Stated clerk vacillates during his first year in office An analysis by Alan Wisdom The Presbyterian Layman Nov/Dec, 1997 For the past year, Clifton Kirkpatrick has been a man in the middle. Our new stated clerk has been caught in the crossfire of multiple controversies. Through these he has tried to navigate a moderate course. He has met with all sorts of church groups, he has listened patiently, and he has offered words of affirmation to almost all. He has appealed to Presbyterians to subordinate their differences and find “common ground” in the Great Ends of the Church. Kirkpatrick’s resounding election as stated clerk at the 1996 Assembly – by a 71 percent vote on the first ballot – testified to the broad respect that he enjoyed. Great affection has greeted the new stated clerk as he travels around the denomination. Whenever he strides to the podium in his energetic but slightly bashful manner, the reception is warm. Kirkpatrick’s faith in Christ is transparent; his love for the Church is passionate. He is particularly driven by a desire to foster greater unity among Christians. Drawing on his experience as director of Worldwide Ministries, Kirkpatrick has moved Presbyterians toward greater solidarity with those suffering religious persecution. The new stated clerk entered the Syracuse GA as a novice parliamentarian; however, commissioners found him generally competent and fair in that delicate role. High expectations Many church leaders have looked to Kirkpatrick with high expectations. They have wondered whether he might be a man especially prepared by God for this troubled time in the Presbyterian Church (USA). They have seen him as the person in the best position to hold the denomination together and point it toward renewal. For this reason, Kirkpatrick’s emphasis on the Great Ends of the Church won him favor. Unfortunately, the Syracuse Assembly severely weakened that initiative from the stated clerk and other agency heads. Kirkpatrick showed early signs of breaking the damaging pattern under which the stated clerk uses his office to intervene liberally in political disputes before Congress and the courts. There were several occasions – involving issues such as welfare reform and imprisoned Puerto Rican terrorists – when many other top officials of “mainline” denominations made vehement statements, but Kirkpatrick’s voice was absent or muted. The new stated clerk initially stayed out of the controversy over “gay marriage” in Hawaii. Neutrality on Amendment B Kirkpatrick also kept a careful neutrality as the “Fidelity and Chastity Amendment,” Amendment B, was being discussed in presbyteries. At that time, more traditional Presbyterians appreciated the stated clerk’s prudent moderation. But the situation has changed since “Fidelity and Chastity” was ratified. Neutrality is no longer the appropriate stance toward a standard now in the Book of Order. Yet the stated clerk has responded to the “Fidelity and Chastity” requirement in ways that are confusing and disturbing. First, before and during the Syracuse Assembly, Kirkpatrick pointedly avoided making a firm call for this provision of the Book of Order to be obeyed. He publicly declined to use the word “enforcement.” Advocacy for Amendment A Then, in reporting the results from Syracuse, Kirkpatrick clearly stepped over the line into advocacy of the proposed “Fidelity and Integrity Amendment,” Amendment A, that would subvert the earlier amendment. His messages to the church depicted the Amendment A as a marvelous manifestation of “the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace.” He portrayed the proposed language about “integrity” as a mild “revision” of the current requirement for “chastity.” This revision “affirms the high biblical standards required of church officers, but seeks to do so in a way that is inclusive both of faithfulness in marriage as well as faithfulness in other relationships,” according to the stated clerk. In making this report, Kirkpatrick recited almost verbatim the arguments made by amendment proponents. He did not mention any opposing arguments. Nor did he address many plain facts that contradicted his rosy reading of “Fidelity and Integrity.” How could a measure that was steadfastly resisted by 40 percent of the commissioners be presented as an expression of unity? How could an amendment that would radically change every major clause of the previous standard be considered a minor “revision”? How could an attempt to suppress the clear scriptural teaching of chastity, and replace it with a vaguer expectation of “integrity,” be regarded as an affirmation of “high biblical standards”? Inconsistent interpretations Kirkpatrick has denied that he was taking sides on the new amendment. And he has more recently declared that “covenants of dissent” against the “fidelity and chastity” requirement are “a fundamental violation of church order.” But serious damage has already been done to his credibility as an impartial interpreter. A closer examination of the stated clerk’s record shows that the report on the Assembly was hardly the first time, however, that the new Stated Clerk has given the appearance of straying from a middle, mediating position. There is a pattern of veering toward one side (the left side) of a sensitive dispute – and then subsequently protesting that he meant no offense to Presbyterians who uphold biblical faith. In April Kirkpatrick suddenly stepped into the Hawaii debate about “gay marriage,” from which he had earlier abstained. He lobbied Hawaii state legislators to “both recognize marriage as a civil contract between one man and one woman and, at the same time, extend rights and privileges equivalent to those granted to married couples, to those couples in relationships not eligible for marriage.” In essence, the stated clerk advocated the legal blessing of “same-sex partners” – as if their relationships and marriage differed only in name. He could cite a 1996 Assembly action inviting him to advance this extreme position (which he, strangely, regards as moderate); however, he could not pretend that most Presbyterians agree. In May Kirkpatrick jumped into the political debate about “partial-birth abortion.” Overlooking the ambiguities of GA statements regarding late-term abortions, he lobbied Congress to defeat the attempts to ban the partial-birth procedure. Later, this year’s Assembly issued a “word of counsel” that partial-birth abortion “is of grave moral concern and should be considered only if the mother’s physical life is endangered by the pregnancy.” Under some pressure, the stated clerk communicated this new policy to Congress – without endorsing or opposing any legislation. What Unites Presbyterians In view of all these recent involvements, it is striking that Kirkpatrick still purports to be the man in the middle, beckoning Presbyterians to come together. That is the evident intention of a book, entitled What Unites Presbyterians: Common Ground for Troubled Times, which Kirkpatrick and co-author William Hopper speedily wrote in time to be released at the Syracuse Assembly. The book highlights the strong points of our Presbyterian heritage: our confessions, our order of worship, our representative form of church government, and so forth. It lifts up examples of Presbyterian institutions doing wonderful works of evangelism, education, and mercy. The only negative phenomenon of which Kirkpatrick and Hopper take much notice is the division within our denomination. They apply the plea of Rodney King – “Can’t we all just get along?” – to the church, suggesting that the differences being debated are of lesser importance than the unifying factors. But they fail to consider that many of the questions being aired – for example, the atoning death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ – put at peril the very foundations upon which any Christian unity could be built. Many Presbyterians had hoped that the new stated clerk would help Presbyterians to confront these challenges. So far, though, Kirkpatrick has not shown that kind of leadership. He has been silent about the powerful forces that would reorient the church toward a very different Great End: the contemporary liberal vision of limitless, leveling “inclusivism.” On several occasions, he has actively intervened to advance one point or another of that agenda. For more traditional Presbyterians, it is becoming harder to distinguish Kirkpatrick as a moderating figure amidst the largely left-leaning assistants, associates and advisers who surround him most closely. Sadly, for many, the honeymoon with the new stated clerk is over. There is a need now to seek reconciliation with him whom we had hoped would be the reconciler. Alan Wisdom is executive director of Presbyterians for Democracy and Religious Freedom. |
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