Pastor's Pen for December 2010

On Thursday, November 18th, Pittsburgh Presbytery held a special presbytery meeting to vote on the amendments arising out of the 219th General Assembly.  The only one of true importance was Amendment 10-A - Gifts and Requirements.  Sounds pretty insignificant, yet if it had passed, it would have taken our denomination from one that affirms Scripture as God's Truth, Jesus Christ as God's Son, and the Holy Spirit as God's Power of Hope.  Despite its title, the point of the amendment was to permit practicing, unrepentant gays and lesbians, as well as anyone who is sexually promiscuous, adulterous, or openly unrepentant in their sexual sin to be ordained as elders, deacons, and ministers of the Word and Sacrament.  The amendment was passed by a slim margin at the General Assembly, and sent to the presbyteries for their votes.  This is the fifth effort to remove standards of conduct from the Book of Order since it was passed by the denomination in 1996.  I was once again reminded of a passage of Scripture that I believes speaks to why some within our denomination are working so actively to pass this amendment and others like it.

Romans 1:18–25 (ESV)
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Since the very beginning of the church, there have been those who have sought to devalue, destroy, and corrupt the truth of Jesus Christ, and replace the hope of the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, with a belief that God loves us just the way we are.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  God loves all those He has called to salvation, but expects us to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and be transformed into new creations.  However, there are those who will lie, cheat, and seek to steal the grace that God offers in His Son in order to further their political agenda and false gospel.

It was fascinating to hear two of the speakers who wished to promote this amendment.  These two individuals are pastors within our presbytery.  The first implied that the reason our denomination is losing 50,000 members a year is because we do not ordain unrepentant gays and lesbians, especially since her church affirms them, and they are apparently growing.  At the same time, the second pastor advised the commissioners at the presbytery meeting that if we wanted this issue to "go away" all we had to do was vote for it.  In both cases, we can see how "claiming to be wise", they have become something else entirely.  It seems to me that they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and seem to be serving and worshiping the creature of their political beliefs and not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

After only 20 minutes of debate, the amendment was voted down by a two third majority (80-163).  It would be nice to think that this settles the issue, but as the second pastor implied, a no vote just means that we will have to deal with another amendment in two years, or an Authoritative Interpretation from the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission or the General Assembly itself, which will enable the churches in the denomination to ordain those who live in sexual immorality.  I came to the realization as a commissioner at the 219th General Assembly that our system of church government makes a transformative change of the PC(USA) into what it once was and should be, Christ centered, Spirit filled, and Bible based nearly impossible.  HOWEVER, what is impossible with man is possible with God, and therefore, we at Lebanon Presbyterian will continue to be a voice and witness to the Truth of Jesus Christ despite what others may say or do within our denomination or presbytery.  The GOOD NEWS is that the presbytery did not heed the advice or arguments of those who would seek to pass this type of amendment.

Two final reflections.  I thought about identifying these two pastors by the churches they serve, but I was advised against it.  Despite the fact that these two pastors spoke in an open and public forum, I choose to accept this advise because I respect those that gave it to me, yet at the same time, it saddens me greatly that there are two congregations that are not being served by the truth and that they might be completely unaware of it.  Part of me believes that these pastors should be identified, yet that is not the point of this Pastor’s Pen, and in the final analysis, God will decide who is and who is not a false teacher, preacher, and shepherd.

Ultimately, since truth won out, some might also wonder why I am writing about this particular topic in my Pastor's Pen for December.  Shouldn't I be writing about Advent or Christmas?  Actually, I am.  As the teaching elder of the church, it is my role and solemn responsibility to keep you informed about what is happening within our denomination, and to encourage each of you, and myself included to seek and find the hope that God in Christ provides, as well as to hear the arguments of what we MUST NOT BELIEVE.  By doing so, we then can better appreciate what God has called us to believe, and to worship the Creator and NEVER the creation or an aspect of it, which ultimately becomes self-idolatry.  That is the real point of the HOPE we receive when we understand that God became man for us, and that Immanuel did come to change us from our finite, limited, and sinful nature to a nature that brings us into relationship with Him.  That is what we HOPE for and that is the JOY we receive when we accept the TRUTH, deny the LIE, and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.  In the Beloved Name of Jesus Christ, Pastor Bob