In a letter to his mother dated February 19, 1921, J. Gresham Machen wrote, “Dr. Warfield’s funeral took place yesterday afternoon at the First Church of Princeton. … It seemed to me that the old Princeton – a great institution it was – died when Dr. Warfield was carried out.

“I am thankful for one last conversation I had with Dr. Warfield some weeks ago. He was quite himself that afternoon. And somehow I cannot believe that the faith which he represented will ever really die. In the course of the conversation I expressed my hope that to end the present intolerable condition there might be a great split in the Church, in order to separate the Christians from the anti-Christian propagandists.

“‘No,’ he said, ‘you can’t split rotten wood.’ His expectation seemed to be that the organized Church, dominated by naturalism, would become so cold and dead, that people would come to see that spiritual life could be found only outside of it, and that thus there might be a new beginning.”

That letter was written 90 years ago and yet today, even as we witness new beginnings all around and people seek the spiritual life outside of the Presbyterian Church (USA), many within are still trying to split the rotten wood of a decayed denomination.

Warfield’s concern with the enlightenment embrace of naturalism has evolved into a denominational reality bereft of its Biblical foundation. Universalism crept into our common life and made some among us ashamed of the Gospel the Church is called to proclaim for the salvation of humankind.

Many among us have exchanged the truth about God for lies and now worship the idols of sexuality, gender or social righteousness in lieu of lives rendered in sacrificial obedience. We have soaked for so long that when the time came to split, we found ourselves swinging axes of conviction through collective mush.

The Fellowship of Presbyterians has proposed a spectrum of entrepreneurial ideas that congregations might employ to differentiate themselves from a family run afoul of the faith. Only the most extreme of the options proffered results in separation from the PCUSA through dismissal to a not-yet-formed New Reformed Body.

You might think that the denominational bureaucrats would be concerned. But they know that most people will not have the conviction to even muster up concern. They set the Bible aside long ago.

Many who do find feet of faith to take an initial stand, will not prove out their convictions with courageous acts of conscience.

Those who do take bold steps of faith by seeking to not only differentiate but separate from the PCUSA will find what others have found: The denomination is more than willing to persecute and prosecute its own over worldly idols. The people can all go; the property must remain. How is it no one seems to see the blind folly of the path being pursued?

So, if you can’t split rotten wood, what can you do with it? I logged on to a forestry website to find out. Several experienced woodsmen replied.

One guy wrote, “If you can shovel it into the stove without it falling apart, burn it!”

Another said that he leaves “the rotten wood lie in the woods … Let rotten wood rot. Move on to the live stuff!”

My personal favorite response was, “If you’re going to burn rotten wood, burn it, don’t stockpile it. It only gets rottener.”

For our purposes the most interesting response was, “Even rotten wood has a heart. If you can find it and cut it, then you’ve got something.”

Even rotten wood has a heart. I believe that the Fellowship of Presbyterians, among others, are diligently seeking to identify the heart of 21st century, post-denominational Presbyterianism for those who want to ignite a new evangelistic fire for Jesus Christ.

Worst case scenario? The world may simply be attracted to the spectacle of watching us burn.

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.