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The Confessions as Statements of the Faith of the Church Catholic – In its confessions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) witnesses to the faith of the Church catholic.  The confessions express the faith of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church in the recognition of canonical Scriptures and the formulation and adoption of the ecumenical creeds, notably the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds with their definitions of the mystery of the triune God and of the incarnation of the eternal Word of God in Jesus Christ.

The Confessions as Satements of the Faith of the Protestant Reformation – In its confessions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) upholds the affirmations of the Protestant Reformation.  The focus of these affirmations is God’s grace in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures.  The Protestant watchwords – grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone – embody principles of understanding that continue to guide and motivate the people of God in the life of faith.

The Confessions as Statements of the Faith of the Reformed Tradition – In its confessions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) expresses the faith of the Reformed tradition.  Central to this tradition is the affirmation of the majesty, holiness, and providence of God who in Christ and by the power of the Spirit creates, sustains, rules, and redeems the world in the freedom of sovereign righteousness and love.  Related to this central affirmation of God’s sovereignty are other great themes of the Reformed tradition:  The election of the people of God for service as well as for salvation; Covenant life makred by a disciplined concern for order in the church according to the Word of God; A faithful stewardship that shuns ostentation and seeks proper use of the gifts of God’s creation; and The recognition of the human tendency to idolatry and tyranny, which calls the people of God to work for the transformation fo society by seeking justice and living in obedience to the Word of God.

The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  Part II: Book of Order, 2011-2013

And so tomorrow we will begin a conversation about so what does all of this mean for us, for the way we live in creation, and the way we live in relationship with others.

Grace and peace

Yesterday’s post considered the “standards for ordained service” as described in the current Book of Order section G-2.0104b.  In this post we continue our study by giving consideration to the next section G-2.0105 which reads as follows:

It is necessary to the integrity and health of the church that the persons who serve it in ordered ministries shall adhere to the essentials of the Reformed faith and polity as expressed in this Constitution.  So far as may be possible without serious departure from these standards, without infringing on the rights and views of others, and without obstructing the constitutional governance of the church, freedom of conscience with respect to the interpretation of Scripture is to be maintained.  It is to be recognized, however, that in entering the ordered ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one chooses to exercise freedom of conscience within certain bounds.  His or her conscience is captive to the Word of God as interpreted in the standards of the church so long as he or she contiues to seek, or serve in, ordered ministry.  The decision as to whether a person has departed from essentials of Reformed faith and polity is made initially by the individual concerned but ultimately becomes the responsibility of the council in which he or she is a member.

The following footnote is added to this section:

Very early in the history of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, even before the General Assembly was established, the plan of reunion of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia contained the following sentences: ‘That when any matter is determined by a majority vote, every member shall actively concur with or passively submit to such determination; or if his conscience permit him to do neither, he shall, after sufficient liberty modestly to reason and remonstrate, peaceable withdraw from our communion without attempting to make any schism.  Provided always that this shall be understood to extend only to such determination as the body shall judge indispensable in doctrine or Presbyterian government.

Tomorrow’s post will give consideration to the third vow that is taken at the time of ordination:  Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?

Grace and peace

Over the last almost two years many conversations in our denomination – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – have been dominated by discussion of what is known as “Amendment 10-A” – a constitutional amendment approved by the General Assembly of our denomination in July of 2010, in-turn approved by a majority of our presbyteries, and now section G-2.0104b in our Book of Order.  Throughout this time and process I have been struck by the number of people who have entered into these discussions having never read – by their own admission – the actual language of the amendment, but relying solely on what they assumed it stated or what others – including publications and press releases – had told them about what it said.

The remainder of the posts on this blog this week – one each day – will be dedicated to a prayerful and thoughtful conversation about this section of our Book of Order.  Today we begin with only the actual wording of this section:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.  The council responsible for ordination and/or installation shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of ordered ministry.  The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation.  Councils shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying stardards to individual candidates.

Tomorrow’s post will consider the implications of the section that follows this section G-2.0105 Freedom of Conscience.

I hope you will join the conversation!

