Complainant seeks to elevate Book of Order over confessions By John H. Adams The Layman Online Thursday, February 21, 2002 ORLANDO, Fla. – One of the overarching issues in the church court action against First Presbyterian Church in Sebastian, Fla., is which has priority: the historic confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA) or its manual of operations – the Book of Order? Norman F. Blessing, the Sebastian elder who filed the complaint, emphatically stated during the Feb. 20 trial of Blessing v. Sebastian Session, "The confessions are subordinate to the Book of Order." Blessing made that remark after Christy Wilson III, who represents the Sebastian session, asked him questions based on confessional statements that express the same beliefs as the theological assertions in the Sebastian resolution. The purpose of Wilson's questions was to determine whether Blessing would have opposed the Sebastian resolution if it had used verbatim quotations from the Book of Confessions. Yes and no, Blessing answered to a litany of questions: Yes, he could accept only verbatim language from the confessions, or the directives of the General Assembly; no, he didn't believe the Sebastian session had the right to adopt its resolution no matter what authority it cited. The Sebastian resolution "is not Presbyterian," he declared. The hierarchy of authority While Blessing said he did not disagree with the confessional statements, he insisted that the precise language of the Book of Order and the "verbatim" directives of the General Assembly should direct the actions of sessions. And, he argued, the Book of Order does not grant authority to sessions to adopt Confessing Church resolutions. The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) contains two documents: the Book of Order, which lays out the rules of governance, and 11 creedal statements that comprise The Book of Confessions. Historically, the denomination has ascribed a descending hierarchy for authority, beginning with "Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as the Scriptures bear witness to him" (Book of Order, chapter 2). Second in authority to Christ and the Scriptures are the confessions, and third is the Book of Order. The Book of Order can be altered by a simple majority of presbyteries. Modification of The Book of Confessions requires a super majority – two thirds. Session's authority questioned The crux of Blessing's complaint is that neither the General Assembly nor the Book of Order explicitly granted authority to the Sebastian session to adopt its own theological resolution – even though the resolution was grounded in Scripture and the Reformed confessions. In response to Wilson's questions, Blessing said he did not disagree with the language of the confessions, but argued that the Sebastian session had no right to paraphrase that language or to incorporate it into a Confessing Church resolution. He did express some reservation over the second point of the Sebastian revelation – "Holy Scripture is the revealed Word of the triune God, and the Church's only infallible rule of faith and life" – which, he said, is not the language of the Book of Order oath that church officers take. The phrase "infallible rule of faith and life" is a verbatim phrase from the Westminster Confession, which was the confessional standard for the Presbyterian Church in this nation for more than 200 years. Blessing also criticized the Sebastian resolution for not mentioning the Holy Spirit – although it did, as presbytery court Moderator Dale Heaton pointed out, referring to the phrase, "Holy Scripture is the revealed Word of the triune God .…" Heaton told Blessing that "triune" includes the Holy Spirit. 'Subtle differences' cited Blessing's wife, Mary Anne, also testified during the trial. She objected to the Sebastian resolution because it contained "very subtle differences" from the confessions and it was based on a "more strict interpretation of Scripture. It didn't allow the movement of the Holy Spirit to guide that interpretation. It was like we're going to have to take the Bible word for word." Asked by David Smith, a Winston-Salem, N.C., securities trial lawyer who represented Blessing, how she reacted to the Sebastian resolution, she said, "I cried. It was very emotional. There is no room for me in this church. It's not that I can't say yes to these questions. It's what they imply." Under cross-examination, Mary Anne Blessing told Wilson she has asked her husband to join her in another church. "He does not want to leave, because he can make a difference." Blessing has tried repeatedly to get the Sebastian session to rescind its Confessing Church resolution. He has written numerous letters and presented his case at three session meetings. Apparently, few others, besides his wife, agree with him. Mrs. Blessing is the only member who has left the congregation. Only one other witness – Delores Henderson – testified of her opposition to the resolution. Resolution has strong support Court documents suggest strong support for the resolution. Eleven of the 13 elders on the Sebastian session signed a letter affirming the resolution. Twenty-eight church members signed a letter commending the session: "… it becomes obvious that you have spoken for the overwhelming majority of the members of our Church, who agree that there exist absolutes … that we cannot allow to be compromised by the culture around us. Jesus Christ alone is the way to salvation and as God's people we are called to holiness in all aspects of life."

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