05578
Oct. 26, 2005

The neverending season

Stated clerk reflects on Biblical precursor
of Theological Task Force

by the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

LOUISVILLE — The recently issued report of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church, A Season of Discernment, offers great hope for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

     But this isn’t the first time the church has appointed a group to offer guidance as to how a divided church can find the way to the peace, unity, and purity our Lord intends for the body of Christ.

     The approach taken by the task force has its roots in the Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15.

     There, a church was deeply divided over which practices were essential for the Christian life, and which should be left to freedom of conscience. A group of “apostles and elders” was convened, apparently those with strong convictions on the issues. They were to discern the mind of Christ for the church. Through study, prayer, and vigorous debate, they came to a common mind and heart about the things that make for the church’s peace, unity, and purity.

     While not wanting to take the analogy too far, I believe a similar process has been happening through the work of the Theological Task Force. Like the Council of Jerusalem, the task force serves as a model for all of us, in our respective congregations and presbyteries, of how we can discern together the mind of Christ across our differences and divisions. I hope our church will receive their report as well as the New Testament church received the voice of the Council of Jerusalem.

     The task force reminds us that we are called to oneness in Christ and unity in the church, to allegiance to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to be a people shaped by the power and authority of Holy Scripture.

     It does not propose fundamental changes of our policies on ordination and human sexuality. Yet it does offer us fresh guidance, deeply grounded in Presbyterian principles, about how to uphold the essentials of our faith and practice with a pastoral spirit, while respecting freedom of conscience.

     The task force members’ pilgrimage together has not brought them to a common mind on all the issues that vex the PC(USA).

     However, this amazingly diverse group of Presbyterians affirms a common conviction that God intends us to remain together as a denomination. They suggests that we can find a better way to respect one another and deal with our differences as we seek to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the teachings of Scripture.

     Their most important recommendation, maybe, is that all of us replicate their experience over the year ahead. They propose that those with deep divisions in presbyteries and congregations come together in covenant community to pray, study Scripture, share deepest convictions with one another, and deal seriously with the task force’s report and recommendations.