Web-based Calvinistic group asks sessions to consider 7 questions
The Layman Online, January 3, 2006
A group of Presbyterians who have chosen to remain anonymous has posted a thought-provoking questionnaire on its Web site, www.newpcus.org, that asks sessions to consider how their congregations might react if the General Assembly allows presbyteries and sessions to decide on their own whether to ordain practicing homosexuals.
Titled “Seven Questions for Sessions in 2006,” the questionnaire is intended to help sessions examine their options in case the 2006 General Assembly approves the report of the Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The preface to the seven questions includes a statement that says that if the task force’s report is “adopted, which seems likely, self-affirmed, practicing homosexuals will be eligible for ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacraments in the PCUSA on a case-by-case, presbytery-by-presbytery basis.”
It adds, “The question now is what are we going to do if the General Assembly embarks upon this false path and overturns our current ordination standards? … These are questions you may not hear pastors or denominational officials discuss openly prior to the General Assembly, but they are questions that need to be faced, and we commend them to you.”
- 1. How many members will your congregation lose when the General Assembly’s decision to overturn the ordination standards is made public? How many members will you lose in the next five years when the consequences of this decision begin to take effect and are widely known? What kind of members will they likely be? Will they be older or younger members? Will they be with families or without? Will they be more or less likely to support the mission and work of your congregation? Will they be more or less likely to tithe or participate in prayer groups, Bible studies, or mission trips?
- 2. How many members will your congregation gain when the General Assembly’s decision to overturn the ordination standards is made public? How many members will you gain in the next five years when the consequences of this decision begin to take effect and are widely known? What kind of members will they likely be? Will they be older or younger members? Will they be with families or without? Will they be more or less likely to support the mission and work of your congregation? Will they be more or less likely to tithe or participate in prayer groups, Bible studies, or mission trips?
- 3. How will this decision affect your congregation’s budget? Will members of your congregation be more or less likely to give generously as a result of this decision? Will they be more or less likely to seek alternative ways of supporting the work of the Church of Jesus Christ in the world other than through the PCUSA?
- 4. How will this decision affect your congregation’s ability to maintain a church staff? Will it be more or less difficult in the future to find a suitable pastor for your congregation as a result of this decision? Do you think it will be easier or more difficult to find faithful, spiritually mature, theologically responsible, Biblically grounded pastors in the PCUSA in the aftermath of this decision? Where do you think such pastors will be found? Where will they come from?
- 5. How will this decision affect your congregation’s relationship to other churches in your community? How will this decision affect your church’s relationship to the community-at-large? How will you and your congregation be regarded among your peers and co-workers as a result of this decision? How will it affect the relationships of friends and family members in your congregation?
- 6. What will the young people in your congregation say about this decision? How do you suppose it will affect the way they make spiritual and moral decisions in the future? What will the older, life-long Presbyterians in your congregation say about this decision? Will you, as a session or session member, be able to provide an explanation or rationale for it?
- 7. If the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) has not found peace, unity, and purity but rather is dividing as a result of a similar decision regarding the ordination of self-affirmed, practicing homosexuals, how likely or unlikely is it that the PCUSA will do the same? Is it unrealistic to expect that the children of John Knox and those who claim the theological tradition and spiritual heritage of John Calvin and the Puritans will respond any less boldly or decisively, with any less courage, determination and resolve than Episcopalians, known historically for their love of “the middle-way”?
The newpcus posting adds that “there are many other questions worth considering. Indeed, there are infinitely more important questions – questions of eternal significance – not the least of which is: What will you say to Almighty God when you meet him face to face on the last day if you, who have taken vows and have been charged to oversee the flock, knowingly and willingly ignore the clear and explicit teaching of his Word and have caused, or at least done nothing to prevent, one of his “little ones” from stumbling (Matt.18:6; Lk.17:2)?”However, the questions above are merely the beginning of a discussion that some of us are having as we seek to soberly assess the future of our denomination and understand what it means to fulfill our ordination vows.”
It concludes, “Many of us took seriously and meant what we said when we were asked, ‘Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?’ Many of us still do. We want to serve in a denomination that takes these words seriously and means what it says too. We suspect that there are others who want the same.”
For the time being, newspcus has declined to identify the Presbyterians who are involved in its Web-based considerations. But it is clear from the content that they represent an orthodox, Calvinistic understanding of the Reformed faith.