{"id":483,"date":"2008-07-09T01:01:07","date_gmt":"2008-07-09T01:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/07\/what-did-the-general-assembly-do-to-endanger-the-existence-of-the-pcusa.html"},"modified":"2008-07-09T01:01:07","modified_gmt":"2008-07-09T01:01:07","slug":"what-did-the-general-assembly-do-to-endanger-the-existence-of-the-pcusa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/07\/what-did-the-general-assembly-do-to-endanger-the-existence-of-the-pcusa.html","title":{"rendered":"What Did the General Assembly Do to Endanger the Existence of the PCUSA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"right\">Part 2 of series: <em>The End of the Presbyterian Church USA? Revisited<br \/>\n<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/htmfiles\/resources\/endofpcusa2008.htm#jul908\" target=\"_blank\">Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/htmfiles\/resources\/endofpcusa2008.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Permalink for this series<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/..\/..\/images\/san-jose-convention-center.jpg\" alt=\"san jose convention center\" align=\"right\" height=\"297\" hspace=\"15\" vspace=\"5\" width=\"360\" \/>As I explained in my last post, the Presbyterian Church USA is on the ropes, at best, perhaps even down for the count, or even fully knocked out, at worst. Though my denomination has been on a downward course for decades, what happened in our latest General Assembly meeting in San Jose, California, has brought the PCUSA ever closer to its demise. (Photo: The San Jose Convention Center, where the General Assembly convened, from my hotel room. The Convention Center is the large building with the curved roof in the upper center of the photo.)<\/p>\n<p>Much of what happened in the General Assembly was quite positive. The Assembly reaffirmed the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, rather than giving in to the cultural pressure to endorse same-sex marriage. The Assembly also approved a statement that called upon Presbyterians to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pcusa.org\/ga218\/news\/ga08102.htm\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Grow God\u2019s Church Deep and Wide.&#8221;<\/a><br \/>\nBut several actions of the General Assembly have stirred up a storm of concern among many Presbyterians, as I demonstrated in my last post. Not all of them have to do with ordination and sexuality, but these are clearly the most incendiary. In order to explain these controversial actions fairly, I will quote from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pcusa.org\/ga218\/news\/ga08102.htm\" target=\"_blank\">a letter sent by denominational leaders to churches and pastors<\/a>. These leaders, who support the actions of the Assembly and who are positive about the future of the denomination, describe the contentious items in this way:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Perhaps the subject that will make the most headlines has to do with the ordination standards of our church. It is a subject with which Presbyterians are familiar and one that tends to evoke great debates and deep emotions. With that in mind, we want you to know what the assembly did\u2014in the actual wording\u2014in regard to ordination standards, and what will happen next.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>By a 54% to 46% margin, the assembly voted to propose an amendment to our <em>Book of Order<\/em> to change one of our current ordination standards. The change is to replace the current language that says officers of the church must live by \u201cfidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness\u201d (G-6.0106b) to this new language: <em>Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and\/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate\u2019s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>By a 53% to 47% vote, the assembly adopted a new Authoritative Interpretation (AI) on G-6.0106b: <em>Interpretive statements concerning ordained service of homosexual church members by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and all subsequent affirmations thereof, have no further force or effect.<\/em><\/li>\n<li>By a 54% to 46% vote, the assembly adopted a new AI on G-6.0108 which restores the intent of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church report (2006) to allow someone who is being considered for ordination or installation as a deacon, elder, or minister to register a conscientious objection to the standards or beliefs of the church and ask the ordaining body to enter into a conversation with them to determine the seriousness of the departure.<\/li>\n<li>The assembly left unchanged the definition of marriage found in the Directory for Worship (W-4.9000)\u2014\u201ca civil contract between a woman and a man.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By its actions, the assembly has initiated a new opportunity to focus ordination on primary allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ, as well as to Scripture and the church\u2019s confessions. The assembly places the responsibility onto sessions and presbyteries for discerning a candidate\u2019s fitness for ordination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you&#8217;re unfamiliar with the way Presbyterians do business, let me add a couple of words of explanation and commentary:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>1. Out of context, the new language proposed for the <em>Book of Order<\/em> would be unobjectionable, even laudable. How wonderful that candidates for ordination &#8220;<em>pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions<\/em>.