New Form of Government (nFOG)

Following and Leading

Leave a Comment / 221st General Assembly (2014), Leadership and Spirituality, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, Sermon on the Mount, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

San Francisco Presbytery passed two of three overtures related to Israel/Palestine last night. Its decisions (by fairly close margins) reflected a particular view of the PCUSA’s place in the world and the realms in which it is called to lead. That whole Middle East issue is incendiary and difficult and not my area of expertise, so I defer to friends Viola Larson and Alan Wisdom for any detailed discussion. But the question of whether the PCUSA has standing to insert its political solutions into the international mix is a real one, and germane to my current topic: the church and […]

Following and Leading Read More »

“Resistance Is Futile”—Huh?

9 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Board of Pensions, GAPJC Decisions, Moral Authority, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

A Complaint was filed with the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii in response to the action of Santa Barbara Presbytery on June 2 to identify itself as a union presbytery (co-membership in PCUSA and ECO). This “local matter” may seem a bit off-topic as I reflect on General Assembly here in Pittsburgh, but the Complaint is germane because it reveals a strategy for attempting to make the ordination of practicing GLBTQ people mandatory across the church. I am quite sure we will see these arguments come forward in discussions and debates in the coming week. The Complaint cites “reforms,”

“Resistance Is Futile”—Huh? Read More »

Two Degrees of Separation

12 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, MCC Report, Moral Authority, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

This is the third and last installment in my series considering the options for a church in conflict, and what happens when separation is necessary for the sake of mission. I have tried to make a case, at least anecdotally, for the positive reasons to separate ministries. And here are two more just to keep us nimble to the idea that separation can be good and honoring of Jesus Christ:  the planting of “daughter churches,” which call out of one congregation a group of people that seed the new church; and the division of one congregation into two or more

Two Degrees of Separation Read More »

The MCC Report: What Limits to Our Freedom?

1 Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), MCC Report, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, The Missional Church / By /

Over the last week, I have been reviewing elements and concepts embedded in the recommendations and rationale of the Commission on Mid-Councils Report. As a conversation starter, the Report is excellent and the Commission is to be commended for the thoroughness of its process and product. Not every topic therein has been addressed here. Upon reflection, some sections of the Report do not ring as true or indispensible to me as others. And there is still a matter of interpreting one particular sentence, the seventh of eight “guiding principles.” found on page 81. My inquiry of the MCC moderator as

The MCC Report: What Limits to Our Freedom? Read More »

Digesting the Mid-Councils Commission Report

Leave a Comment / New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, The Missional Church / By /

The Mid-Councils Commission Report came out over the weekend, and I am digesting it. A few brief comments today, and then I will elaborate on some specific areas of importance as the week goes along. There is much in this report to be very excited about. The topic of missional leadership is dear to my heart, the subject of a class I will be teaching at Fuller Seminary starting next week. As I have been reading the report, there are many sections I think would be excellent conversation starters in the class, “The Missional Church and Its Leadership.” The paper

Digesting the Mid-Councils Commission Report Read More »

Has the PCUSA Ever Had Moral Authority?

2 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Moral Authority, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

“Dr. Mike” commented this week: “Your article implies that the embattled PC(USA) actually had moral authority at some time in their history? When was this? As I look at its history, the PC(USA) has never had unity or harmony. Seems to me its entire history has been marked with one compromise with the world after another.” This question raises the issue of how one would perceive and measure the moral authority of a church. If a church is not experiencing unity or harmony, does that automatically mean that the church has lost its moral authority? Dr. Mike is quite right

Has the PCUSA Ever Had Moral Authority? Read More »

The Moral Authority Jesus Had in Mind

6 Comments / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Moral Authority, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

The letters poured in yesterday in response to my last post, “The PCUSA has lost its moral authority.” My midweek schedule here is piled on with presbytery, two classes I am teaching, and various extras, so I cannot write a long post today. But there are several questions that deserve thoughtful answers, and this will be my project the rest of the week, one at a time. As a seedbed, though, it would be good for us to start with the basis for moral authority, out of which grows the implications for what the church is to do.  A church

The Moral Authority Jesus Had in Mind Read More »

The PCUSA Has Lost Its Moral Authority

42 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA / By /

The news is reported in The Layman that the Rev. Brian Merritt has defied PCUSA law, most recently upheld by the GAPJC in the Spahr case, and married a lesbian couple in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Last week, the Rev. Brett Webb-Mitchell revealed in a blog entry on Huffington Post that for years his executive presbyter shielded him from ecclesiastical prosecution: “There were a handful of Presbyterian pastors who were out LGBTQ people before we Presbyterians amended our constitution. The reason no formal complaint was brought against me was because I was part of a Presbytery where powerful people

The PCUSA Has Lost Its Moral Authority Read More »

Board of Pensions Introduces Plague of Termites

25 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

Word came out on Saturday that the Board of Pensions of the PCUSA has extended spousal benefits to same-sex partners of plan members. After studying the issue at the request of the last General Assembly, the Board added a definition of “qualified domestic partner” to its benefits plan.   People who believe the Scriptures prohibit homosexual activity, including that occurring in a committed relationship, should be outraged at this decision. There are at least four reasons to object: 1. The change becomes effective January 1, 2013, without further action of the General Assembly and without a “relief of conscience” clause

Board of Pensions Introduces Plague of Termites Read More »

Second Class Citizenship?

5 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA / By /

  The second argument appearing in the Spahr decision comments:  2.  By refusing to marry homosexual pairs, the church is declaring them second-class citizens contrary to the affirmations in the Book of Order where full equality of all people in the church’s life is affirmed (citing F-1.0403, F-1.0404, G-1.0302). Citizenship in the Kingdom of God is granted by God under certain conditions, among them 1) faith in Jesus Christ, as in John 1:12: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”; 2) repentance, as in Acts 2:38: “Repent, and

Second Class Citizenship? Read More »

Scroll to Top