Message from the world Church: ‘Stop the infection’
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman Online, June 20, 2005
Edina, Minn. – Church leaders from around the globe gathered in a seminar at the New Wineskins Convocation on June 17 to discuss their relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The contrast was palpable, for in each country represented, the church is growing by leaps and bounds, while in the United States, progenitor of many of these vital communions, the Presbyterian Church is hemorrhaging members so rapidly that observers, both inside and outside the denomination, are predicting its demise.
Rev. Tom Edwards, executive coordinator for the New Wineskins Initiative, directed two questions to panel members from Africa, Argentina, Brazil, and Kenya: In what ways has the Presbyterian Church (USA) been an instrument in your churches’ mission; and in what ways has it been a detriment?
The first question sparked many fond memories. “Your denomination is our mother,” said Rev. Ludgero Morais, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. He said that names like Samuelson and Chamberlain, missionaries from the United States who gave their lives to establish Presbyterianism in Brazil continue to be revered by the Brazilian people.
Rev. Sameh Maurice pastor of Kaser el Dobara Church in Cair echoed Morais’ affection for Presbyterians in the United States who invested their faith in other lands. You planted the seed in us, he said, and our people will always be grateful.
Rev. David Githii, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, pointed to the many partnerships that exist between congregations in his land and congregations in the United States. He also mentioned hospitals, colleges and other institutions in Kenya that have resulted from the lifelong devotion of Presbyterian Church (USA) missionaries.
The second question triggered a distinctly different mood, clearly one of lament. Morais said it was with a broken heart that the Presbyterian Church of Brazil severed its relations with the Presbyterian Church (USA). “We loved the Gospel when it came from the lips of your early missionaries, but when others came from the United States, preaching politics and liberation theology, we could not allow it. This was not the Gospel, and we did not want it in our country.”
Maurice said that in spite of all the suffering Christians in his predominantly Muslim territory have faced, nothing has hurt them more than the “poison” that has infected them from church leaders in the United States. “We are still in a state of infection,” he said.
Maurice said that liberationists from the United States infected the seminary in Cairo and other Presbyterian related institutions. Changes in the seminary have vastly improved the situation as evangelical faculty members have been recruited, he said, but policies and programs of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have made Egyptian Presbyterians wary. He also said that scholarships that invite young, bright evangelicals from his country to study in the United States have also become a problem. These students are often taught ideas that are not Biblical, he said, and they bring the poison back home.
Githii recalled his trip from Nairobi to attend the New Wineskins meeting. He said that before he and his wife could board a plane for the United States they were subjected to stringent security procedures. “Like those in the airport, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa now must employ security measures when dealing with representatives of the Presbyterian Church (USA). We had to cut our partnerships with National Capital and Detroit presbyteries because they were promoting homosexuality. We do not want such things in our country. They are not from God.”
Morais again rose to his feet with a warning. “Be wary. Liberals never give up. Liberalism is a wolf. Do not feed it. When you invite the wolf into the flock, it will eat your sheep.”
Maurice said that contrary to what is often reported in the United States, the Gospel is spreading rapidly in the Middle East, especially in Egypt and Iraq. He said that in the period following the fall of Sadaam Hussein the churches in Iraq grew from four officially recognized churches during the regime to 25 today, and from hundreds of members to more than a thousand. He said he believed that the church in Iraq is bearing a much more faithful and vigorous witness with fewer connections to the Presbyterian Church (USA). “The church in Iraq is flourishing,” he said. “Muslim groups are killing one another, but the evangelicals are growing by hundreds every week.”
“When we look at your country, we can see that liberalism is dying. Liberalism does not build churches. It draws the life out of churches. We see that, and we can help you. For a long time, we were silent. We emphasized good relationships with the Presbyterian Church (USA), but now we must speak the truth to you, and we must pray for you.”
Marurice’s words inspired a question from a woman in the audience, “What role do you believe prayer plays in your mission?” Morais stepped to the microphone: “Let me answer your question with a question. Is air important to you? Prayer is like breathing. It brings life to the church. We cannot live without it.”