Features: January 2007

Stated Clerk Response to President Bush on Iraq Military Strategies by Clifton Kirkpatrick

Presbyterians and Separatist Evangelicals: A Continuing Dilemma by R. Milton Winter

Stories from Our Past by Fred Heuser

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Christmas Gift by Dee H. Wade

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Perspectives offers an exploration of issues facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its witness in society through

• reflective and provocative analysis of our life together as a denomination, and
  
• the lenses of Scripture, Reformed theology, cultures, and a constitutional and confessional framework.

Letter from the Editor

I have read with interest the comments about and reactions to the article, "Presbyterians and Separate Evangelicals: The Continuing Dilemma" that appears in this month's issue of "Perspectives."

"Perspectives" is an appropriate name for the magazine. As the purpose statement says, "Perspectives offers an exploration of issues facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its witness in society through reflective and provocative analysis of our life together as a denomination, and the lenses of Scripture, Reformed theology, cultures, and a constitutional and confessional framework."

The articles that appear are from the perspectives of the individuals who write them. Mr. Winter's article presents his perspective and, in good Presbyterian fashion, readers, in turn, are moved to discuss and debate that perspective.

Always seeking balance, the next issue of the magazine will include the perspective of Casey Jones on the gifts that evangelicals bring to the life of the church.

Feel free to send suggestions, feedback, and articles or topics for consideration in future issues. We invite you to be in touch with us.

Sharon K. Youngs
Editor, "Perspectives"
Office of the General Assembly

IN THIS ISSUE:

Happy New Year! This first issue of 2007 looks at struggle from a number of perspectives, individual and corporate.

Here is a quick look at each of the offerings:

In his speech to the nation on January 10, President George W. Bush announced plans to send more than 21,000 U.S. troops to Iraq. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, issued a statement in response to the speech, which we feature here. Included with the statement is a reflection by Vernon Broyles on previous General Assembly actions about the conflict in Iraq. Broyles is volunteer representative for public witness for the Office of the General Assembly.

NOTE: January 22, 2007 - The following article has been revised to correct the identifying information for Paul Rolf Jensen, and to reflect more fully the remarks made by Robert Gagnon to the 2006 New Wineskins consultation in Tulsa, as reported by the Presbyterian Layman. This article was again updated on January 30, 2007.

In “Presbyterians and Separate Evangelicals: A Continuing Dilemma,” R. Milton Winter offers what he terms “mainstream reflections on the evangelical controversy in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Having been raised within the context of “conservative evangelical Presbyterianism,” Winter provides informative history and perspective on the evangelical movement past and present. He writes, “Few in the liberal wing of the church realize the ideological and meth­o­dological sacrifice that is called for when thoroughgoing evangelicals are asked to engage in negotiation, conflict mediation, co­operation, or compro­mise, for to the conser­v­ative evangelical, to even acknowledge the possibility of truth in the ideology of those who hold false doctrine is a complete betrayal of all they believe loyalty to Christ de­mands.” Winter is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He is a past stated clerk of St. Andrew Presbytery and author of Shadow of a Mighty Rock: A Social and Cultural History of Presbyterianism in Marshall County, Mississippi.

Numerous programs and events across the country focus on the civil rights movement during this month when we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Along those lines, we offer two items. The first, “Stories from Our Past: Presbyterians and the Struggle for Civil Rights.” is a paper that Fred Heuser gave at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church on January 14, 2007. Heuser’s paper, an assortment of stories about how Presbyterians were involved in this tumultuous struggle for justice, was written exclusively from archival material at the Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS). Heuser is an associate stated clerk and director of the historical society. The second item is a sermon delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967. This source for this sermon is the Civil Rights Movement Veterans Web site, where numerous items related to the civil rights movement can be found.

To countless folks, the marking of a new year signals time for change. No doubt, the vast majority of these folks will affirm the struggle required to incorporate change into one’s life. We close this issue with a sermon for the first Sunday after Christmas, Dee Wade points out the struggle: “New life calls for change. It calls for growth. It calls for being something different, and doing something different from what you were and did yesterday. And when it’s a change as consequential as the new life Christ brings, it is a painful choice we must make. Lines are drawn. Some rise with it; others fall because of it. It will not be easy; there is grief to bear. It requires commitment and energy. But the energy necessary to gear ourselves up for the changes ahead can be dissipated or diverted by the season’s cultural excesses. And that’s too bad.” Wade is pastor of Anchorage Presbyterian Church in Anchorage, Kentucky.

Do you have suggestions for future issues or other comments to share? Drop us a line.

Sharon K. Youngs, Editor

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