We are saved by grace through faith, not by works of the law, according to the Apostle. Faith, the trusting relationship with God our Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, is at the heart of the Christian life, and must be the starting point for the renewal of its covenant with God by the Presbyterian Church.
I am a Presbyterian who cherishes our heritage. The Reformed understanding of our faith and of Scripture is for me a rich source of nourishment spiritually, emotionally and communally. So what I propose below comes as the conclusion of a long lament on my part.
If the Presbyterian church is going to thrive in the 21st century, what we desperately need are fewer members.
Without a doubt, the term "member" has a solid basis in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul invites Christians to view themselves as members of Christ’s body, with each member performing a different function, yet all working together for a common goal.
By Bruce Feiler
William Morrow. 2002. 224 pp. $23.95.
ISBN 0380977761
— Review by James H. Gailey, Brevard, N.C.
Bruce Feiler's Abraham is not an attempt to solve the political problems of the Near East. Instead it is the personal journey of a sensitive Jew seeking understanding of the spiritual ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Feiler has literally walked over significant sites in the Holy Land, and he realized that no physical traces of Abraham could be found.
General Assembly Moderator Fahed-Abu Akel, says he won't call the 214th Assembly back into session, but a challenge pending in the church courts could bring a different result.
The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, the denomination's highest court, is scheduled to meet Feb. 28 in Kansas City. During that session it may consider a remedial case filed against Abu-Akel and others involved in the decision to not recall the Assembly.
If we Presbyterians are to live faithfully and to the glory of God in the "time between the times," as discussed recently in this space, then some intentional framework will be necessary for the church as a whole. It will be necessary to reclaim its heritage and to go forward in mission to the ends of the Earth.
"Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" When Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon by that name in 1922, he galvanized the modernist-liberal movement that carries on to this day.
"Can the Fundamentalists Win America?" When Harold John Ockenga preached a sermon by that name in 1947, he galvanized the neo-evangelical movement (a label he would later coin) that also carries on to this day.
Marvin M. Ellison and Sylvia Thorson-Smith, eds.
Pilgrim. 2003. 393 pp. Pb. $21.
— Review by Isabel Rogers, Richmond, Va.
"Despite decades of debate, conflict over human sexuality continues to persist unabated in the church." So begins the last chapter in a book that has grown out of that long debate, Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice/Love.
In recent weeks, the current crisis in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been addressed — the precipitous decline in membership over the last four decades, the dissolution of a strong confessional/theological base resulting from the corrosive effects of a rapidly secularizing culture which increasingly exercises dominance over the mind of the church, and the terrible polarization over human sexuality that brought the PC(USA) to the brink of division.
With the double exception of Adam and Eve, every single human being possesses a navel. This is because we are born connected to our mother by an umbilical cord that is severed after birth and then dries up. The purpose of cutting the cord is to enable you to sleep in your own bed, although the child is later reattached to the mother by apron strings.
The denominational battle over ordination standards came to Rockville church, Rockville, Md., when the church's Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) decided to call Alice Anderson as pastor.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, National Capital Presbytery's Committee on Ministry (COM) said it could not confirm Anderson's call because of a "significant" minority opposition within the 241-member congregation to calling the openly lesbian minister.
Whether the United States will actually go to war against Iraq is still unclear at the present time. What is clear is that preparations for the war are proceeding apace. The preparations have been both ideological and military. On the ideological front, the Bush administration has been readying the American public for a "pre-emptive" attack on Iraq ever since Sept. 12, 2001 – a media blitz that continues right down to the present day.
SAN ANTONIO — Louis H. Zbinden Jr., 66, senior minister of 3,066-member First church, San Antonio, since 1971 and a leading figure among conservative evangelical Presbyterians, has announced to his congregation that he will retire effective June 1, 2003. His last Sunday in the pulpit will be May 25.
Zbinden told the session of the church about his retirement at its monthly meeting Monday night, Jan. 27. The church mailed a letter to the congregation that same day.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is entering a critical period in its history: life-and-death decisions must be made. The future shape and form of our denomination, its very existence, is in the balance. The PC(USA) will not cease to exist altogether. We know that because there is enough strength for some remnant to last indefinitely, as witnessed by smaller Presbyterian bodies that continue to endure with limited numbers.
The new Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Rowan Williams, is a highly intelligent man. In his most recent book , Lost Icons he discusses the function of "play" in Western society. "Games," he writes, "are unproductive." By this he means that the purpose of a game is not to manufacture a product. Its goal is not "competition for limited goods."
LOUISVILLE — Saying he wants the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to focus on mission and ministry, Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the denomination's 214th General Assembly, announced Monday morning that he will not call the Assembly back into session.
He told a news conference that 13 commissioners who signed a petition asking the Assembly to reconvene — six ministers and seven elders — indicated they wanted their names removed.
Dr. Alex Metherell, the elder from California who believes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in a constitutional crisis and who is trying to bring the 214th General Assembly back into session to do something about it, has said that he intends to file a lawsuit in the secular courts if the Assembly is not reconvened.
An Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
A recent statement declaring intent to take the Moderator of the General Assembly to civil court for impeding progress toward a called meeting of the commissioners to the 214th (last year's) General Assembly is deplorable. It constitutes not merely a threat but a defamation of character. Fahed Abu-Akel was not only elected by the church but shaped by life history to be a voice of reason, tolerance and forbearance. That any Moderator would be so treated is unthinkable.
By Charles Kimball
HarperSanFrancisco. 2002. 256 pp. Pb. $21.95. ISBN 0-06-050653-9
— Review by Gerald A. Butler, Eureka, Ill.
Religion can nurture and lead people closer to God. It can also destroy body and soul. Charles Kimball deals with that paradox in this book, which is timely, informative and easy to read.
Delivered by hand.
The Rev. Dr. Fahed Abu-Akel, Moderator
214th General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (USA)
100 Witherspoon Street, Room 4631
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Dear Mr. Moderator:
Because I am disheartened at the disappointing responses from you and from the Stated Clerk to my delivery to you in Louisville on January 14th of the written requests of more than the minimum number of commissioners for you to reconvene the 214th General Assembly into special session, I am taking the liberty of writing you one last time to outline my position, and in the hope of avoiding litigation in the secular courts.
Attorney Paul Rolf Jensen -- on behalf of the session of Westminster church, Canton, Ohio -- has filed a remedial case against PC(USA) Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick , 214th General Assembly Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly before the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission.
By M. Craig Barnes
Brazos Books. 2003. 191 pp. $17.99
— Review by John A. Dalles, Longwood, Fla.
In a society in which almost everyone is from somewhere else, and where they are likely to move on again before very long, how does one combat or respond to a profound longing for home? This is the problem M. Craig Barnes addresses in this timely book.
LOUISVILLE - Fahed Abu-Akel, moderator of the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which met last summer in Columbus, Ohio, still has not issued a call for that Assembly to come back into session.
Alex Metherell, a physician and elder from California, on Jan. 14 presented Abu-Akel with 57 signatures from commissioners asking that the Assembly reconvene to address issues of defiance of the denomination's constitution, apparently enough signatures under the rules to make that happen.
LOUISVILLE - Concerned that donors might be unhappy and programs could be hurt, the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) postponed action on a recommendation that it begin recovering administrative costs from money that Presbyterians give to the denomination as restricted funds for particular causes.
LOUISVILLE - While the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is faced with a slush pile of internal troubles, concerns about international peace also have permeated the winter meeting of the General Assembly Council here, a reflection of the somber mood of a nation in which the president threatens war and soldiers are being mobilized.
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