Letter to the Editor: Sad to see PCUSA’s light fading away one bit at a time
October 13, 2011
Letter to the PCUSA
Dear PCUSA church members, elders, deacons, sessions, pastors, presbyteries, synods and GA:
I greet you in the sweet, loving and mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. My name is Hector Reynoso and I am a PCUSA minister. I come to you in a loving and humble spirit and I hope that you will receive this letter in such spirit as well. I write out of a deep love and concern for the people of the PCUSA.
Many of you will have read and heard that churches around the world are beginning to break fellowship with the PCUSA and some others are making serious statements against it. This is happening because of one specific reason, the inclusion of amendment 10-A (now G-2.0104b) into our Book of Order. These are heartbreaking news stories.
Over the years it has been very sad to see our denomination’s light fading away one bit at a time. The approval of 10-A has now accelerated this process. In spite of all the warnings as to the consequences, a majority of people voted in favor of 10-A at the GA level and then at the presbytery levels. This amendment’s implications go beyond the removal of the “fidelity and chastity” standards for ordination. What this amendment does is reverse a divine established order and role…before 10-A, it was understood that God, according to the Scriptures defined sin…now we do. We choose what is sinful and what is not… as if we were gods. Furthermore, we claim that Christ died for our sins, yet if we can choose what is sinful and what is not then we must seriously ask, for what sins did Christ die for? Amendment 10-A implies that Christ died for nothing; friends, amendment 10-A creates a different christ then the one God has revealed in the Bible.
Furthermore, amendment 10-A reduces the Bible, the Holy Word of God from being the Inspired Word of God and the one authoritative foundation for the church’s doctrine and life to a mere guide, at the same level of the confessions. If we believe this way, then we can no longer take seriously Scriptures such as Psalm 119. This Psalm says on verse 4, “You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed (NIV).” Allow me to present this slightly sarcastic translation, simply to make my point, Psalm 119:4…We have modified your suggestions so that they can be fully considered. Dear PCUSA, Amendment 10-A sets aside the authority that God intended for the Scriptures.
Moreover, this amendment does not only open the door for the ordination of the LGBT community as ministers, elders and deacons, it also opens the door for the ordination of any individual engaged in any other sexual behavior which the Word of God calls sin. This amendment does not call anyone seeking ordination to repent and recognize their wrong doing. Instead of confronting us with the powerful transforming love of Jesus Christ it teaches that our sexual sin is our natural and normal inclination, not a choice, a lifestyle, that God made us to be this way, and that He fully accepts it.
Nevertheless, the purpose of this amendment is the ordination of the LGTB community; this amendment is not seeking the ordination of people engaged in other sexual sins. Many have pointed out that the LGTB practice is a sin according to the Scriptures, the Holy Word of God. I affirm the same. The PCUSA is calling sin good, we are calling sin desirable to God, not only that but it is forcing the body of Christ, His church, to accept it and embrace it.
Dear PCUSA, we were once the light of Christ in a world full of chaos, now we are bringing darkness and confusion to the world. Dear PCUSA, we have committed adultery for we have created our own god, our own savior, our own bible, our own definitions of what is holy and what is sinful. We are no longer able to see clearly, we need help. As an institution, we have abandoned the One who gave His life for us, the One who suffered for us, the One who paid with his blood for what we are calling a choice and a lifestyle.
I weep as I write this letter…how could we do this to our Lord and Savior, we did not hesitate to put our desires first, above Him and above His sheep. Pastors we were called to shepherd the Lord’s sheep! Not our own! We were called to lead them to Christ and into the holiness of God yet we have allowed them and taught them to live as they please.
I sadly conclude that the PCUSA, as an institution, has lost its way, yet not the church of Jesus Christ, for among the PCUSA stand people that have not bowed to another god or another savior, people that know they are sinners, the worst of sinners yet rescued, transformed and forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. Among the PCUSA stand people that are hurting as Jesus is hurting because of the steps taken by the PCUSA, people that that are mad as God in all His righteousness and justice is angry because of all of this, among the PCUSA stand people that are trying to be loving and caring toward those that have chosen a way contrary to the Holy Scriptures, people that stand firm in Christ and his teachings even when they see that the PCUSA has gone astray, people that are faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Father of our one and only Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gives us His Holy Spirit in order to guide us into all truth according to the Scriptures.
I am but a forgiven sinner, undeserving of your attention, but my Lord has chosen not to grant me sleep until I speak to those who will listen. My friends, God isn’t simply a nice little god that says yes to everything we want, He loves you, He loves me…and His love is powerful and transforming, and found in and through Jesus Christ alone. This letter is a call to confession and repentance. I humbly come before you in the name of the King of Kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, and lovingly yet powerfully call on the PCUSA to repent before God for the approval of 10-A.
Con cariño y amor en Cristo
Standing for Jesus
Rev. Hector Reynoso
Disclaimer: I am not speaking on behalf of my presbytery, or on behalf of any organization I belong to or have belonged to in the past. I am simply communicating what I believe our Heavenly Father wants me to say to the PCUSA.