Winfield Casey Jones, candidate for Stated Clerk, has issued the following press release: Thursday, June 15, 2000 Recently the Presbyterian Outlook ran an interview with Cliff Kirkpatrick. Based on that interview, I would point out two major differences in our perspectives. First, Cliff stated that, "Theologically, there are no irreconcilable differences in the body of Christ." This is an attractive statement but I do not agree with it. In the first place, if Calvin and Luther had believed that "theologically, there are no irreconcilable differences in the body of Christ," there would never have been a Reformation or a breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of its departure from scriptural teaching. Secondly, if our Presbyterian forebears in the late seventeen hundreds had believed that "theologically, there are no irreconcilable differences in the body of Christ," they would have allowed Unitarians, who don't believe in the trinity or in the deity of Christ, to remain in the Presbyterian Church. What I think Cliff might have said is that there are no people whom God cannot reconcile. If "Theology Matters," as the 1994 Wichita Assembly said, then, as a confessional church we have to say that not all theological differences are reconcilable, but it is God's desire, in Christ, to reconcile all people. I believe that not all theological positions in the body of Christ are reconcilable with scripture or with our confessions. The 1994 General Assembly itself judged that in our church at the time of the Re-Imagining Conference, "the boundaries of the Reformed theological tradition" were exceeded as well as "that tradition's understanding of what makes faith Christian." [The Assembly also said, "We recommend the Presbyterian Church (USA) continue the churchwide theological conversation that has begun as a result. …" (of the Re-Imagining conference.)] I believe that when the boundaries of the Reformed tradition are exceeded, then the answer is not to expand the theological tent further by stating that theologically all differences can be reconciled, but rather to insist, as the 206th Assembly insisted, that the Reformed tradition continues to have boundaries. Theological boundaries function as an integral part of our church identity. For example, they help us understand the use of our consciences in interpreting scripture. In Principle One of the document "Historic Principles, Conscience, and Church Government," adopted by the 195th General Assembly and commended again to the church by the last (211th) General Assembly, the Assembly said, "Conscience can be an expression of error and the claim to the right of private judgment can be an act of disobedience to God. Although the individual within the church who chooses to exercise the right of private conscience may be right, it is also true that the individual may be wrong. Each person should take the actions of the governing bodies of the church seriously before making the claim to private conscience. The individual should also be willing to pay the price for holding a particular point of view." Theological boundaries also guide our qualifications for membership and ministry. In Principle Two of the Historic Principles, the Book of Order is quoted, "That, in perfect consistency with the above principle of common right, every Christian church, or union or association of particular churches, is entitled to declare the terms of admission into its communion, and the qualifications of its ministers and members, as well as the whole system of its internal government which Christ hath appointed; that in the exercise of this right they may, notwithstanding, err, in making the terms of communion either too lax or too narrow; yet, even in this case, they do not infringe upon the liberty or the rights of others, but only make an improper use of their own. (G-1.0302.)" Finally, theological boundaries are essential for our service to the world. In Principle Four of the Historic Principles, the Assembly stated, "As Presbyterians we believe that God is God of the whole of life. There is, therefore, no way to disconnect faith from practice. What we believe is reflected in our actions, both individually and corporately. Wrong opinions are harmful to persons and to the unity of the body. Wrong opinions will lead to unfaithful behavior. " (Italics added) Second, in the Outlook interview, Cliff described in his own mind "what really is at the core of why we are Presbyterian-the common commitment to Jesus Christ, the commitment to live out the Great Ends of the Church, the concern to see each other as diverse members of the body of Christ and not as enemies." I agree with that statement, but it is not enough. The Presbyterian Church USA is a confessional church and a church under the authority of Scripture. While commitment to Jesus Christ, to the Great Ends of the Church, and to each other are important and essential sources of our unity and identity, for Presbyterians this is not enough. It is interesting that in discussing what for him is at the core of why we are Presbyterian, our stated clerk does not mention either our commitment to live under the authority of Scripture or that Presbyterians are a confessional church. As clerk he is pledged to preserve and defend Part I of the Constitution, our confessions, yet he does not mention the confessions as "at the core of why we are Presbyterian." Moreover, as good as the clerk's statement about our "common commitment to Jesus Christ" sounds, it is also important for our church to remember that the only true Christ is the One whom Scripture reveals to us. Our second ordination vow for officers affirms this when it states that Scripture is "the authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the world…." What this vow means when officers affirm it at ordination and installation is that we don't trust in just any Jesus whom we create in our own minds. We trust the Jesus who is in the world but whom we recognize only because he is the same Jesus who has been revealed to us in the pages of Scripture! As Presbyterians, members of a confessional church, we are united not only by Christ, by the Great Ends of the Church in our Book of Order, and by a commitment to one another. As Presbyterians, we are also united by Scripture and by our confessions, Part I of our Constitution. When the Outlook interview was conducted over a month ago, of course I had not seen Cliff's pastoral letter on the PJC decisions, nor had I read his interview in the Outlook. Back then, I said I would not be disappointed if I were not elected clerk. That is no longer the case. I want to be elected clerk so that I can help this church emphasize our confessions again. I want to fulfill the mandate of the General Assembly that the clerk preserve and defend the Constitution. After all, our confessions in Part I of our Constitution are based on Scripture and summarize Scripture, and in them Presbyterians have historically found an important source of unity and identity. If we will allow it to be, our Constitution again can be at the core of what it means to us to be Presbyterian Christians.

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