Love of the Church is driving force behind New Wineskins
By Carol Waterloo Frazier, McKeesport Daily News, September 19, 2005
In the Gospel of Matthew, there’s a parable about wine and wineskins. Jesus said new wine wouldn’t be placed in old wineskins but put in new wineskins so both the wine and wineskins are preserved.
Using that premise, the New Wineskins for Presbyterians was created with the vision congregations could “join together in submission and accountability on the basis of shared biblical theology, ethics and calling for the sake of mutual benefit and collaborative Kingdom mission and ministry, to the greater glory of God.”
The first New Wineskins convocation was in Minneapolis and was attended by about 500, nearly half of whom where voting delegates. During that gathering, the delegates approved a proposed constitution that included 10 essential tenets of the Reformed faith and a declaration of 13 ethical imperatives. Those tenets and ethical imperatives, along with background about New Wineskins and the next steps that could be taken, were discussed during a gathering at Beverly Heights United Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon.
The Rev. Dr. Dean Weaver of Knox Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, N.Y., and one of the original visionaries of New Wineskins, said something has to be done to reverse the 40,000 to 41,000 annual membership loss in the Presbyterian church. “I love the Church of Jesus Christ above all else. What has driven us to this is a profound love for the Church.”
Raised in the denomination, he was actively involved at all levels of the denomination and its governing bodies. “Four years ago I felt like I was banging my head against the wall and I was tired of being the one who was always against things. But I’m not against things. I’m for the things of Jesus and the Church of Jesus Christ.”
Weaver got a couple of his friends together and they met in Texas to talk about what could be done to bring the denomination back to its biblical heritage. The following year 12 people gathered in Chicago and last year 25 folks came together to discuss The New Wineskins.
“In the last four years, more and more people are getting together to see what the church in the 21st century would look like and unveiled that this summer in Minneapolis,” he said. “People are starting to live the reality of building the church of today.”
He stressed New Wineskins is not intended to work against the presbytery but to help congregations find their place in ministry, noting other denominations are struggling with similar issues. “A denomination is like a car. You have the engine, which is theology, the wheels, which are missions, and the body, which is polity. You can have a great engine and wheels, but the body is beginning to rust and fall apart. That’s what’s happening with denominations. “There’s a growing consensus that the era of denominations is coming to a close,” Weaver said.
New Wineskin’s vision includes a connectional church that serves the ministry and mission of local congregations; unites congregations by a mutual commitment to a broadly evangelical and biblical theology; fosters relational networks based on ministry and regional context; provides accountability, support and discipline in a healthy, biblical way; is flexible and responsible to the changing needs and cultural dynamics of the congregation; encourages partnerships for ministry and mission with Christians of other denominations and parachurch ministries; draws upon proven programs, curriculum and other resources available from other congregations; and functions like a missionary agency more than a regulatory agency.
“There would still be the accountability and discipline of a denomination, but not the bureaucracy to hold us back from doing our mission,” he said.
Referring to the tenets, the Rev. Robert Titus of Lebanon Presbyterian Church in West Mifflin said, “There are tenets that are no-brainers and to unite with other ministries to do ministry is a real joy.”
He said for 229 years, Lebanon Presbyterian has been “based on scripture and has believed in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Our congregation adopted the ministry network covenant just about unanimously. If we wouldn’t have to argue the essentials but do ministry, we would be a powerful force in the world.”
The essential tenets of the faith, as put forth in the proposed constitution, include:
- God is majestic, compassionate and lovingly desires to be known.
- The Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
- In the beginning, the sovereign God created all things good.
- The one true God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- We believe in God the Father, who created all things in, through and for his Son.
- Jesus Christ is the living Word, the promised Messiah and the eternal Son of the Father.
- The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Jesus Christ and to apply his saving work to our lives.
- From the beginning God has sovereignty elected and called a people who are the true Church, the Body of Christ.
- The Church is called to make disciples of all nations, proclaiming the gospel to the spiritually lost and equipping believers so they may be presented mature in Christ.
- In death, the believer is made whole and enters eternally the loving presence of the Father and the Son.
“How do we live these tenets out as transformed new creations?” Titus asked. “There are nine general principles to live by and three groups of specific sins – idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed – we need to avoid. This is not a complete list but focuses on three groups of sin that affect our individual and corporate lives.”
Kerry Fraas, an elder at Mt. Vernon Community Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth Twp., said New Wineskins “stands for Jesus Christ and these tenets of the faith. I was glad when New Wineskins came about because it was something we could stand for. We can now have a structure that is united with these essential tenets.”
That basic structure, he said, would serve the congregations. “A number of congregations that agree to affiliate under the covenant would form a ministry network of three to eight congregations. These congregations would share a common belief and want to work together in ministry.”
He said a ministry network is in the works with Mt. Vernon, Lebanon, Round Hill Presbyterian in Elizabeth Twp. And Beverly Heights.
“One thing we want to do is mission work in this country and outside the country. There would also be more things for our youth to do together.”
Fraas cited a ministry network of sorts involving church camp. “For the last 30 years, Round Hill, Mt. Vernon and Bethesda Presbyterian have put together a church camp program. And a couple weeks ago there was a praise festival at Round Hill and Mt. Vernon and Lebanon took part. That’s just a taste of what a ministry network can look like.”
Reflecting on the need for New Wineskins, the Rev. Dr. Lowell Meek of Round Hill said, “We think we’re doing biblical ministry in our churches but we can’t do it effectively and that’s why we are losing so many members. The purpose of this is not to leave the denomination but to reform the church.”
Looking ahead, the Rev. Rick Wolling, senior pastor at Beverly Heights, said there are varying views of what the next steps are for New Wineskins. “I believe walking by faith isn’t walking by sight. I believe things will transpire that we know nothing about right now. You need to put the bull’s-eye on you and stand up for Jesus Christ. It’s putting more of Christ’s cross on us and paying the price of reparations.”
Agreeing, Weaver said, “God knows what will happen, we don’t. But we are called to be faithful. I believe God is pouring out new wine and the old wineskin of the denomination won’t hold it. We need a new wineskin to hold the new wine.”
This article originally appeared in the McKeesport Daily News on Saturday, September 17, 2005. Reprinted with permission.