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Focusing on the church’s mission after the 217th General Assembly has not been easy. Controversial issues have drawn a lot of attention, and PFR has been actively engaging them. Yet I have been asking myself this question recently: what is the most significant contribution the evangelical movement can make to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?

The answer, I believe, is living proof that our local churches are becoming missional communities whose lives are shaped by the conviction that our missionary God has sent us into our communities for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The missional transformation of the local church must be at the very heart of any movement that would dare call itself a renewal movement.

What is God doing in the Presbyterian Church and how we can join Him in that work? A new vision is emerging for the sending of Presbyterian congregations into the communities of North America that so deeply need to hear and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With that, there is a reinvigorated sense of the centrality of local congregations as mission outposts and a passion for missional transformation. It is emerging in Presbyterians For Renewal, and it accounts for the genesis of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship. (To learn more about “missional transformation,” check out the section with that name on our website.)

When people think of our movement, I hope they will think of congregations whose engagement in God’s world-changing mission demonstrates that they are willing to risk everything for the sake of being agents of God’s healing grace. I hope they say, “Look at them! They’re not inwardly-focused institutional preservationists known for being ‘keepers of the way things have always been.’ They are Christcentered, Kingdom-building, Scripture-shaped, prayer-driven mission communities whose very lives are an extension of God’s mission to redeem and restore the world from alienation and sin and injustice to reconciliation and righteousness and peace.”

What shapes our mindset?

But it’s not mission that dominates us, is it? Issues do. We often let the major “culture war” issues, like the debates over homosexual practice and abortion, define us more than faithful and effective embodiment of the message of Jesus. When we have the opportunity to defend matters of basic Christian orthodoxy, such as the doctrine of the Trinity, we rise to the occasion. But when it comes to those things that will very practically make a difference in the world in which God is at work for its redemption, where is our passion, our effort, our money, our effectiveness?
If he smiles at all, the devil does so when we become defined by the inwardly focused debates of a declining mainline denomination.
If he smiles at all, the devil does so when we become defined by the inwardly focused debates of a declining mainline denomination. He does so, too, when we fall prey to making “the denomination” the primary object of our renewing efforts rather than simply one part of our passionate and imaginative participation in what God is calling the church to be and to do in the world.

Now, the corporate witness of the church is important. The national positions of the denomination do make a difference in our witness to Jesus Christ in the world. And, yes, our congregations do get dragged down because they are part of a denomination that can’t figure out if God speaks clearly about sexuality in the Bible. So, for the sake of our corporate witness and for the sake of preventing the national institution from sinking our local congregations, we must engage in tiresome debates largely defined by liberal ideologues. But we must never let them define us—as persons, as congregations, as a renewal movement.

Easily the biggest issue we’re dealing with today is the recommendation on ordination standards from the Peace, Unity, and Purity Task Force which was approved by the Assembly on a paper-thin vote. This action seeks to provide the license for local governing bodies to overlook violations of national standards, including the requirement that ordained officers live in fidelity in marriage or chastity in singleness. Whether or not it will actually accomplish its intention is yet to be determined; we are awaiting some precedent-setting church court cases.

In addition, we have developed numerous resources to help you understand what happened at the Assembly and how you can take related actions that will help ensure local faithfulness to the biblical and constitutional standards of the church (again, see our website, where you can also learn about the new PFR Legal Team). What’s more, we will soon propose actions you can take to effect positive change at the 2008 Assembly. Make no mistake, PFR will not only be active, but will continue to lead the way in positive efforts to effect change at the national level.

Authentic Renewal

But authentic renewal won’t take place through General Assembly actions. If we thought that the battle with “the left” was the main cause of our ills, then we would pin all our hopes on winning that battle. But it isn’t, so we don’t. We engage in the debates at the national level for the sake of the integrity of the life we live at the local level: The place where mission actually gets done.
...the ethos we foster in our congregations is one that anticipates change and risk and adventure for the sake of the Gospel.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is life-transforming power. We are evangelicals because we have experienced this in our own lives and believe that as individual Christians and as congregations God has called us to ceaselessly living and proclaiming this good news. We really do believe in the in-breaking reign of God; we expect God to act; the ethos we foster in our congregations is one that anticipates change and risk and adventure for the sake of the Gospel. We long to be agents of God’s compassion, forgiveness, healing, sanctification and commissioning. We expect God to be at work. We investigate where He is working. We discern together how He is calling us to be a part of his work, whatever it takes.

Congregations who fit this description are mission communities making an impact on their own part of the world and, by extension, they are growing. These are the mission communities for which we as evangelicals should be known. And while we engage in renewal efforts at the “higher” levels of the church as well, these ground-level churches are the missional communities that PFR seeks to help build, through vision-casting, resources, leadership development and renewal events.

PFR won’t give up on issues. But we are rededicating ourselves to equipping you in your congregation to more faithfully and fully live and proclaim the Gospel in the places where God has placed you. Our next issue of reNEWS will outline the fruits of PFR’s recent strategic planning effort, which will reach a crescendo in the first half of this next calendar year. The central theme of our planning has been asking the question: “How does PFR need to change in order to be a movement that enables congregations to be more faithful and effective missional communities?” We are excited to continue participating in “God’s renewing, transforming work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” We invite you to join us.

In the meantime, please let us know areas where you need help to become a more fully engaged missional community. If we can help out in any way, then we truly are Presbyterians for renewal. Continue to check out our website (www.pfrenewal.org), which has resources on both the issues facing the national church and life in your own local congregation.