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To download a copy of this article for printing, click here. See also this letter from the PFR President and the PFR one-pager summarizing the GA's actions and our response.

The 218th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recently took numerous actions on important and controversial issues. This article will outline several deeply troubling actions that require the prayerful and active response of those concerned for biblical faith and life in the PC(USA).

PFR strongly encourages all Presbyterian pastors and elders to stay informed on denominational issues and to lead their congregations faithfully while engaging in their presbyteries “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). To this end, PFR is committed to providing accurate and timely analysis on denominational issues. We will also offer the church initiatives designed to address both the “big picture,” underlying challenges we face as a denomination and as a movement of Presbyterians for renewal, and initiatives aimed at the particular and immediate concerns before us.

 

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Contents of this article:

"What happened at the GA and what can we do?"

The Major Actions of the 218th General Assembly

Inter-faith Relations: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Ordination Standards and Sexuality

• Local License: A New Authoritative Interpretation Regarding “Freedom of Conscience” (immediately effective)

• Removal of Authoritative Interpretations on Prohibiting Homosexual Practice for Church Officers (immediately effective)

• Deletion of the “Fidelity and Chastity” Standard (requires approval by presbyteries to be effective)

• Amending the Heidelberg Catechism to Remove Reference to Homosexuality (requires next GA approval and subsequent approval of the presbyteries to be effective)

"What is PFR’s Response to the State of the PC(USA)?"

“The Big Picture”: Repentance and Our Missional Calling

A Two-Fold Approach

• Call to Biblical Faithfulness

• Reshaping the PC(USA)

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The Major Actions of the 218th General Assembly

It is important that we first say the 218th General Assembly made several decisions that have the potential to promote biblical faithfulness in our denomination. These include the approval of a radical new document enabling broader mission collaboration and an increase in funding for international mission workers. We encourage you to read the outline of these positive decisions available through the homepage of this website.

The actions of the GA that have rightly received the most attention are those related to inter-faith relations, ordination standards and sexuality. The GA’s actions on these issues are profound deviations from the clear teaching of Holy Scripture and our Reformed Confessions. As such, they are deeply disturbing. Indeed, they threaten the very identity of the PC(USA) as an expression of the Body of Christ called to “exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.”

 

Inter-faith Relations

1) Common Worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims?

The General Assembly took two actions regarding the relationship between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The stated intent of these actions was to promote peace and understanding among the faiths. To pursue this end, these actions encourage members of the three faiths to join together to “celebrate diversity” and to engage in common worship. One of the actions encourages Presbyterians, Jews and Muslims “to celebrate religious holidays together, setting aside days of worship,” and the other says joint practices might include “participation in sacred and holy observances in each other’s traditions.”

There is much to commend in the GA’s stated intention to promote peace and understanding. Yet the recommendation of common worship between the three faiths represents a serious misunderstanding of Christianity and Islam as well as many forms of modern Judaism.

Worship is a central expression of faith and shapes the identity of each religious community. The mode and meaning of worship for each faith, respectively, are determined by each faith’s foundational beliefs, which are not consistent among Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

For instance, as Christians, we believe true worship of God is worship through Jesus Christ, God's Son (e.g. John 14:6). Behind the everyday practice of praying “in the name of Jesus” is this foundation of Christian worship. It is the exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord of all and the one through whom we have access to God the Father that launched the early church into the discussions that led to the Nicene and Chalcedonian Creeds, the standard-bearers for Christian belief.

Of course, the identity and centrality of Jesus Christ are the very beliefs that have most distinguished Christianity from both Judaism and Islam. The encouragement for Christians to worship together with Muslims is particularly troubling. As a faith tradition that emerged five hundred years after the incarnation of Jesus Christ, Islam is very self-conscious regarding its beliefs about the person of Jesus. Mainstream Islam honors Jesus as one of many in a line of prophets, the last of which was Muhammad, whose teachings are considered the most authoritative.

The Qur’an is clear that Jesus, while a prophet, is not and could not have been the eternal Son of God. This belief naturally, then, has characterized mainstream Islam. It naturally follows and is only honest to note that Christian worship (through Jesus) is clearly rejected throughout the Qur’an as dishonoring to God, even a form of unbelief. Given these foundational differences in our faiths, over the last fourteen centuries, since the emergence of Islam, Christianity and Islam have not been able to affirm common worship because they hold very different beliefs about the nature and identity of God, the means of salvation and what kind of worship honors God.

