Should a congregation leave or stay? National PCUSA debate comes to Pittsburgh By Parker T. Williamson The Layman Online Monday, May 21, 2007 PITTSBURGH – On May 16, Pittsburgh Presbytery pled its case before the people of Memorial Park Presbyterian Church – its largest congregation and one that hovers on the brink of leaving the denomination. A unanimous session (the elected leaders of the congregation) had called a congregational meeting for the morning of June 3 to consider its recommendation that the 1,800-member church sever its ties with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and seek membership in the conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In a church-wide gathering two weeks ago, the session shared its conviction that remaining in the PCUSA is detrimental to this burgeoning church's ministry. On this May 16 night, hundreds of people returned to the sanctuary to hear presbytery leaders urge them not to go. 'We're all evangelicals' The presbytery strategy was simple and straightforward: We're evangelicals just like you, so please don't leave us. Chosen to make that argument were Pittsburgh Seminary professor Andrew Purves; Steven Wilson, pastor of Oakmont Presbyterian Church; and James Mead, the outgoing presbytery executive whose title is "pastor to the presbytery." All three proffered their personal evangelical credentials as they attempted to woo the crowd. Also present for the discussion was the Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, La. Dawson and Memorial Park's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Dean Weaver, are co-moderators of the New Wineskins Association of Churches. According to rules adopted by the presbytery, Weaver is not permitted publicly to argue on behalf of the session's recommendation to leave, but Dawson was not tethered by such constraints. Wheat and tares Purves, chosen to make opening remarks, said that, "Among the wheat and tares that is the PCUSA" are three realities that should convince Biblically faithful Christians to stay. Purves' first assertion was that the denomination has not abandoned its faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord and giver of life. He bolstered his argument with quotations from the Nicene Creed, the Scots Confession, the Heidelburg Catechism and the Second Helvetic Confession, all of which are constitutional documents for the denomination. Purves said he teaches these doctrines every day at the seminary, and preaches them in congregations throughout the denomination. Repeating a "free to be faithful" theme that has been promoted by Presbyterians for Renewal, Purves declared, "I am nowhere silenced or censored." One can be a member of the denomination and still be true to "the classical formulations of the church," he said. An essential tenet? In his second argument, Purves came close to suggesting that the ordination of women is an essential tenet of Christian faith. "Calvin's central doctrine of our union with Christ is at stake here," he said. "Women and men share equally in the ministry of the church … I am proud to be a minister in a denomination that affirms the full participation of women." Taking a shot at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which allows the ordination of women but does not consider it essential or mandatory, Purves said he found it troublesome that persons who affirmed the doctrine of our union with Christ would even consider affiliating with a denomination in which women's ordination is optional. Purves final point was personal. He said the PCUSA is his home. He and his wife were married in this denomination. Their children were baptized here. They were both ordained here and, when he experienced a life-threatening bout with cancer several years ago, PCUSA Presbyterians prayed for his recovery. "You are my family in Christ Jesus. You may leave me, but I will not leave you or forget you," he said. Emphasizing his evangelical connections, Purves said, "You are our friends and allies. Don't leave us in the trenches. It is my hunch that you have fallen out of love with us. Speaking in the name of Pittsburgh Presbytery and the PCUSA, I love you, and I forgive those of you who are working to break communion with us. I ask that you forgive me for my anger over this." A family feud Wilson, chairman of a committee established by the presbytery to negotiate with congregations seeking departure, also professed to be an evangelical, just like those in the Memorial Park congregation. "I sense our spiritual kinship," he said, "and it feels like my life-long brothers and sisters are leaving the family because of distant cousins." Referring to persons in PCUSA leadership positions who deny the faith as "distant cousins," Wilson asked the Memorial Park congregation to "stand with us against those cousins." "I am an evangelical pastor who would grieve your leaving," he said. "I urge you to live as a faithful remnant in the PCUSA." Wilson compared the PCUSA's situation to that of dealing with an alcoholic. He said the faithful pastor will not abandon the alcoholic, but will take him or her to a rehabilitation center and offer loving support in the process. In so doing, the alcoholic learns that the pastor has not given up on him, nor has his family, so he may not give up on himself. Wilson said he was encouraged by signs that Pittsburgh Presbytery has recovered much of its Biblical witness. Specifically, he pointed to a revised presbytery mission statement and a missions conference that the presbytery co-hosted with Pittsburgh Seminary. Improvements cited Mead amplified Wilson's affirmation that there are hopeful signs of renewal in the denomination. "We do not say that everything is fine in the PCUSA," Mead said. "Everything is not fine," he said, but leaving is not the only faithful alternative. "You can stay and be faithful to Jesus Christ." Mead repeated Purves' argument that the denomination's confessions are faithful. "The Christology of the PCUSA remains intact, though at times under attack," he said. He read selected excerpts from the report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity that was adopted by the 2006 General Assembly. His selections affirmed faith in the Trinity and in the singular saving Lordship of Jesus Christ. Then, Mead added, "In candor, I want to acknowledge that, after these statements in the PUP report, there are lines of disclaimers. There are 'yeah, but' lines." But Mead said that while the inclusion of such disclaimers trouble evangelicals, there are fewer of them each year. "There was a time when the 'yeah, buts' were the substance of the affirmation," he said, and now they have been relegated to the edge. Mead said 25 percent to 40 percent of the denomination is made up of evangelicals "who will remain when you leave." He said there are now 25-to-30 of the 173 presbytery executives who openly identify with evangelicals. He named a handful of evangelicals who have been named to general assembly-level offices. "Once we were intentionally, successfully excluded," he said. "Now we are intentionally, successfully sought after." Suggesting that this is a trend, Mead said, "It seems a strange time for evangelicals to leave." 'Abandonment' and 'betrayal' Mead concluded his remarks by saying, "You need to know that some of us are struggling and finding it painful that you are considering leaving us … If you leave, we will continue to pray for you and your ministry, but something will have changed between us." He said words like "abandonment and betrayal" come to mind. Dawson expressed appreciation for having been invited to share the podium with his evangelical friends, especially Purves, with whom he is authoring a book on Trinitarian theology. He said his purpose in the discussion was not to encourage the congregation to leave the PCUSA, something that his own congregation has not yet decided to do, but to deal with the question, "Is it a faithful act for a congregation to realign itself with another part of the body of Christ – another slice of the worldwide body of Jesus Christ?" To that question, Dawson answered with an unequivocal "Yes." The plague of pluralism Dawson had little use for the argument that the PCUSA is not apostate because it possesses a Book of Confessions. He called the denomination "pluralistic," and gave examples of multiple, self-contradictory worldviews and faiths that are encompassed within the denomination. He pointed to seminary professors who deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ; ministers who refuse to obey Christ's command that they baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; persons in positions of high leadership who consider "Christ" a concept rather than the Jesus of Nazareth, unbegotten Son of the Father, to whom Scripture attests. Dawson pointed to the fact that these aberrations – outright denials of the Biblical witness – are allowed to go unchecked by the PCUSA. He reminded his listeners of John Knox's insistence that discipline is a mark of the true church, and he pointed to the PCUSA's refusal to exercise discipline as a "systemic sword striking our heart." Same words/different meanings Dawson took little comfort from Purves' assurance that the pluralistic PCUSA continues to claim a Book of Confessions because their words are assigned different meanings, "their content is evacuated," and they are "co-opted" by an alien ideology. He also found scant assurance in Mead and Wilson's opinion that evangelicals were gaining ground in the denomination. Dawson pointed out that 25 evangelical executives in a total of 173 were little to celebrate, and that the appointment of a few Biblically faithful persons on the national staff was laudable but did nothing to change "the theological ethos of the PCUSA." Tokenism will not carry the day, he said, observing that less than one-third of the denomination's leadership reflects a Biblical theology. Dawson said that those who control the process will always give evangelicals a few seats at the table "because they want your leaders and your money." 