There are many PCUSA churches that call themselves progressive and some of those churches have defined what that means by aligning themselves with others at progressivechristianity.org.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) affirmed by action of the 2012 General Assembly that words matter. Words have meaning and some words have many meanings. Take the word “progressive” for instance. What does it mean? What does is mean when applied to a Christian? What does it mean when applied to a church?

There are many churches that call themselves progressive and some of those churches have defined what that means by aligning themselves with others at progressivechristianity.org.

Progressives as pluralists

Several PCUSA churches are linked to the site, indicating their affirmation of the organization’s tenets. The second plank of their progressive platform affirms “that the teachings of Jesus provide but one of many ways to experience the Sacredness and Oneness of life, and that we can draw from diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey.”

When the 2001 General Assembly wavered in its express affirmation of Jesus Christ as theonly way to salvation some took that as permission to begin and even to continue following other paths and to continue to call themselves Presbyterians. The denomination’s subsequent production of “Hope in the Lord Jesus Christ,” has proven ineffective in curtailing the proliferation of pluralistic progressive ideologies in the PCUSA.

PCUSA progressive churches

At least 14 PCUSA churches publically align themselves with this brand of progressive theology.

1. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Austin, TX whose “links” start with The Center for Progressive Christianity, followed by Presbyterian references including Mission Presbytery.

2. Southminster Presbyterian Church, Beaverton, OR whose “partner groups” include Cascades Presbytery, More Light Presbyterians and Progressive Christianity.

3. Tabernacle United in Philadelphia, PA whose “visitor faq’s” include “What is Progressive Christianity?” but no mention of the word “Presbyterian,” is none-the-less a member of Philadelphia Presbytery.

4. McKinley Presbyterian Church, Champaign, IL says of itself, “McKinley church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a More Light congregation. We invite gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to participate fully in the life of our church alongside straight allies. McKinley church is proud to be affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity and a member and active participant in the Campaign-Urbana Interfaith Alliance.” It is located in

5. First Presbyterian of Elizabethton, TN a member congregation of Holston Presbytery may be the most transparent about its allegiance. The first descriptor under “Who we are” on the church’s homepage is “A Progressive Christian Community” that links through to the eight points of a progressive Christian church.

6. Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, OH highlights the More Light nature of its progressive commitments and identifies the essential tenets as exemplified by holding “in high regard freedom of conscience, openness of discourse, mutual forbearance, inclusiveness of human diversity, and continuous reformation.” Mount Auburn is in the presbytery of Cincinnati.

7. Family of Faith Presbyterian Church in Greeley, CO links on its “About Us” page to the Covenant Network, More Light Presbyterians and the Center for Progressive Christianity. You can find links on the “links” tab to the PCUSA, Synod of the Rocky Mountains and the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks.

8. Madison Square Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, TX is in Mission Presbytery and links to the Progressive Christianity website on it links page just above links to the ACLU and Soulforce.

9. Bethany Presbyterian Church, Spokane, WA makes no mention of the Inland Northwest Presbytery but says on its homepage that its “Presbyterian affiliations” are “the PCUSA, the Covenant Network, PHEWA, More Light Network, the Center for Progressive Christianity” and “the Witherspoon Society.” Bethany is within the bounds of

10. Faith Presbyterian Church, Austin, TX indicates its allegiance on its homepage and on its “About us” page it highlights the Center for Progressive Christianity again. Links to the denomination and Mission Presbytery can be found on the “Church organization” subtab accessible on the drop-down menu under About Us.

11. St. Luke Presbyterian Church Wayzata, MN says in the Pastor’s message to website visitors, ” Dogmas, doctrines, purity codes, or catechisms are not what we’re about.” Among their core values is an affirmation of progressive Christianity and the only reference to the PCUSA comes in the strategies advocating for LGBT rights. No mention is made of the presbytery, Twin Cities, of which they are a part.