Nevertheless, the General Assembly has encouraged Presbyterians and Muslims to worship together. The Assembly has not explained precisely what new Christian and/or Muslim theological understanding would enable Christians to worship as Christians with Muslims, or how Muslims might worship as Muslims with Christians. A new theological statement that was also approved, goes some way toward explaining the rationale of the encouragement to engage in common worship.

 

2) A New Theological Statement on the Three Monotheistic Faiths

Providing what one overture called “a new theological foundation,” the GA also approved the following new theological statement that underlies the encouragement for common worship among Jews, Christians and Muslims: “though we hold differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, the PC(USA) affirms that, as children of this loving God, we share the commandments of love for God and neighbor, the requirement to care for the poor.”

The most natural reading of this statement finds the PC(USA) confidently affirming that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is in fact the God of Muhammad, despite all the enormously complex and controversial issues involved in such an affirmation. The explicit phrase, "a common God," was removed before the statement was approved. Of course, the affirmations that remain, as well as the encouragement for common worship, all hang on that premise. More important than an abstract statement is the affirmation of a common connection by faith that each religion is thought to provide to the one God. People of all three faiths are “children of this loving God,” all part of God’s family through their respective faiths, which forms the basis for the encouragement of common worship. The differences between the faiths, according to this statement, are found in “differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind.”

The primary problem with this statement is that the various elements taken together are in conflict with the faith of orthodox Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The statement seems to begin with a generic monotheism – “that there is only one God” -- a God who can be approached in worship in a variety of ways. The differences between the three monotheistic religions are secondary -- God may have created the differences intentionally, or they may be the result of human convention or cultural influences -- but at the end of the day there is a deeper unity for common worship in the one bigger family of God.

The Theological Implications

It is difficult to avoid the fact that this new theological statement and the exhortation to common worship only make sense if the Lord Jesus Christ is moved to the sideline in favor of a generic monotheism. Contrary to a generic monotheism is the Christian confession of the centrality of Jesus Christ for all knowledge and worship of God. As the Barmen Declaration famously states: "“Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death." Jesus is not merely one of several viable understandings of how God has been revealed and how people of faith can approach God in worship.

Taken at face value, the implication of these inter-faith statements is a denial of very basic elements of orthodox Christian faith. Such a move was obviously not the intention of the majority of commissioners who voted overwhelmingly to approve these actions. A charitable view of these decisions would fault the general theological malnourishment of the denomination as a whole.

Finally on these matters, it is worth pointing out that it is not appropriate, for inter-faith relations, for one group unilaterally to state what beliefs and practices would be appropriate for persons of another faith, especially when the statements involve beliefs and practices that have not historically characterized the other faith or faiths in question.

PFR Action on Inter-Faith Relations

We will make theological and practical resources available to the church regarding inter-faith relations in the coming weeks and months, to help Presbyterians dig deeper into the nature of Christian worship, the relationship between Christianity and other faiths, and theologically sound means of fulfilling our responsibility to work for peace together with people of other faiths.

Ordination Standards and Sexuality

Two Immediately Effective Actions Related to Sexual Behavior and Ordination Standards

1) Local License: A New “Authoritative Interpretation” (AI) of G-6.0108 in the Book of Order:

What happened?
The GA passed a new Authoritative Interpretation “AI” on section G-6.0108 of the Book of Order, the section that states ordained officers must “exercise freedom of conscience within certain bounds.” The intent of this new “AI” is to broadly expand “freedom of conscience” and to allow sessions and presbyteries to ordain and install individuals who do not and do not intend in personal belief or practice to abide by the constitutional standards for ordination, including the requirement “to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness” (G-6.0106b).

Two reasons this action is deeply troubling:
1) Biblical faith and practice. Most importantly, the intent of this action is to permit the ordination of persons who are sexually active outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Those encouraging this action include the special interest groups urging the church to honor homosexual practice as a gift from God. This action seeks to undo the historic and biblical standards for ordination in the PC(USA), standards that are vital for the church’s witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2) The covenant community. But the intent of this action is also a clear disregard for the established means of amending our constitution of the PC(USA), a safeguard that allows the whole covenant community to make determinations about changes in a constitution that governs the life of the whole church. This established process for change requires the approval of the GA and a majority of the 173 presbyteries. Because the GA itself has the authority to “interpret” the constitution of the PC(USA), this new “AI” passed ten days ago by the 218th Assembly is immediately effective. In taking this action, the 218th GA has attempted to effectively amend the constitution while circumventing the amendment process by not giving the presbyteries a vote.

What impact will this action have?
It remains to be seen whether or not this new “AI” will be able to accomplish its intent. There are good arguments on both sides. Future decisions by the General Assembly’s Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) should make the impact of this action more clear. Such a decision could come in a few months or take longer than a year.

What Can You Do?
Sessions can begin now to establish for their congregations and for their presbyteries clear statements of intent regarding their application of biblical standards for ordination. Such statements must be made carefully in order to be done within the bounds of the PC(USA) constitution. PFR will provide specific advice through our website in the coming weeks. In addition, sessions and presbyteries can work together to draft a more biblically faithful interpretation of the constitution to send as an overture for consideration by the 219th General Assembly in 2010 as a new AI on G-6.0108.

PFR Action
PFR is committed to mobilize leaders and provide resources for congregations and presbyteries who wish to establish clear, biblical and constitutional ordination practices for themselves, and who wish to send to the next GA a faithful “AI” on G-6.0108.

 

2) Removal of the “Authoritative Interpretation” on Homosexual Practice:

What happened?
The GA passed another “AI” that says all previous authoritative interpretations on homosexual practice no longer have any “force or effect.” Among the clear statements no longer in effect is the following: "That unrepentant homosexual practice does not accord with the requirements for ordination."

The AI’s on homosexual practice were significant because they were the only statements with constitutional force that explicitly indicated that homosexual practice was inconsistent with the requirements for ordination. Some church court cases have leaned on these AI’s when making determinations regarding the constitutionality of ordinations of practicing homosexual persons.

What impact will this action have?
Though the intent of the GA’s action is clear - to make it more likely that such ordinations will be deemed constitutional - it is unclear whether or not the action will ultimately have this effect. PFR believes the “Fidelity and Chastity” standard in G-6.0106b (see below) is, on its own, very clear on the matter. Recent GAPJC decisions appear to have interpreted the Fidelity and Chastity standard in this way as well. Therefore, it remains to be seen what practical effect on ordination standards this action will have.

PFR Action
PFR is committed to mobilize leaders and provide resources for congregations and presbyteries who wish to send to the next GA a new authoritative interpretation of the constitution regarding homosexual practice and ordination standards.


A general note on the two actions above:
Regardless of what technical impact these actions of the GA will have, it is very likely that we will begin seeing “test cases” in the near future. In other words, it is likely that some sessions and presbyteries will begin ordaining candidates who are in open violation of the Fidelity and Chastity standard.

Such actions would do further damage to the church, because they would be contrary to both God’s good intentions for humankind as expressed in Holy Scripture and contrary to the PC(USA)’s own “Fidelity and Chastity” standard for ordination. We urge sessions and presbyteries considering such ordinations not to take this step. And we urge those desiring to uphold our biblical and constitutional standards for ordination to work with us to give the next GA an opportunity to approve a new AI on homosexual practice and G-6.0108.

 

Two Actions on sexuality and ordination standards that require approval of the presbyteries to be effective:

1) Deleting the “Fidelity and Chastity” Standard in G-6.0106b

What happened?
The GA approved an amendment to the Book of Order’s section G-6.0106b, which includes the “the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness.“ The proposed amendment would remove this language.

What impact will this action have?
This action has no immediate impact on the polity of the denomination. Amending the Book of Order of the PC(USA) requires the approval of a majority of our 173 presbyteries. Presbyteries have now been launched into another round of contentious debates on sexuality and controversial votes. The presbytery votes must be taken within one year from the close of this last Assembly. If passed, the amendment would take effect at the end of June 2009.

The very likely implication of passing the amendment would be the removal of any doubt about the eligibility for ordination of persons sexually active outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Sessions and presbyteries would be able to ordain individuals engaged in all manner of lifestyles without violating the letter of the PC(USA)’s Book of Order. The debate over the constitutionality of such ordinations would shift solely to this question: Can a person be both obedient to Christ and engaged in unrepentant and habitual sexual activity outside of marriage?

