by Randy Jenkins

Oh, the things they don’t teach you in Seminary! I never set out to change my denominational affiliation, but when the Lord opens doors we must go through them. This is the story of how I went from a born and raised northern Presbyterian to a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to a member of the New Wineskins Evangelical Presbyterian Church Presbytery.

The church I presently serve, Central Presbyterian in Huntsville, AL, had not been happy with the denomination for 20+ years, but when I arrived 6 years ago that was not a burning issue – just a fact of life. They had withheld money, written letters, and generally made their displeasure with the direction of the denomination known, but never showed any intention of leaving. After the 2004 General Assembly I sent a letter to the membership summarizing the actions the GA took. I did it simply for informational purposes and not to “stir the pot.” To my surprise my office was flooded with unhappy members who were shocked at the actions our denomination was taking. It was at this point the Session asked me to find like-minded pastors and churches to associate with.

I ended up at a New Wineskins meeting in Chicago where 16 of us prayed, talked and dreamed of what the Lord might be doing. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was up to my eyeballs in the Wineskins and, with the blessing of my Elders, serving on the Leadership Team and then as chair of the Strategy Team.

For purposes of brevity, I will bypass the nuts and bolts of how Central Presbyterian Church made the decision to, and then prepared to, obtain it’s property and then eventually leave the denomination: I will jump ahead to the moment of decision to leave the PCUSA. When Central filed for a Declaratory Judgment it was clear that my days in the PCUSA were numbered. As I began to talk with the Stated Clerk of the EPC and their national office, I found a willing, helpful, and Godly group who were ready to bend over backwards to make my transition a smooth one. On the day that I renounced the jurisdiction of the PCUSA, the EPC accepted me as a transfer and put me (and our entire staff) on the benefits plan. They promptly sent the forms, talked us through any questions we had, and gave us all the information concerning the pension plan they have with Fidelity®. For the staff here at Central Presbyterian Church the transition was both seamless and painless.

To make my transfer official, I had to be examined: first, in a conference call with the EPC equivalent of the Committee on Ministry and then on the floor of the Presbytery of the Central South. In both instances I was examined on my views in six areas: theology, sacraments, Bible, Book of Order, Reformed tradition, and the nature of the office of Minister of the Word. During both the conference call examination and on the floor of presbytery I found the questions to be insightful, direct, and an opportunity to express my faith, knowledge, views, and to give glory to the Lord. I actually used the word “imputation” during my examination on the floor of presbytery and I was certain everyone knew what it meant! I found that actually holding to essentials, clearly defined essentials, was not a bad thing but showed that some things are not negotiable. I always thought the Westminster Confession of Faith to be the best-uninspired theological document written so I had no problem holding to it with my allowed exceptions.

This past June I was installed as an EPC pastor at Central Presbyterian Church and then, on the recommendation of the Joint Commission formed by the action of the EPC General Assembly in June, transferred my membership to the New Wineskins/EPC transitional presbytery. I still attend meetings of the Presbytery of the Central South and enjoy the fellowship of the men and women who minister within this region.

I have been asked, “How stressful was this transition?” The stress was all in getting out of the PCUSA, not getting into the EPC. They never had a class on changing your denominational affiliation at either Pittsburgh Theological Seminary or Reformed Theological Seminary, but I did learn that faithfulness to Christ must be first in my life. I lost a lot of sleep up to that moment when I renounced the jurisdiction of the PCUSA, but that night I slept well. I have many friends who will stay in the PCUSA and I count them as strong believers and faithful men and women. The church I serve and the call of Christ led me to take a direction away from the denomination I had known all my life. No matter what happens I rest in the fact that when the Lord calls, He always provides what is needed to achieve the task. That does not mean it will be easy, but faithfulness to Christ must take preeminence in our lives.

If you want to hear more about this transition or talk to me, just email me at revrtj (at) bellsouth (dot) net.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 at 3:01 pm and is filed under New Wineskins, Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.