139 Presbyterians meet in Chicago By Parker T. Williamson The Presbyterian Layman Nov/Dec, 1997 DALLAS – The sounds of “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty” rang out as about 1,100 Presbyterians gathered at the Dallas Airport Hyatt. Singing praises to God and attending to his Word, representatives from more than 150 of the denomination’s 173 presbyteries reaffirmed their commitment to Jesus Christ and his call to lead a holy life. Amendment A, a proposal to water down Presbyterian ordination standards, was firmly rejected by this “no compromise” gathering of church leaders. Keynote speaker David Dobler, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), opened the debate when he dubbed rhetoric employed by Amendment A supporters “the big lie.” Amendment A proposes to change the denomination’s ordination standards by removing the requirement that church leaders confine their sexual behavior to marriage. Supporters of Amendment A claim that their proposed constitutional change is a minor one that simply makes the current standards more “compassionate” and more appealing to the “moderate middle of the church.” That, Dobler declared, is a lie. “Amendment A is an extremist position,” he said. “ ‘Moderate’ is a label to get you to swallow it without thinking,” he said. “When supporters of Amendment A use the word ‘moderate,’ it ceases to mean very much.” Speaking to the huge Dallas Gathering congregation, Dobler said, “You are not the fringe, the inconsequential extreme. You are the heart of the Presbyterian Church (USA).” The former moderator cited official statistics showing that more than 75 percent of Presbyterian elders oppose the ordination of practicing homosexuals. Dobler said that a second version of the “big lie” is “all this talk about there being no common understanding in the PCUSA … that this denomination is divided … that we must [seek] common ground. These statements ignore the fact that there is a remarkably strong consensus among Presbyterians,” said Dobler. “We already have common ground,” he said. “We have our savior Jesus Christ who is Lord of all … And because he is Lord of all, there is no part of our lives in which we can say ‘except.’ We cannot say ‘except for my sexuality.’ Jesus Christ transforms us, and that is our common ground.” Hundreds of Dobler’s listeners applied his “no exceptions” theme to policies and programs of the Presbyterian Church (USA). No exceptions means no more compromise declared scores of conference participants into microphones scattered throughout the plenary hall. Speaker after speaker insisted that the time is over for negotiation with denominational leaders who will not honor biblical faith. “No more line in the sand,” said one speaker. “Let’s chisel it in concrete.” “We have been obsessed with being nice,” said a West Coast minister to Presbyterian Coalition leaders following the gathering. “Jesus threw people out of the temple because they were defiling it. It is time to be confrontational.” At the conclusion of Gathering II, the Coalition steering committee determined that the time has come for a “Confessional-type” commitment to the biblical standards of Reformed faith and a denominationwide mobilization of Presbyterians who will no longer tolerate violations of that commitment. Included in the Coalition’s consensus was the statement that although it would make no recommendation on a growing movement among congregations to redirect their per capita contributions, it supported the constitutional right of any church session that chooses to do so. |
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