Commentary: A Kirk member’s observations
Commentary by Peggy A. Alexander, Kirk of the Hills, February 11, 2009
Now that all the papers have been signed and the Kirk of the Hills Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, Okla., has handed over $1.75 million for their property, I would like to make some observations.
Had the Presbyterian Church (USA) followed its own “official” policies in the Book of Order regarding the authority of Scripture, the Kirk (and other churches) would have felt no need to sever ties with the denomination.
However, it has become increasingly apparent over the years that no matter what the Bible says or how the people in the pews feel, the PCUSA leadership is going to continue in its liberal ways. (Does anyone want to speculate on how many more times the fidelity-chastity amendment will be sent to the presbyteries for a vote?) Those in charge are intent in imposing their views upon the churches remaining in their clutches through threats and intimidation such as the use of administrative commissions and the “sacred” property trust clause.
In another decade or two when most of the small, aging congregations are no longer able to support a pastor and maintain their buildings, perhaps the PCUSA will face reality. Since the average age of the PCUSA member in the pew is around 60, one has to wonder what the denomination will look like in 20 years. What has happened to the young people?
With the average PCUSA church having 205 members and an average Sunday attendance of 114, the denomination can’t continue to lose members at the rate of 50,000+ each year. The PCUSA is bleeding to death at an alarmingly rapid rate, and nothing is being done to stop it other than waving the “property trust clause” flag to intimidate churches from leaving.
With the departure of the Kirk, Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery has only one large church (First Presbyterian, Tulsa) and a few medium-size churches. Looking over the stats, I saw only two churches in EOP averaging more than 200 in Sunday worship for 2007 – First Presbyterian, Tulsa with 771 and First Presbyterian, Bartlesville with 207. Good Shepherd in Bartlesville at 177 and St. James in Jenks with 169 were next. Over half the churches in EOP have fewer than 50 members and dismal attendance.
The future looks pretty bleak for both the PCUSA and EOP. Both are definitely at a crossroads and may very well die out in the next couple of decades unless a dramatic shift toward preaching the gospel and evangelism become their primary purposes.
Christianity cannot be handed down from parent to child like a family heirloom. Faith in Jesus Christ is personal and must be experienced personally by the individual in a radical and transformational way. Many churches seem to have forgotten that we must be “born again,” “be saved” in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The primary purpose of the church is to proclaim the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, not political correctness!
The PCUSA-EOP chapter of the Kirk of the Hills’ history has come to a close, and the Kirk is moving on. At the annual congregational meeting on January 25 around 600 people packed into the Upper Room to hear that the church finished 2008 in the black. Substantial donations have been made toward paying the $1.75 million borrowed to buy back the property and toward paying for a parcel of land in a prime south Tulsa location for a new church development.
Attendance in January at the Kirk which the EOP executive presbyter Greg Coulter described as being “a divided congregation” (Tulsa World 10/19/08) has been ranging from 1200 to 1400 on Sunday mornings at our five services (8:15, 9:30 and 11:00 traditional; 9:30 and 11:00 contemporary). The Kirk pastors, staff and congregation are excited about the future and ready to go forward in ministry and mission for Jesus Christ!