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First Presbyterian Church
699 North Grove Street • Hendersonville, NC 28792-3729 • (828) 692-3211
July 15, 2008
Dear Pastors and Clerks of Session,
This letter is a call to prayer. We are calling our congregation to pray about the concerns described in this letter, and we hope you will share this call with your sessions and congregations in like manner. We believe, following our recent 218th General Assembly, that church leaders and church members should be informed about the serious divisions within in the PCUSA and pray to God for divine intervention. While we understand that there are many sides to these issues, we ask that this humble submission be used to foster dialogue and prayer as we work out what it means for us to be brothers and sisters under our head, Jesus Christ.
The General Assembly (GA), which occurred from June 21-28, 2008, became a defining moment related to the growing tension between the progressive and traditional elements in our denomination. While much business occurred that was productive, this letter is a call to prayer related to decisions that are potentially destructive. As you read this letter, please pray with us that the sovereign Lord will use all things, even the concerns listed below, for good (Romans 8:28).
The most recent crisis originated two years ago, when the 2006 General Assembly embraced the Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) Report through an Authoritative Interpretation. This action, along with the reception of the paper entitled “The Trinity: God's Love Overflowing” and other related issues, sent a rippling impact throughout our presbyteries and congregations. On the surface, the main controversy appeared to be the question about the ordination of practicing homosexuals. Below the surface, however, the conflict arose from the divisions between those who hold to traditional applications of the Bible and those who embrace a more progressive approach, divisions that go back nearly 100 years. Since 2006, we have grieved as some congregations left the denomination, some split, and court battles over church property ignited around the country. In March 2008, our highest court, the General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Council (GAPJC), ruled against the PUP Authoritative Interpretation, deciding that although candidates for ordination are allowed to disagree with (or “scruple”) ordination standards and other mandates of the Book of Order, they are still required to comply with them.
After the GAPJC decision, many had hoped that the June 2008 General Assembly would be a time of reconciliation and healing—or at least rest from the growing battle between factions in our denomination. Instead, it became a national gathering in which the progressive section of our denomination pushed their agenda so forcefully that pre-existing cracks in our covenant became potentially insurmountable chasms. The most significant decisions include:
· removal of the “Fidelity and Chastity” clause from the Book of Order (change must
be ratified by a majority of presbyteries),
· removal of the words from First Corinthians 6:9-10 regarding “homosexual perversion” from the Heidelberg Confession in our Book of Confessions (change must be ratified by a 2/3rds majority of presbyteries),
· removal of the 1993 Authoritative Interpretation about homosexuality and 1978 Definitive Guidance on which it is based (effective immediately),
· reinstatement of the previously overturned Peace, Unity, and Purity Authoritative Interpretation (effective immediately), and
· creation of a designated fund accepting contributions to help with litigation against churches seeking to leave the PCUSA (effective immediately).
Additional details about these and other changes are available in the enclosed Study Guide. Again, constitutional changes now need to be approved by the presbyteries, but Authoritative Interpretations and other statements go into effect immediately. We have included what seems like a lot of information because leaders of our congregations must be well informed if they are to lead their people wisely. We look forward to hearing from the presbytery, our GA commissioners, and others about their views on these issues.
These constitutional changes, if approved, will arguably allow presbyteries and local congregations to ordain practicing homosexuals. We agree that the church needs to repent from its mistreatment and lack of love for those dealing with homosexuality. However, we cannot condone the acceptance into leadership positions of practicing homosexuals—and potentially others who deviate from Biblical sexual morality standards. This clearly stands contrary to calls to holiness in God’s Word. Please pray that as presbyteries vote on these measures, from December 2008 through June 2009 (our presbytery will likely vote on these matters in January 2009), that God will enable us to hold fast to Biblical standards.
Regardless of how the constitutional votes occur in presbyteries, many congregations and renewal organizations in the PCUSA are finding it nearly impossible to serve God faithfully in the PCUSA because of the pressure mounting from the progressive elements in our denomination. It appears that such congregations are left with two options: they can find a way to exist within the PCUSA with their convictions intact, or they can find a way to leave the denomination. The first option, as spelled out in several public declarations by renewal organizations following the General Assembly, is for some sort of provision that would allow churches that struggle to live in the PCUSA to form an entity, organizationally and/or theologically, within the greater body. Presbyterians for Renewal, for example, has just announced their decision to “actively pursue a means of re-shaping the life of the denomination … Such possibilities have been discussed hypothetically under the rubrics of non-geographical or ‘missional’ presbyteries and synods, enabling those who follow Biblical standards to worship and serve God together with clear consciences.” Please pray that God will guide us as a whole church to find creative solutions for coexistence of the various elements in our denomination that are reasonable and practical.
If this organizational option does not work, increased numbers of congregations may seek dismissal from the PCUSA. A commissioner from Charlotte Presbytery put forward a resolution calling for “Gracious Witness,” asking for presbyteries to be gracious to congregations seeking to be dismissed, in order to “serve truth, order, and goodness, and work against seeking civil litigation as a solution.” The resolution did not make it to the floor until late in the evening after the other constitutional changes had passed, but it was still approved by a sweeping majority (519-157). Please pray that, for the churches that feel they must leave, God enables our denomination and its presbyteries to find means and measures of graciously allowing for their dismissal, rather than increasing the numbers of prolonged court battles.
There is of course a third option—one that only God can achieve. To this end especially, we urge fervent prayers be lifted up to the King over All. We long for a time when the members of the PCUSA, leaders and parishioners alike, can be so touched by God’s renewing power that we together will repent of our waywardness and agree to lift up Christ, to preach his gospel, and to live in holiness according to the standards in Scripture, a time when we can turn away from agendas that divide us and focus on things most important. Historically, great revivals have swept our country and other parts of the world, even in the darkest and most difficult of times. Please pray for a mighty work of God to ignite and spawn a mighty denominational awakening that baffles us all!
Blessings in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
The Session of First Presbyterian Church
Hendersonville, NC
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