&#8221; Yet by removing the call for candidates to pledge to live by &#8220;fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness,&#8221; this amendment clearly and intentionally implies that one can fulfill the standards for ordination while being sexually active outside of marriage. This would be true for both gay and straight candidates, by the way.<br \/>\n2. The proposed change to the <em>Book of Order<\/em> is not in force until it is approved by a majority of the presbyteries (regional governing bodies) of the church. Twice before, in 1997-98 and 2001-2, the General Assembly voted to remove the fidelity and chastity clause, but this was rejected by the presbyteries. This could very well happen again. But that&#8217;s why my next point is so significant.<br \/>\n3. Perhaps the actions of greatest concern are the most confusing of all. The Assembly adopted two new Authoritative Interpretations of  the <em>Book of Order<\/em>. One of these revoked a 30-year understanding that homosexual behavior is sinful. The other gave candidates for ordination the opportunity &#8220;to register a conscientious objection to the standards or beliefs of the church and ask the ordaining body to enter into a conversation with them to determine the seriousness of the departure.&#8221; By clear implication, this is meant to give the governing body the freedom to decide that the departure is not serious enough to preclude ordination. In others words, even though the <em>Book of Order<\/em> currently requires a candidate to live by fidelity and chastity, a local governing body is free to decide that this isn&#8217;t required, or that &#8220;fidelity&#8221; could mean &#8220;faithful within a homosexual relationship&#8221; or something similar. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/article\/20080705\/pcusa-gay-clergy-decision-changes-nothing-scholar-says.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Prof. Robert Gagnon believes<\/a> that the new Authoritative Interpretation actually doesn&#8217;t give such freedom to a governing body. Though I hope he&#8217;s right, I don&#8217;t share his confidence. And even if he is right, logically speaking, I sincerely doubt governing bodies and judicial commissions in the PCUSA will think as clearly as Gagnon about the matter.)<br \/>\n4. As a leader, I understand the need to put a happy face on a sad situation. Generally we call this spin. I must confess that I find the statement that &#8220;the assembly has initiated a new opportunity to focus ordination on primary allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ, as well as to Scripture and the church&#8217;s confessions&#8221; to be a good example of such spin. The letter is more forthright when it says, a couple of paragraphs later: &#8220;We know the assembly actions may do little to ease the anxiety that seems to permeate our life together as a denomination. The debate isn\u2019t new and the future holds difficult challenges.&#8221; Once again, however,  spin is crouching at the door. The actions of the General Assembly didn&#8217;t just &#8220;do little to ease the anxiety.&#8221; Rather, they greatly added to that anxiety, and, in fact pushed the PCUSA into a new level of crisis.<br \/>\n5. Given the General Assembly&#8217;s actions to allow for gay and lesbian people to be ordained, presumably because the majority of the Assembly believed that physical intimacy between members of the same sex can be okay, I find the Assembly&#8217;s failure to redefine marriage to be particularly odd. If one believes that gay sex is right in some context, then the only context in which this could be possible, from a theological point of view, would be a marriage relationship between same-sex partners. Though I don&#8217;t believe the Bible gives support to the idea of same-sex marriage, I do believe that the only defensible position by those who allow for gay ordination would be in the case of same-sex marriage. By allowing for the rightness of same-sex intimacy, but not approving of same-sex marriage, the General Assembly has implicitly ordained sex outside of marriage. I expect the Assembly believed, rightly so, that though consistency required the approval of same-sex marriage, a vote to do this would have euthanized the PCUSA immediately.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If you&#8217;re watching all of this from the bleachers, you may wonder why some of us PCUSA types are so upset by what happened at the General Assembly. Then again, you may wonder why any of us are sticking around in a denomination that has strayed so far from biblical teaching. In order to understand what has happened and why we have responded as we have, you need a bit of history concerning the PCUSA and homosexuality. I&#8217;ll supply this bit in my next post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 2 of series: The End of the Presbyterian Church USA? Revisited Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series As I explained in my last post, the Presbyterian Church USA is on the ropes, at best, perhaps even down for the count, or even fully knocked out, at worst. Though my denomination has&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pcusa-end-of"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Did the General Assembly Do to Endanger the Existence of the PCUSA? - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}