As a way of introducing myself and the work I hope to do with PFR, I would like to offer the following touchstones for renewal, some reflections on the way forward for PFR and for our denomination.
As Presbyterians and as PFR, we have a big task ahead of us. As the PC(USA) continues to wrestle with its own identity, PFR will remain committed to fostering a Reformed and evangelical vision for the renewal of the church. As Executive Director of PFR, I will commit my energy to implementing that vision, that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) may honor God more purely and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ more boldly.
Renewal is the continual, transforming work of the Holy Spirit
For many years PFR has engaged the church with the following mission: “As followers of Jesus Christ, seeking to conform our lives and beliefs to the Word of God, our mission is to participate in God’s renewing, transforming work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” Because renewal is the work of the Holy Spirit, we participate in God’s renewal of the church, which is an ongoing process of transformation, necessary in every age of the church’s life. The Holy Spirit renews the church at every level: individual, congregational, connectional, and global. Because the Holy Spirit is the ultimate source of our renewal, rather than our own energy or wisdom, we are called to pray for and be instruments of the Spirit’s work in our midst!
Renewal at the local level
Our connectional identity and the comprehensive nature of the Spirit’s work lead us to engage in renewal efforts at both the congregational and the national levels. The individual congregation is the mission center of the Spirit’s activity, for it is here that the Gospel of Jesus Christ takes root in the lives of Christians. Responding to the Gospel proclaimed from the pulpit and made visible in the sacraments, congregations strive to be faithful to the Gospel, witnessing to its power in their own communities. Even so, as the last several decades have made clear, our congregations face tough challenges today, and PFR is committed to facing these challenges without wavering.
One challenge we continue to face is the need to support the theological and spiritual development of our pastors and elders, indeed of all our members. Today, even many evangelical congregations struggle to integrate biblical preaching, our confessional heritage, God-honoring pastoral care, and faithful church-growth strategies into ministry at the local level. As we look to the future and respond to the spiritual and educational needs of the church, PFR will continue to be a strong presence of renewal in the church through its Issues Ministry, Curriculum, Network of Presbyterian Women in Leadership, Seminary Ministry, as well as our Wee Kirk and Christian Life conferences and Congregational Renewals. We have seen many hopeful signs! To give but one example, this year we have witnessed a growing Presbyterians For Renewal student movement at Princeton Theological Seminary, which promises to send the church future leaders who are prepared to proclaim the Gospel with passion and integrity. By addressing the needs of our seminarians and young pastors, and by tapping the creative and bright evangelical minds in our church, I believe we can foster the renewal of mainline evangelical theology that is so important for every aspect of our church’s life. PFR seeks to be a critical instrument in bringing this renewal to fruition, by preparing and distributing reliable materials through our publications, our website, and other forms of popular media.
Another challenge we face is the fact that many evangelical pastors and congregations feel isolated in their own presbyteries. In such circumstances, it is extremely difficult for them to see beyond their intense local struggles into a brighter future for their presbytery and for our denomination as a whole. PFR wants to collaborate with these pastors and congregations, helping them to network for mutual support and to cultivate strategic thinking within their presbyteries. PFR will continue to expand its base of local chapters, fostering grassroots energy for the renewal of our member congregations and their respective presbyteries. Supporting strategic planning in many presbyteries will also be important as we look forward to a future where the General Assembly will be focused on working with numerous overtures that seek to implement an evangelical vision for the denomination.
We find a further local challenge in the fact that our congregations continue to reflect the racial/ethnic and economic divisions found in the wider culture. To faithfully live out the Gospel, we must strive against this part of our history and prepare for a more diverse future. Nurturing an evangelical multiculturalism in the church is a particularly pressing need in our age, and PFR is committed to addressing this need with vigor. On this important matter we need to be constantly reminded that right doctrine and right living can never be separated. We will seek to raise up minority leaders, increase awareness, listen to our congregations’ struggles, and offer creative, practical paradigms for the way forward.
Renewal at the national level
Of course, some of the most pressing issues facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) today involve decisions made at the national level, both in the General Assembly and in the denominational offices in Louisville. Debates over ordination standards, abortion, social witness policy, the Washington office, ecumenical relationships, institutional structures, enforcing the Constitution—the list could go on—have preoccupied the national conversation, usually to the detriment of the concerns of local congregations. One of my goals as Executive Director will be to give PFR’s national voice greater prominence, becoming more proactive in our political advocacy. I will work hard to get out in front of the issues, thinking well beyond defensive measures, presenting a strong, irenic evangelical voice in the denomination. In addition to building relationships, we will invest in publications, conferences, videos, and creative forms of commissioner education, covering various pressing issues of evangelical concern.
