Yet a powerful negative judgment of the PCUSA ran just below the surface of the meeting. Nearly 2,000 people came to Minneapolis out of a sense of crisis—that something of grave consequence had happened that required an urgent response
Opening the Fellowship of Presbyterians gathering on August 25 in Minneapolis, the Rev. Dave Peterson of Memorial Drive Church in Houston addressed the feelings of many of the 1,950 attendees in the aftermath of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) decision to drop its “fidelity and chastity” standard for ordained officers. “We grieve our current state,” Peterson said in his sermon. “Some are angry. Some are sad. Some are confused.”
The Houston pastor compared the current PCUSA situation to the scene when Jesus arrived at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (John 11). Bystanders turned away because the tomb was “stinky,” according to Peterson, but “Jesus said, ‘If you look further into that tomb, you’ll see glory.” Likewise, Peterson advised his hearers, “It’s time for us to trust that Jesus already has something prepared for us. It’s time to stop the stinky talk and begin the search for glory.”
This vow to “stop the stinky talk” and move ahead into a new ecclesiastical future was a persistent theme that ran through the Fellowship gathering. It was a positive, graceful note that fell favorably upon the ears of many of the participants. But it was also a vow that may be hard to keep as they take the steps required to move into that future.
Whether they decide to uphold the faith inside the PCUSA or to flee the denomination or to enter into some as yet undefined “dual citizenship,” will it be possible for them to do so without some frank conversation—even possibly “stinky talk”—about the dire situation that drives them to take such a stand?
‘Tired of Fighting’
Other Fellowship leaders who spoke in Minneapolis were on the same page with Peterson. “We’re not angry,” stated the Rev. Jim Singleton of First Presbyterian of Colorado Springs. “Our best solutions will not come out of anger…. It will serve no purpose to throw rocks at the biblical interpretations [of Presbyterian progressives] that we do not share.” Singleton stressed that “Louisville [denominational headquarters] is not the problem.”
The Rev. John Crosby of Christ Presbyterian in Edina, MN, pledged, “We do not and will not seek to demonize the PCUSA in any manner.” On the contrary, he and other speakers specifically praised Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons, who was in attendance. “We think the General Assembly leadership is the best in a generation,” Crosby said, “and we will not call anyone apostate.”
The Rev. Peter Barnes of Westlake Hills Church in Austin, TX, explained, “While we lament the end of national standards for ordination, we do not wish to continue conflict over these matters.” Barnes sought “a commitment to mutual respect” in the church. “We are all tired of fighting,” he said.
Singleton also expressed a desire to refrain from further debates. “We no longer expect to renew the PCUSA by out-voting it,” he said. “This thing has gone on long enough with the 51 and the 49 [percent] battling for control. That doesn’t seem to be the solution.” There was little discussion of the decision to delete the “fidelity and chastity” standard, and no talk about how that standard might be restored. Singleton characterized the presbytery vote to adopt Amendment 10-A (the deletion) as “simply a signal of something larger.”
How Ill is ‘Deathly Ill’?
But the Colorado pastor did use some strong language in describing the larger situation. He reaffirmed the assertion in an earlier Fellowship letter that the PCUSA is “deathly ill.” Singleton amplified the grim diagnosis: “Mainline Christianity is dying in the U.S…. Denominationalism in America is not being maintained.” Citing the “powerfully rapid rate of decline” in PCUSA membership, Singleton humbly admitted that “most of our numbers [in evangelical congregations] are flat…. We’re not growing either. We don’t have much to boast about.” This language was sociological analysis of the decline of an institution. It did not attempt the more sensitive task of assessing the theological faithfulness of a Christian body.
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