New Wineskins Association of Churches Convocation IV Churches staying in the PCUSA 'are about changing the world' By Craig M. Kibler Staff Writer The Layman Online Wednesday, October 31, 2007 FAIR OAKS, Calif. – New Wineskins congregations that are staying within the Presbyterian Church (USA) were told Tuesday morning that "we are about changing the world – already it's happening. If you're staying in the PCUSA, there's plenty to do. Put your hand to the plow." Noel Anderson In a presentation on churches within the New Wineskins Association of Churches that have decided to stay within the PCUSA and fight for reform, the Rev. Noel Anderson, executive pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield, Calif., began by talking about the proverbial frog in the kettle. The frog, he said, stays in the water until it boils to death because it doesn't notice that the water gradually is getting warmer. "Well," Anderson said to laughter from the more than 400 people in the sanctuary of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, "think of a big kettle with lots of frogs, with its headquarters in Louisville, Ky." Smart frogs, he said, get out of the kettle when the water gets warm. "The rest of us – unbuttoning our collars with the fingers of webbed hands – stay." Anderson said his work group, working on reasons to stay within the PCUSA within the convocation theme of John 15, focused on three issues: Climate – "considering the environment of the vineyard." Cultivating – "which is building relationships that build the Kingdom." Grafting – "our lives and ourselves into the true vine." In a humorous example, he said the climate within the denomination is a problem. "Those of you who are leaving the PCUSA are losing a valuable right – the right to shoot at the PCUSA. It's like the heritage thing. I'm Swedish so I can tell Swedish jokes and refer to them as blockheads if I like. Now, anyone taking a close look at the climate of the PCUSA might be tempted to use the word 'blockheads' without reference to Swedes, but that is the right and task of those of us who stay. It's a dirty job," he said to more laughter, "but someone's got to do it." Those staying within the denomination, Anderson said, labor in a "vineyard that has scarred vines – bad theology, ecclesiolatry, old ecumenism and leadership crises. Under the heading of bad theology, he said the PCUSA is suffering from theological amnesia, where the "progressives push for a God of no boundaries. This is decapitated Christology, a theology that has caved in to a culture of hopeless relativisms." With this theology, Anderson said, the claims of truth "have been reduced to mere opinions and morality adds up to no more than your particular set of personal preferences. Many Presbyterians really believe that God says nothing other than what we put in His mouth." Within this heading, he said, was tolerance, which many people "believe to be a kind of solution, but has rather become a symptom and a chief irritant of the cultural crisis." Problems with ecumenism Anderson next took on what he called the problems with ecumenism. He ticked off a litany of groups he called symbols of the old ecumenisms – the World Council of Churches, National Council of Churches, Consultation on Church Union and World Alliance of Reformed Churches. These groups, he said, gather together "with those of common political orientations, rather than common confessions. There are no essential tenets for PCUSA Presbyterians other than politics and the reigning cultural uber-tolerance. It is pursuing ecumenics as political engagement and institutional gnosticism." New Wineskins, Anderson said, "represents the best ecumenical efforts afoot. We actually are connecting with those closest to us, those most like us, theologically and doctrinally. Where is the rest of the PCUSA? In the PCUSA, we no longer are united by clear confessions or doctrines but, instead, we tolerate each other and celebrate the unity of polity and property. Property is the new confession." That, he said, is ecclesiolatry, which "is a flawed definition of the Church – allowing denominational identity and needs to supplant loyalty to the Kingdom of God." To those who follow ecclesiolatry, Anderson said, "there is no difference between the PCUSA and the Kingdom of God. Therefore, serving the institutional church – the company – is their spirituality." Anderson then showed a slide of a boy riding a tricycle, calling it a picture of "the new piety – like glorified hall monitors – serving the law while ignoring the Spirit." It is a regulatory model, he said, where rules, policies and procedures dominate; where meetings are held incessantly; where there are bureaucrats exercising central control of budgets and activities and the parceling out of dwindling resources. "Let's be clear here," he said to more laughter. "I am not calling them crabby, ulcerous, self-seeking little vermin, nor am I calling them wide-eyed bureaucrats without the least concern for the good of the true Church. I apologize if this impression has come across." Ecclesiastical entropy The denomination, Anderson said, is not