This
afternoon, I participated in a service of healing.
For years,
the Presbyterian Church (USA) has seen congregations break away and join other
Reformed denominations. Usually the
driving factor has been theological.
There has been a perception that the denomination has been moving in a
more liberal direction. It typically
manifests itself in positions on social and political matters, but at heart, it
begins with one’s view of scripture.
But I don’t
want to talk about that now. As I said,
I was in a service of healing!
Congregations
departing, and the presbyteries from which they’ve been departing, haven’t
always played nice. Well, maybe “nice”
isn’t the right word. Maybe words like “loving”
and “faithful” and “keeping-each-other-accountable” are more on target. And yes, I know that the last one isn’t a
single word, but it expresses what I’m thinking right now!
In the wake
of lawsuits (believers going to court against other believers?) and other
rancor-inducing matters, presbyteries have been encouraged to devise “gracious
dismissal policies.” Well, that’s what
our presbytery did, and I served on the first Presbytery Discernment Team to be
guided by that policy. The congregation
in question, after a lengthy time of soul-searching, remained in a nearly 50-50
split on the question of “should I stay or should I go”? The vote fell far short of the 75% needed to
sever the ties.
Our stated
clerk delivered the sermon this afternoon.
One of the things he so well expressed (and I’m paraphrasing and grossly
oversimplifying) was that being in community is a tough thing. It’s very tough.
I know it’s
tough for me. There some people I just
don’t want to deal with. And I’m also
aware that there are plenty of people who don’t want to deal with me. But as one of the members of the congregation
put it today, “The church has been dealing with this for 2000 years.”
At the end of
the day, things like proper institutional boundaries, gracious dismissal
policies, denominations not poaching off each other (sorry, that’s some of my
bias peeking through)—all those kinds of things help. But there’s no substitute for prayer. Our Lord, ultimately, is the only one who sees
us through this business of gracefully holding on.
So please,
pray for us. Pray for this congregation
in pain. Pray for our presbytery. Pray for the church. Because you know what?
“Hear the Good News! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone; a new life has begun. Know that you are forgiven and be at peace.”