'The sword has struck us in the heart' "The sword has struck us in the heart," Dawson said, "sweeping Scripture away by the stroke of reinterpretation. This is by no means defending the faith." He said the PCUSA did not suffer these wounds overnight, but over a history of many years. Dawson pointed to the General Assembly of 1927 that decided no longer to require subscription to essential tenets of the Christian faith. At that point, he said, the faith became entirely a subjective experience. One could fill in the blanks with one's own "essentials." In like manner, Dawson said, the Confession of 1967 and the denomination's watered-down ordination vows opened the door for a wider pluralism of beliefs and practices. Now, ordained leaders no longer promise to "receive and adopt" the confessions, but merely to be "guided by them." With these changes, he said, "we began to take vows without content." Dawson agreed with the three presbytery representatives that one can remain in the PCUSA and be faithful, but he took umbrage with the suggestion that leaving the denomination for another branch of the Body of Christ is an unfaithful act. "When a congregation realigns, does it leave Christian relationships, abandon the broken bread and shared cup?" he asked. "No. You are not leaving the church. In changing denominations, you are transferring the locus of ecclesiastical authority." Property matters During an open-mike session for congregational responses, numerous Memorial Park members challenged statements made by the presbytery representatives. "You haven't mentioned our property," observed a man who said he had been a member of the congregation for 35 years. "What is your position on our property?" Wilson said the denomination had a trust clause that "cannot be ignored." "I find it ironic," responded the parishioner, that the PCUSA finds it can easily ignore the written Word of God, but it cannot ignore a trust clause in the Book of Order. Presbytery has not invested one penny in this congregation's property. Our members purchased the land and built the buildings. We don't owe you anything!" Several church members questioned the statements made by the presbytery representatives in which they said they saw evangelical renewal and progress in the PCUSA. Numerous general assembly decisions, programs, policies and publications were cited as evidence that the opposite is the case. Citing 'progress' Purves rose to defend his thesis that things are getting better. "The Lord has done a miracle at Pittsburgh Seminary," he said. With a wink to a handful of his students who had come to observe the meeting, Purves said, "I could take you to our graduation exercises and show you our graduates. I don't think there is a single person here who would not be impressed." He insisted that, in his experience, each seminary class has been better than its predecessor. A church member noted that the examples cited as evidence of "progress" were primarily local, ignoring massive denominational problems. "A home has four corners," the church member said. "If only one is rooted in Christ, that home will fall. You have given us local and sporadic examples of faithfulness … possibly one corner." Closing plea As the evening drew toward its close, presenters were invited to make closing statements. Mead said he just couldn't help but believe that there are some members of Memorial Park who would like to stay in the denomination. "I understand that some of you are done with the fight," he said. "But I plead with you to be careful how you talk about those of us who are staying. Your anger can hurt. … The Holy Spirit may be calling some of us to stay, and to deny the work of the Holy Spirit is blasphemy." 'A mantle of shame' Mead's words brought a rejoinder from Dawson during his final remarks. He noted that words like "abandonment," "betrayal" and "blasphemy" had been used. Concerned that such language might be interpreted as an attempt to lay a guilt trip on persons who in conscience choose denominational re-alignment, Dawson said, "Do not accept the mantle of shame about what the Lord is calling you to do." He said he could understand why some Christians are weary of fighting for Biblical truth in the PCUSA. "There are millions of people in the world who need the Gospel. People are dying without the Gospel. The AIDS crisis is epidemic. The Lord is calling us to get on with the mission of the church, and we're here at home debating issues that shouldn't even be matters of debate for Christians. … I'm done with trying to persuade people who don't want to be persuaded. I want to be part of a missional church." Dawson's statement evoked sustained applause. The Rev. Parker T. Williamson is editor emeritus of The Layman and The Layman Online. He may be reached at laymanletters@layman.org.

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