Will relocate ministry headquarters from Lenoir, North Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee
The Presbyterian Lay Committee, a Christian theological renewal ministry begun in 1965 and headquartered in Lenoir, North Carolina for the past 25 years, will be making strategic and geographic moves this fall.
“Remarkable advances in publishing technology and the advent of social media have not only transformed the means by which ministries publish their material, but also the very nature of how we communicate with the world at large,” said Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president and executive editor of the PLC since 2009. “When you also take into account the shifting theological and denominational landscapes in which the PLC operates, the board of directors determined that now is the time to make strategic plans for the future.”
The Presbyterian Lay Committee began in 1965 with influential businessmen from across the nation who loved the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible, their Reformed heritage, and the Presbyterian Church. They became concerned that the foundations of the faith were being eroded away by liberalism, and the PLC was their way of coming together to sound the alarm. Through its flagship newspaper, The Layman, the PLC has been informing and equipping Presbyterians for nearly 50 years. At the peak of its circulation, The Layman reached 500,000 households.
Although the ministry located its headquarters in Lenoir, North Carolina for the past twenty-five years, the scope of its outreach has always been national. The strategic restructuring will include both the cessation of the print edition of The Layman at year-end and also the closing of the Lenoir office. Going forward, much of the organizational infrastructure will be digital, several new staff members will work from remote locations, support functions will be outsourced, and a streamlined headquarters will be established in Nashville, Tennessee.
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If you’d like more information, or to schedule an interview with Carmen Fowler LaBerge,
call Jessica Lalley at (404) 273-4968, or email: jessica@jessicalalley.com.
The website for the Presbyterian Lay Committee is www.layman.org.
29 Comments. Leave new
Since its inception PLC has certainly played an important role in the PC(USA) but it’s hard to see much of a role for it in the future. The PC(USA) is going to continue shrinking to a membership of 1 million or less (down from a peak of 4.1 million) at which point it will be exclusively progressive, only vaguely Christian and situated on the far left wing fringe of Presbyterianism. At that point the Layman will be a lonely voice to which no one is listening.
Exactly the thought I had upon seeing this article.
As a veteran of the newspaper publishing business myself, I nod in sympathy at the decision and the restructuring. Printing and mailing newspapers is hard and expensive. Even general circulation newspapers are looking for ways to print less paper, while making their content available in every possible way online. That’s where the readers and advertisers are going.
The good news of this is that it potentially makes the PLC more limber, especially if it will use the money saved for more digital outreach efforts, producing more and more theological help for congregations and sessions in the early stages of seeking dismissal.
1. Coverage of the continuing drift in PCUSA’s theology and adherence to its own Confessions and Book of Order remains vital because it highlights why churches are leaving (or should) for other Presbyterian denominations. It’s important to strengthen the faith and resolve of those PCUSA members that have joined the Fellowship of Presbyterians. So, please keep that up!
2. Churches don’t want to flee FROM the PCUSA so much as they want to fee TO something better. Tracking the growth, the ministry and progress of ECO and EPC particularly, and encouraging them to become a more attractive and worthwhile destination will become even more important than #1.
3. Nashville is a happenin’ town!
All good insights, Joe, but everyone across the spectrum understands (or should understand) that it’s just a matter of time before the gay marriage issue evolves from discretion to coercion just as the women’s ordination issue did. At that point the last remnant of evangelicals will leave, the PC(USA) will be exclusively progressive on the far left wing fringe of Presbyterianism and the work of the Lay Committee will be over.
JC – Some of your characterization seems about right, but some other things not so much. As noted on another thread, I don’t necessarily buy into the whole “progressive/conservative” dichotomy, but if we accept that (for the sake of argument), then back in the 1960s, there were maybe 4.5 million presbyterians spread among north and south and other small denominations. Maybe 1 million of those are people you would have called “progressive”. Now there is the PCUSA @ 1.7 million in which a majority are people you are calling progressives – probably still about a million, and just a few hundred thousand spread among conservative denominations. So even now, based on the assumptions made by people who promote this whole progressive/conservative idea, the progressives and conservatives are in rough parity, whereas decades ago (you believe that) conservatives greatly outnumbered progressives. I rather doubt the prediction that ALL of those you call non-progressives will eventually drift away from the PCUSA and leave an “all progressive” million. But even if that happens, how could you possibly describe such a group as “far left wing fringe of Presbyterianism,” since that one group – the PCUSA – would be half of “presbyterianism” – and if the trend of the last 5 decades continues they will be much more than half of “presbyterianism.” You may need to look up the difference between “fringe” and “majority.”