Because ideas can change the world, it is heartening to note that as a widely respected yet distinctively evangelical voice, PFR is well positioned to be a clearinghouse for confessional, creative theological thinking. We will be working on the concerns of our younger pastors, such as the deeply felt conflict between a high view of the connectional church on the one hand, and distrust of the “institution” on the other. We will offer a faithful and concrete approach to homosexual practice and the debate over ordination standards. And we will strive to help the church evangelize an increasingly “post-Christian,” pluralistic society.
A word about PFR’s role in the struggle over ordination standards is in order here. PFR has a good track record of working for broad-based renewal, rather than being defined by one issue. I am convinced this approach is the right one. Having said that, PFR will make a concentrated effort in the coming years to maintain biblical ordination standards, including G-6.0106b, while partnering with other groups in the Presbyterian Renewal Network. The next year and a half leading up to the Assembly in Birmingham promises to be a crucial time, and we will be making the case for biblical and unitive standards, offering guidance to commissioners before we gather in Birmingham. If biblical ordination standards are maintained at the next Assembly, I am hopeful that the following two years can be more positive years of evangelical hope for our future, hope to be made concrete in overtures and forward-looking policy initiatives that may de-center the ordination issue. If we can fill these years with multicultural leadership and a global vision, a broad-based coalition could then move our denomination forward, witnessing to Jesus Christ by engaging the culture without conforming to it.
Renewal is future oriented and globally conceived
As a Reformed evangelical, I am convinced that looking forward and trusting the Spirit’s strength is a mandate for evangelicals. Because the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, moving us forward in our pursuit of holiness, we must be the true “progressives,” those making progress in the way we engage the culture and conform ourselves to the character of Christ. No culture since the Fall—and no church for that matter—has ever been beyond the need for repentance and transformation. In other words, our vision for the church is not to return to a glorious past or to defend the status quo. Evangelical renewal is not “conservative” in this sense; it is future oriented.
For instance, when PFR defends our church’s present standards that are biblical, we do so as part of our interest in moving forward in our proclamation of the Gospel. Fighting the battle over ordination standards is one part of a broader effort to offer a positive vision for renewal. Now and in the future, our wider concerns for Assembly action may include:
1) more effective allocation of funds as well as altering our bureaucratic structure, so that our national structure follows the concerns of our congregations rather than the reverse;
2) improving our efforts in global missions to bring the Gospel to unreached people groups;
3) developing reciprocal relationships with churches in the “Global South,” where we learn from them how to better contextualize the Gospel, which will help us be more effective in our own new church developments;
4) developing a program for training pastors to be missionary-evangelists in our own increasingly secular context;
5) having a more consistently pro-life ethic;
6) taking a hard look at the curricula of our denominational seminaries and the programs widely endorsed to train our pastors; and
7) exploring how our confessional heritage can play a more significant role in our identity as a church and in the education of our pastors. In the coming years, PFR will explore these and other issues, working through our governing bodies to effect positive change for the future.
Finally, today more than ever, our vision for the renewal of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) must embrace a global perspective. The Holy Spirit is working all over the world, and a global consciousness will lead us to consider the Spirit’s movement in our brothers and sisters of evangelical faith in various cultures and locales. A global consciousness will encourage us, as we participate not just in a struggling American denomination but in the 21st century explosion of the Christian faith in the southern hemisphere. How can we learn from these non-Western churches? A global perspective will also alert us to changing demographic patterns: are we prepared for the influx of evangelical, non-white immigrants to the United States? How can we invest in the leadership of racial and ethnic minorities who in many ways represent the future of American Christianity? Evangelicalism is truly global and multicultural; our evangelical voice in the PC(USA) should be as well.
Obviously, this vision for the church cannot be accomplished by a few individuals or a small team. We must unite our passions, offering ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit at the local level. I am eager to partner with you in the ministry of the Gospel! Please feel free to contact me with your questions, concerns, or to share how the Spirit has been at work in your congregation’s life or in your participation in a PFR event. Soli Deo Gloria!
