Layman column: Belief and behavior
By Stephen G. Brown, March 19, 2009
Stephen G. Brown
Chairman of the Board
of Directors and chief executive officer
of the Presbyterian Lay Committee
Scripture has a great deal to say about belief and behavior. For example:
Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only (Matthew 4:10).
But wisdom is proved right by her actions (Matthew 11:19).
Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22).
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? (James 2:14).
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone (James 2:24).
Faith and action
True faith involves action. Faith that is not put into action becomes a weak faith, if faith at all. The Ten Commandments are action oriented – commandments to do or not to do. In Luke 15 the prodigal son repented by taking action. “So he got up and went to his father” (Luke 15:20). It is what we do and not what we say that demonstrates what we believe.
In October 2008 the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Committee of the PCUSA made a staggering ruling in Sundquist, et al v. Heartland Presbytery. The ruling states that belief and behavior are distinguishable. A portion of the ruling reads:
Appointment of an administrative commission to deal with churches, sessions and pastors contemplating leaving the PCUSA does not improperly bind the conscience of church officers or pastors. Belief and behavior are distinguishable. (Emphasis added) Free expression of conscience is limited for officers and pastors under G-6.0108b. Calling congregational meetings, moving churches to seek dismissal from the denomination or obstructing constitutional governance of the church are actions, not expressions of free conscience.Congregational meetings called or conducted by sessions for the purpose of voting on dismissal without the involvement of the presbytery are improper and have no binding effect.
Blurring the line
While the church has historically distinguished belief from behavior with respect to disciplinary issues, this ruling blurred the bright line of belief verses behavior to include expressions of belief. Now disciplinary action can take place against a church session if session members merely express that they believe the denomination has gone astray and the congregation needs to discern what it should do about it. This is the case based on the recent conduct of certain presbyteries that decide to take control of churches that are considering where the Holy Spirit is leading them. These churches have spoken the unspeakable by allowing their consciences to move them to serve only Him.
Lack of faith is top down
The Sundquist ruling appears to have some noble aspects to it, such as expressing the desire for churches and presbyteries to be reconciled and reminding us that presbyteries are required to afford all persons affected by a dismissal notice an opportunity to be heard. The flow of important and accurate information within a congregation is the mark of a healthy church. But what the GAPJC does not recognize in its ruling is the church is upside down. It is the General Assembly and numerous presbyteries that have not remained faithful to the Gospel. The GAPJC does not get it with regard to reconciliation. You cannot reconcile conflicting faiths without one of them compromising what they believe. The dispute is over non-reconcilable issues, such as the deity of Christ and the authority of Scripture.
The Book of Order was written with the expectation that if anyone goes astray, it will be congregations. Unfortunately, it is not the congregations who want to leave that have abandoned the Gospel. It is the “higher” governing bodies and a minority of the congregations that have lost their way. The Sundquist ruling has usurped the authority of church sessions that are standing firm for Scripture.
Unpeaceful solution
The court is naive in expecting presbyteries to deal with discontented congregations in a pastoral way. Recent history has shown us that presbyteries are quick to form administrative commissions when they hear a church is even beginning to discuss their options. It is notable that a few presbyteries have dealt with churches in a peaceful and respectful way, but they are the exceptions rather than the rule. The expectation that presbyteries will enter into meaningful dialogue is idealistic. The court is unmindful of the fact that the level of trust between many churches and their presbytery is nil. With presbyteries given the iron fist by the Sundquist ruling, we can expect they will simply not allow congregations to bring the question of leaving to a vote.
When congregations are educated on the state of the denomination, voting to depart is almost always overwhelmingly in the affirmative. For a summary of churches that have voted to leave, see www.www.layman.org/Resources/Churches_leaving_the_PCUSA. When a congregation is in the process of leaving, the presbytery looks for the “true church.” This is done so the presbytery can argue in court that the “true church” should have use of the property. In the Sundquist case, the “true church” was defined by the presbytery as “those wishing to remain loyal to the PCUSA.” Institutional loyalty was placed above loyalty to Jesus Christ. Jesus is not mentioned in the definition of the true church.
Overzealous loyalists
No true Christian wants to see denominations crumble. It is sad to observe overzealous institutional loyalists showing little compassion for those who are not in the so-called “true church.” The priority of these loyalists is to hold on to churches no matter the cost. And the cost is very high. The breakup of church congregations is traumatic and disheartening when it occurs. The spreading of the Gospel is diminished and families and friends are often scattered. And Christ is dishonored because we do not show the world what we believe by how we act.
Stephen G. Brown is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Haines City, Florida. He is chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee.