DALLAS – On Wednesday afternoon, the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (TTF) took another look at a subject that must not have been sitting well  with them at this point. In their preliminary report to the 216^th General Assembly last June (see page 4 of the report), they had stated about persons leaving the Presbyterian denomination: “Christians cannot even entertain the notion of severing their ties with sisters and brothers in Christ without also placing themselves in severe jeopardy of being severed from Christ himself.”

A written report from Mark Achtemeier, Joe Coalter, and Jack Haberer attempted to further unpack this statement, but it encountered even greater unease among TTF members. The problem was with the apparent equating of denominations with the Body of Christ. The statement generally reasoned that there are already too many denominations, and “multiplying divisions with the fellowship of committed Christians moves the church in a direction away from the will and intention of God….”

The report continued that denominations fragment the body of Christ, but “the resulting fragments do not thereby lose their status as the chosen people…. It is now the divided and unfaithful body of Christ, but the body of Christ nonetheless.” What’s more, “breaking ties with committed Christians in order to seek a communion more in keeping with our own desires … denies the reconciling power of Christ’s work on the cross.” Thus, “within our own denominational context, no less than in the undivided church, ‘Christians cannot even entertain the notion of severing their ties with sisters and brothers in Christ without also placing themselves in severe jeopardy of being severed from Christ himself.’” That’s the report’s reasoning.

It didn’t sit all that well with the Theological Task Force members. Many pointed out the obvious, that they, themselves, had sometimes left one congregation or denomination to join another that better fit their spiritual needs. They didn’t consider that sin, but rather God working in their lives.

Vicky Curtiss asked, as well, about the footnote in the Book of Order for G-6.0108b, which talks about how those who cannot in good conscience live within the bounds of the church’s constitution may “peaceably withdraw from our communion….” It’s not counseling elders, pastors, and members to sin is it? Sarah Sanderson-Doughty gently suggested that when some people decide to leave, it can sometimes be “an act of grace.”

Barbara Wheeler was “not yet convinced that this [draft] has the tone and tenor right.” She reminded the TTF that “we’re speaking to a church with two-thirds of its members having grown up in other denominations, and many of these people believe themselves to be called by God into this denomination.”

Further such discussion made it appear that if any of this draft might seep into the Theological Task Force’s final report, it will likely be in the form of “a positive call to oneness,” rather than condemnation of even considering switching churches or denominations. Just maybe, it was surmised, the preliminary report contained a little hyperbole in its statement on this matter.

In further business, Barbara Bryant used this meeting near Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to remind the TTF that they are “running out of runway space.” She warned about the approaching deadline for their report: “We keep taxiing along, and pretty soon we need to take off.”

Bryant announced that the final report will be made available in Korean, Spanish, and English, and will likely include a written report and also background papers on a CD. A packet will be mailed to every congregation, and the material will also be available to download from the web. She urged the eventual report writers to envision a report closer to 25 pages than 200, including an executive summary, the body of the paper, recommendations, and a study guide.