Theologically unhinged - The 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has become theologically unhinged from our Biblical and Reformation foundation. The actions of this Assembly are schismatic. They foster division within our denomination and threaten the sundering of the denomination from the world Church of Jesus Christ.

Specifically,

• The Assembly recommends re-writing the historic Heidelberg Catechism by truncating a quotation from Scripture (1 Cor. 6:9) in order to remove reference to homosexual behavior as sinful.

• The Assembly has asked the church once again to overturn historic, Biblical standards of sexual holiness for those being ordained. Previous authoritative interpretations about sexuality and ordination standards have been rendered void. Presbyteries will be asked to delete the “fidelity in marriage, chastity in singleness” clause of G-6.0106b.

• The Assembly has authorized creating a special fund to battle in civil courts congregations which cannot in good conscience continue their voluntary affiliation with the PC(USA). Such legal actions include not only disputes over property but, as in the Londonderry case, litigation against individual elders. Donations will be sought. However, we are hopeful that the General Assembly’s strong approval of a resolution encouraging presbyteries to initiate and communicate a gracious process for dismissal will decrease a rush to civil court on all sides.

• The Assembly has misunderstood and disrespected all three religions in its resolutions about Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The Assembly calls upon adherents to these various faith systems to celebrate religious holidays together: as if a good Muslim could celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ at Christmas, as if a good Jew could look to the crucifixion on Good Friday for atonement, as if a good Christian could consecrate himself or herself during Ramadan to a Unitarian God who is not the gracious Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Triune God.

• Although, the Assembly declined asking the presbyteries of the PC(USA) to redefine marriage as between one man and one woman (Mt. 19: 4-5), a civil marriage between 2 men was performed by a PC(USA) minister at the More Light Presbyterians gathering at the General Assembly. Those charged with defending our constitution have remained silent on this breach of ordination vows.

We find these actions repugnant and call upon the denomination to reject them heartily.

Meanwhile, the New Wineskins Association of Churches continues to hold to a vision of a church grounded in:

• shared, clear essential theological tenets based on historic Biblical faith
• shared ethical imperatives derived from Scripture\
• relationships of mutual accountability and support
• a polity designed for missional service.

Come Talk to Us in Atlanta on August 6 & 7th!

We invite pastors and elders serving PCUSA congregations to participate in conversations and voice concerns raised by the 218th General Assembly and to hear afresh the New Wineskins’ vision for the church.

The NWAC leadership will host this meeting for pastors and elders who share our commitment to the New Wineskins’ Essentials of the Reformed Faith, and are grieved by the actions of the General Assembly. This meeting will begin at noon, on Wednesday August 6 and conclude at noon on Thursday, August 7. It will be held near the Atlanta airport with complimentary shuttle service. For more information and to register, please contact executive director Renee Guth at rguth@newwineskinsassociation.org. A free-will offering will be collected in lieu of a registration fee. There will be NO registrations at the door. We suggest no more than 3 representatives from any one congregation because space is limited.

At this meeting we seek to encourage those congregations feeling called to continue to bear witness within the PC(USA) to become resistive communities collaboratively living out a vision of shared tenets, ethics, and mission.

In addition, our fifth New Wineskins Association convocation will be held at First Baton Rouge Presbyterian Church on Sunday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 11th. Our convocation will further the New Wineskins Association’s missional vision for Presbyterians in the 21st century!

Come consider a better way. Join us in prayer, discussion and visioning.

Grace and Peace in Christ,

Leadership Team
New Wineskins Association of Churches
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RE: To Approve Item 07-13 Transfer of Ministers and Congregations to Transitional Presbyteries — From the General Presbyter/Stated Clerk, Presbytery of Charlotte.

Dear Commissioners of the 218th General Assembly,

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

On May 6, 2008, the Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC) recommended that this year’s General Assembly make an Authoritative Interpretation (AI) in regard to the dismissal of congregations and pastors to the New Wineskins presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). The proposed AI (Item 07-13) would require presbyteries to consider such questions as whether the receiving EPC presbytery is:

1) Doctrinally consistent with the essentials of Reformed theology as understood by the presbytery;
2) Governed by a polity that is consistent in form and structure with that of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.);
3) Of sufficient permanence to offer reasonable assurance that the congregation is not being dismissed to de facto independence.