Not to mention that some of those issues on which Laymen readers want to characterize the PCUSA as “far left” are economic – an area in which the PCUSA is pretty much in agreement with not only other mainline protestants, but also the statements of the current leader of the church of Rome. On the other social issues, the mainline protestants differ greatly from the catholic hierarchy, but are pretty consistent with a very significant minority of American catholic laity. Your idea of “fringe” is, well…
Describing the PCUSA group you envision as “vaguely Christian” – I suppose you can do that if you wish, but the history of self-appointed judges on who is and who is not authentically Christian is not pretty. But supporters of this site always want to go there, so there it is.
I would agree that it is hard to see much of a role for the PLC in the future. Although since its primary role in the past has been to stir up controversy, I suppose there is always a place for that.
To The Presbyterian Lay Committee,
Thanks for putting up with us, and letting us vent.
God Bless
“But even if that happens, how could you possibly describe such a group as “far left wing fringe of Presbyterianism,” since that one group – the PCUSA – would be half of “presbyterianism” – and if the trend of the last 5 decades continues they will be much more than half of “presbyterianism.” You may need to look up the difference between “fringe” and “majority.””
You may need to look up the difference between the numbers 5 decades ago, and the numbers now. From 4.5 million, this year the PC(USA) will be down to less than 1.7, and if the numbers of churches in the pipeline to leave are subtracted, I suspect it’ll be 1.5 million.
Then as members wake up to the lack of Scriptural authority being preached from their pulpits, and the current ‘local option’ for SSM becomes Kenyonized, I suspect what Jim said about the far left fringe of Presbyterianism will come to pass.
Oh wait, the PC(USA) IS currently the far left fringe of American Presbyterian and Reformed congregations.
“Describing the PCUSA group you envision as “vaguely Christian” – seems to be something you don’t want to do. That raises a couple of quesitons: The first, are we to judge the salvation of any individuals? The answer to that really is no. However, there are some caveats to that no answer. We are able to understand the person’s verbal professions of faith, and if their profession of faith denies Christ, then it is probably fair to question their salvation. On a personal level, the response is to either share the gospel with them, or if they are Christian with really really bad theology to lovingly correct them. For individuals, we can also see fruit of their behavior, and even the PCUSA Book of Order allows for discipline. That’s always been a hallmark of the Christian Church, and even Christ himself addressed individuals. The second quesiton has to do with judging an organization, is it Christian or does it stand for Christian (or Reformed) truths? That has been The Layman’s focus. The role of the PLC has NOT been to stir up controversy, though within the denomination one can say they did. When the PCUSA ordains someone who denies the resurrection, and they have, there is no controversy, the PCUSA is wrong and unChristian. At that point, they are not even vaguely Christian. There is clearly a place for true Christians ito speak out within a Christian organization about the anti-Biblical positions that it takes. That’s the role the PLC has taken, and it is appropriate. I realize there are issues of disagreement that true Christians do disagree on. For the PCUSA (UPC and PCUS) since 1960’s there has been a steady drift (undeniable) from the reformed heritage of Presbyterianism. There is room to speak out on those issues too, though the fight is lost in the PCUSA over Biblical Theology and Reformed Theology, as the PCUSA doesn’t really seem to care about it, though there may be some churches staying that are “evangelical” whatever that means today. There can even be a discussion about the drift of the mainline Presbyterians dating back to the beginning of the last century and the founding of the OPC, but that’s another story.
My comments on this thread were two or three sentences each. It’s a little hard to address pres, Reformed Catholic and Doug all of whom weighed in with short novels but I appreciate your thoughtful responses and I’ll take a stab at it.
First, my contention that the PC(USA) will eventually be only vaguely Christian is a prediction about a denomination, certainly not about any person’s personal spiritual/religious conviction. Nothing is more clear in Scripture than that a person’s standing with God is between the person and God far outside the purview of anyone else to judge. But it’s clear to anyone paying attention that the PC(USA) is gradually evolving in the direction of a vague, amorphous form of Christianity. One of the largest, most prominent PC(USA) churches was recently searching for a new senior pastor. There was zero indication in the church’s job description that a candidate should be a Christian or show any aptitude for introducing people to Jesus or even that the job description was the job description of the pastor of a Christian church. Several years ago a large PC(USA) church engaged in a year long project of self reflection and updating its mission statement. The final 15-page report mentioned God once. Jesus was nowhere to be found. A fair minded reading of the report would conclude that it’s a very fine church comprised of a large number of very fine people doing a lot of very fine things. But whatever it is they’re doing, based on thousands of hours of the congregation’s own self-reflection, has very little to do with Jesus Christ.
