Confessing Churches give $6,000 toward New Wineskins Initiative
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, May 31, 2005
A group of Confessing Churches have given $6,000 to the organizers of a national convocation considering a “bold new design” for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The New Wineskins Initiative convocation, with the theme “Following Christ into the 21st Century,” will be held June 15-18 at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minn.
Organizers said the leaders of the Confessing Churches believe that the New Wineskins Initiative is consistent with the goals of the Confessing Church Movement, and are excited about the great promise and lasting value of moving toward a new wineskin for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
“This gift from Confessing Presbyterian Churches is a great affirmation of our work to date,” said the Rev. Tom Edwards, executive coordinator for the New Wineskins Initiative.
“While several hundred will certainly join at the convocation this June in Minnesota,” convocation organizers said, the percentage of people coming as voting delegates is a “very encouraging sign.”
Renee Guth, a member of the New Wineskins Initiative board and an elder from Tucson, Ariz., points out that the Evangelical Presbyterian Church began with only 12 congregations, so “why couldn’t God move toward renewing the PCUSA with four or five times that number of congregations.”
The long-term vision is “to follow God into a new way of connecting Presbyterians in mission and ministry, one marked by theological unity, missional faithfulness, and structural effectiveness,” said the Rev. Dr. David Henderson, moderator of the New Wineskins Initiative.
In its vision statement, the New Wineskins Initiative states: “We envision a connectional structure that …
- Serves the ministry and mission of the local congregation.
- Is united by a mutual commitment to a broadly evangelical and Biblical theology.
- Fosters relational networks based on ministry context as well as regional proximity.
- Provides accountability, support, and discipline in a healthy, balanced, Biblical way.
- Is flexible and responsive to changing needs and cultural dynamics.
- Supports and encourages partnerships for cooperative mission between congregations.
- Encourages partnerships for ministry and mission with Christians of other denominations and parachurch ministries.
- Draws upon proven programs, curricula, and other resources available from across the broader body of Christ.
- Functions like a missions agency more than a regulatory agency.
Delegates also will work on draft documents that propose new statements of faith essentials and ethical imperatives, as well as a revised constitution that calls for greater flexibility, a new approach to leadership development at the congregational level and a pared-down, adaptive service structure at the national level.
While the convocation will include preaching, prayer and worship, as well as an international flavor with guests and speakers from Presbyterian churches around the world, the focus will be on how evangelical Presbyterians respond to what task force leaders called “grave concerns about the health and effectiveness of our present organization” in theology, mission and structure.
More information about the convocation is available on a special convocation Web site.
For further information, contact “Following Christ into the 21st Century” at 888-754-9693, or 7435 E. Oxford Ct., Wichita, Kan. 67226.