wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] A time for coalescing

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7973 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

A time for coalescing
03436
October 10, 2003

A time for coalescing

Presbyterian Coalition ponders a welter of possible strategies

by Alexa Smith

PORTLAND, OR - About 300 Presbyterians from denominational renewal groups
gathered here recently for three days of conversations about devising
strategies to reform - or leave - the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Many participants spoke of bolting the denomination as the preferable option,
especially if a national task force on theology isn't able to bridge the
divide that separates liberals and evangelicals.

Despite decades of accumulated exasperation, and numerous threats of
division, actual strategizing - to do mission and education within and across
presbyteries, or to leave the PC(USA) - is something new for PC(USA)
evangelicals.

The changed atmosphere at the 2003 Presbyterian Coalition Gathering might be
attributed to a "pro-active shift" intended to galvanize the denomination's
right wing behind a plan of action.

There is still no consensus, but that really isn't the point.

Ideas are being put on the table now so that, over the next four years,
alternative strategies - several for staying, one for leaving, and one for
creating a "denomi-network" that might be useful either way - can be tried on
for size, and can vie for support.

The denomination's Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church is
scheduled to report to the General Assembly in 2006.

"The Coalition majored on defense, self-consciously; that was its reason for
being," said the Rev. Jerry Andrews, who is becoming the Coalition's
co-moderator for the second time. "But defending the church's historic
position (on the ordination of homosexuals) no longer requires our full-time
attention. And that allows us to go on the offensive, to present a reform
agenda for the church."

Andrews led the group during the highly charged debates of the 1980s, when
evangelicals and conservatives led a successful campaign to change the
denomination's constitution to prohibit the ordination of sexually active
gays and lesbians.

Andrews conceded that the renewal groups are fragmented strategically and
that several ideas are contending for support. "We're not clear yet, and
we're not pretending to be," he said.

But he said he is convinced that "gracious separation" is "a bad idea."

	The traditional approach

Opposition to splitting is a familiar refrain among the network's old-timers,
who have argued for some time that evangelicals should stay inside the
PC(USA) and fight to set the parameters for what is orthodox and what is not.

Terry Schlossberg, who emerged on the national scene 20 years ago as an
anti-abortion activist, delivered an eloquent argument against breaking away
from the denomination, urging PC(USA) conservatives to celebrate their
victories of the past decade.

Schlossberg noted that evangelicals have:

* Created the PC(USA)'s constitutional definitions of sinful sexual behavior;

* Successfully challenged the ecumenical "Re-Imagining" conference, in which
some feminists questioned PC(USA) orthodoxy;

* Made advances in abortion policy since 1983, when the General Assembly
affirmed women's right to choice based on conscience; and,

* Bolstered a denomination-wide focus on scripture, catechisms and
confessions after what she called a long period of neglect.

 Schlossberg said the denomination is in "one of those critical moments in
Christian history" when "very bad conditions can change suddenly."

Citing the fall of the Berlin Wall as an example of such a moment, she said:
"What is is not necessarily what is going to be.  After all, we are not
cognizant of all the forces at work that effect outcomes."

She suggested using the legislative process to accomplish reform, especially
by taking advantage of the process for nominating people to serve on
denominational committees; changing the makeup of the General Assembly
Council (GAC), which manages the denomination between meetings of the General
Assembly; and working to assure that church discipline is done properly.

	 Redesigning the denomination

Some say that isn't enough.

A group of younger evangelicals met in Houston last spring to outline what
they call the "New Wineskins" movement - a plan to create a "denomi-network"
of churches that will either link evangelicals in mutual ministry (if they
stay in the denomination), or create a loose structure that still retains
some connectionalism (if they leave).

"The New Wineskins effort is simply a response - what we hope to be a
prayerful and faithful response - to what we see God already doing," said the
Rev. David Henderson, of Covenant Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette, IN.

Henderson said such networks are emerging spontaneously in California,
Pennsylvania, Indiana and Texas, and at least two of them are offering new
models for theological education.

"It is clear that evangelicals within our denomination are divided over our
present course of action," Henderson said. "Do we bolster our efforts and
seek to reform from within? Do we turn and walk away? Do we press for the
dissolution of our present corporation and begin afresh?

"There is no unity among us on the question of what we should do next. But I
believe there is substantial agreement among us about two things: What we
have now is not working; and, God is doing a new thing in our midst."

Henderson contended that the PC(USA) ought not be confused with the "church
universal." He said the denomination is a support structure that houses "a
portion of the church," a flawed human structure that is beneficial only as
long as it remains faithful to "God's kingdom purposes."

The still-amorphous project is putting forward a nine-point draft of what it
considers the essential tenets of the Reformed faith. The Rev. Dean Weaver,
of Knox United Presbyterian Church in Kenmore, NY, said the draft may be used
to bind companies of pastors within presbyteries to accountability, and may
link like-minded congregations as well.

In Weaver's words, this approach can be used to "gatekeep."

The focus of the New Wineskins initiative (see www.presbywine.com) is
congregational; it would redesign the denomination from the ground up.
Property would belong to local congregations. Church polity would be
minimalist, so that it wouldn't hinder innovation. National assemblies would
be infrequent, national staff dramatically downsized. It envisions alliances
of Presbyterians, like-minded Christians from other denominations and
para-church groups to do mission, networking and resource-sharing.

It also would emphasize mentored learning for pastors, in what it calls
"teaching churches."

Would it unite evangelicals? Even Henderson isn't sure.

But people have been asking for a plan, he said, and this is at least a
blueprint.

Henderson said he isn't persuaded that staying and fighting will lead to a
win. And he's not optimistic that the Task Force on the Peace, Unity and
Purity of the Church will be able to hold evangelicals in the PC(USA).

"I sense an eruption will happen," he said during a conference workshop, "and
we'll have something significant in place."

       The case for 'gracious separation'

	Elder Bob Howard, of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, KS,
a former chair of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, presented a draft proposal
for what he calls "gracious separation."

It is gracious, he told a group of about 50 listeners in a workshop at the
Gathering, because it would allow liberals to pursue their progressive
theologies; it would give relief of conscience to evangelicals and
conservatives who oppose changing the denomination's ordination standards; it
would divide Board of Pensions funds and the assets of the Presbyterian
Foundation between the two new denominations, giving both stability; it would
allow individual denominations to choose affiliation with either
denomination; and would require that, if less than a "supermajority" of a
congregation opted for one of the new denominations, a portion of the
church's assets would be given to the minority to help finance a new-church
development.

"I don't know what will come of it," Howard said of his plan. "It is up for
honest examination. I also don't know if it is the right thing to do.  It
could be done; whether it should be done is another question. We'll see what
the reaction of the church is."

What he knows for sure, Howard added, is that he has devoted a lot of time
and effort over the past 20 years to fighting the same battles over and over,
in what he considers a culture war. He said liberals have an advantage in the
church because PC(USA) leaders believe evangelicals will never leave.

"This plan isn't a substitute for reform in the denomination, but a parallel
strategy," he said.

If the denomination did split, Howard said, he thinks it would be about
60-40, with evangelicals in the majority.

Howard, a lawyer, said the PC(USA) is a corporate construct, and there are
only three ways to dissolve a corporation: buy out the minority; freeze out
the minority; or go through a divisive re-organization.

"Two denominations merged 20 years ago, and they can be de-merged," he said.
"That's not an abandonment of the church that called us to service. We are
called to serve the true church, not be an indentured servant to a corporate
structure."

To a listener who commented that church splits are hardly ever gracious,
Howard acknowledged that his solution isn't a perfect one. "It is a
due-process procedure by which every congregation  may thoughtfully decide
between two models," he said.

He said a Web site on "gracious separation" probably will be established.

At the end of the three-day event, the Rev. Paul Leggett, of Grace
Presbyterian Church in Montclair, NJ, a Coalition board member, said the
group is a conduit for keeping the denomination's conservatives and
evangelicals informed. "We've been criticized for not taking enough action,"
he said, describing the reactive nature of the organization in the past.
"We're seeing more than that (now)."

While these ideas sort themselves out, the Rev. Bob Davis, of Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Escondido, CA, a spokesman for the Presbyterian Forum,
is urging or evangelicals to educate themselves about scripture, the Reformed
tradition and orthodox theology. "The problem is not out there," he said,
referring to PC(USA) liberals. "The real problem is here, with us."

Evangelicals in the Presbytery of San Diego, he said, are forming networks,
training and educating each other for ministry.

"So, the ideas have been presented. They are out there in the church for
discussion," he said. "There's no need to make things happen now.  But 2006
is more likely to be a pivotal year in the life of the denomination."

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to
pcusanews-subscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org or
pcusanews-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org

To contact the owner of the list, please send an email to
pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org