Evangelical pastor ousted by Presbytery of Baltimore By John H. Adams The Layman Online Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Despite overwhelming support from the session and most members of the congregation, the Presbytery of Baltimore has forced an evangelical minister to resign as pastor of a 826-member church that had a small group of dissidents who opposed his message and his style. After months of bitterness, clandestine meetings between the presbytery's leaders and dissident members of the congregation and the intervention of an Administrative Commission, the presbytery dissolved the relationship between the Rev. Richard Jones and First Presbyterian Church of Howard County, Md., effective May 15. The presbytery decided to appoint its own moderator of the session, postpone the election of the congregation's officers until at least 2005 and allow members of its Administrative Commission to vote on business before the session if the number of elders falls below nine. Jones' ouster was the second by the presbytery of an evangelical minister. Under pressure from another presbytery Administrative Commission, the Rev. Ernest R.D. Smart resigned as co-pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Baltimore in 1999. Smart later filed a complaint, but the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic dismissed his case. However, the highest court in the denomination, the Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly, ruled that the synod court erred and sent the case back. But Smart left the denomination and is now serving a Lutheran congregation. Since Smart's departure in 1999, Second Presbyterian has lost a third of its members, down from 917 in 1999 to 608 in 2002. Some members of First Presbyterian in Howard County expect a similar exodus. The issue between the presbytery and the congregation had been seething for two years before the presbytery ousted Jones. Presbytery leaders said the issues were not theological. Jones' defenders disagreed. "I think it is deeply theological," said Jeffrey Robinson, who had served on the congregation's Pastor Nominating Committee and Pastor/Parish/Personnel Relations Committee. He said the presbytery had challenged Jones' evangelical theology from the outset, when the Pastor Nominating Committee was proposing him as the candidate to fill the church's pulpit. Robinson issued a paper titled "Nine Questions That Raise Doubts" that was sent to presbytery leaders. He concluded that Jones' unwillingness to accept "diversity" in theological understanding prompted "aggressive" questioning by the presbytery's Committee on Ministry before it approved his call. Jones is a straightforward evangelical with a commitment to the authority of Scripture. Under his leadership, the congregation's youth program grew from an average of 12 attendees to about 100 per week. Twenty-five of the church's youth accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. The congregation adopted a sister church in Guatemala and sponsored inner-city mission trips to Philadelphia. It began using the Alpha program for Christian witness and a course for couples to strengthen marriages. "Richard preaches the Gospel," said member Jim Crutchfield. "He accepts the Word of God as authoritative and challenges all Christians to understand it and follow it. Although I was once extremely liberal, I know we can no longer grow as Christians if we try to create the church of What's Happening Now." Despite the turmoil, worship attendance fell only slightly. The average in 2002 was 433; in 2003, 425. And, when it appeared that the budget would come up $16,000 short at the end of 2003, new pledges brought in $28,000. But Jones also has spoken on the presbytery floor against the ordination of practicing homosexuals, which the presbytery has advocated and permitted in defiance of church law. Some believe that's what got him into hot water. Baltimore Presbytery itself has come under the watch of an Administrative Commission because of its defiance of the constitution. The presbytery refused to allow a trial of one its ministers – the Rev. Donald Stroud, a practicing homosexual who has stated that he will not comply with church law. An Administrative Commission from the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic is reviewing whether the presbytery is "obeying the lawful injunctions of a higher governing body." At one point, the presbytery submitted to its council a proposed policy that would have stated outright that congregations would be encouraged to violate church law, but that policy was never adopted. After the presbytery's administrative commission wrote its report and recommendations, the session of the Howard County church met with members of the commission. In a written response, it expressed its "disappointment and disagreement" with the commission's recommendations. The response noted that 12 of the 18 session members attended that meeting and that they voted unanimously to oppose the commission's report. Some of the elders who did not attend that meeting had resigned to create a "shadow session," member Crutchfield said. In December 2003, five months before the Administrative Commission reached its conclusions, members of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry met with the session. H. Phillips Clark, clerk of the session, described that encounter. "Our first experience with the Committee on Ministry was very different from what we expected," he said in a letter to the presbytery's council. "The session invited COM to meet with us to share ideas and resources that may help us identify and resolve conflict within our church. We were instead greeted by 3 options: (1) the Session and/or the Pastor could resign; (2) the Session could hire a consultant agreeable to COM; or (3) COM would appoint an Administrative Commission. Only option 2 was feasible to us; therefore, we weren't really given choices." The session appropriated $10,000 to hire Ed White of the Alban Institute, an ecumenical group that describes itself as being "dedicated to pursuing new knowledge in the fields of sociology, human relations, and organizational development." One of its specialties is conflict resolution. White eventually made a number of recommendations, most of which were adopted, but, saying he was frustrated, quit before he finished the job. The church received no refund from his consultant's fee. In his report to the presbytery, Robinson strongly challenges the Administrative Commission's claim that the issue with Jones was not theological. "I have heard it voiced by some who are not too timid to come right out with it," he said. "The problem is one of Pastor Jones' perceived 'conservatism.' This is usually targeted toward his perceptions of Jesus Christ and how he sees Christ fitting into our lives. But these convictions are ones that are accepted by myself and a majority of the church here at First Presbyterian, not to mention the PCUSA." "I cannot comprehend how an original 17 people – 2 percent of our congregation – are able to cause the presbytery to oust our pastor," said First Presbyterian member Jeff Stanford, referring to an original group of dissidents, some of whom met privately with presbytery leaders to express their opposition to Jones. Stanford worries about the fallout. "Who will want to serve as pastor at a church where the last one was violently shoved out?" Stanford asks. "What will become of the ministries in place when there is a max exodus to find justice and the budget must be cut?" During the encounters between the presbytery and First Presbyterian, Jones' backers were frequently referred to as "hero worshipers." "We do not worship Rev. Richard Jones nor do we practice hero worship," said First Presbyterian member Miles Smith in a letter to one of the members of the Administrative Commission. "We believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and we worship and praise God. If we seem protective of Rev. Jones, it is because he has been and continues to be persecuted by a small vocal group within our church – and by the Committee on Ministry – who seem intent on getting rid of him, no matter what the cost." Smith said the presbytery denied Jones due process. "If Rev. Jones was being brought before a criminal court, he would be allowed to face his accusers, have a specific list of charges filed against him, have access to an attorney, and have a fair trial. As a pastor within the PCUSA, he is denied all of these basic American rights." "How can we possibly respect the decision of your commission and the Presbytery of Baltimore when the members of the presbytery do not even respect their own constitution and ordination vows?" Smith asked.

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