Second, unless there is some dramatic intervention of the Holy Spirit, I can’t see any future for the PC(USA) except a small, exclusively progressive group on the far left wing fringe of Presbyterianism. Non-PC(USA) Presbyterians (EPC, PCA, ECO) will gradually back fill the broad middle of the spectrum being vacated by the PC(USA). Non-PC(USA) Presbyterians have already moved ahead of the PC(USA) on important measures of vitality such as per capita giving, new church development and foreign missions activity.
I have no idea where you get the idea that the Layman is the ‘printed voice’ of the PC(USA). That sir, is the magazine, Presbyterians Today. It presumes to speak for ‘all’ Presbyterians, as if PC(USA) members are the only Presbyterians in the US.
Could you clarify exactly what you’re trying to say ??
How telling. The PLC was started by “influential businessmen.” Read rich grumpy folks.
Re-trenching—read falling out of influence as they are just grumpy losers.
Good bye and good riddance.
Amused – Please read something on the life of Charles Simeon. He was a great man.
Here’s one definition of the word “troll”. It is pertinent to this comment thread, and some others recently on this web site;
“In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”
rather judgmental don’t you think. quite often i’ll read an article and something comes to mind that might be a bit ‘off topic’ but generally in the same ball park. if someone takes the time and effort to write a comment generally they’re not doing it maliciously, there are plenty of more amusing ways to spend one’s time on the internet, and frankly there’s not enough traffic here for this to be classified as a target for malicious activity. thank you for the enlightening definition, i had no idea what the term meant, kept seeing the word used on this site.
“Good bye and good riddance.”
How very inclusive of you.
The PLC has always been the tea party of the church. It has used half truths and innuendo to advance its agenda.
Twenty years ago, I encountered a GA Moderator and thanked him for his service. I asked him about the hardest part of being Moderator. He told me it was dealing with the PLC. He commented the PLC often lied about every matter and distorted the truth. Telling.
For the PLC the devil has always been in the adjectives, liberal, left-leaning, communist-style, authoritarian, influential, etc.
In one article it described a pastor who was removed by a presbytery for misconduct. The presbytery could not respond due to privacy and confidentiality concerns, but the PLC made it look like a sinister plot against a conservative. I knew the pastor and the situation, It was a simple case of journalistic overreach on the part of the PLC. It was not an isolated incident, but common smear tactics.
If you read this article carefully, the PLC is shutting down. There are no longer the “influential” businessmen who will fund this enterprise.
if you take the time to do the research, as some of us have, it’s quite remarkable the way this audience has been played, and continues to be played, in my humble opinion. this organization was originally set up to instigate infighting within the PCUSA, tear it down from within. not every word of criticism should be taken as noninclusive, but i tend to agree with you, when dealing with folks of all inclusive mindset like you the only thing to do is put you on one’s prayer list; words mean next to nothing, as evidenced by rejection of the ultimate authority.
May 30, 2011|4:23 pm
A group of conservative Presbyterians has put out advertisements in major news publications asking congregations to reconsider their relationship with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The ad by the Presbyterian Lay Committee directs readers to a petition where they can declare their stance against the PC(USA)’s liberal direction.
“I grieve over the apparent departure of the Presbyterian Church (USA) from these Scriptural truths, and I am estranged from its policies and programs that do not affirm Christ alone, Scripture alone and the holy institution of marriage alone as the divinely ordained context for human sexual activity,” part of the petition reads.
The ads have run in The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Houston Chronicle.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune, however, rejected the ad.
According to The Layman, which is run by the Presbyterian Lay Committee, the Star Tribune required the removal of two lines from the ad in order to run in the paper.
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The two lines state: “Why does the PC(USA) no longer require its ordained leaders to limit their sexual activity to Christian marriage?” and “Why has the PC(USA) abandoned Scripture and 2,000 years of Christian faith and moral teaching?”
Carmen Fowler LaBerge, president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, called out the newspaper for its hypocrisy.
“Ironically, this is a paper that prides itself in its ‘tolerance.’ The Star Tribune vaunts the First Amendment as its guiding light and tolerance as its north star,” she wrote in The Layman.
Yet the paper had a recent editorial expressing opposition to a marriage amendment in Minnesota that affirms traditional marriage.
“So, tolerance has now become unashamedly intolerant,” LaBerge stated.
“Increasingly, the only viewpoint welcome in the public square is that of self-declared inclusivists. Those who hold other viewpoints are castigated as bigoted exclusivists. And further, anyone who doesn’t welcome every idea is now excluded from participation in the public debate by blatant censorship.
“All this in the name of tolerance: the very people who claim to be the most tolerant are thus actually exposed as the most intolerant of all.”
This isn’t the first time that the Presbyterian Lay Committee has run ads. Several decades ago when the PC(USA) was considering a new confession that some felt reduced the Bible to everyday literature, the lay committee decided to make their concerns public by sponsoring full-page advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other major publications.
