installed as elder on the church's Session. The 1990's were approaching. These were booming days in the life of the church in which Lloyd had been confirmed and married--to a bride he had met there in second grade Sunday School. Little did he or Linda know that, on the encouragement of the pastor and a few elders, the Session would soon initiate a process of investigation into the possibility of withdrawing from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Such an action was allowed in the Articles of Agreement (Article 13) that guided the reunion of the northern and southern streams of the church. That process split the church and nearly split their family.   

 

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General Assembly receives Trinity report

BIRMINGHAM -- The General Assembly has voted 282-212 to receive a report on the nature of the Trinity, after an attempt to send the report back for more study and work was defeated by a close vote -- 227 to 240.

Those votes reflect a debate in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) over language in the report -- and particularly over what words are acceptable to use to describe the Trinity.

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Wagner to Middle East Caucus: be bridges and prophets

BIRMINGHAM - The Christian faith stands against an implacable empire of complex networks--governments, militaries, multi-national corporations, media--and it must stand firm and strong, Chicago professor and Middle East specialist Donald Wagner told the National Middle East Presbyterian Caucus at its General Assembly dinner Sunday night.

The amalgam of secular political, economic, and social forces joined in mutual self-interest with Christian Zionism contributes especially to the deteriorating situation in Israel and Palestine, he said, citing his impressions from a recent trip to Israel and the West Bank. Christian Zionists portray Jesus as an imperial crusader,  "180 degrees opposite the gospel of love for the poor," he pointed out. He called on churches and caucus members not only to be bridges, but also to be prophets in this situation.

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General Assembly approves Theological Task Force PUP report

BIRMINGHAM -- Now the question is: What happens next?

A closely divided General Assembly has voted to try something new -- to try an approach of balancing freedom of conscience while applying national ordination standards that some say has the chance to bring healing to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and others say could help break the denomination apart.

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