Shooting the messenger
The Layman December 2001 Volume 34, Number 7, November 30, 2001
The moderator of the General Assembly has become increasingly caustic in recent weeks. He is upset over the fact that Presbyterian Church sessions – now more than 1,086 – are continuing to declare themselves Confessing Churches. Suggesting that these sessions are doing so in ignorance, and that they have become tools of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, this moderator has alienated a host of Presbyterians.
The Presbyterian Lay Committee is pleased to be a messenger for the movement – we are sharing good news – but being its messenger does not imply being its manager. The Confessing Churches are not puppets. They proclaim the faith out of conviction, not coercion.
By castigating the Presbyterian Lay Committee, it appears Moderator Jack B. Rogers is attempting to drive a wedge into the heart of the renewal movement. But the tactic is not working. Every major renewal organization in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has endorsed and applauded the Confessing Church Movement. And when the moderator singled out a speech by Lay Committee Chairman Robert Howard for special condemnation, he failed to note that Howard’s statements represent the official position of the Presbyterian Coalition, an umbrella organization that serves us all.
In castigating the Lay Committee, Rogers has managed to isolate himself from 16 renewal ministries and congregations representing more than 360,000 Presbyterians.
The Presbyterian Lay Committee is proud to stand beside its renewal partners and the Confessing Churches. We are privileged to serve as a messenger for a movement that is larger than all of us. If that activity unleashes brickbats from the moderator, we humbly accept the honor.