Grace and peace

Following is a summary report of a conference that was held in Dallas, TX toward the end of February, 2012.  In this post I offer it as beacon of light and hope and will comment further during my coming posts.

NEXT leaders map out next steps

March 8, 2012

At a recent meeting I was privileged to re-acquaint myself with a wonderful DVD that I had not seen for some twenty years – a presentation by Dr. Jack Rogers – Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith and Presbyterian Creeds: a Historical Tour.  As part of his presentation Dr. Rogers speaks of a book that he wrote – Presbyterian Creeds: A Guide to the Book of Confessions* – as Cliffs Notes to The Book of Confessions which, in turn, is Cliffs Notes to the Bible.

Painfully, it reminded me of an earlier time in my life when I could see no reason why reading Cliffs Notes (and yes I am old enough to remember it as Cliff’s Notes) would not be as useful as reading the entire book that had been assigned for a particular class and later being absolutely amazed that one or more of the questions that my professor asked on the exam concerned something that was not included in the summary version of the story that I had read – or at least skimmed.  Happily, over time I began to appreciate that reading the entire book is not really all that different from learning a complete musical composition rather than just the main themes.

In my sixty plus years of living I have often experienced people making reference to a limited portion of the Bible as if as little as a single verse told the complete story of God’s Word.  Recently I have started speaking about that practice as “cherry picking the apple tree” – a practice of taking a verse or a section and using it completely or partially out of context to prove a particular point or practice.

I do not make any claims about my thorough knowledge of the Bible, but I do appreciate the need to always give my best effort to read in context – always reading a larger section than just the selection of verses that I am considering for a particular presentation, sermon, or article.  I also try to always remember to follow the advice offered during a class at seminary to read as if I am reading for the first time – avoiding the likely pitfalls that will follow a statement like “I already know what that says!”

Again I am grateful for the teaching that I received at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary as summarized in President Wardlaw’s recent lead article in the current edition of Insights**.

“The approach to scripture at the heart of Austin Seminary’s curriculum and mission stands humbly under the authority of scripture.  It (1) recognizes that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, the center of scripture; (2) depends on the guidance of the Holy Spirit in interpreting and applying scriptrue; (3) is guided by the doctrinal consensus of the church; (4) places all interpretations of scripture under the rule of love – to love God and neighbor; (5) assumes earnest study of the historical and cultural context influencing the text; and (6) seeks to interpret a particular passage in light of the whole Bible.” (9)

Just my thought for the day – grace and peace – and let us all try to live under the rule of love!!

*http://www.amazon.com/Presbyterian-Creeds-Guide-Book-Confessions/dp/0664254969/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332777979&sr=8-1

**http://www.austinseminary.edu/page.cfm?p=1439

Yesterday I completed my reading of The Underground Church by Robin Meyers* – a wonderfully exquisite and compelling book that EVERYONE should have the privilege of reading in the coming days and weeks.

Toward the end of the book Robin offers the following descriptive language that describes his vision for the Underground Church:

“When the Underground Church gathers, it may be in a traditional church building or in a retreat center.  It may be in people’s homes or in coffee chops.  It may march under the banner of classical Christian liturgy and music, or it may march to the beat of a compoletely differend drummer.  It may employ ordained ministers or be led by devoted laypersons with a vision of what it means to love God and neighbor.  But it will stand out in a world of hyperpolemics and partisan rancor by quietly demonstrating that what is born of love and acts in love can always unite what is divided by human conceptions of purity.  Conservatives and liberals alike will find their religious and political identitites taking a backseat to their desire to love this world, to heal this world, to live as gracious members of one human family.

The Underground Church is not a building but meets as a joyful collection of grateful souls, knowing how much we do not know – but knowing enough about the redemptive power of love to invite everyone into the conversation.  We may not pray the same way, sing the same songs, or agree on what constitutes a ‘great’ sermon.  But this much we know:  God requires justice for all creation, and hospitality is an open table, with enough for everyone and no reserved seating.” (243)

E’en so Lord Jesus quickly come.  Amen – so let it be!