While PFR and indeed the global church are quite confident that the answer to this question is “no,” the last thirty years of debate in the PC(USA) have proven two things: there is much disagreement in our denomination on the Bible’s teaching on sexuality and indeed on the status of the Bible as an authoritative guide for faith and practice, and questions about the constitutionality of ordinations are generally answered in church courts on the basis of specific wordings of the Book of Order alone, not on the basis of scriptural teaching or our Book of Confessions. PFR believes we all must acknowledge and repent of these two realities.

Beyond the technical implications, the approval of this amendment would plunge the PC(USA) to a new depth of departure from biblical morality on a central aspect of human life about which the Scriptures have much to say. It would further entrench the PC(USA) in the untenable position of claiming to be a Christian church while living at odds with the foundation of Christian faith - the calling to trust in, obey and witness to Jesus Christ according to the written Word of God in Holy Scripture. Our witness within our own culture would be damaged further. And global partners have already expressed concern to PFR that, if this amendment were passed, the implications for our misson efforts among people of other cultures, and for our relationships with Presbyterian and Reformed Christians around the world would be enormous and devastating.

PFR Action
We can and must engage in this specific struggle for biblical faithfulness in the PC(USA). PFR is committed to helping elders and pastors in their presbyteries defeat this proposed amendment to the Book of Order and to maintain the Fidelity and Chastity standard. We will be acitvely working to help network and resource you over the next year. Maintaining biblical faithfulness will require the passionate and committed efforts of the entire family of Presbyterians for Renewal.

What Can You Do?
In three previous votes of the presbyteries on the Fidelity and Chastity standard, the presbyteries have voted, by an increasing margin, to strengthen and maintain biblical faithfulness in our ordination standards. We believe the presbyteries will defeat this latest proposed amendment. In order to arrive at this outcome, each one of us must remain informed and engaged in our own presbyteries.

This crucial effort will, unfortunately, require the investment of significant funds. PFR’s funding for its continuing grassroots and program ministries for congregational leadership has already been significantly affected, for the worse, by previous actions of the Assembly in recent years. In order to lead this new effort, we need your investment.

We have set up a special fund, “The Fund for Biblical Faithfulness,” to which individuals and congregations may contribute, which will enable a collaborative effort between PFR, other renewal groups and you, across the nation.

Please pray for the PFR network, for the discernment of the presbyteries of the PC(USA), and please contribute to this new fund. Contributions to this fund will be used specifically for the networking and resource development to help you -elders and pastors of the PC(USA) - to address the actions of the 218th General Assembly on ordination standards. We will be making further announcements about this effort on our website, through special email communications, and through traditional mailings.

 

2) Removing Reference to Homosexuality in the Book of Confessions: Amendments to the Heidelberg Catechism

What Happened?
The GA approved an effort to amend the Heidelberg Catechism, one of the confessional standards of the church in our Book of Confessions. The contention of the overture approved by the Assembly is that the PC(USA)’s Heidelberg Catechism does not adequately reflect the language of the 16th-century German text of the catechism.

The primary interest of this effort to amend the catechism is actually to remove a reference to homosexuality in the answer to the catechism’s “Q&A 87” (the catechism has 129 questions and answers that teach the Christian faith). In order to make the case that the primary interest was to restore our catechism’s fidelity to the 16th-century text, four other answers were cited as containing “errors.” In reality, two of these “errors” are very minor and debatable issues that present no substantive theological concerns, and the other two are in fact completely reliable translations.

Why the concern to remove a reference to homosexuality? The stated intent of those driving this initiative is their desire to prevent a person from being able to find an answer in our Book of Confessions to the question of whether or not homosexual practice is sinful. Furthermore, section G-6.0106b in our Book of Order states the following as a standard for ordination: “Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.” The effort to remove the reference to “homosexual perversion” from the Book of Confessions is one piece of the broader effort to change the PC(USA)’s standards for the sexual conduct of ordained officers of the church.

What Impact Will This Action Have?
There is no immediate change to the Heidelberg Catechism, but a process has been initiated that could result in the removal of the reference to homosexuality. The process to amend the Book of Confessions is rigorous and lengthy. The initial result of this GA’s action is the formation of a committee to study the proposal and to make a recommendation to the next Assembly. The next GA will then vote on that proposal. If the next GA’s vote is to move forward with some form of amendments to the catechism, then these proposed amendments would need to passed by 2/3 of the presbyteries in order to move to the final step. The final step required in order to amend the Book of Confessions would be the approval of the subsequent General Assembly.


PFR Action
During the General Assembly PFR posted on GA2008.COM a letter from four Presbyterian seminary professors, two of them scholars of Reformation Theology from Princeton, outlining their objections to the proposed amendments and the means by which the amendments were sought, i.e. on the basis of very weak historical arguments, rather than by stating the actual intent, namely to change the church’s confessional teaching on homosexuality. This letter is available here . In addition, we will publish a further detailed article explaining why several of the cited “errors” in the catechism are not, in fact, errors at all, but faithful renderings into English of the original German text of the catechism. Finally, in the event that the amendments to the catechism are sent to the presbyteries for a vote by the next GA, PFR will work with elders and pastors to defeat the amendments.

 

Addressing the “Big Picture”: Repentance and Missional Calling

For two decades, PFR has passionately engaged the PC(USA), seeking to be an instrument of God’s Spirit in renewing the life of our denomination. We have been dubbed by some as the “evangelical loyalists,” a label we have received with gratitude. We have worked to establish and maintain a close working relationship with the broad center of the denomination and whenever possible to support the mission and ministry of the General Assembly Council. We have intentionally worked to maintain a “comprehensive vision for renewal” and a long-term perspective.

Ultimately, the spiritual health of our denomination is determined by the faith and witness of our local congregations, so our ministries have and continue to provide resources, leadership training, inspiration, and a sense of evangelical Presbyterian identity through conferences, networks and publications for our congregations and for youth. To a great extent, these ministries have been able to do their work without much direct involvement in the decisions of the governing bodies of the PC(USA).

Simultaneously, we have sought to address “denominational issues.” We have offered analysis on the issues facing the church and worked with pastors and elders who seek to make godly decisions within the middle and higher governing bodies of the PC(USA), including the General Assembly. Our desire has been for the PC(USA) to be a faithful witness to Jesus Christ in the world as a connectional body and particular expression of the larger Body of Christ.

The PC(USA) has struggled through many of the same problems that other mainline denominations in North America face. And like many other mainline denominations, the PC(USA) has progressively lost sight of its Christ-centered identity and missional calling: the reason we exist as a church is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and to offer to the world a distinctive vision of God’s good intentions for humanity. One of the “Great Ends of the Church” in our tradition is our calling to “exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world”: to be a distinctive people, guided by a distinctive loyalty to the one and only reigning Lord Jesus Christ, who is attested to us in the authoritative and written Word of God.

Without this foundational sense of our identity, the Church has little defense against the full embrace of the culture in which it finds itself. In the case of mainline denominations in North America, including the PC(USA), this loss of our sense of identity has catalyzed the erosion of biblical authority, “other gods” direct our life, and the church has embraced the beliefs and morals of North American society. Numerical decline in the church is not a mystery: without a distinctive faith and way of life, the church has nothing to offer anyone that they could not receive in most other forms of human community, many of which have “less baggage” than Christian denominations.

PFR will be the first to confess our own failures in this process of decline. Mainline evangelicals may have been unfaithful on different “issues” than those who have explicitly embraced a pattern of cultural accommodation, but we have been unfaithful nonetheless. Matters of wealth, justice, power, and care for the creation, to name but a few, are matters on which many of us in the broadly evangelical movement have allowed ourselves to be made captive to the culture rather than to Christ. These are not the central points of the “culture war” and so they have not become central points of contention in the mainline denominations. Both “liberals” and “conservatives” in the PC(USA) and other denominations have made serious accommodations to these aspects of western culture.

When it comes to areas of obvious sinfulness in the church such as these, we face a critical question: Should we repent of our sin as guided by sound study of the Holy Scriptures and our Reformed Confessions, in order to honor God and pursue a distinctive way of life as Christ’s witness to the world? Or should we take our cues from the norms of the surrounding culture, openly revamping our faith and life as Christians to fit within the prevailing standards of North American society?

The distinctive mark of a Christian church is not that we should be a community found perfect in this life, but that we should be found in continual repentance of our sin and calling upon God for forgiveness and transformation, that we might embody the Gospel for the sake of the world. However imperfectly, this we have tried to do for the last two decades as PFR.

