Convocation scheduled to consider renewal proposal for the PCUSA
The Layman Online, December 1, 2004
A task force that emerged from the renewal movement in the Presbyterian Church (USA) has scheduled a national convocation in Minneapolis in June to consider a “bold new design” for the denomination.
Task force visionAccording to materials prepared by the Task Force, the New Wineskins initiative envisions “a connectional structure” that:
- Serves the ministry and mission of the local congregation.
- Is united by a mutual commitment to a broadly evangelical and Biblical theology.
- Fosters relational networks based on ministry context as well as regional proximity.
- Provides accountability, support and discipline in a healthy, balanced, Biblical way.
- Is flexible and responsive to changing needs and cultural dynamics without compromising faith essentials.
- Supports and encourages partnerships for cooperative mission between congregations.
- Encourages partnerships for ministry and mission with Christians of other denominations and parachurch ministries.
- Draws upon proven programs, curricula and other resources available from across the broader body of Christ.
- Functions like a missions agency more than a regulatory agency.
The New Wineskins Task Force has invited pastors and elders to the convocation, which will be held June 15-18 in Christ Presbyterian Church, a growing 4,100-member congregation.
The task force will present to the convocation proposals for new statements of faith essentials and ethical imperatives. It also is recommending a revised constitution, calling for greater flexibility, a new approach to leadership development at the congregational level and a pared-down, adaptive service structure at the national level.
While the convocation will include preaching, prayer and worship, the focus will be on how evangelical Presbyterians respond to the direction of a denomination whose membership losses have been accelerating – 41,812 in 2002 and 46,658 in 2003, according to the denomination’s year-end data.
In a news release, the task force leaders expressed “grave concerns about the health and effectiveness of our present organization.” Those concerns focus on three areas: theology, mission and structure.
“I think people across the board are pretty much in agreement that the PCUSA is in need of some serious repair,” says David Henderson, a task force member. “Clearly we can’t continue as we are. What we are seeking to do is to paint a compelling picture of what we believe God could be calling us to in the future, and then let God take us there.”
Henderson, pastor of the 2,000-member Covenant Presbyterian Church in West Lafayette, Ind., added, “The Presbyterian denomination has a rich heritage, but it has lost its focus and its effectiveness. We’re divided theologically and ethically; we’ve lost sight of our kingdom mission to reach the lost; and we have a complex, multi-layer institution that is served by the congregations rather than the other way around.”
Henderson, whose congregation is a Confessing Church within the PCUSA, added, “What we envision is both a call back and a call forward – going back to the simpler relational association of the past, to a community that has self-consciously placed itself under the authority of the Scriptures and going forward to a lean and adaptive structure that has the reaching-equipping-and-sending ministry of the local congregation at the forefront.”
Henderson presented the unfinished draft of the task force’s work at the Presbyterian Coalition’s Gathering in 2003. There were large turnouts for his seminar on the issues being raised by the task force.
“The culture is changing,” says the Rev. Dean Weaver, co-chair of the Task Force and pastor of the 340-member Knox United Presbyterian Church in Kenmore, N.Y., “and we’re not doing a very good job of keeping in touch with it. It’s time for a whole new paradigm, a bold new design for how we do ministry together.”
Elder Rebecca Miller of Lafayette, Ind., who has participated in two of the New Wineskins working sessions, says the task force’s proposal “is not a call to arms, to fight a battle. What excites me is that there is a possibility for us as Presbyterians to continue to do ministry in some form as a part of Christ’s Church, but with a renewed focus, bringing us back to what the original intent was.”
“Presbyterians united around the simple essential tenets of Scripture as truth and Jesus as Lord and Savior, and with individual congregations working together, building relationships, serving one another, sharing resources, providing pastoral accountability – I think that is very attractive,” Miller added.
The Rev. Doug Pratt, task force co-chair and pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Bonita Springs, Fla., describes the work of New Wineskins as an offering to the broader Church. “We don’t claim to have all the answers,” said Pratt, a former co-moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition. “But we believe we have a vision for our life together that is worth sharing with the broader denomination. We see this as an act of service. If there is something here worth putting to use, we trust God will make that evident.”
“There is tremendous excitement” about the convocation, said the Rev. Tom Edwards, associate pastor at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, Kan., who is coordinating the event for the New Wineskins Task Force. “A lot of work has gone into planning for this convocation – good work,” he said.
New Wineskins Task Force participants say they are not the only ones who recognize the need for change. They cite a paper titled A Vision for the 21st Century by the Rev. Clark Cowden, the executive of the Presbytery of San Joaquin.
“It is time for a change,” Cowen says. “A small tinkering will not do. It is time for a radical new reinvention of the denomination. The 21st century denomination will function as a servant to its missionaries, its pastors, its lay leaders and its congregations. It exists to help them do the ministry on the ‘front lines.’ The denomination is the support system, the rescue squad, the back-up team that works to make the most ministry possible. It seeks to glorify God in all it does, operating under the authority of Scripture. Through its congregations and its people, it calls all people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord of the world. The church will only be fruitful when it is faithful …”
Task force members said the convocation is likely to have an international flavor, as the plans include inviting guests and speakers from Presbyterian churches around the world. Edwards says more information about the convocation will be available at a later date. The New Wineskins Task Force Web site is www.presbywine.com.
For further information, contact “Pioneering the 21st Century Church” at 888-754-9693, or 7435 E. Oxford Ct., Wichita, Kan. 67226.