Sometimes intense controversy has a way of dividing those who were once “on the same page.” At other times such controversy galvanizes a movement and allows its underlying unity to be made manifest.  At present, as the church discerns how best to respond to the controversial recommendation made by the P.U.P. Task Force, the mainstream of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is speaking with a clear, unified voice.

I was, for instance, heartened by the recent meeting of the Presbyterian Renewal Network in Orlando (this is a meeting of the “heads of staff” of most of the renewal organizations in the PC(USA), including PFR, the Coalition, the Forum, Pres. Action, Theology Matters, VOW, etc.). At that meeting, our conversations about the 2006 General Assembly made clear that we are united by a common vision of what it means to live faithfully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in the PC(USA). We talked at length about our unanimous concern over Recommendation 5 from the P.U.P. Task Force. And we talked about how we can work together to defeat it, offering to the church several complementary approaches. One approach is to adopt PFR’s recommended A.I., in “On Being Called to Covenant Community.”  Other approaches will emerge from the lower governing bodies soon. And we encourage all Presbyterians to add their names to the “Statement of Presbyterian Renewal Ministries on the P.U.P. Report.”

The Presbyterians who voted to put G-6.0106b in the constitution, and then voted to keep it there (twice), i.e. the majority of Presbyterians, oppose the P.U.P. Task Force’s effort to undercut that standard with their Recommendation 5.  To undercut the “fidelity/chastity” standard by circumventing the vote of the presbyteries who put it in the constitution, would be to break unity with the Presbyterian majority. The unity of the renewal organizations on this matter is a demonstration that the unity desired by the PUP task force – and the whole church for that matter – is not achieved by Recommendation 5.

The joint statement of the renewal organizations is a witness to where the unity of our denomination resides. We know that not everybody in the PC(USA) agrees with G-6.0106b, but we recognize that those who disagree with this standard, while free to seek to overturn it, are called to live peacefully within the covenant community by honoring the will of the majority. Those who disagree with a church standard ought not seek to circumvent it, nor should they seek to discard the wisdom and will of the church that the standard represents.

It is good to see the center re-emerging. And so let us together pray for the peace, unity and purity of the church, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that together we may walk in the way of Christ our Lord and Savior.

See also:

PFR Board Responds to PUP Report

Lordship of Jesus, Local License: Responding to the Task Force Report

The Book of Acts and the Church’s Response to the GLBT Community