It is the deep difference over this question of the church’s identity that characterizes a major divide in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today: are we directed by Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church, who has called us to be an alternative community in and for the world? Or are we an organizational expression of the latest trends in western culture? The identity of the church - the very existence of thePC(USA) as a "church" - is at stake as we answer these questions. And on these questions, the PC(USA) is deeply divided.

The Actions of the 218th General Assembly in Light of Our Missional Calling

When taken together, the actions of the 218th General Assembly make a strong statement about the disunity of the PC(USA) and the status of its faith and witness to Jesus Christ.

Just two years ago the 217th GA approved one authoritative interpretation intended to accomplish a change in our ordination policies regarding the sexual conduct of church officers, what the new “AI” on G-6.0108 seeks to accomplish as well. When the first measure was passed in 2006, many hoped it would promote the peace, unity and purity of the church. The result was very different. Several dozen congregations have left or are leaving our denomination, thousands more of our congregations were dismayed by the Assembly’s action, and deep concerns were expressed by our global partners. This action made many wonder if the PC(USA) had taken its decisive step toward full cultural accommodation.

By attempting to strengthen the action of the previous GA, and by adding to that action several additional measures designed to advance the same cause, a narrow majority of the 218th Assembly has now strained the unity of the PC(USA) to a new level. In addition, the statement regarding inter-faith relations adds a pointed and radical embrace of western culture’s prevailing sense of the status of various “religions”: that we should consider the distinctive beliefs of each faith to be of lesser concern, such as the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in favor of viewing religions as the product of various human conventions valuable only in so far as they serve a secular vision for the basis of political peace in the world.

It is for this reason that we said, in our initial response to the General Assembly, “the PC(USA)’s compromise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has reached an unprecedented level.”

Therefore, PFR’s response to the current condition of the PC(USA) is two-fold.

1) The Call to Biblical Faithfulness

The specific “action” steps outlined above have emphasized one crucial aspect of our response to the state of the PC(USA): PFR is committed to uphold biblical faithfulness within the PC(USA) by supporting presbytery-by-presbytery efforts to defeat the proposed amendment to the Book of Order's standards for ordination and to send to the next General Assembly proposals to restore integrity to the interpretation of our constitution. In God’s mysterious providence, thousands of congregations who share PFR’s mission have been called to be faithful witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ in the PC(USA). We minimize neither the severity of the state of the PC(USA) nor the opportunities to be instruments of God’s Spirit at this moment in the life of the denomination.

Now is the time to make that witness to the truth clearer than ever, by working together to address the actions of the Assembly immediately and directly.

2) Reshaping the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Many congregations and their leaders have expressed to PFR that they have now been pushed to the point where they must seriously question the ability to remain faithful within the PC(USA). PFR believes this is a valid concern. While we are, at present, free to be faithful in the PC(USA), it is also clear that the way in which we, together, exercise that freedom to be faithful must now change.

By a narrow majority, recent assemblies have voted to change our biblical and historic standards for ordination. These votes actually represent only one segment of our denomination. The majority of the members of the PC(USA) have consistently disagreed with these actions. Given the theological and moral seriousness of the issues involved in these disagreements, we have reached the point where the different visions of Christian faith and life in the PC(USA) need to be expressed through the institutional structure of the denomination.

No one is honored by the constant battles over sexuality, especially not our Lord Jesus Christ, whose love it is our calling to proclaim to the world. At a more foundational level, we reiterate the following from our initial response to the General Assembly:

“It is clear that the PC(USA)’s confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and commitment to our Reformed confessions has weakened to the point that we can no longer assume a common framework of conversation....For the sake of our witness to the Gospel, we believe it is necessary for the different visions of Christian faith and life in the PC(USA) to be expressed in formally distinct bodies without a formal split in the denomination. Such possibilities have been discussed hypothetically under the rubrics of non-geographical or “missional” presbyteries and synods. We will pursue the ideas and relationships necessary to make this a reality, and we call upon the whole church to think creatively about ways to achieve this end. Perhaps revisions to the work of the Form of Government Task Force that will be brought to the next General Assembly are a way to advance this effort.”

Reshaping the PC(USA) will recognize outwardly what is already our inward reality. Reshaping the PC(USA) will allow congregations to be connected through governing bodies grounded in their commitment to a common faith and life, rather than mere geography as is the case today. For our own congregations, this will mean the freedom to be connected through a network of governing bodies that share a common vision for faithful witness to Jesus Christ in the world.