*http://www.amazon.com/The-Underground-Church-Reclaiming-Subversive/dp/1118061594/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332678893&sr=1-1

Yesterday I received the current issue of Insights: The Faculty Journal of Austin Seminary in the mail.  Today I was blessed to have some quality time to begin reading this marvelous publication.  The focus of this issue is The Church Faces Schism and the lead article was written by President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary The Reverend Dr. Theodore J. Wardlaw and carries the title “A Bad Spirit Has Risen Among Us.”

Once again I pause to offer gratitude for the opportunity that was afforded to me to attend Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and for the loving, academic excellence, and relationships – with faculty, staff, and other students – that became part of my life during my three years as a student and during the months and years since my graduation in 2008.

This issue of Insights represents the standard of excellence which has almost always been part of my experience at the seminary, and I would recommend without hesitation that EVERYONE should take the time to read Dr. Wardlaw’s thoughtful and compelling article.  It is available for reading by going to http://www.austinseminary.edu/page.cfm?p=1439.

The Editor of Insight, Cynthia Rigby, the W. C. Brown Professor of Theology, clearly states the purpose of this volume in her introductory remarks: “This issue of Insights is not devoted to debating ordination standards.  It is, instead, committed to our thinking together about what it would mean to stay united, as a church, even with our different views.”

I strongly urge each of you to find your way to this important publication, and especially this outstanding opening article.  Rather than summarizing Ted’s message as part of this post I prefer to let you see and hear his words for yourselves.  Also I am anxious to finish the article by Thomas White Currie III and continue with the other inclusions in this publication.  I am quite certain that I will be writing additional future posts that are stimulated by this publication.

With great respect and humility I conclude this post with two final quotations from the opening article. 

The first from Tom Are, Jr. as offered by Wardlaw: “It is far better when our friendships with one another shapes how we deal with issues, rather than issues determining who our friends. are.” (11)

And finally these words by Dr. Wardlaw: I end this essay by inviting all of us to practice something which, if we are left to our own devices, is not possible.  But because of God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ, I invite us all to resolve once more to practice the unnatural thing that he showed us – an incarnational love, a love that sees the face, a church that is not, finally, an institution, but a set of relationships.  ‘Will you be a friend in ministry?’ goes the vow.  And over and over again, we have answerd, ‘I will.'” (12)

Will we?

Grace and peace

Statistics provide a valuable tool for analysis.  They offer an objective snapshot of a particular time and place and, over a period of time, a means of comparison to reveal trends and patterns.  However, just like isolated verses from the Bible,they can also be utilized to prove a particular point that may be limited in perspective – and, I believe, that statistics can be dangerous without interpretation by human dialogue and interaction looking at a matter from the vantage point of multiple interpretations and points of view.  More about that in future posts.

Recently, I attended a presentation made by a respected colleague and friend about the state of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  He outlined a series of statistics that indeed are very disturbing – decline in membership – decline in number of baptisms – decline in number of congregations – trends that are not unique to our denomination – trends that are shared by many.  He observes that our denomination is “deathly ill.”  I agree with his assessment of the current state of the church.  The statistics paint a very bleak picture and the patient – our denomination and others – is in need of intensive care.

However – his prescription for the path to follow into the future and mine are very very different!

His solution – one shared by many of our colleagues and friends – calls for a need to tighten our boundaries and limit our diversity, and, once again, to move away from “unity” in the direction of “uniformity.”

Many of us – including me – believe that the only solution for this illness is for us to practice what we preach and to follow Jesus as disciples with actions more than restrictive rules – or laws.

My experience and ministry have taught me that people – over years and years of time – have moved away from organized religion because they hear a message of radical love yet are often treated with practices of exclusion, judgment, and limitation – are told that “all” are welcome but that a person will be refused consideration for leadership until they affirm a set of standards that are defended with evidence that is narrowed by fear and anxiety.

