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conservative affinity group — known for its right-of-center perspective — was aimed at erasing political, theological and cultural dividing lines by calling the whole church together for a spiritual overhaul.
“I think this has been the most wonderful experience that I’ve had in the Presbyterian Church in a long time,” said McClellan, who worships at First Central Presbyterian Church in Abilene, TX. “I’m so grateful to God for giving us this chance for prayer and repentance. It’s been most inspiring. The prayers, everything has just been marvelous.”
McClellan’s sister Novelle, who worships at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Anna, TX, was equally enthusiastic about the conference, but teased her sister about pitching the praise song a little too high.
“I think the church needs to remember that Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ and one day we’re going to have to bow (to Him) either in faith or judgment,” Novelle said.
She and her sister are part of at least the fifth generation of their family raised Presbyterian and nurtured by church music.
While the two Texans acknowledged that their attendance was no surprise, the Lenten-season event did bring together many people who normally would not worship under the same roof.
Most of the 75 people registered for the conference were from the left and right wings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), but some didn’t fit into any particular category.
The event for the “whole church” had a multicultural feel, with a handful of leaders and members from some of the denomination’s racial-ethnic caucuses on hand.
They all came together as members of the same church to confess their sins and prayerfully seek God’s forgiveness.
That’s part of growing closer to God, conference programmers said. Being totally open and honest with Him by repenting — confessing your sins and turning from them.
“Confession is the statement of an agreement with God’s word about our sins,” said the Rev. Jerry Andrews, the Illinois pastor who helped plan the conference as moderator of the Presbyterian Coalition.
The event included Communion, worship, fasting, guest preachers, plenary sessions, small groups and spiritual exercises that featured a form of church prayer sometimes used by John Calvin in Geneva. A series of reflections on the Ten Commandments also was part of the program.
The participants included Coalition members and leaders, along with many Presbyterians with whom they often disagree — including the liberal-minded Covenant Network, the Coalition’s theological polar opposite.
Members of the Covenant Network helped to plan the conference, along with leaders of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, the National Hispanic/Latino Presbyterian Caucus and the National Korean Presbyterian Council.
Others were present from a range of ages and groups such as Presbyterians for Renewal, Presbyterians Pro-Life, and the Outreach Foundation of the PC(USA), an evangelistic group that raises money to support global mission, often including education.
“Polity is not going to answer these questions (that divide us),” said the Rev. Mark Brewer, a conference participant and pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. “We have godly, intelligent men and women on both sides of all the issues. Coming together in prayer is the answer. I really believe that. This is the stuff that is going to keep the denomination moving ahead.”
The broad-based conference was an effort to communicate across the seeming gulf between the theological poles of the PC(USA) concerning Biblical interpretation and issues of salvation, ethics, leadership and sanctification, among others.
Participants sought repentance for themselves, their families and for the PC(USA). They spoke of breaking down barriers that separate people and called on God for racial reconciliation.
“The audience for this event is the Almighty,” Andrews said. “We are assured that the word we hear belongs to Him and the prayers that we say are indeed heard. That’s the only exchange that’s vital to the success of an event like this.”
The featured conference preachers were the Rev. Craig Barnes, a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and pastor of Pittsburgh’s Shadyside Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Cynthia Campbell, the president of McCormick Seminary in Chicago, a member of the conference planning team and of the Covenant Network’s executive committee.
The Rev. Laura Mendenhall, the president of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, sounded the call to worship and led most Communion services.
Also in attendance were high-ranking PC(USA) officials including the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the denomination’s General Assembly, and GA Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase.
“Gracious God, you remind us of the gospel that we are all a part of one body of Christ,” Kirkpatrick said in a conference prayer. “Forgive us in believing and acting as if the Presbyterian Church (USA) is the church, rather than one part of your global body. Forgive us when we believe and act as if our local congregations are the whole of the church of Jesus Christ. Forgive our failure to be about your work in the world.”
