Presbyterian News Service
06281 May 22, 2006
General Assembly backgrounder: Theological Task Force
Recommendations on ordination standards provoke intense debate
by Jerry L. Van Marter
LOUISVILLE - The 20-member Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church (TTF) was created by the 2001 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U. S.A.) during a time of particularly acrimonious debate over a number of issues "to lead the PC(USA) in spiritual discernmen t of our Christian identity in and for the 21st century."
The group, chosen purposefully to reflect the theological spectrum in the church, was specifically charged to address "issues of Christology, Biblical authority and interpretation, ordination standards and power."
After five years of work - a period during which the prospect of schism in the PC(USA)has increasingly been voiced - the task force voted unanimously to submit its final report and six recommendations to this year's 217th General Assembly.
In its first four recommendations, the task force urges the church to stay together, to prayerfully study divisive issues together, to study the theological reflection section of the TTF report and "to explore the use of alternative forms of discernment and decision-making as a complement to parliamentary procedure, especially in dealing with potentially divisive issues."
The last two recommendations of the task force have raised the level of acrimony to new heights. Not surprisingly, those recommendations address ordination standards for church officers.
Recommendation 6 calls for the retention of the current standard - G-6.0106b of The Book of Order, which restricts ordination to those who practice "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." That standard, established as church policy in 1978 (as "definitive guidance" and then "authoritative interpreta tion") and codified into church law in 1996 - has provoked sustained opposition from those who support the ordination of non-celibate gays and lesbians.
The task force's recommendation 5 calls for a new "authoritative interpretation" of G-6.0108 that would give ordaining bodies some leeway in determining whether any candidate's "departure (from scriptural and constitutional standards for ordination) constitutes a failure to adhere to the essentials of Reformed faith and polity*" If the answer is "no," the ordaining body could proceed with ordination, subject to review by church courts. That recommendation has ignited a firestorm of criticism from supporters of G-6.0106b. A coalition of 11 Presbyterian "renewal" organizations and two dozen conservative leaders issued a statement last fall that the TTF report "constitutes a blend of truth and error that, 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 PC(USA)."
This spring, 34 large church pastors issued a statement expressing "our deep concern for the most troubling implication of the Peace, Unity, and Purity Task Force report - the adoption of a new authoritative interpretation regarding standards for ordination creating 'local option.'"
Task force members argue that there is an important distinction between "essentials" and "standards," which it says are "aspirational in character." The TTF says that its proposed authoritative interpretation - which, unlike constitutional amendments, would not have to be sent to the presbyteries for ratification - reaffirms the historical balance between national ordination standards and "the duty of ordaining and installing bodies to apply those standards in determining fitness for office and compliance with essentials."
The Advisory Committee on the Constitution recently issued its opinion that the TTF recommendations are constitutional.
A statement endorsing the TTF report has been issued by all but three of the living former General Assembly moderators and another endorsement has come from the presidents of all 10 PC(USA)-related theological seminaries.
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians, the largest pro-gay and lesbian ordination organization in the church, has taken a more neutral stand by saying it will not "advise" commissioners how to vote "on various issues" though it will "continue to support" overtures calling for the deletion of G-6.0106b.
Nine overtures have been submitted to the Assembly, most of them directed at amending or removing Recommendation 5.
The report of the TTF will be handled by Assembly Committee 6 - Ecclesiolog y.
To read this story online go to http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2006/06281.htm