wfn.org | Coalition evangelicals unified on Amendment A

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Note #6884 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05-October-2001
01369

Coalition evangelicals unified on Amendment A

Consensus is proving harder to reach on a host of other issues

by Alexa Smith

ORLANDO, FL - More than 1,300 evangelicals and conservatives left the sixth
annual gathering of the Presbyterian Coalition full of determination to stop
an attempt to delete a clause from the denomination's constitution that
prohibits the ordination of sexually active single people, most specifically
gays and lesbians.

The Coalition's leadership has set aside $300,000 for the cause and engaged
a full-time organizer to establish regional networks to get the job done.

But that's the easy part. What to do after that vote - win or lose - is
what's hard.

This sixth annual gathering of the Coalition - a network of  self-styled
"renewal" groups - was the largest ever, with Presbyterians present from all
but five of the church's 173 presbyteries. Those who attended are resolved
to defeat the above-mentioned amendment, which would delete G-6.0106b from
the Book of Order. That provision requires "fidelity within the covenant of
marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness" of church
officers.

But they are fed up with repeated battles over the controversial provision,
and say they are waiting to see where the Spirit leads them, instead of
making big decisions right now about the future of the church and their role
in it.

"People here range on the spectrum from those for whom the word 'leave'
would never cross their conscience ... to those for whom it is the only
thing they can talk about anymore," says the Rev. Carmen Fowler, of Rabun
Gap, GA, one of the Coalition's co-moderators. She says the organization's
main task now is to keep folks talking together so that they will stick
together - whatever the future holds.

"We've always said that our work is about gathering people, keeping them at
the table," Fowler says. "That continues to be true."

It's clear that folks are uneasy these days.

While the conservatives and evangelicals are unanimous in their belief that
Scripture clearly says that homosexual practice is sin, a straw poll
conducted on the last day of the gathering made clear that on the other
pivotal question - whether the Presbyterian Church (USA) can be redeemed at
all - they're split down the middle.

In the packed sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, a quick
show of hands demonstrated that about half of those on hand want to at least
consider "graciously separating" from the PC(USA) - that is, negotiating a
way to take their pensions and property with them when they go - while the
other half want to stay and fight.

About one-third said they thought withholding money to protest the actions
of the wider church is a viable way of representing their convictions.

Those who spoke during an "open microphone" session made it clear that the
group was of two minds:

The Rev. Pat Hartsock, of College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati,
OH, which underwent its own split, warned how painful it is and how long it
takes to recover.  He also cautioned against making decisions in anger.

"How many of you think we're of one mind?" he asked. 

Hartsock added: "We have to find the mind of Christ ... and we have to be
humble enough to lay down my agenda and your agenda until we find the mind
of Christ."

Another speaker said he sees it differently: "The image I have is of deck
chairs  on the Titanic. And I'm afraid what we're doing is re-arranging the
chairs - but the thing is going down." He advocated abandoning ship, because
it isn't clear whether the Scriptural views of evangelicals will prevail in
the church as a whole.

That view isn't unfamiliar to those who are working overtime to keep folks
together.

The Rev. Jerry Andrews, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., Fowler's co-moderator of the
Coalition, spoke of the "competing expectations of what can be accomplished
together" in his "State of the Church" address, citing what he called
distressing actions by this summer's General Assembly, including Amendment A
(the proposal to delete G-6.0106b) and a statement on the lordship of Christ
that dissatisfied many evangelicals.

Asking for time for discernment, Andrews told the gathering: "Should I find
myself a minority among us, I will re-examine every ecclesiastical
commitment of my ministry, in order that I might find a way to go forward
with you. Being of one mind is a great value  but it is not the highest
value." Andrews went on to ask that his listeners make the same commitment.

Where there is agreement
		
The group had no problem achieving consensus on eight recommendations the
Coalition's board approved in July during a meeting in Denver.

At the top of the list is a prayer ministry to be led by Presbyterian Elders
in Prayer and Presbyterians for Renewal intercessors.

