Possibility of mass exodus from PCUSA has heightened
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, December 28, 2006
Developments late in 2006 pointed toward the possibility of a mass exodus of evangelical congregations from the Presbyterian Church (USA) despite the denomination’s efforts to prevent churches from leaving with their property.
One of the most significant signs of that possibility came after discussions between congregations allied with the New Wineskins Association of Churches and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the preferred alternative for most of the congregations that have left the PCUSA in recent years.
Dr. Jeff Jeremiah, stated clerk of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, announced after that meeting that the EPC was considering establishing “transitional” presbyteries for PCUSA congregations that would like a “safe haven” without a long-term obligation.
Jeremiah is a former PCUSA pastor who once was active in Presbyterians for Biblical Concerns, a renewal organization in the United Presbyterian Church (USA) before the northern denomination reunited with the Presbyterian Church U.S. in 1983 to form the PCUSA. Presbyterians for Biblical Concerns later merged with the Covenant Fellowship to form what is now known as Presbyterians For Renewal. He was an associate pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Md., until 1987, when the congregation left the PCUSA to affiliate with the EPC.
After its convocation in July 2006, New Wineskins leaders asked General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and Moderator Joan Gray to declare a moratorium on taking disciplinary or administrative measures against leaders of congregations that are troubled by the denomination’s theological drift and discussing possible separation. But the PCUSA’s top officers rejected that appeal.
In addition, several evangelical leaders have personally asked Kirkpatrick to repudiate the “privileged and confidential” documents his lawyers prepared to enforce the denomination’s property trust clause. But Kirkpatrick has issued no repudiation of documents that evangelicals consider unchristian in content and tone.
The stated clerk’s entrenched position in enforcing the property trust clause and not ceding to a request for a moratorium has widened the rift between evangelicals and the denomination.
And the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has begun to step into the gap.
Jeremiah revealed in a Dec. 20 “Message to the EPC Community” that the EPC is considering providing a safe haven for New Wineskins congregations and other PCUSA churches.
He cited two General Assembly decisions that have increased separation possibilities – approval of the authoritative interpretation that undermines the PCUSA’s constitutional “fidelity/chastity” ordination requirement and the reception of the Trinity paper that encourages the use of alternatives to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Knowing that many evangelicals are poised to leave the PCUSA, Jeremiah said the EPC’s 2007 General Assembly will consider providing one or more “transitional” presbyteries as “safe havens” for congregations disaffiliating from the mainline denomination.
The transitional presbyteries “will allow churches interested in coming into the EPC to find a safe haven outside their current denomination as quickly and as easily as possible,” he said. “The transitional presbytery will be non-geographic, and will exist for five years. During this five-year period, the church can ‘heal’ from its departure, assess who they are and the future the Lord has for them, and learn about who we are. This five-year period also gives us time to learn about them and whether they would be a good fit for us. We’ve repeatedly described our relationship with churches in the transitional presbytery as a ‘courtship.'”
PCUSA congregations accepted in a transitional presbytery could ask to have a full relationship with the EPC at any time during a five-year period. Otherwise, “we would work together to accomplish an amicable departure,” he said.
Jeremiah pointed out that having the transitional presbytery would not prevent a congregation from entering the EPC directly, as have more than a dozen PCUSA congregations since 2002.
He gave few details about the Dec. 12-13 meeting with New Wineskins leaders. “Because of the hostile environment evangelical pastors and churches currently face in the PCUSA, at their request we cannot divulge much information about that meeting to you at this time,” he said, adding, however, that the EPC’s denominational leaders were aware of those developments.
He said he hoped to provide a report of that meeting in January. If so, Jeremiah’s report will precede the New Wineskins Convocation that is scheduled on Feb. 8 and 9 at First Presbyterian Church in Orlando. The last convocation was held at Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Tulsa. The Kirk has already left the PCUSA to align with the EPC.
New Wineskins leaders have already announced that they plan to present a report about leaving the denomination at the February convocation. The strategy team for the association issued an interim report that told the association’s 148 congregations that “prudence demands” that they take immediate steps to protect their property from PCUSA claims.
The interim report called attention to the “privileged and confidential” documents prepared by PCUSA lawyers that outline hardball legal and administrative strategies to prevent departing congregations from being able to keep their property.
The EPC was formed in 1981 by 12 congregations. Today it has 191 congregations with 90,000 members. As a denomination, the EPC sponsors 80 missionaries – a ratio of one per 1,125 members. The PCUSA sponsors 230 missionaries – one per 10,400 members.
At its convocation in July, the New Wineskins Association of Churches asked Dr. Paul Heidebrecht, the moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, to bring greetings from his denomination.
Heidebrecht, an elder at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Warrenville, Ill., received a standing, spirited applause for his remarks. He didn’t give a sales pitch, but he made it clear that the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is willing to help congregations that are considering leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA).
“Some of you have contacted our office,” he said. “We are sending packets to each of you.”
But he also said he and others in the EPC see the New Wineskins Association as a model for them in placing greater emphasis on mission.
“We want to go down the same path,” he said. “We are not satisfied with what we have done so far. We want to do [mission] and be missional in every sense of that word. In our short history, we have already created structures, habits and traditions that get in our way. We’re hopeful that as a young adult denomination we can make those changes.”