A Motorcycle Jump from the Point of View of the Motorcycle

September 29, 2006 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Religion 

There has been a controversy down in Texas.  The St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX is a rather liberal Presbyterian church.  For example, they advocate for gay and lesbian causes, they have held events around politics and the church with a liberal bent, shoot – they showed Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the church as part of their movie series on Christianity in the movies.  Their pastor Jim Rigby has been brought up on charges for performing same-sex unions.

A professor from the University of Texas at Austin named Robert Jensen approached the church because of events in his life.  He had been a committed atheist for years and years, and was beginning to question that.  So, he approached the church.  St. Andrews in the person of their Session allowed him to join the church, making some small but important modifications in the membership questions that allowed him to answer in the affirmative.  From his writings, it’s clear that he doesn’t quite qualify for membership under the common PCUSA standards.

He then wrote an article in which he qualified his Christian beliefs and explained that his reasons for joining were mostly to open a dialogue with the church.  To his detriment (and somewhat contrary to his later writings) he spoke of how he did not “convert in a theological sense but joined a moral and political community”.  He wasn’t in the church to meet the church’s primary purpose, but rather joined to open lines of communication.

The response was quick.  St. Andrews is part of Mission Presbytery.  A committee was appointed to talk to the church and Dr. Jensen and see what exactly they were thinking.  The report of that committee recommended that Dr. Jensen’s membership be declared voided, that he be placed on the “baptized” roll (an irregular action, since he had been a member of another church in his youth), and that the Committee on Ministry work with the session of the church to develop a “constitutionally appropriate process” for receiving members.  The presbytery voted 156-114 to implement these actions.  Later in the meeting, the presbytery voted to stay these actions pending an appeal by St. Andrews to the Synod of the Sun judicial commission.

Robert Jensen has written a new article (“The Struggle Over What It Means to be a Christian Today  Finding My Way Back to Church … and Getting Kicked Out“) in which he details the whole story, including his past as a member of a Presbyterian church in another state, the joining process and more depth into what in his life caused him to do so, the presbytery meeting where he was kicked out, and where he goes from here.

It’s a bit of a scary story.  I have no doubt in my mind that the church made a mistake in accepting him into membership – he clearly doesn’t have all of the required beliefs.  However, he was treated as cattle in the rest of the Presbyterian process.  In the presbytery meeting, he was not allowed to speak.  That’s right – the main witness for a remedial case was in the room but was not heard from.  In fact, the presbytery told pastor Rigby before the meeting that Dr. Jensen would not be allowed to speak.  He did write a statement (included in his 2nd article) about his faith that was circulated to some members of presbytery.

This is what I meant by my title.  I believe that admitting Dr. Jensen into membership in a Presbyterian church given his views constitutes a stunt on the part of St. Andrews and the session.  It’s like a motorcycle jump – you jump and see whether or not you land safely.  However, in this case the motorcycle itself is sentient and has feelings.  Dr. Jensen, while a willing participant, has clearly been treated as an object – at least by the presbytery.  He was not allowed to speak as a witness in a remedial complaint.  He does not write of any loving words from any presbytery members other than those from his own congregation (perhaps there were some, but it didn’t make enough of an impression to cause him to write about it).

Further, he writes of anger and fear in the room.  He very clearly felt anger from some members of the presbytery (remember, folks – the presbytery is made up of ministers and elders {lay leaders} – exactly the kind of people who should AVOID anger in dealing with a lost sheep).
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THIS IS A PERSON THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT.  A person deserving of love.  Correction – perhaps.  Guidance – certainly.  Discipline – No, he has not done or said anything that requires discipline except perhaps for lying during his confirmation at age 13, for which he clearly shows remorse.  He came to the church as a person in need of spiritual growth, and he got used as the prop in a stunt, and then treated as an exhibit in a court case rather than a human witness.

I have a similar story to his.  I grew up in a Presbyterian church as a youth.  I’m not entirely sure that I meant what I said and wrote in the confirmation process, when I was just 13.  I left the church for a long time, and I am just now looking to return.  I never lost my faith – instead I put the concept of Christian Community on the shelf.

And I fear the same treatment that he received.  Coming back to a church is scary.  Something caused you to leave long ago – will it happen again?  Will you be subjected to judgment by others for not being holy enough, or not sticking with it for all of those years?  Is your relationship with God what it should be?  What changes in your life (not to mention the lives of your family) should you expect?

We who are “formerly churched” need a lot of love and encouragement to stick with the transition.  We need to be seen as we are – the whole of what we are (or at least as much as we are willing to share).  That includes our flaws, which must be handled as gently as a child’s.  We’re fragile.

I don’t see any reason that what happened to Robert Jensen will happen to me.  I’m much less controversial.  However, I know one thing to be true – if what happened to him happens to me I suspect that it will end my church career permanently.  In that I believe that he is stronger than I am.

And shame on some of the members of Mission Presbytery for the way that they treated this fragile soul.  A person should never be treated like an inanimate object.

(A hat tip to Toby Brown of A Classical Presbyterian for pointing me in this direction.  Toby is a member of Mission Presbytery.)

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