Tag Archives: PC(USA)

Follow up on 10-A

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“Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown…”
(Rev. 3:11 ESV)

Today has been a difficult day.  Yesterday, the presbytery of Twin Cities cast the 87th vote in favor of Amendment 10-A to the Book of Order which removes the “fidelity and chastity” clause from the requirements for ordination, and replaces it with a call for each ordaining body to determine how it will be guided by the confessions and Scriptures in setting the standard for ordination.  While the motion does not explicitly say it, it was put forward for the purpose of opening the way for the ordination of self-affirming, unrepentant homosexual men and women who feel called to ordained ministry as Minister of Word and Sacrament, Elder, and/or Deacon.

There are those who are rejoicing over this decision, and there are those who are weeping.  Those who rejoice see this a step closer to full inclusion and participation of all people in the church.  One can imagine that next will come the requirement that presbyteries and sessions receive candidates for ordination regardless of their sexual preference, followed by a comprehensive and coordinated attempt to redefine for the church the covenant of marriage.  Those who weep feel this is a rejection of the historic principles of the Christian faith, one more concession to the influence of a sinful culture, and fundamentally, a rejection of the authority of Scripture and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Despite all attempts by the leadership of the denomination to tell us otherwise, this decision will be the watershed event that leads to the absolute demise of what we know now as the PC(USA).

This is a difficult time to be Presbyterian if you disagree with this action.  Leaders of the denomination ask that you “learn to live into this decision,” which I think is politically correct for “deal with it.”  Some who are reading and learning of this for the first time will be saddened, shocked, and ready to pull their membership from the church immediately – and no amount of posturing and patronizing from Louisville will assuage your feelings.

And let me say that I know how you feel.  I celebrate (if I can use that word) my 10th anniversary of ordination this month, and I am terribly conflicted.  I always told myself (for this debate has been going on in the church as long as I have been alive), that if this ever passed, I would be done with the PC(USA).  However, now that I am here, serving Christ in a congregation that I love, knowing that God has called me to be faithful, even when the denomination is not, the issue is not so black and white.  I know that this congregation needs a pastor who understands the times and knows what to do.  I have been called to shepherd this church while I follow the Good Shepherd, Christ our Lord.  So I am resolved to stay with you, as long as you will have me.

Please know, the Session of Memorial Presbyterian and I have been resolute in our opposition to this motion, which we feel leads the church further away from its faithful witness to the holiness and righteous lives that God has called us to in faith through Christ Jesus our Lord.  We continue to provide every opportunity for the proclamation of God’s great love for us in Jesus Christ; a love which was demonstrated perfectly in that Christ came for us while we were still sinners; a love which gives us new life that we may no longer walk in darkness but in light; a love which strengthens us to walk in holiness and peace with God.

Please know that if you have questions or concerns about this, or any of the recent decisions of the denomination, you can call or email me or the members of the Session.  We are prayerfully considering what it will mean to be faithful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will look like from this point forward, and will do everything we can to preserve the ministry and work of this wonderful congregation.  I urge you to be steadfast in your prayers; for the Session, for your pastor, and for the denomination, that God’s will might be done in our midst, and that we will be found good and faithful stewards of the mystery of His grace.

Voting on 10-A

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Today, my presbytery meets and will vote on the proposed replacement to our Book of Order regarding the much debated “fidelity and chastity clause.”

Currently the book of order states:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness.
Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

The proposed replacement states:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

Let me be clear, G-6.0106b is not simply about homosexuality – it is about the submission to the authority of Scripture for all who have been called to ordained ministry.  Read the last sentence again, “Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.”

As Theology Matters put it, “This is not a call to perfection, but repentance.  No candidate for office is without sin.  The issue is whether any sin is defiantly embraced, or is repented of with a desire to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live an amended life.  Scripture is clear that sin is a denial of Christ’s Lordship and no leader can be effective in leading others to submit to the Lordship of Christ when he/she has rejected it in his/her own life.”

The proposed language calls the church to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life, but seemingly separates submission to Christ from submission to Scripture; they are the same.  Moreover, the new language removes not just an explicit standard that fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness, but also an ethos of humble, repentant, submission to Scripture as the word of God which reveals to us the person, work, and will of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am saddened by the vitriol, the arrogance, and the back-room politicking perpetrated by all sides of this matter.  This proceedure has made it quite clear that “ordination standards” are the least of this denomination’s problems, and the only thing holding us together may be a well-funded endowment and property rights (it certainly isn’t a common faith and mission).  As it seems inevitable that this amendment will pass in the denomination, my heart is grieved and I am ashamed. 

Still, the question before us today is shall the PC(USA) open the door for the ordination of those who knowingly and willingly continue in any activity (not just homosexuality) that the confessions, (which “guide the church in its study and interpretation of the Scriptures,” and are for the church the standards of our faith and practice) call sin?

My answer, my prayer, will and must be an emphatic and resounding “No!”

1 John 3:4-10 – “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.  You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.  No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.  Little children, let no one deceive you.  Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared to us was to destroy the works of the devil.  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.  By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”