Amused must live in a state where the trust clause is not legally recognized.
Judgmental? Browse the new comments made in this thread and see what you think.
Amused chortles over what he sees as the demise of the PLC. But he fails to grasp that the reason the PLC will eventually go out of business is because the PC(USA) will come close to going out of business. When the PC(USA) sat astride the broad middle of the theological spectrum, there was a role for the PLC advocating for historic orthodoxy. But now that the PC(USA) is shrinking to the far left wing of Presbyterianism, exclusively progressive and only vaguely Christian, there won’t be anything left for the PLC to advocate. Meanwhile non-PC(USA) Presbyterians (EPC, PCA, ECO) will back fill the space in the middle being vacated by the PC(USA) and non-PC(USA) Presbyterians will become the inheritors of the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Although there won’t be much of a role for the PLC once these realignments are complete, the PLC certainly deserves credit for its role in facilitating these realignments which will be a blessing for the larger cause of Christ because all Presbyterians across the spectrum will be more effective in mission when they’re unfettered by bickering with each other. So I’m not sure what Amused is so delighted about. The PC(USA) will end up a tiny group on the far left wing with zero influence while the PLC goes out of business with its mission accomplished.
Like other participants in this conversation I, too, cringed years ago at the harsh, mean-spirited tone of much of the PLC’s rhetoric. But those critics should be gracious enough to acknowledge that the PLC has moderated its tone in recent years and stop whipping that dead horse.
i think it’s a woman, not sure, with two horns sticking up out of it’s head.
anyone who reads that stuff has been given fair warning. i don’t call that trolling, she/he tells you the truth right up front in the photo. complain to the admin folks to get blocked if the caption bothers you that much. just an observation, i find it amusing that the so called legitimate folks here are talking incessantly about money and real estate, civil legal issues. personally i consider that to be much more offensive, i thought this was supposed to be a Christian website.
@Jim Caraher—there is no chortle in my comments. And what do my comments have to do with living in a state with a trust clause. In fact I do, but it is not germane to my comments.
I too at times wonder if those are horns on Sigrid. Maybe a hair style. Then again maybe Pres and Sigrid one in the same person? You never know. But I will say this for the Layman site, it does bring out some interesting folks.
What the internet, blogs, social media, e-print journalism has done is effect traditional print medium in two ways, greatly reduced if not killed add space and prices for, also reduced the relative “news” value of such legacy platforms, PLC an example. You can get news, data, info on from a universe of places now. So as the cost model of the print business becomes inverted, so a group like the PLC seeks cost containment and reduced overhead. Very common story.
As far as how this news is reflective of the relative states of the PCUSA, vs ECO vs EPC, vs whatever. Not important. The PCUSA, the OGA, Tropical Florida, Israel, abortion, LGBT, all things PCUSA is like the gift that keeps on giving. Like forever. And there will always be stuff to comment on until they go to zero, about 40 years or so.
That’s actually not the person I was referring to, but I guess I’ve said enough on this subject.
Peter Gregory, I think Sigrid is Andrew (although, the horns idea has merit…).
the same thing crossed my mind, Sigrid=Andrew. the writing style is very similar.
I have randomly pondered this strategic restructuring over the past few weeks. Some of the folks in the parishes I serve or connect with read The Layman; they are usually widows, white, and have some discretionary charitable income. They speak with fervor and favor of “Carmen !” (Mrs. LaBerge)
I suspect a minimal headquarters in Nashville will serve well as there are more support services available there than in Lenoir. I also suspect that a print edition will continue because many of the readers and financial supporters pf the PLC/The Layman are older folks who thrive on print media. Lacking the reminder of the PLC/The Layman on a regular basis by mail, they will cease giving. I do not think the younger readers, supporters will make up for he revenue shortfall.
The board of the PLC will be continually confronting the ongoing problem of declining circulation, waning support, and diminishing influence.
I am curious how this will play out and if my suspicions prove correct.
Regarding “At the peak of its circulation, The Layman reached 500,000 households.”
I think this is a deceptive statistic.
I was a Commissioner to the General Assembly about 12 years ago. In the month before attending, I received LOTS of literature from conservative sources. Included among them was a copy of the Layman, which has continued to arrive at my home address, unbidden, unpaid, unread. It goes directly to my trash can along with other junk mail, because they continued to send it after I wrote to ask them to stop.
The audience for the Layman have left the PCUSA. I think the whole shebang should move over to ECO and be needle in their side. Speaking of ECO, the reason I’m on this site today is that I’m trying to get a list of the PCUSA churches that joined it, by presbytery. Is that available anywhere? I need accurate statistics for my dissertation.