Letter to the Churches - First Presbyterian Church

The past several months have been a time of sadness as some of our congregations have decided to leave our ranks. In four recent Presbytery meetings, different people have expressed their confusion as to what really are the issues that have caused some of our churches to be willing to break fellowship with us and join another denomination.

We would like to offer our input to help clear up confusion over these matters. At the outset we should emphasize that our church has made no plans to leave the denomination. We do, however, share many concerns with our brothers and sisters who have decided to leave. We feel strongly that it is part of our covenantal responsibility to share our concerns. As “iron sharpens iron,” we hope we can work together to strengthen our presbytery and denomination as we follow our Lord.

The reasons for the departures are both recent and longer term, and we must understand the whole picture to be able to discuss these issues fully. It is with the desire for dialogue that we submit these concerns.

The Most Recent Issue: The PUP Report

As most of you know, the triggering event for this year’s departures was the outcome of the Peace, Unity, and Purity Report at the 2006 General Assembly. The concerns come from at least three areas. Two concerns are fairly well known: the theological differences surrounding issues of sexuality among leaders in our Church, and the apparent weakening of our ordination standards with a push toward “local option.”

The third reason is just as significant, though. It has to do with the way the report and vote was handled. Many people in more traditional churches see the General Assembly’s action as a breach of covenant. While progressive churches hold that the Authoritative Interpretation (AI) is not a constitutional change, we disagree. Practically speaking, it changed a “shall” to a “may” in our Constitution regarding ordination standards, without going through the constitutional process of amendment by a majority-approval in the Presbyteries.

Each of the three times a vote had gone to presbyteries in previous years to remove the Fidelity and Chastity clause from the Book of Order (G-6.0106b), that vote had failed—by an increasingly large majority. By using an Authoritative Interpretation, approval by the presbyteries was not needed. The AI gave the presbyteries the right to ignore part of our constitution, an action we see as a constitutional change. This mishandling of the checks and balances written into our constitution represents a serious violation of our covenantal standards.

The Longer-Term Trends

The theological and polity-based concerns raised by the PUP Report and AI are directly linked to concerns about much longer term trends within our denomination. We see these trends falling into four primary categories: the authority of Scripture, the Lordship of Christ, the pursuit of holiness, and the way these differences are manifested within denominational politics.

A. The Authority of Scripture: The root of disagreements about ordination standards lies in our understanding of the authority of scripture. We claim scripture as our foundation, but we do not live out that claim. According to a recent survey, only 16% of PCUSA members read the Bible daily, with another 16% reading it a few times a week. And a full third (32%) of PCUSA’s members believe “all different religions are equally true” (“Let Us Rise”, page 2). It is sad to see two thousand years of church history along with our wonderful heritage as children of the Reformation become minimized by the lack of priority given to the message of redemption that runs like a scarlet thread through the writings of the Reformers and through every book of the Scriptures. Our motto, Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, is these days most frequently translated, “The Church reformed, always reforming.” But that loses the original intention. It should be, “The Church Reformed, always being reformed.” We need to be reformed by the Word of God, rather than reforming the Word to suit our own desires.

We call ourselves and our brothers and sisters to greater commitment to studying, teaching, and following Scripture.

B. The Lordship of Christ: When we minimize the authority of scripture, we compromise the importance of Christ as the head of our church and cornerstone of our faith. The one vow new members are required to affirm when they join a PCUSA church is “Jesus is Lord” (Book of Order G-1.0100, W-4.2003). In many ways, that vow has become meaningless. A few years ago, one of the featured speakers at a PCUSA conference asked, “What’s the big deal about Jesus?” Some may be tempted to shrug off that comment, but remarks at our July presbytery meeting highlighted the same sentiment within our own ranks. A candidate for ministry told the gathered presbyters, “Inclusiveness is the cornerstone of my faith.” Disturbed by this statement, one commissioner asked, “If inclusiveness is the cornerstone, then who is Jesus?” The candidate described Jesus as a “teacher” and “example,” but never once used the words Savior, Redeemer, or Lord. And how can we blame him? This is the message often promoted in our own churches and seminaries. For many, Jesus is no longer Lord—we are masters of our own destiny. Oswald Chambers once described the root of sin as “my claim to my right to myself.” But that is exactly the attitude that has replaced our submission to Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives.

We call ourselves and our brothers and sisters, and our seminaries, to rededicate our lives to our Lord and to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ without shame.

C. The Pursuit of Holiness: As our denomination has moved away from submitting to the Lordship of Christ, it has also moved away from an understanding of the freedom and transformation found through salvation in Christ. We applaud the many who seek to serve the poor and downtrodden both here and throughout the world. We are saddened, though, that in an effort to share the love of Christ, many have forgotten that the Good News offers transformation to become new creatures in Christ. Jesus welcomed and loved the woman caught in adultery, but he also told her, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). He offered her love, forgiveness, and freedom from her old life. Yes, we welcome all people into our doors, no matter who they are or what they have done. But Christ also calls us to grow closer to Him and to be more like Him. This is especially true of those called to be leaders among us. If we do not expect our leaders to show evidence of transformed lives, what good news do we have to offer?

We call ourselves and our brothers and sisters to follow the teachings of Christ in all areas of our lives, including the spiritual, sexual, economic, political, and personal realms.

D. Denominational Politics: As scripture and the gospel message have been downplayed, the progressive elements of our denomination have increasingly claimed power positions and have made many decisions and pronouncements that offend the consciences of the more traditional elements and that cloud the essential message of the gospel. Examples of such issues include:

The receiving of the recent paper on the Trinity, which included language and concepts that border on the heresy against which many of our church fathers cautioned;

Lobbying efforts by the PCUSA office in DC in support of partial-birth abortion, even though the General Assembly voted against it; (More on Sanctity of Life)

Continued funding of groups representing progressive viewpoints, including the National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches;

PCUSA-funded organizations denying funding and participation for groups such as Presbyterians Pro-Life, even when ordered to do so;

Efforts to remove congregations’ rights to withhold per capita contributions to communicate their disagreement with these funding decisions;

And, finally, the spirit of the Louisville Papers, which outlined to presbyteries threatening and coercive tactics they could use against congregations struggling with the PUP Report and these other issues. (Summary, Paper #1-pdf, Paper #2-pdf)

We call ourselves and our brothers and sisters to repentance and recommitment to our ordination vows in all our actions and relationships, especially within our connectional church. We particularly highlight these vows:

To fulfill our office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions;

To be governed by our church’s polity and its discipline, and to be a friend among our colleagues in ministry, working with each other, subject to God’s Word and Spirit;

And truly to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church (BOO, W-4.4003).

We deeply appreciate your willingness to hear our concerns outlined in this letter, and we would welcome the chance to discuss this with you further or answer any questions you may have. We have tried to keep this letter brief. If you would like to review a more extensive explanation of the issues mentioned here, please continue reading the supporting documents available on this website. You are also welcome to contact our church office if you would prefer a hard copy of these documents.

While the issues that threaten the well-being of our denomination are complex, we believe that if we as a people humble ourselves before God and repent of our compromise and follow His Word that the PCUSA can be transformed from one of declining membership and dying churches into one that shines with the light of Christ (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Your brothers and sisters in Christ,

The Session of First Presbyterian Church, Hendersonville