For many years I have quoted a set of hymn lyrics by Fred Kaan.  I encourage you to follow this link to learn more about the life and work of this remarkable man – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/fred-kaan-minister-and-celebrated-hymn-writer-1809481.html.  In my opinion – his text “Help Us Accept Each Other” – http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/PH/358 – is worthy of consideration as a confessional standard for the church.  Without any doubt or reservation the second stanza beautifully and powerfully summarizes my thoughts on loving inclusion and offers what I believe is the only way that the church will ever be able to reverse its sad decline:

Teach us, O Lord, Your lessons,
As in our daily life
We struggle to be human
And search for hope and faith
Teach us to care for people,
For all, not just for some,
To love them as we find them
Or as they may become.

This discussion will continue.  I hope you will join the conversation.

Grace and peace

Several times since I started blogging I had something that I knew needed to be said at that particular time but had a difficult time finding words that would appropriately express my thoughts.  On several of those occasions within the same day I was blessed to find the right words in a Daily Meditation from Father Richard Rohr from the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque.  Today that has happened yet again – so – with deep humility and gratitude I borrow some of Father Richard’s words about love.  If you do nothing else – I strongly suggest that you find your way to http://cacradicalgrace.org/ the website for the Center today and become a subscriber of Father Richard’s Daily Meditations.  Your life will be enriched if you do.

“Jesus commanded us to love, so we know it is not just a felling, since you cannot command feelings.  Love is a decision.

Jesus did not say: When you get healed, love; When you grow up, love; When you feel loving, love; When you get it together and have dealt with all your mother/father/husband/children wounds, then you are able to love.

No, the commandment for all of us is to LOVE now.

I think we know the love of God is within us when we ourselves can ‘do love’ much more than when people tell us we are loveable (that just feels good!).  We can always disbelieve the second, but the first is an unexplainable power from Beyond ourselves.  We know we are being used, and the ‘Living Water is flowing’ through us (John 7:38).  Daily Meditation from March 18, 2012

In this time of great fear and anxiety love – God’s love – most surely is the only remedy that is sure – so – with Father Richard let our prayer be: “I am falling into Love.”

Grace and peace

Early in The Underground Church* Robin Meyers writes the following:

Forgive me for “talking this talk,” but if one intends to communicate, one must begin where the listeners live and then create a new hearing.  For our purposes, a religious “conservative” is someone who believes that faith is primarily a belief system mediated by an infallible Bible.  The reward for believing the right things is forgiveness of sins and certain knowledge of eternal life.

A religious liberal, in contrast, is someone who believes that faith is primarily about the transformation of self and society through the wisdom of spiritual truth.  Liberals emphasize inclusion, social justice, and resist all exclusive religious claims.

These differences are real, but also vastly oversimplified in an age where the media holds our attention by arranging for people on “both sides” of any issue to sit down across the table from one another and get into a fight as soon as possible.  In the church it is no different.  We have so long defined ourselves by who and what we are not that we have almost forgotten entirely who and what we are — a strange, peculiar, and dangerous people. (14-15)

I have often heard that “Christians are known by their love” – and everytime I hear that said, or sung, I say to myself – “Really?”  That may well be the words that we say, but, sadly, my observations teach me that love is not very high on the list of things we regularly do or practice.  Maybe it is time to step back and ask the question “Who are we?” which also requires answering “Whose are we?”  Rather than answering liberal or conservative or orthodox or progressive we might better answer “Disciples of Jesus Christ” and then build the patterns of our life actions around the teaching words of Jesus as reported in The Gospel According to Mark, chapter 12, verses 29 – 31:

Jesus answered, “The first [commandment] is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.’  The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no other commandment greater than these.”

It seems to me that if we spend our time loving God and loving others that many of the words and actions that lead us to fear, anxiety, and confrontation will no longer place us on different sides of a deep and dark chasm of mistrust.

Then maybe the words that Tertullian used to describe the early Christians – “Look,” they say, “how they love one another” (for they themselves hate one another); “and how they are ready to die for each other” (for they themselves are readier to kill each other) – “Apology”, Chapter 39.7 (circa 200AD)** will also be appropriate to describe the church of the twenty-first century.

Amen – So let it be!

*http://www.amazon.com/The-Underground-Church-Reclaiming-Subversive/dp/1118061594/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331830341&sr=8-1

**http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_do_you_find_the_words_’See_how_these_Christians_love_one_another‘