(By Chuck Wiggins, The Presbyterian Outlook). “I often wonder what kind of shape the Presbyterian Church would be in today if the Orthodox Presbyterians, the PCA, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and ECO had not departed,” mused Joseph D. Small, former Presbyterian Church (USA.) Theology & Worship director.
Those particularly thought provoking words came during the recent Presbyterian Scholars Conference held October 18-19 at Wheaton College in Illinois.
A glimpse of that musing was evident as 30 scholars from various streams of the Presbyterian enterprise gathered to offer papers and exchange remarks on “the future of American Presbyterianism.”
From my perspective, the spirit and the tenor of the conference with scholars from the PC(USA), OPC, EPC, and ECO under one roof during both the lectures and at table during meals was — how shall I say it — downright genial.
Headlining a list of outstanding scholars besides Small, included Bradley Longfield of University of Dubuque Theological Seminary; OPC historian extraordinaire and Hillsdale College professor Darryl Hart; and George Marsden, distinguished professor from Notre Dame University and arguably the premier historian of American church history.
Perhaps the highlight of the conference was the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of Longfield’s groundbreaking work, “The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists & Moderates.” Longfield’s award-winning book has been widely regarded by Presbyterians of all theological stripes as an even-handed analysis of the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the 1920s and 1930s and their aftermath. (In my opinion, previous historical narratives by mainline P’s have largely tended to dismiss departing conservatives as simplistic cranks; while the “split P’s” have approached their forbears uncritically with a kind of surreal, hagiographic reverence.)
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As successive GA’s meet, Joe Small seems to be the “grounded” one. I miss reports of his thought and guidance from the time he spent at Louisville. Since his retirement, I appreciate reading his articles and reports of his lectures.
This episode demonstrates what happens in any ecumenical gathering with the PCUSA, when they do not control the setting and agenda. Their first, and only reflex when they enter any room is do a head count according to race, gender, orientation and simply divide the room into their tribes and identity groups they are comfortable with. And that is the extent of their curiosity, thought, and intellect. Now what exactly the PCUSA contingent took home or added to the event was questionable considering they did not have their usual forum to lecture, cajole, or otherwise dominate the discussion.
Pondering “what if” the divisions in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its predecessor denominations over the past hundred years had not occurred is a futile exercise. Barring a radical movement of the Holy Spirit (or a movement toward radical compromising to the world on behalf of the “Split Ps”), none of the denominations that have separated will ever merge with the PC(USA).
And for that matter, mergers between the various Evangelical Presbyterian denominations (ECO, EPC, OPC, PCA) seems highly unlikely. The two that, at least on paper, seem closest together theologically—the OPC and the PCA—made two failed attempts at a merger in the 1980s but have made no attempts since. Both hold the Scriptures to be inerrant; both hold to the Westminster Standards, with only the earliest American amendments implemented, as their sole doctrinal standard (and require all officers to “sincerely receive and adopt” them “as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scripture”); both hold, on the authority of Scripture (I Cor. 11.3-16, 14.34-35, I Tim. 2.8-3.13), that women should not be ordained to the offices of elder (teaching or ruling) or deacon; and both hold unswervingly to historic Presbyterian distinctive doctrines, such as Covenant Theology and the Calvinist/Augustinian interpretation of the doctrines of Predestination. and yet, given the great disparity in size (the PCA has a membership of 370,000, whereas the OPC has a membership of only about 31,000) and the difference in culture between the two denominations, despite the great doctrinal agreement between them, the two remain separate to this day, and there are no efforts to bring the two together into a single denomination. However, divisions over the ordination of women or looser doctrinal standards inherent in the ECO’s adoption of the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions (except Belhar) will likely keep the EPC merging with either the PCA or the ECO anytime soon.
To be sure, organizational unity in the Church is a laudable goal. After all, the Lord Jesus prayed that all who believe in Him through the testimony of His Apostles would be one (Jn. 17.20-21), and the Apostle Paul taught that there is only one Body—the Church (Rom. 12.4-5, Eph. 4.4-6)—and spoke against sectarianism within the Church (I Cor. 1.10-17, 3.1-6). However, to suppose that organizational unity can be achieved without adequately addressing the reasons for the divisions will lead to more division, as the history of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has tragically demonstrated. Divisions over union with the PCUSA in 1958 and the UPCUSA in 1983 existed within the UPCNA and the PCUS prior to those unions and were not adequately addressed, ultimately resulting in the formation of the PCA, the EPC, and the ECO. So, too, will any attempt to “imagine” a reunion among the so-called “Split-Ps” without adequately addressing the deep-seated divisions between them.