Task force broaches possibility of listing some 'essential tenets' By John H. Adams The Layman Online Friday, October 15, 2004 LISLE, Ill. – Before installation, candidates for minister, elder and deacon must agree to "sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do." But what essentials? The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) waded into that thicket – an ongoing debate over whether the "essentials" need to be spelled out – in its consideration of a subcommittee report titled, appropriately, "Essential Tenets." There is no list of essentials in the denomination's Constitution. A preface to The Book of Confessions – now a collection of 12 confessional documents dating back to the Apostles' and Nicene creeds – doesn't present the theology of Reformed churches with any kind of numbering system. Today's Book of Confessions leads off with a document titled "The Confessional Nature of The Church," which the 209th General Assembly mandated for inclusion. But that document, rather than shedding light on essentials, makes clear that there are none – or, at least, none that can be put down on paper in an orderly way. The "Essential Tenets" paper raised questions about whether the "essential" language in the constitutionally required ordination vow makes any sense. After all, if there is no agreement on what the essentials are – if any – why ask a candidate for minister, elder or deacon if he or she sincerely receives and adopts them? The paper, which was presented to the task force by William Stacy Johnson, a professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, concluded by logical deduction that one of the "core convictions or 'essential tenets' of American Presbyterian Theology and practice is that Presbyterians" do not draw up lists of what its officers must believe. But the subcommittee's report also said, "Ordained church leaders need to be able to articulate and explain the core convictions of the church's life." And the subcommittee tried to come up with its own list from the denomination's 12 confessions. The subcommittee's list was presented for discussion purpose only and was not acted upon. It included: 1. "Jesus Christ as the one truly human and truly divine Mediator, Lord and Savior." 2. The doctrine of the Trinity. 3. The "unique" authority of Scripture and agreement on principles for the right interpretation of Scripture. 4. "The conviction that the Holy Spirit is the source of all right interpretation of Scripture and true Christian faith and life." 5. "All Reformed confessions have the same theology concerning the true preaching of the Word and the right administration of sacraments." 6. "All Reformed confessions emphasize God's sovereign claim on both personal and corporate life and thankful human obedience to it." That list concluded that the six essentials – or "distinctives" – were culled from the confessional literature of other Christian traditions. Nevertheless, the paper said, "Since the Christian faith is a living faith, no set of written standards can say all that needs to be said in order to bear witness to the gospel in a particular time and place." The response of the task force members to the idea of developing a list of essential tenets ranged from affirmation to skittishness. Mark Achtemeier, a professor of theology at Dubuque Seminary, said, "I'm not persuaded that the list of essentials remains constant across time." Johnson himself was cautious about using essential tenets as a litmus test for ordination. "I would argue that the better way to speak about Christian theology is more narratival." Joe Coalter, librarian at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., was cautious. "I think we need to be careful about this term 'essentials,'" he said. "I think maybe we need to redefine what the church was trying to get at in the very beginning. It may mean that we need a Biblical section and isn't so much about tenets." "I think if we make it propositional, we're in trouble," Achtemeier said. "If we keep the center of it … on the risen, living Christ through the Spirit … you avoid all kinds of difficulties." But John "Mike" Loudon, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, Fla., said he would be comfortable with a list of essential tenets. "There's something about a list that speaks very nicely … These are things we believe."

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