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    A Future with Hope - a sermon for the pc(usa)

    A Future with Hope from Landon Whitsitt on Vimeo.

    On February 2, 2011 a letter was released that captured the attention of the PC(USA). Written by a group of pastors serving some of the larger congregations in our denomination (calling themselves "Fellowship PC(USA)"), the letter bemoaned what it referred to as the "deathly ill" state of our denomination.  The group did not see the letter as a final solution, but offered it, instead, as an invitation to converse about the future of our slice of Christ's church as well as some preliminary values and ideas about what that future might look like.

    The letter was not well received by many in our church who found it to be arrogant and presumptive. It is my understanding that these pastors did not intended to provoke the subsequent reaction they received, but to jump start an honest conversation about where God might be leading us as Presbyterians.  While I vehemently disagree with many of their assumptions and quite a bit of their proposal, I will take them at their word that they simply mis-stepped and intend to engage the church in good faith.

    To that end, I have decided not to "respond" to their letter, but, rather, to offer a "counter-point" to their assessment.  I believe their analysis of the state of our church is wrong, and, therefore, I also view their solutions as lacking merit.  What we do agree upon, however, is that we have reached a sort of fork in the road.  The only question which remains is which road will we take.

     

     

    • 25 February 2011
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    about 1 year ago joeduffus (Twitter) responded:
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    Thank you. I appreciate the way you put this into the context of our church being in exile and in giving me an enjoyable lesson on Jeremiah. I haven't gotten that far in the Old Testament yet but really liked your describing his efforts as trying to provide hope to the Israelites, rather than just warnings, as his very name has come to be used.

    I don't agree with your projection of that tragedy on our current denominational rifts. The Israelites had to figure out how to worship and pray in exile, yes. But they didn't rewrite Scripture to do it. The thrust of the complaint of the Fellowship PC(USA) -- as you correctly described it -- is that we're not being faithful to Scripture.

    I can absolutely agree that none of us really knows how all of this is going to turn out, and I can share your faith that God will work through us in his own way. Yet, while both sides of this rending disagreement believe they are being faithful to the Bible, even whether that alone is sufficient to decide these matters is under debate. You and I discussed your idea of Logos (as opposed to Sola Scriptura) a few months ago on another blog, and your "Open Source Gospel" certainly buttress the idea that you believe we have either missed the point of the Bible for hundreds of years or that we need to get comfortable with a notion of the Gospel being re-tooled, cherry-picked and then "recompiled" to suit different cultures, fundamental beliefs or other "-isms."

    To me, the great irony of the situation that drove the Fellowship group to throw down that gauntlet is that it is the conservatives who are the ones talking about schism, not the liberals.

    I take comfort in your reminder that we all need to remain open to the possibility that we are passing through this difficult time on order to come out stronger, more faithful and better witnesses for Jesus. Yet I don't see the parallel the way you do. Rather, I see the split becoming wider and, sadly, more inevitable.

    about 1 year ago chipstapleton (Twitter) responded:
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    Landon, I appreciate your response and your viewpoint, but it seems a little like you might not really be interested in a discussion with those that disagree with you on issues like 'full inclusion' and universalism.
    As a presbyterian pastor that considers myself a moderate and who ministers to a congregation that is diverse in almost every way (including theology) I was encouraged by the Fellowship PC(USA) letter and white paper because they at least seemed serious about honestly talking with those that they disagree with and finding ways to be a positive witness to the world in spite of (sometimes fundamental) disagreements.
    Your conclusions, as I heard them, in this message seem to say 'get with it', which doesn't seem to be an invitation to real discussion.
    You are, of course, entitled to your opinion and you have every right to voice it. I guess I would just hope that as vice-moderator there would at least be an attempt to hear and enter into dialog with those that you might disagree with.
    I am open to the fact that I have misunderstood or misread your thoughts and position, and would welcome correction or further clarification.

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