There has been an insistence by some evangelicals for a number of years that first, renewing the church has failed and second, that the renewal groups should work more closely together to lead the church, possibly joining together as one super-group.
In answer to the first criticism, renewal hasn’t failed even though there remains much to be done. Just to name a few successes: the Justice-Love paper was defeated; the Trinity paper was received but not adopted or approved; the fidelity and chastity amendment (G-6.0106b) was put in the Constitution and defended twice against removal (this attempt to replace it, is the third attack on it); the Women’s Ministry Unit that was a major sponsor of the Re-Imagining Conference no longer exists; the GA has been told to destroy any remaining copies of the sexuality curriculum that was unbiblical.
The 1992 position on abortion is more moderate than the former position. The GA has condemned partial-birth abortion. The list goes on. The renewal groups perhaps have not done a sufficient job in reminding us what has been accomplished in the renewal of the church. There is a reason for that, which brings us to the second point.
The successes that the church has experienced in renewal are because some commissioners to presbyteries and the General Assembly acted faithfully to obey Christ’s will revealed in Scripture. The power to do right, the power to reform the church, does not lie with renewal groups. The successes are not the successes of the renewal groups. They are the successes of faithful, courageous commissioners. Renewal groups can only provide background on issues, monitoring of denominational activities, help with process, and resources for the issues. The power to reform the church lies with church members, elders, and clergy. The successes are their successes.
The desire of some people for a super-renewal group may stem from a faulty view of the locus of power in the church. Some people view “Louisville” and the “General Assembly,” as the locus of “bad” power in the church. Those people therefore want a super-renewal group to be the “good” power on their behalf. They think that by representing a large constituency, this super-renewal group can influence the bad power and bring change. It’s a model of back-room deals with renewal people representing evangelicals in the back-room trying to strike deals with the denominational powers. That notion of power, however, is contrary to our constitution and if it occurred, it would subvert the constitution.
The power to do right and bring reform to the church lies with church members. It is church members who elect their pastor and their elders, and those in turn elect commissioners to presbytery. The commissioners to presbytery elect commissioners to General Assembly.
The commissioners to General Assembly elect denominational leaders like the PCUSA Stated Clerk and General Assembly Council Director. All of the committees of the General Assembly including the GA Nominating Committee, the GA Permanent Judicial Commission, the Advisory Committee on the Constitution, plus 500 other positions are elected by commissioners sent by presbyteries to the General Assembly. General Assembly actions are determined by the votes of those commissioners who are elected by presbyteries.
Church members, elders, and clergy have the power to reform the church. It is their informed participation and vote that will bring change. This means that church members, elders, and clergy must know the faith of the church in Scripture and as expressed in the Book of Confessions. They must know the polity or governance of the church found in the Book of Order. They must take steps to insure that people elected to their session know Scripture, the confessions and the Book of Order. They should assure themselves that the person nominated for the session or as a candidate for Minister of Word and Sacrament is living a life in accordance with Scripture and the constitution and will not depart from them.
The PCUSA constitution gives the power of governance to the church members who elect their leaders. It is the power of Jesus Christ himself that works through individuals, leaders, congregations, and sessions who seek his will revealed in his Word and then step out in courage and boldness to reform the church for the sake of his Name and for his glory.
This article first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan/Feb 2009).
