Kirkpatrick re-elected stated clerk
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, July 1, 2001
LONG BEACH, Calif. — As expected, Clifton Kirkpatrick was re-elected Friday to a second four-year term as stated clerk of the 2.5-million-member Presbyterian Church (USA). Nonetheless, the candidacy of his challenger, Winfield “Casey” Jones, gave commissioners the opportunity to raise some key questions about the clerk’s duties and the direction of the denomination.
Kirkpatrick, bolstered by the 19-0 endorsement of the General Assembly’s Stated Clerk Candidate Review Committee, won 427-74.
During a five-minute speech and in response to questions from commissioners, Kirkpatrick repeatedly emphasized unity as a focus for the church. Jones, pastor of Pearland (Texas) Presbyterian Church, began at a different starting point. Noting that the denomination’s membership has declined by a third during the last 35 years, Jones called for a return to Biblical and confessional standards.
“I believe that if we were a corporation losing a third of market share in 35 years, the shareholders would demand a major change in direction, and it might possibly remove the corporate leadership.” Yet, he said, without citing specific examples, “we do not defend the revealed truth the church is built upon.”
Kirkpatrick said a “foundational piece of my vision” for the PCUSA is to “enable this church to become a New Testament church as in the first century.” Jones responded that one of the marks of the New Testament church was that “the Lord added to their numbers daily” and that it was “grounded in prayer and Scripture.”
Both candidates affirmed commitment to the PCUSA Constitution — consisting of the Book of Confessions and the Book of Order — but Jones addressed specific essential tenets. He focused on Chapter 2 of the Book of Order, which summarizes Presbyterian beliefs, including the Trinity, the incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ, salvation through grace alone and by faith alone, and Scripture alone as the authoritative rule of life and faith. Kirkpatrick said his view of essential tenets would be to include the first four chapters of the Book of Order.
In their speeches both candidates made commitments – to pass on the “faith once delivered to the saints.” But what if your personal interpretation of that faith differs from an action of the General Assembly, they were asked.
Kirkpatrick said, “There are two bodies that interpret our constitution, the Permanent Judicial Commission and the General Assembly. My duty is to uphold their authoritative interpretations, even if I disagree personally.”
Jones said that the best way to prevent conflict with core theological beliefs is to amend the Book of Confessions rather than ratifying a conflicting viewpoint in the Book of Order. Amendments to the Book of Confessions are rare because they require that two thirds of the presbyteries in the denomination approve them. A simple majority is required for amending the Book of Order.
The candidates were asked how they would foster the “trust factor” in the denomination. “Trust is in short supply,” said the commissioner posing the question.
Kirkpatrick said, “We really can create a sense of unity … because Jesus is Lord.” He said his efforts “to promote unity in diversity … and all of its manifestation” was a trust-building exercise. “Our diversity is a gift of God,” he added.
Jones calling for a deeper trust in God. “You can put too much trust in a human being,” he said, again emphasizing his commitment to Biblical and confessional standards.
Both were asked if they had ever been involved with a congregation that withheld a portion of its per-capita assessment. (A story by the Presbyterian News Service said Jones’ congregation had withheld payment of per-capita funds, but the news service later corrected that assertion and apologized for publishing it.)
“Our congregation never withheld per-capita funds,” said Jones. He cited Presbyterian requirements: Congregations are not required to pay 100 percent of their assessments, but presbyteries must remit the full assessment.
Kirkpatrick said that he had not used “regulatory threats” to compel congregations to pay their per capita. But he says he does remind them that payment of the per capita is a “moral obligation” to support the work of the whole church.
Asked about whether there should be boundaries for church membership, Jones and Kirkpatrick both said yes, but they differed substantially in how they approached those boundaries.
“A center demands a circumference,” Jones said. “There are some things you cannot believe and be a Presbyterian. There has to be a boundary somewhere.”
“There are boundaries,” Kirkpatrick said. But he said he preferred to “call attention to those things that unite us rather than those things that call us apart.”
Their speeches and comments, while varying sharply at times, included no acrimony, no ad-hominem attacks, no accusations.
In the end, before the vote was taken, Kirkpatrick and Jones stood side by side, heads bowed in prayer, with Jones placing his right arm across the clerk’s shoulder.