Conference-goers sang hymns like “Hope of the World” and “Worthy is Christ, The Lamb.” Some waved their arms from side-to-side with the music or knelt in prayer.
Music for the event ranged from a traditional church organ and acoustic guitar to an ensemble from the Houston Children’s Chorus. A soprano and tenor belted out hymns while noted pianist Linda McKechnie, whose husband David is pastor at Grace church, performed as well.
“I was intrigued by it (the conference),” said the Rev. Timm Cyrus of Los Angeles, the vice president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus. “I needed it. I think the church needs to take a pause and repent and breathe and pray.”
Barnes, in his sermon Making Jesus Curse, used the story of Jesus’ encounter with a fig tree in the Gospel of Mark to urge Presbyterians “to bear fruit” in performing the work of the church all the time.
As the Biblical story goes, a hungry Jesus cursed a fig tree to death for not bearing fruit, despite knowing figs were out of season.
The noted Pittsburgh pastor warned conference-goers not to unwittingly mistake congregational building projects or strategic planning for the work of the church as intended by Jesus, who sought to heal the sick, feed the hungry and preach the forgiveness of sins.
“The Kingdom of Christ doesn’t care about your plans. Christ has his own plans,” Barnes said. “His Kingdom always brings into the present tense. Asking if we will bear fruit of the gospel today. Will this be the day the Presbyterian Church is known as a fruit-bearing church?
“We don’t have tomorrow. Jesus has that,” Barnes said. “We don’t have yesterday. Jesus has that too. All that we have is this moment and a critical decision of what will we do at this moment. What will we do about Jesus’ expectations to bear fruit of the gospel?”
He called on those attending not to worry about Presbyterians who think differently to the point that the business of the church becomes neglected. He told conference-goers not to focus on the right or to the left of the church, but to protect the center, which is Jesus.
“We never get a year off from having to bear fruit,” Barnes said. “We never get a day without Paul. Spending our days worrying about other Presbyterians is a waste of the day. And wasted days are pretty disappointing to Jesus. Apparently, it’s enough to make him curse.”
The divide within the church has been evident in the proliferation of such organizations as the Covenant Network on the liberal side and the Presbyterian Coalition on the conservative side.
Despite growing awareness of the impasse throughout the church, organizers said the conference was not intended to bridge the ideology gap, but to be a work by the whole church for the whole church.
“This really isn’t about reconciliation, overcoming differences — though such an event helps such a thing,” Andrews said earlier this month. “This is about individually and cooperatively being before God in prayer ... without such a sense of longstanding division.”
Campbell, the seminary president, said during closing worship of the event that redemption is not brought about by personal accomplishments but is a gift from God that defies all understanding. She said peace, holiness, justice, reconciliation, justification and sanctification are all God’s gifts, too.
“Paul came to see that salvation is precisely like life,” Campbell said in her sermon titled Passing Understanding. “It is God’s true gift. It’s a gift never earned, never owned and never, in the most profound sense, understood.”
She mirrored Barnes’ earlier comments about tearing down walls of separation and hostility that sometimes cause wars, broken lives and broken churches. She urged the audience to allow in the “outsiders” so that they too can be “brought into one new humanity.”
Campbell, quoting the writings of Paul, said that Christ “has abolished the wall with its commanders and ordinances that He might create in themselves one new humanity in place of two, thus creating peace.”
The Rev. Curtis Jones, a Georgia minister and former executive director of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, was scheduled to preach, but could not attend. Also unable to turn out as planned was the Rev. John Buchanan, a Chicago pastor, founding member of the Covenant Network and a former PC(USA) General Assembly moderator.
Andrews said that repentance is a lifelong task and that the Houston conference was only a small step toward enabling Presbyterians to seek redemption now and do it well.
“We also want to be clear that after this event is over, our prayers and repentance remain incomplete, for our conversion toward God remains incomplete,” Andrews said. “This becomes another important step toward that more full conversion of God’s people.” |