12. Community Presbyterian church of Pittsburg, CA makes explicit reference to the 8 points of the progressive church platform in the opening paragraph of its homepage. There are also links to “all of the welcoming and affirming ministries in the PC (USA)” but not to the denomination itself nor to Sacramento Presbytery where Pittsburg is located. This church is “proud to be a Joyful Path” church, which means that they are using the progressive church curriculum where Bible stories are put on a par with “original writings” and “folklore,” to educate children ages 6-10.

13. Western Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC in National Capitol Presbytery calls their weekly podcast “The Progressive Christian Voice.” On their “What we Believe” page you read that, “Presbyterianism is ‘reformed and always reforming.'” Which Western PC offers as the explanation for “while Presbyterians used to limit ordination to men, oppose the scientific theory of evolution, and believe in predestination, we no longer do so. We try to rectify our past failures to understand God’s Word and to stay open to God’s new revelations in the present.” They go on to claim that “In the Presbyterian church, each individual person is given great authority. Each one is asked to read and interpret Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This leads to a healthy diversity of opinion within our church.” Their list of “shared beliefs,” which is another way of understanding essential tenets, include: “God is good and continually working for good in history; Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God’s being and will; Scripture contains the Word of God; Humans are created good; When we are not good, God forgives the contrite; The church is a place where we come together to discern the will of God, grow spiritually, and work for justice and peace; All persons are invited to participate fully in ministry, regardless of age, disability, economic or social circumstance, gender, marital status, race or sexual orientation.”

14. St Marks Presbyterian, Newport Beach, CA. Contrary to the first Great End of the Church found in the PCUSA Book of Order, which is “the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of the world,” St Mark Presbyterian says on its “What we believe” page, “Our emphasis is not on converting souls to Jesus so that individuals will be rescued from hell.” Contrary to basic Reformed theology which includes total depravity, limited atonement and a theology of election, St Marks says, “We believe that every group of people belongs to God and that every person is God’s creation and, therefore, sacred.” Their alignment with Progressive Christianity is affirmed on their “links” page where Los Ranchos Presbytery and Progressive Christians Uniting get equal billing.

Affirmation of ideas and the education of others

These progressive churches have developed “spiritual curriculum for young hearts and minds.” The webpage asks, “Is your community searching for truly progressive, inter-spiritual, creative, feeling-based curriculum for children?” If so, progressive Christianity offers “A Joyful Path,” described as “truly progressive Christian curriculum that is inclusive, inter-spiritual, joy-full, compassionate, and intelligent. A Joyful Path offers behavior-over-belief curriculum that teaches God within all, interdependence, self awareness, respect for nature, stillness, forgiveness, prayer, meditation, integrity, finding wisdom within, the Bible and other wisdom stories, and that follows the teachings and the path of Jesus.”

“Mutual forbearance” as tacit approval

The call from the left is for mutual forbearance, for the right to just go along to get along. But the challenge comes when we recognize that ignoring egregious departures from the most basic Christians doctrines and publically replacing those essential tenets with theologies have no resemblance to the faith once delivered to the saints, is a breach of our covenant life.

All those ordained in the PCUSA agreed to uphold a common theology, espoused in The Book of Confessions. They committed to use those confessions in their interpretations of the Scriptures. They agreed to be guided by those confessions as they lead the people of God. Progressive Christianity fails that test. That’s when the rules of discipline of our mutually agreed upon covenanted life are supposed to kick in.

Other Presbyterians in the presbyteries where these churches are located are supposed to have applied regular discipline and brought the pastors and elders of these churches back into accord with the family of faith. They have not. I dare say, they will not. Why not? Because, I believe, we have lost the will to fight, even for what we know is right.

II Corinthians 10:5 reminds us of our responsibility to discipline one another by “demolish(ing) arguments and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” This we do not with the weapons of the world, but with the power of God.

Carmen Fowler LaBerge is president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications. This article first appeared on The Layman website and is used with permission. 

[Editor’s note: Original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]