wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Theological task force releases drafts of parts of its

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Note #8816 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05388
July 20, 2005

Task Force releases drafts of report

Recommendations due out next month

by Jerry L. Van Marter

DALLAS - The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church
(TTF) released the outline of its final report and draft texts of three of
the report's four sections late Tuesday afternoon.

	Notably missing was the fourth and concluding section - the TTF's
recommendations. 

	That section will be released at the task force's Aug. 24-25 meeting.
Also at that meeting, the 20-member group will approve the final version of
its report, which is to be formally released on Sept. 15 and acted upon by
next summer's 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, AL.

	The TTF was authorized by the 2001 General Assembly "to lead the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in spiritual discernment of our Christian
identity in and for the 21st century." Specifically, the group was instructed
to address issues of Christology, Biblical authority and interpretation,
ordination standards and power. 

	In discussions of the report that were more editorial than
substantive, the task force reviewed sections on "The Plan and Progress of
the Work of the Task Force," "Issues Before the Task Force," and "Resources
for Peace, Unity and Purity." It also reviewed the prologue, "The Theological
Basis of This Report."

Reaffirming the triune God

	The theological basis rests on three "bedrock convictions" on which
the drama of human salvation rests: "God loves us," "God saves us" and "God
empowers us with a commission and calling."

	Because Christian identity "is centered in the love of the triune
God" which "runs through the confessional tradition of the church," the
report urges the church "to continue to renew this core commitment of the
faith."

	That identity is rooted in God's adoption of believers through grace;
expressed in the proclamation of God's word; sealed in Baptism; nurtured in
the Lord's Supper; and strengthened in discernment and service, the report
says. 

	God's grace is too often denied, it says, leading to idolatry and
"the temptation to substitute our own ideologies and forms of thought for the
reality of God."

	The result, TTF members say, is conflict and pain in the church, with
far too much stereotyping and alienation on all sides. "We have searched our
hearts to determine how each of us may have contributed to the church's
problems," the report says.

	The group freely admits that it has not overcome all its differences,
but members say they have found a way forward without compromising deeply
held convictions. 

	"It is enormously important that we not communicate that the task
force has been about finding middle-ground compromises," said task force
member Mark Achtemeier, a professor at Dubuque Theological Seminary. "Our
deepest convictions have been affected, but we haven't given them up in order
to get along."

	Jack Haberer, a Houston pastor, agreed. "We haven't given in to the
pressure cooker to compromise, to mush everything together," he said. "We
haven't fundamentally changed our convictions, but are living in the tension
of holding our convictions but staying together."

	The rest of the TTF report offers resources to the rest of the church
to do the same.

Reaffirming church traditions

	The report states that the TTF "decided to approach Christology first
from the standpoint of historical tradition." That led the group to
"affirmations that the church has made through its history about Jesus
Christ, the one in whom we receive life and salvation."

	Their understanding was "expanded and deepened," the report says, "by
the power that the affirmation 'Jesus is Lord' ... has to shape faith and
discipleship in our day." It says the group was "chastened by our own
tendencies to oversimplify our claims about Jesus Christ in contemporary
debates," and "encouraged by the witness of Reformed Christians in ... other
parts of the world."

	That growing awareness of common faith in Jesus Christ, it says,
"gives us hope, indeed assurance, that we should hold on to each other and
bear with each other as we grapple with the other difficult issues before the
church."

	The task force, which spent much of each meeting in Bible study,
affirmed the traditional guidelines for interpreting scripture that have led
Presbyterian and Reformed Christians for centuries and were reaffirmed by
both PC(USA) predecessor denominations in the early 1980s. 

	They include the recognition that Jesus Christ is at the heart of
scripture; that the focus should be on the plain text of the Bible,
dependence on the interpretive guidance of the Holy Spirit and the doctrinal
consensus of the church; that all interpretations should be in accordance
with the two-fold commandment to love God and neighbor; that right
interpretation requires earnest study using the best available resources; and
that particular passages need to be interpreted in light of all the Bible.

