Good Press on the Presbyterian Church (USA)

(From time to time and for various reasons, the Presbyterian Church (USA) gets bad press. The good news doesn't find its way into the press very often, so this is one small attempt to get out a good word.)

Presbyterians missionaries entered Oklahoma long before statehood, including those who arrived with Native Americans on their “trails of tears.” Presbyterian pastors arrived with a passion for education (establishing what eventually became the University of Tulsa), a passion for evangelism (with the first church in many of our towns and cities in Oklahoma being Presbyterian), and with a passion for mission (reaching out to people in poverty in many ways, including the establishment of social service agencies).

The primary denomination of Presbyterians today, the PCUSA, is home to about 78% of all Presbyterians in the United States (The Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, the edition of 2004, Eileen W. Lindner, ed.). It is a denomination that fearlessly tackles issues affecting modern life, seeking to understand how God is speaking to us through scripture to guide us forward.

While it regularly produces study papers and even position papers, the church does not compel its members (whether clergy or laity) to espouse particular viewpoints on modern issues. It is, however, a “confessional church,” meaning that it has a “Book of Confessions” that has a central role in shaping the theology of the denomination. The eleven documents in this book include creeds, confessions of faith, catechisms, and a brief statement of faith. Each of these came into being as Christians struggled to understand what aspects of their faith in God were most important to proclaim in their context. Ordained officers (ministers, elders, and deacons) in the church commit to be instructed and led by those confessions as they lead the people of God.

Presbyterian faith proclaims the full divinity, the full humanity, and the lordship of Jesus and proclaims the mystery of the Triune God—God present as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet one God. While individuals within the Presbyterian Church are free to dissent on theological and practical issues, the Book of Order (the portion of our denomination’s constitution dealing with church government) draws clear lines that affect what actions are permitted within member churches. Dissent is welcome within the denomination, resulting in vigorous debates on countless theological, social, political, and other issues. Defiance of the church’s constitution, though, is not welcome, as it rends the fabric of community and trust in the Spirit that unite us.

The PCUSA Book of Order states that “all property held by or for a particular church…is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).” This provision is not so that the denomination might benefit from the value of the property, and it makes no effort to do so. It does, however, provide the leverage needed for the denomination to hold pastors and congregations accountable to carrying out their ministries under the authority of Christ as understood and practiced through our theology and church government.

Church officers in the Presbyterian Church (USA) profess, among other things, that we “accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to [us].” Bible study is of immense importance in our denomination, with pastors being required to learn Hebrew and Greek and study numerous courses on the Bible as part of the Master’s of Divinity degree required to be ordained as a pastor in the PCUSA. The reading and interpretation of the Bible plays a central role in Presbyterian worship. Sunday School classes and Bible studies for adults provide venues where laity can learn to study the Bible and apply it to their lives. In some ways, it is astonishingly easy to understand the Bible’s meaning—the overwhelming challenge is to try to live it out. (“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” is a good example, the repeated insistence throughout both Testaments on care for the poor and the vulnerable is another.) In other ways, it is extraordinarily hard to discern how different passages should be held in tension with one another and how to let them speak to modern life. Abortion, birth control, divorce, homosexuality, and women's roles in the community of faith are such hotly debated issues in churches of many denominations precisely because the Bible directly addresses them rarely and leaves open questions about how the passages should be interpreted. Christians of good conscience, deep relationship with Christ, and courageous commitment to God differ on how they ultimately understand the Spirit to be guiding the church to respond to those issues. While there is consensus within Presbyterian churches on some of those, there is vigorous debate on others.

In short, while you’ll never find unanimity of thought in the Presbyterian church, you will often find people who consider no question or issue off limits as they try to love, honor, and seek God with their all their mind. You’ll also find Presbyterian members and congregations who are passionate about demonstrating the presence of God in the realities of this world through serving others in their time of need, not only pointing to God’s promise to life beyond the tomb. The Presbyterian Church: it’s a great place to come with your thorniest questions and deepest yearnings. The Spirit is at work in our churches (as in other churches), drawing people to itself as God continues to reconcile the world to himself in Christ.