A Holy Restlessness
Written by Rick Carter   
Friday, 07 December 2007 00:00
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carter-rick2.jpg“I was tired; I was discouraged; and I no longer believed that my efforts could make a difference.”

These are the words of a pastor in October 2007, explaining why he supported his session’s decision to leave the PC(USA). The power of these words is that they were written by a long-time participant in the renewal movement.

Among churches voting to leave, quite often the primary message is that their long engagement in efforts to restore spiritual vitality and theological integrity were unproductive. We need to measure progress in order to stay committed to a long-term effort. But how do you measure success in church renewal? Are we getting anywhere at all? The churches who have voted to leave say: No.

When the PFR board met in September, time was spent looking for signs of progress. To broaden their perspective, they invited theology professor William Abraham to bring a historical and transdenominational view.

“The Western church is currently awash in a sea of renewal movements,” Abraham observes in the opening line of his book, The Logic of Renewal. After decades studying renewal movements across the world, Abraham wants us to see that there is widespread discontent within many denominations. “That voices for renewal are sounding far and wide should show us,” Abraham asserts, “that God is stirring up the whole Church for a return to spiritual health.” Many blueprints for renewal have been offered in recent decades, even from the liberal wing. While not every vision can be correct, the energy and creativity going into these proposals share a conviction that the church is not what it should be.

Can it be that the wide acknowledgment of deficiencies in the church is itself a sign of the Holy Spirit promoting a holy restlessness? And if so, how can we give up in the middle of what appears to be the Spirit’s wholesale reordering of not just our own, but many denominations.

PFR’s conviction is that we’re in the middle of a long-term process of God transforming the PC(USA), and the signs of transformation are already evident. Here are some of them:
  • The growing adoption of missional thinking is leading to a better focus not only for countless churches, but for our denominational structures as well, helping us lay aside secondary ventures and give greater prominence to God’s saving mission in Christ to the world.
  • Collaboration by denominational staff with renewal groups in discovering together God’s plan for the PC(USA) reveals a readiness to quit propping up projects that have less kingdom value and to seek to catch the Wind of God together.
  • There are many proposals for a leaner and more efficient structure. Some congregations are exploring the single focus of missional thinking and others the Purpose Driven model. Presbyteries are setting aside useless bureaucratic activity. The New Wineskins movement started the discussion. The Presbyterian Global Fellowship has focused us on mission. The Presbyterian Coalition has penned “Recommendations for Reformation and Renewal at Every Level of the Church.” Work is also being done on a stream-lined, mission-focused constitution.
  • There are voices of spiritual dependance sounding throughout our church. Joan Gray, our current moderator, tirelessly reminds us that we cannot hope to be fruitful in ministry apart from steadfast prayer. Because every renewal movement in history has been marked by concerted prayer, PFR echoes her call.
  • Ease of communication means good ideas are being borrowed between churches and denominations. Cross-fertilization means that the gains and discoveries in one corner of God’s church are accessible to others.
Are we getting anywhere? Definitely, yes. The church around the world is being transformed by God, and the PC(USA) is part of this exciting, sometimes unnerving change. We may grow tired, but we have not lost our hope: God is on the move.


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