We fully recognize that there are many questions surrounding such a proposal. So, let’s put some of those on the table explicitly: Would such a proposal really address the concerns of congregations struggling to remain in the PC(USA) in good conscience? Does it make sense ecclesiologically - that is, can there be one PC(USA) that, at the same time, formally recognizes profound disagreements on Christian faith and life? Is there historical precedent for such a move? What would such a “network of governing bodies” actually look like? Would the current system of the General Assembly and the presbyteries actually approve such a reshaping of the PC(USA)?

These are only a few of the very good questions surrounding the effort to reshape the PC(USA). If these questions cannot be answered well, any proposal to reshape the PC(USA) will not work. We are not interested in merely pragmatic moves that are not theologically sound, nor would we propose theologically sound moves that would not work practically. The theological and practical realities of the PC(USA) require creative and faithful solutions that will address both legitimate concerns.

In the coming months, we will be publicly exploring our thoughts on these and other issues with the whole church. At the very least, such discussions will put serious theological thinking on the agenda of the national conversation of the PC(USA). These discussions may help all Presbyterians, regardless of their position on the theological spectrum, to think through their own views about the meaning of confessing the faith, the missional purpose of the church, and the relationship between congregational and denominational identities.

What Can You Do?

For those interested in helping to move this conversation forward, there are at least three ways for you to become involved.

• First, we will provide a means for you to contribute your own ideas to the effort. The primary means for you to do so will be provided online in the coming weeks. We will take advantage of the latest technology to foster a national conversation where everyone’s input will make a contribution to the discussion. Gone are the days when a small group should determine institutional structures on its own, and this includes the concrete proposal for reshaping the PC(USA) that will be the result of this process. We need all of our minds to work together. We especially look forward to the contributions of Presbyterians of racial and ethnic distinction, and of Presbyterians in other parts of the world. PFR will facilitate the overall framework of conversation.
• Second, we are putting together a team of elders, pastors, governing body executives and theologians to help lead this process. With the contributions of the whole church in view, a team will still need to facilitate this conversation, provide its own expertise, make some judgment calls and move the initiative forward. PFR will gather this group together at times over the coming months. What does this have to do with you? We need your help to pay this team’s expenses for gathering together numerous times.
• “The Fund for Reshaping the PC(USA)” has been established for this purpose, and all contributions to this fund will specifically serve this effort. Please consider helping us facilitate this initiative.
• Third, we encourage pastors to engage their sessions and small groups in their congregations in this conversation. In the coming weeks and months, PFR will provide some written reflections addressing this initiative and the key questions we raised above. We hope you will find these resources helpful in facilitating your own conversations.

Maintaining Perspective, Vision, and Hope

The challenges we are facing together in the Presbyterian Church (USA) are no challenge to the authority of Jesus Christ and the victory that is his – and so ours in him, by faith – for eternity. The condition of this little part of the Body of Christ called the PC(USA) is not a surprise to God. The Lord has always been and will always be faithful to his people, and we must continue to pray for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and ask to be filled with his Spirit as we discover together how best to respond faithfully to the state of our denomination. In God’s providence, we are here together in the PC(USA). And we trust that God will lead us as we move forward together and seek his will for the coming weeks and months, for the next few years and for the long-term future of our congregations.

Presbyterians For Renewal is committed to mobilizing leaders of congregations within the PC(USA) for just such a time as this. We are committed to biblical faithfulness and missional mindedness—to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ for all God's people, with passion and with joy. The lasting effect of PFR's commitment is only as strong as the commitment from each person whose faith is called into action by the challenges we now face.

We need you to respond to the call to biblical faithfulness by making a commitment to be an active participant in the life and witness of your congregation and your presbytery. Take a stand for biblical fidelity, as God sends us into our corners of the church and the world in mission. We also need you to put your mind to work at thinking creatively about reshaping the life of the PC(USA). Through your own experience in the denomination, God may have given you wisdom that would make a sound contribution, however large or small, in the effort to help all of us have the freedom to confess and live out our faith with integrity in the PC(USA).

We need your support, your prayer, your vision, your voice. But more importantly the Body of Christ needs you to recommit your life to our Savior Jesus Christ and to serving him with joy where God has called you.

Together we are the Body of Christ, and individually members of it. Christ is Lord of all. The work of ministry is waiting.