And the schism begins ….

January 17, 2007 by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Religion 

The New Wineskins Association has published a proposed Strategy Report (warning – large PDF – over 150 pages) calling for a schism from the PC(USA) denomination.

Well, OK.  It doesn’t actually SAY that this is a schism.  In fact the report goes out of the way to avoid calling it a schism.  But let’s face it – what they want is the wholesale departure of a large number of PC(USA) congregations to another denomination.  That’s a schism.

What this group is pushing is for all New Wineskins congregations to leave the PC(USA) and go to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.  The New Wineskins group will ask the EPC General Assembly next June to allow for non-geographical presbyteries.  They will then ask to create a New Wineskins EPC presbytery to contain all New Wineskins PC(USA) congregations that want to leave.  That presbytery will be self-governing, and all officers and congregations will be required to the Essential Tenets of the New Wineskins Association AND their Ethical Imperatives.  It should be noted that “destructive speech, unforgiveness” are listed in their Ethical Imperatives, though they use PLENTY of such speech in their Strategy Paper.  At some point this presbytery can either be folded into the EPC or possibly create a new denomination – the EPC and this presbytery will hold discussions over time on which way to go.

I say “LET THEM GO!”  Most of the destructive controversy in the PC(USA) is caused by two groups – the evangelical right, and the extreme liberal left.  Both are responsible in part for the decline in membership and the inward focus of the church.  If one of those groups wants to leave, let them go – WITH THEIR PROPERTY – and let’s get back to doing the important stuff.  Let’s either let the presbyteries let these 150 congregations go (less than 2% of the PC(USA) by count of congregations or members) or have the next General Assembly approve a method for their departure.

Those interested in the roots of this schism should read a document from Perspectives (published by the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly) titled Presbyterians and Separatist Evangelicals: A Continuing Dilemma.   This is admittedly written by from a leftward leaning point of view, but it is a very scholarly document that shows the roots of our ongoing controversies and splits.

And for God’s sake – let’s get this over with and move on.

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