missional, which is ecclesiastical entropy. "Our structures are increasingly vestigial (the Washington Office, for example) and our healthy congregations already do what the denomination ought to do. We're doing it here – connecting, praying, seeking to honor the whole Body of Christ. The PCUSA presently is on a course to utter impotence." Part of the reason for this state, he said, is what he called denominational narcissism, "falling in love with our own image. Presbyterians are in love with being Presbyterian. Clearly, it's time for us to return to our first love." The last issue under the climate within the denomination, Anderson said, is a leadership crisis. He said the confidence in the elected officials has been draining away for two decades. "We just can't seem to avoid saying really dumb things," he said. As an illustration, he said such leaders have "dumb ideas about property. 'It doesn't matter if you paid for the property, grew and maintained it, it is ours.' There is a new faith afoot, one whose slavish adherence to the Book of Order utterly eclipses any devotion to Scripture. Like land-grabbing bishops of pre-Renaissance Europe, denominational servants are going where the gold is. They are following the money." Again to laughter from the audience, Anderson said, "If you're in New Wineskins, you know what it looks like: Executive presbyters come waddling into your back rows taking copious notes on a legal pad. It's bad enough when EPs pretend to be bishops, but it's worse when they play at being lawyers." That said, he turned his attention to what lies ahead, saying, "There's clearly enough manure for the ground. Our work is cultivation." Calling it "cultivating the new thing," Anderson highlighted several areas in which to make a difference within the denomination: Getting beyond denominational narcissism, he said, "requires a spirit of authentic repentance from our churches and structures." The Church is not the PCUSA, Anderson said, the whole Body of Christ is. "We must condemn Presbyterian pride and refuse to settle for living on echoes of past faithfulness," he said. Explaining what he called "overcoming evangelical hesitation," Anderson asked the audience: "Have you noticed that a lot of the dogs that were barking in protest have run back under the porch now that something actually is being done?" Staying within the PCUSA, he said, has become a mark of the new piety. "We are not angry. We refuse to paint golden haloes over those whose feet are simply frozen. There is no virtue in mere hesitation. Confront it when you see it – and there is to be no encouragement for those who claim moral superiority for company loyalisms. 'Stay, fight, win' is fine, as long as you will fight and work to win." There is a perception problem, Anderson said, and efforts in this area must work toward informing the misinformed. New Wineskins, he said, "is not about those simply leaving. The major cultivation task for everyone here is to make it clear that many New Wineskins churches are, and intend to, stay in the PCUSA for many reasons. We need to set the record straight, as well as shape opinion in the presbyteries and the Presbyterian media." New Wineskins needs to get beyond mere denominationalism, he said, and the way to do that is by going wireless. "The old lifelines of connectionalism will give way to a new kind of networking," Anderson said. "We're going wireless. Denominations, the institutional company, may be a relic of the machine age. Denominations are like a typewriter store – it's not all bad, it may be clean and well-staffed, but it just won't function as it used to. The world has changed." "Our calling, our focus and our work," Anderson said is grafting ourselves to the vine. The task for congregations staying within the PCUSA, he said, "is to work in God's vineyard, to hoe our particular row; grasping and promoting a broader, missional vision in the PCUSA. More important than any of these is our calling simply to bear fruit." "We must focus on bearing fruit," he said, "lest we be accused of simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The new thing for us is to remain connected [with the New Wineskins ministry network]. We are needed to correct misinformation, partner with smaller churches without resources, help other churches on their way into the New Wineskins Presbytery, promote damage control and to continue influencing the shape of the PCUSA. Some of us actually believe the church will right itself or, rather, be righted by God, who we believe can work miracles with denominations as well as individuals. "We are about changing the world," Anderson said. "It already is happening. If you're staying in the PCUSA, there's plenty to do. Put your hand to the plow. God has new wine waiting for us. It is the real thing. It gives life and salvation. It is served at the one table that goes by no denominational name. It is intoxicating." Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications and Executive Editor of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. He can be reached at cmkibler@layman.org..

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