Rogers warned that his advocacy of gay ordination has global impact
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, August 6, 2001
General Assembly Moderator Jack B. Rogers has been warned that his endorsement of ordaining practicing homosexuals in the Presbyterian Church (USA) could have global consequences.
In a letter to Rogers, Dr. Masgood Kamil, executive secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, said the ordination issue “threatens the unity of the universal Presbyterian family. If the present standards of ordination are waived, there might be some partner churches who will part their company with the PCUSA.”
A similar warning was issued recently in person when Harold Kurtz, retired executive director of Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, told Rogers: “The split I worry about is between ourselves and the world church. There are 35,000 denominations in the world. Only four have approved homosexual behavior. We have not seriously engaged the world church on this issue. Our General Assembly acted without consulting the world church.”
Before he was elected moderator, Rogers was an advocate of ordaining homosexuals. He also said church and state had an obligation to provide a “moral equivalent of marriage” for homosexual couples – a position that goes beyond the denomination’s current policy of permitting ministers to bless same-sex unions as long as the blessing includes nothing that suggests the service is comparable to marriage.
In urging Rogers to change his mind, Kamil said, “Divisions and dissensions in the Church break my heart. No organism, no body can afford division.”
He added, “Very humbly, I would like to remind you that any decision taken by the PCUSA affects the global church, especially the partner churches of the PCUSA in the Third World. As you know, the majority of Christians are no more living in North America or Europe but in Asia and Africa.
“I have heard from other representatives from the partner churches present in this General Assembly that this is unbelievable and unacceptable if PCUSA votes for the ordination of the homosexuals.”
Rogers has shown no indication that he might change his mind. He told evangelicals in Denver on July 30 that he reached his view on homosexual ordination “by study” and that he represents the center of the denomination.
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which has led the effort to remove the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard from the Book of Order, also has claimed to be the voice of the “center of the church,” even though denominational polls show that more than 65 percent of the members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) oppose the ordination of homosexuals.
Until recently, Rogers’ name was on the Covenant Network letterhead as an adviser to the organization. His name does not appear on such stationary received since the General Assembly.
Rogers, a former seminary professor, was one of the speakers at last year’s Covenant Network conference on Biblical interpretation. The conference focused on methods used by seminary professors to refute texts that historically have been interpreted as injunctions against homosexual activity.