The defeat of Amendment A comes next, followed by the creation of regional
networks to connect evangelicals; increasing financial support for One by
One, a network that focuses on healing homosexuals through faith in Christ;
and creation of a theological SWAT Team (Swift Witness Action Team) to help
evangelicals in the field with questions and analysis.

The Coalition is also urging evangelicals to work hard to elect evangelical
commissioners and youth delegates to next year's General Assembly in
Columbus, Ohio, and to prepare them to work in concert - a project to be
coordinated by a minister commissioner, the Rev. Don Elliott, of Corinth,
Miss.

Overtures exalting Christ will be put forward, under the leadership of the
Rev. Daryl Fisher-Ogden, of Las Vegas, Nev., and the Rev. Catherine Purves,
of Pittsburgh.

The participants were most energetic in affirming the Confessing Church
Movement, a grass-roots collection of 930 PC(USA) congregations that adheres
to three similar, but not uniform confessions: that Jesus Christ is the sole
way to salvation, Scripture is the church's only rule for faith and life,
and sexual activity is appropriate only in marriage.

The Rev. Marnie Crumpler, of Raleigh, N.C., reading from the script of a
PowerPoint presentation created by Lloyd Lunsford, told her listeners that
the confessing churches do not compose an organization, nor are they
controlled by any renewal organization. "We're developing a life of our own
as the Spirit moves," she said.

Crumpler was careful to say that, while the Confessing Church Movement isn't
a political organization, its growing support does have political
implications - most obviously economic ones. The movement, she said, has the
capacity to hamper the ministries of the PC(USA) by simply re-directly its
dollars elsewhere, because denominational leaders are barred from dipping
into reserves to make up the shortfall.  "There would have to be significant
staff and program cuts to make ends meet," she said, pointing out that the
930 churches enrolled in the movement so far control about $1.6 million in
funding.

Crumpler also pointed out that if "gracious separation" becomes the will of
the Coalition, the confessing churches would provide a "strong nucleus" for
the exodus, which could come, she said, if Amendment A were to pass.  She
was careful to add that, even if "A" is defeated, conservatives don't want
to continue fighting an endless stream of such amendments. "People are not
satisfied with the status quo," she said, bringing the room to its feet for
about one full minute of applause.

"There is no present intention to exit the denomination," Crumpler said. She
said the movement is a "new thing" still taking shape in the midst of the
church.

The Rev. Bob Davis, of Escondido, Calif., the executive director of the
Presbyterian Forum, agreed. He said during a plenary session that a "new
reformation has begun" within the PC(USA) that is rebuilding the church from
within. "There is a we-can-do Spirit" that he has seen in his travels around
the PC(USA) in connection with the regional-networking effort.

"We are the church," he said, "and we have the responsibility to build the
church here."

Where consensus is lacking

But that view isn't unanimously supported.

Even the Rev. Mark Toone, of Gig Harbor, Wash., was stunned by the
wall-to-wall crowd that packed his afternoon workshop on "gracious
separation" and spilled into the hallway. "I thought there would be 15 or 20
people here," he told the Presbyterian News Service, saying that, while he
has striven for years to at least put the idea of gracious separation on the
table, he's not sure that is the answer. "This catches me by surprise."

Toone, a member of the Coalition's board, was told to start gathering data
on what separating might mean in such practical matters as pensions, and to
share the information by email.

One man expressed disgruntlement at the board's refusal to discuss leaving. 
"They've refused to leave," he said. "They've said that all the way back to
Dallas (site of the first Coalition gathering in 1996). So maybe they're not
the ones to lead us."

Another popular workshop, "Property/Leaving for Another Denomination," was
attended by more than 300 people. It was led by the Rev. Arnold Lovell, of
Knoxville, Tenn., who stands firmly against churches separating, either
individually or en masse.

First of all, Lovell said, leaving the denomination is hard to do.
Presbyteries, he said, have the right to dispense property - and it
typically goes to whatever loyal remnant remains, no matter how small. He
said churches may only be dismissed to another Reformed denomination.

To Southerners who might believe that Presbyterian reunion in 1983 left them
a window to depart with their property, Lovell said that the window has
closed.

