keeping one’s vows
checking off the boxes
Some humble suggestions — or so I think!
The Presbyterian Church (USA), besides ordaining Ministers of Word and Sacrament, does the same with elders and deacons. During a service of ordination, or installation for those already ordained, a number of questions are asked. Among them is “Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline?” They are making vows.
Keep that in mind — I will return to it shortly!
Over the space of seven years, I moderated a presbytery Committee on Representation for two separate terms. Serving on the COR was challenging work. Having visited the websites of numerous presbyteries, it doesn’t appear many of them take it very seriously. Scant mention is made of it. A frequent occurrence is simply to quote the relevant passages from the Book of Order.
Quick note of explanation: the constitution of the PCUSA is comprised of the Book of Confessions (part one) and the Book of Order (part two). The Book of Order lays out the processes by which the church is run. It’s the nuts and bolts, so to speak. Where the rubber hits the road.
Something the Committee on Representation must keep in mind is the Book of Order statement F-1.0403 Unity in Diversity:
“The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person.”
I was also a member of the Leadership Team. At one meeting, I mentioned the categories in the paragraph above. I noted how the first six could be rather easily measured. However, how do we deal with theological conviction?
The next morning, I sent an email to everyone in the group. It read in part, “Our brief conversation revealed some of the thorniness and trickiness involved. This category doesn’t lend itself very well to quantifying or labeling — and nor should it! We limited (and dare I say, sinful) mortals all have our blind spots. We too easily make assumptions. We all have our starting points, and that’s neither good nor bad. It simply is.
“I won’t go into lengthy analysis. I would humbly suggest a spirit of humility. We need to work at openness, understanding that closed minds and hard hearts can affect any of us.”
All of that being said, I want to deal with a troubling topic.
An overture from the Presbytery of Olympia would change the wording of the Book of Order in the fashion given below. It passed at the General Assembly this summer in Salt Lake City. It now goes to the presbyteries around the country for their deliberation. A simple majority vote in the affirmative would have it included in the next Book of Order, 2025–27. The overture contains the following measures.
F-1.0302c on The Catholicity of the Church, part of a larger section on The Marks of the Church
[Text to be deleted is in italics; text to be added is in bold.]
“Catholicity is God’s gift to the Church in Jesus Christ. In the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God overcomes our alienation and repairs our division.
“Because in Christ the Church is catholic, it strives everywhere to testify to Christ’s embrace of men, women, and children all people of all times, places, races, nations, ages, abilities, genders, conditions, and stations in life. The catholicity of the Church summons the Church to a deeper faith, a larger hope, and a more complete love as it bears witness to God’s grace.”
F-1.0404 on Openness, part of a larger section on Openness to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
“In Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all creation, the Church seeks a new openness to God’s mission in the world… As it participates in God’s mission, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) seeks…
“…a new openness in its own membership, becoming in fact as well as in faith a community of women and men all people of all ages, races, ethnicities, abilities, genders, and worldly conditions, made one in Christ by the power of the Spirit, as a visible sign of the new humanity.”
The grouping of “all genders” covers those who are LGBTQIA+. Understand, I believe people are free to identify themselves however they choose. I have had several gay friends. I have a family member who is gay. My attention is more with the T and the +, which is a placeholder for whatever other letters become attached.
Again, I’m fine with people identifying as transgender. However, I do have major concerns with minors receiving life-changing surgery and hormones. It’s one thing if an adult desires those procedures, but to subject children to them is harmful and immoral, at least I think so. And that’s not considering those who have mental health issues — or are simply gay. (But this isn’t the place to unpack the complicated issues regarding transgender. So I apologize!)
To oversimplify it, I prefer to “live and let live.”
Here’s where we revisit the question about being governed by the church polity and abiding by its discipline. If the overture is inserted into the church’s polity, theoretically the result would be to deny ordination and installation to those who disagree with the new standard.
It is the issue of compulsion that bothers me. There needs to be room for a good faith discussion for varying interpretations of scripture. There’s little room for an iron fist. As I noted earlier, a spirit of humility is called for.
Enshrined in the Book of Order is a piece of Presbyterian history. It is the Historic Principles of Church Order, which dates back to 1788. It begins with a quote from the Westminster Confession of Faith. “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.” (Of course, in this context “men” refers to all people.)
Imagine if I were the Lord of the conscience? What a sorry state of affairs that would be!
Again, vows have been made. Here is another: “Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?” Remember, no doctrines contrary to or beside the Word.
Are the measures in the Olympia Presbytery overture contrary to or beside the Word of God? Maybe or maybe not. Are we in danger of violating the ideal of theological conviction? Perhaps one possible remedy would have been to attach something along the lines of “…if it is deemed to not be contrary or beside the Word of God.” I’m not sure.
And possibly that’s the point. Can we make room for each other? I have taken my vows, and I try my best to honor them. To go back to something I said in my email, “We need to work at openness, understanding that closed minds and hard hearts can affect any of us.”
We owe each other at least that much.
