Commentary: Praying for
‘GA found faithful’ headline
By Carmen Fowler, The Layman, June 18, 2010
As we approach the 219th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) we hold out great hope and lift ardent prayers that after all is said and done there will be reason to praise, applaud and celebrate. What would an assembly look like that would produce such headlines?
It would be characterized by a sense of reverence; God-honoring, Bible-proclaiming, Jesus-exalting, Spirit-empowered worship; and a mutual submission of all present to the radically supernatural calling of Christ to be conformed not to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the Word.
It would be an assembly marked by honest spiritual discernment. It would be less issue oriented and more about discerning together what God is doing in the world and how we can collectively participate in and advance His Kingdom agenda.
It would be less focused on factionalism and more focused on the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace experienced by those who are authentically in Christ, abiding in Him and producing faithful fruit for Him.
It would feature less exaltation of our own stories and more proclamation of His story. It would feature far more testimonies about the power of the Gospel, real stories about genuine conversion from sin to holiness. The hissing and eye-rolling and head-shaking that now greets those who try to lift up Scripture in committee or on the floor of plenary would be replaced with smiles, affirmative nods and a chorus of “amens.”
It would be an assembly that did not add further confusion to the confessional standard, but genuinely honored the confessions already in place. It would be an assembly that did not seek to strip our denomination of her dignity, but put itself on its face before the Lord acknowledging a deep division we cannot heal without His intervening grace.
It would be an assembly that did not seek to speak words of condemnation to the partisan practices of others without first dealing with the log in her own eye. It would be an assembly from which commissioners would return home to their congregations with hearts aflame, spirits lifted, passion for ministry energized, bearing witness to the faithful fruitful family they met in Minneapolis, fellow presbyters who share a deep commitment to the Word of God as expressed in the Scriptures alone; sisters and brothers in Christ who acknowledge without shame or reservation that we are saved exclusively by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone; a people belonging to God whose hearts are set on advancing His Kingdom purposes and not their own.
I have my celebratory headlines ready. May the assembly be found to be so faithful! Pray with us that it may be so.
Fowler is president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications.