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Theological Task Force defines its mission
4-March-2002
02087

Theological Task Force defines its mission

Group OKs six-item agenda, says it won't seek  'quick-fix solutions'

by Jerry L. Van Marter

DALLAS - The Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church (TTF) has written a mission statement and approved a six-item agenda to guide its work over the next four years.

The 20-member task force was created by last year's General Assembly to work toward a resolution of numerous theological disputes that have caused turmoil in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in recent years.

Those who hoped for quick results are apt to be disappointed, said the Rev. Milton ("Joe") Coalter, a professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a TTF member.

"What is needed  is patience and perspective," he said. "It's taken a while to get into this predicament - and it will take a while to get out of it."

Leaders of the TTF, whose Feb. 28-March 2 meeting in Dallas was its second, told the Presbyterian News Service that they are satisfied with the progress that has been made so far.

"I'm very pleased," said Jenny Stoner, of Craftsbury Common, VT, a co-moderator of the group. "Each task force committee has taken ownership, and there's a real energy among us. We're working well together, informally as well as formally."

The other TTF co-moderator, the Rev. Gary Demarest, of Glendora, CA, said "the growing level of mutual respect and trust" among the broadly diverse group of Presbyterians is "surely a sign of the moving of the Holy Spirit."

The task force will meet three times a year until it makes its final report to the 2005 Assembly.

Demarest, calling the mission statement a "significant outcome of this meeting," characterized it as "a creative condensation of the Assembly's mandate that this task force now owns."

The mission statement reads:

The Task Force, led by the Holy Spirit, will seek to discover a basis for peace, unity and purity that advances the traditions of Christian and Reformed theology and Presbyterian government and responds to current issues that divide the church. The Task Force will use a process of consultation and discernment that can lead the whole church to a renewed sense of identity and mission.

Barbara Wheeler, the president of New York's Auburn Theological Seminary, praised the mission statement as an expansive expression of what the PC(USA) needs.

"If we want  to discover a basis for peace, unity and purity, we've got to do more than heal the divisions," she said. "We have to create a renewed sense of Presbyterian community that embraces Presbyterians' hopes and aspirations."

Demarest said the task force must "come off as more than just another study group."
"I believe this task force has hope in a future none of us has yet discovered," he said. "We know the political model of the last 20 or 30 years just isn't working anymore. We have to give some signals of how to do church differently.  We have every hope, I believe, in finding unity in our differences without sacrificing an ounce of theological integrity."

The TTF has established four subcommittees, on historical and ecclesiological issues; theological issues; discernment issues and processes; and communication and consultation.

Stoner said the group also "mapped out a sequence for addressing the issues before us; and while we've not decided how we're going to approach the issues, we've certainly clarified and discussed our approach."

The Assembly instructed the task force to address, but not be limited to, "issues of Christology, Biblical authority and interpretation, ordination standards and power."

The task force has settled upon an agenda that includes six items:

* The doctrine of the Trinity, in its Biblical and   social context
* Christology and revelation
* Ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church)
* Denominationalism in contemporary society
* The role of the confessions and theological       boundaries in the church
* The form of government in the PC(USA)

Members' initial reactions to the list were expressed most often in the form of questions:

The Rev. Jong Hyeong Lee, of Itasca, IL, addressing issues of salvation and Christology, asked: "What about other faiths and our relationship to them? How do we discern the word of God in (an increasingly) complex cultural milieu?"

The Rev. Jack Haberer, of Houston, TX, reflecting on confessions and theological boundaries, asked: "How do we deal with the affirmation of essential tenets when they aren't delineated as such in our Book of Confessions?  Where are the specific and generalized boundaries?"

The Rev. Joe Luis Torres-Milan, of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, referring to historic understandings of ecclesiology and denominationalism and the absence of trust, asked: "What does it mean to be a confessional church without trust in each other? How do we find or maintain and consensus amid ever-wider diversity and conflict?"

Stoner said the task force has discovered "that the historical and theological issues confronting the church are interrelated, and have come together in very interesting ways." She said the historical and theological committees will work closely together.

Demarest said he is especially pleased that the TTF "has come together on a Trinitarian platform."

One important benefit of "not being stampeded into quick-fix solutions," Stoner said, is that the task force has had time to develop "an unusual bond of trust in a short amount of time." She said worship has been a key element of that process.

"Our experience of using Scripture and worship as the framework for building community has helped us build trust, have thoughtful conversations together and  move toward consensus about how we're going to do our work," she said. "Everyone's treating each other with great respect, and is treating this task force as a priority.

She added: "We are humbled and empowered by the outpouring of prayer all across the church. We hope they'll keep it up."

The task force asked the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the General Assembly stated clerk, and John Detterick, the executive director of the General Assembly Council, to include two questions in their ongoing consultations with leaders of the church's middle governing bodies:

*What issues do you hope the Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church will address?

* Has your congregation, presbytery or synod discovered any helpful ways of building relationships between those who disagree on church issues?

The TTF will seek input from those attending the upcoming GA in Columbus, OH, and also will conduct some "focus group" sessions, probably in conjunction with the denomination's Research Services office.

The subcommittee on communication and consultation also is planning to create a new Web site to facilitate communication between the task force and the church.
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