To Go or Stay - II

In my last post on this subject I suggested that all of the orthodox in the PCUSA, whether they will go or stay, should go down the road together for as long as they can, giving each other mutual support as true colleagues in ministry.  In this post I will suggest one way in which all orthodox believers ordained in the PCUSA can act together and in support of the Truth of Scripture.

The Layman has an article about a retired pastor, Steve Moss of Salisbury, North Carolina, who, as a matter of conscience, advised Salem Presbytery that he will refuse to affirm the ordination or installation of “any officer of the church who refuses to repent of the sin of choosing to live sexually outside of the bonds of holy matrimony between a man and a woman.”  A similar action has been taken by Gary Miller (Reforming Gary) an active PCUSA pastor (or is it Teaching Elder now?).

I believe all ordained officers in the PCUSA who continue to affirm the authority of Scripture over all areas of our lives, including sexuality, should act as these two pastors have done.  Each teaching elder should write to her Presbytery's Stated Clerk and Committee on Ministry and advise them that she cannot affirm the ordination of any persons who fail to meet the standard of fidelity and chastity, or to treat such persons as colleagues in ministry.  Each ruling elder and deacon should advise his Session the same thing and ask that the statement be included in the minutes of the Session. 

And in a move perhaps requiring even more courage, every orthodox candidate for ordination as a teaching elder, during his examination, should make the same affirmation and request approval for his departure from his presbytery.  Similarly, every newly elected ruling elder and deacon should make the same affirmation to her Session before being approved for ordination.

Sessions and presbyteries can get into the act by adopting resolutions containing similar affirmations and sending them to their respective presbyteries and synods.

As I wrote previously, this dispute is about far more than "fidelity and chastity" and goes to the heart of the faith.  So if it were my letter, and it should be in writing, I would add that I could not be a colleague in ministry to any ordained officer who did not affirm the authority of Scripture and that salvation from sin comes only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as savior and lord.  I cannot write a letter of my own because I voluntarily gave up my own ordination as a ruling elder about two years ago after my presbytery overwhelmingly approved a pastor who denied the authority of Scripture (regardless of Its interpretation) and who refused to affirm salvation by grace through faith.

Sessions and Presbyteries can get into the act by passing resolutions including the same affirmations and forwarding them to their respective presbyteries and synods.
These letters of affirmation should be broadly publicized in our congregations, presbyteries and nationally.  They will show the depth and breadth of those grieved by the denomination's recent actions, and will challenge the claimed "forbearance" of those on the other side.  We will help the whole Church understand that these two positions, that Scripture contains moral rules that govern our lives regardless of our culture, and that It doesn't, cannot both be true, and cannot co-exist for long within the same denomination.  And we must stand ready to support, in any way we can, those ordained officers, and candidates for office, who become subject to retaliation for standing up for our beliefs, particularly in liberal presbyteries and congregations.

In this way we can take one more step down the road together.