	"We have guidelines (for interpreting scripture)," said New York
pastor John Wilkinson, "but a lot of people don't know that we have them, or
what they are."

	The task force apparently will not take an advocacy position on the
thorniest issue facing the PC(USA) - whether or not "practicing" homosexuals
should be eligible for church leadership.

	"The task force was not asked to take a position on human sexuality
or ordination and we have not attempted to do so," the report states.

	Instead, the group studied an exhaustive range of Biblical and
theological perspectives, a processs that "yielded several major insights,"
the report says:

	* "The theological and Biblical literature on human sexuality in
general and same-gender issues in particular is diverse, subtle and complex."

	* "Methods of Biblical interpretation, theological traditions and
policy conclusions did not line up neatly," and "opinions about ordination
and sexuality did not always correlate precisely with particular theological
positions."

	* "Amid all the rich complexity of these studies, all of us deepened
our understanding of our own perspectives as well as others."

	The task force concluded that beyond general themes - the Biblical
model of "servant leadership," the doctrine of the priesthood of all
believers, the particular responsibilities accruing to ordained leaders -
"there is no thoroughly developed theology of ordination in scripture, and
the theology of ordination has not been clearly and consistently articulated
in the development of Reformed and Presbyterian doctrine."

	The report affirms the TTF's agreement on several points adopted by
various General Assemblies:

	* "It is a grave error to deny Baptism or church membership to gay
and lesbian persons or to withhold pastoral care to them and their families."

	* "Those who aspire to ordination must lead faithful lives. Those who
demonstrate licentious behavior should not be ordained."

	* "It is damaging and dangerous to teach that sexual behavior is a
purely personal matter that is not relevant for Christian discipleship,
leadership and community life."

	* "Sexual orientation is, in itself, no barrier to ordination."

A balancing act

	Presbyterian polity is based on Presbyterian theology, the report
states, which holds that the "foundational claim ... about the governance of
the church is that Jesus Christ is its head."

	That said, the unity of the church is based on the indivisibility of
Christ. The purity of the church is based on the belief that "truth, holiness
and righteousness matter as pathways to discipleship, in both the life of the
church as a body and the lives of its members." And the peace of the church
is to be found in "the pursuit of truth ... where differing voices are not
only respectfully engaged, but also honored as full partners in our common
pursuit of God's will for the church."

	TTF member Milton "Joe" Coalter, a professor at Union Theological
Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA, outlined
four pairs of principles, or "points of balance," that have shaped the polity
of the PC(USA):

	* "Honoring communal discernment of God's will and the Spirit's
leading, while also recognizing that God alone is Lord of the conscience
under the authority of scripture."

	* "Adhering to essential and necessary beliefs and practices that
bind the faithful into the body of Christ, while also respecting freedom in
non-essential matters of belief, worship, piety, witness and service"

	* "Maintaining a distinctive Presbyterian and Reformed witness to the
world, while also engaging in mission with other Christians with whom they
share a catholic identity."

	* "Upholding the rights and responsibilities of governing bodies that
have original jurisdiction in church governance, while also sustaining the
rights and responsibilities of governing bodies that have the power of
oversight and review."

	All is well, the report says, when these points of balance are held
in "constructive tension," but when equilibrium has failed, "disagreements
have been difficult to resolve, and ruptures in our communion have sometimes
resulted."

	The report affirms that church government can be a "visible
embodiment" of the church's understanding of Christian community life, and
that obedience to church polity is a condition of ordained leadership.

	But church polity has limits. Parliamentary procedures, the report
says, "may exacerbate political infighting, and escalate conflicts rather
than resolve them.... A church's polity cannot live up to its calling unless
it provides ways for conflicts within the church to be addressed
theologically."

	To that end, the report concludes: "The whole church at every level,
including the General Assembly, would be well served by more regular use of
communal efforts to discern the mind of Christ through the scriptures,
nurturing communal attitudes and practices that allow us to live faithfully
with difference while we seriously engage in the quest for common
understanding."

The full texts of the TTF's drafts are available on the Web at
www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity.

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