He also urged people to consider how leaving would violate their ordination
vows - just as surely as those who support the ordination of gays and
lesbians are violating theirs. "We're quick to see the speck in their eye
and miss the log in our own," he said.

If leaving isn't the answer for all - and it clearly isn't - then the
question becomes: How to stay?

Two members of the board of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, which publishes
The Presbyterian Layman, proposed some answers.

Elder Peggy Hedden said that congregations can "faithfully withhold" money
from the denomination to protest what evangelicals consider unfaithful
actions. Her booklet, "Responding Faithfully:  Making Decisions About
Financial Support of the PC(USA) Governing Bodies in Times of Disorder," was
distributed in plenary.

In her workshop - which attracted about 35 participants - Hedden reiterated
that sessions alone "have discretion" about how benevolences are used. She
said missionaries - one of the enterprises evangelicals support - are not
funded through per-capita payments.

She said money withheld during the "Re-Imagining" controversy of nearly a
decade ago seemed to have an impact on denominational decision-making.

Elder Robert Howard, of Wichita, KS, chairman of the Lay Committee's board,
drew a standing ovation on the last morning of the gathering when he
proposed a strategy to better organize evangelicals and to make it easier
for disgruntled liberals to peacefully leave a more disciplined denomination
- with their property.

"Discipline is a means of grace," Howard said, speaking directly to those
who violate the constitution's ordination standards. "For those who will not
withdraw in peace, we must have the courage to graciously discipline, if
they are not upholding Biblical ordination standards."

Howard said that, while the Coalition does not advocate withholding dollars
for mission, he believes the Book of Order doesn't prohibit it. Nor does it
condemn re-directing monies for specific purposes, he said, adding that
protest is an "act of conscience."

Another proposal to establish an evangelical synod - within the PC(USA) but
still separate - was floated as well.

At the microphones, the complexity of the debate became clear.

The Rev. Robert Brown, of Whitewater Valley Presbytery, warned people who
are contemplating leaving the denomination that alternatives such as the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) are not the answer.
 
"I just came from the EPC to the PC(USA) ... and I am here to tell you that
the EPC is no panacea," he said. "For all of you women, it is definitely no
panacea. They ordain women on paper, but in reality there are few ordained
women.

"I see a lot of good things happening in the PC(USA) through renewal," he
said. " Look at the last 20 or 30 years. The growth among conservatives is
stronger and stronger."

The Rev. Phil Keevil, of Philadelphia, who has made no secret of his
frustration with the PC(USA), said he will listen to the "mind of the
majority" - for now.

"Saying we do not know the mind of God is a position of integrity," he said,
warning the leadership against rancor in the ranks. "I still remain
disappointed, and would like to urge our, quote, 'leaders' in the various
renewal groups, to think seriously about how it is not easy for someone like
me to listen to you urge me to stay, fight and win, when I know I am
listening to someone who will (also) say, if we lose, I (need) to dig in my
heels."

Earlier in the week, the Rev. Doug Pratt, of Pittsburgh, urged patience
while working toward a consensus. "While evangelical unity is a bit of an
oxymoron," he said, "the worst thing that happen is that ... the devil
drives us apart, puts a wedge between us.  If you are considering today ...
departing the denomination, (understand that) if you separate yourself from
us, you also weaken all of us. We need to stick together.

"I hear your impatience," Pratt added, "and I ask you to give the Spirit
enough time to do what he is doing."

For Presbyterians like the Rev. Joe Rightmyer, of Louisville, that is enough
for the time being.

Rightmyer, the executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal, has been
through the wars. But he left the gathering with a growing sense of
optimism.

"There are two things operating concurrently," he said during a
post-gathering interview at the Orlando airport. "There is the determination
to not let anything divert us from the Amendment A fight. And there is the
determination to be a different church."

Rightmyer said he sees the regional networking as a boon for evangelicals,
one that extends well beyond politics by creating a framework for dialogue
about discipleship, worship materials and evangelism. "The key word here is
resolve, a determination that something new is going to happen," he said. "I
don't know what it is, but (the church) is not going to be what it was."
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