Each of the three considerations may lead presbyteries to examine the essence of our Reformed faith, government, and mission. We welcome and encourage the exchange.The board of directors of the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) considers such questions to provide an excellent opportunity for presbyteries to examine our theology, polity, and vision! (See http://www.newwineskinsassociation.org/papers.html.)
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Dear sisters and brothers in the Faith,

Greetings to you in the name of Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Would you join us in a season of meditation, prayer, and fasting for the Church and for the gospel of Jesus Christ? Specifically would you pray and fast for:

• Those contending for the faith in various contexts including their families, communities, workplaces, local congregation(s), and ecclesiastical bodies including the General Assembly of the PCUSA.

• The EPC General Assembly in Bethesda, Maryland, June 17 - 21, for all who are traveling, for the speakers and preachers, for the fellowship of believers, and for the work of the commissioners.

• The PCUSA General Assembly in San Jose, CA, June 21 - 28, for all who are traveling, for the speakers and preachers, for the fellowship of believers, and for the work of the commissioners.

• All of us, for one another, that in these long, drawn-out struggles over theology, property, the meaning of orthodoxy, and the quest to uphold The Truth, that we do not lose sight of Jesus’ final command to each individual disciple, to go out of our safe places and into the world, starting in our own neighborhoods, to tell the Good News about Jesus Christ, and to make disciples of all nations.

• Laborers for the harvest (“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” from Matthew 9:37-38). May of the gospel of Jesus Christ prosper! Amen!

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[Note: In June, 2008, the General Assembly will be considering a replacement of the entire second part of the Constitution, the Book of Order (except for certain provisions relating to ordination and to property), as proposed by a task force. The assembly could pass the recommendations, which would then go to the presbyteries for a vote. If a simple majority approved within 12 months, the replacement would become effective.]

New Wineskins and other confessing/evangelical congregations that are dedicated to remaining in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should be made aware that a critical concept is missing from the proposed Revised Form of Government.

1.0102 The Fellowship of the Congregation
The polity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presupposes the fellowship of women and men with their children in covenanted relationship with one another and with God through Jesus Christ. The organization rests upon the fellowship and is not designed to work without trust and love (proposed Revised Form of Government, Report of the Form of Government Task Force to the 218th General Assembly (2008)).

The missing concept is voluntary. The current Form of Government reads: “The law and government of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) presuppose the fellowship of women and men with their children in voluntary covenanted relationship with one another and with God through Jesus Christ. The organization rests upon the fellowship and is not designed to work without trust and love” (G-7.0103, emphasis added).
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Dr. Robert A.J. Gagnon has completed an analysis of the Achtemeier overture to General Assembly from John Knox Presbytery. Of particular interest to New Wineskins are these two final points regarding Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith. This series of papers were posted on Presbyweb.com starting on February 26, 2008. For the sake of the Peace, Purity, and Unity of the PCUSA, the adoption of essential tenets is a first step to theological integrity and sanity.

Reasons 9-10

Robert A. J. Gagnon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
gagnon@pts.edu, www.robgagnon.net

Feb. 24, 2008

Author’s note: This is the fifth of five installments addressing ten reasons why the Achtemeier overture is extremist and invalid.

9. The Overture Rationale’s Appeals to Unity as a Basis for Eliminating Identifiable Churchwide Essentials Are Self-Serving, Irrelevant to Constitutional Obligations, and Inaccurate

A ninth problem for the overture’s validity is that its Rationale’s ultimate appeal to unity is unpersuasive and misplaced. The final point of the Achtemeier overture contends that the unity of the PCUSA can be maintained only by adopting its peculiar perspective that there are no identifiable churchwide essentials in the Constitution of the PCUSA or Scripture (point 7; also point 3). Needless to say, such an argument is self-serving: Only by agreeing with the view of Achtemeier et al. that persons should not be refused ordination on the grounds of homosexual practice can the whole church unite. It is also a bit abusive. Unless the “Covenant Network,” “More Light” Presbyterians, and others of that persuasion are allowed to circumvent the clear word of Scripture and the Constitution of the PCUSA they won’t allow the church to have any peace. So, they contend, give us what we want and then we will promote the unity of the church. If they were really in favor of promoting unity, then they would drop their anti-scriptural and unconstitutional agenda.
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I am a professor at a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminary. Let’s suppose I make the following announcement in a class at the start of the term:

Class, you are, of course, obliged to follow the requirements for classroom behavior and work outlined in the Seminary’s Student Handbook. I won’t take up class time by enumerating these. You are responsible for reading the Student Handbook so that ignorance is no excuse. However, among all the requirements listed therein I will single out one in particular for special mention: If you are caught cheating on an exam in this course or plagiarizing in your term paper you will not merely receive a failing grade for this course but, in accordance with Student Handbook policy, be subject to “immediate dismissal by action of the faculty.” So don’t do it. Enough said. Let’s move on to more pleasant subjects.

Suppose that, after making such an announcement, a student concluded: “Dr. Gagnon has given us no clear indication that he regards compliance with the code of academic honesty as an absolute essential for the course.” Could this be regarded as a reasonable interpretation of my action in singling out the Seminary’s policy on cheating and plagiarism from amongst all other requirements? I would suggest that no sane person interpreting my words reasonably could possibly come to such a conclusion.

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William Carey was a cobbler of no particular academic merit, yet after years of trying to get to India to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and hurdling the many roadblocks that were placed before him by the Hyper-Calvinists of his day, he finally made it. While waiting to go he taught himself Hebrew and Greek, and while in India translated portions of the Word of God into over 20 languages and dialects. When asked about his spiritual gift he said, “I can plod.”

As we have spoken to pastors and elders who are part of churches that have made a move away from the PCUSA and into the New Wineskins Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, or into their geographic EPC presbytery, we have repeatedly asked, “what would you do differently?” The typical response is, “If only I had known….” There is no perfect way to make the transition out of the PCUSA. There is only the way that works, much like Edison’s light bulb. There is no simple way to transition out of the PCUSA, so we must be ready to act when others think we should wait and be ready to plod along slowly with our eyes fixed on the goal.
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I don’t get it.

Heartland Presbytery approved three motions. First, it removed the Rev. Kirk Johnston from its rolls, making him no longer a Presbyterian Church (USA) minister. That’s draconian.

Second, it deleted the just-removed Rev. Johnston from its rolls again, just for good measure, I suppose. Isn’t that like killing a man twice? Once would seem overly sufficient to me.

Third – and this one makes no sense whatsoever – Heartland Presbytery voted that “any further pastor or ministerial activities by A. Kirk Johnston (G-6.0200) in connection with ‘Lighthouse Presbyterian Church of Paola’ or any other worshipping community within the geographic bounds of Heartland Presbytery – including, but not limited to, preaching, leading worship, or the administration of the sacraments of baptism or the Lord’s Supper – is disapproved.”
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Michael R. “Mac” McCarty

As more large and middle-sized churches begin to progress toward dismissal or disaffiliate from the PC(USA), some small congregations find that they are effectively denied relief by the entrenched bureaucracy. These small churches, with equally small working budgets, have members who would be quite happy to become part of a presbyterian Church which is evangelical, conservative, and faithful to the Scriptures, but they cannot afford to pay a “ransom” that is being demanded by the PC(USA)and its presbyteries.

It is a sad fact of life that many presbyteries, cash-strapped themselves, have made the decision that they cannot afford to litigate over property against larger churches. Many such presbyteries have initially relied on the promises of the Louisville Papers that the so-called trust provision is an iron-clad guarantee of victory, only to discover that the iron has turned to rust. Their local counsel advise them that the battle over property is anything but a sure win and push for settlement. Faced with dwindling bank accounts and mounting legal bills of their own, they negotiate deals for dismissal, either with or without a financial payment.

But this scenario applies only to those churches that have the financial wherewithal to engage in a potentially protracted legal battle. What of the smaller churches? What are their options?
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Hopefully we can put into words what has been going through our minds these last few weeks and months. First, those of us in the New Wineskins who have left the PCUSA want to ask your forgiveness if we have been short with you, less than encouraging in our conversations, or down right neglectful of your needs and feelings. It has been a busy time for us. The process of preparing our congregations, dealing with the issues concerning property, and attempting to keep our local ministries going has been all-consuming. Once our course was set on departing from the PCUSA it became an energy sapping, time-absorbing endeavor; ministry suffered, our personal lives suffered, free time became a stranger, and we became caught up in the legal and ecclesiastical wranglings necessary to make a move. Once the end was reached we breathed such a sigh of relief that it was finished, that we were taken aback by the fact that everybody else was not out here with us. Doesn’t everybody see the necessity of this? Don’t all members find ministry frustrated by their ties to the PCUSA? The process of leaving did tend to make us somewhat “self-focused.” We seek your forgiveness.
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