General Assembly leaders suggest a new mark of the Church A commentary by Jeffrey W. Jones Layman Correspondent Monday, September 14, 1998 At the 210th General Assembly that met in Charlotte this past June our new moderator, our former moderator, our stated clerk, and sundry others suggested a new distinguishing mark by which the Body of Christ may be known – Diversity. Diversity, they stressed, will create the unity we all seek. Indeed, they repeatedly proclaimed it to be our greatest strength. ‘Unity in Diversity’ At the opening plenary session Pat Brown gave a report on her impressions of the denomination after a year serving as moderator of the 209th General Assembly. The overriding impression she shared was that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is a vast mosaic of peoples, congregations and beliefs. She began by stating that she wanted to revive a sense of trust in how we are the Church. Well enough. But what followed showed that she wanted us to believe in a Church with diverse faiths, not just a diversity of backgrounds. She implied that it was absolutely essential that the true Church should possess this mark when she employed the metaphor of a seesaw which will not work unless both sides are balanced. Opposing, not merely differing, theologies, she claimed, are not the inevitable result of a broken and fallen world but the result of God’s sovereignly ordaining our wondrous Diversity. In her Sunday morning sermon Brown placed an even greater emphasis on Diversity as the chief mark of the living Church. She essentially said that we are all reconciled – no matter what our beliefs – when we share the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, for then everyone becomes related by the blood of Christ. A sacramental reality and power was claimed for “Unity in Diversity” which was asserted as the miracle of the Gospel. Indeed, Brown an-nounced that as we gathered in pluralistic diversity around the Lord’s table we would know the “perfection” of the Body of Christ. That is an astounding claim, new to our historic faith and confessional understanding of the marks of the Church. ‘No divisions’ Setting aside our differences and focusing on what we have in common was a constant theme in official speeches. It was as if the reality could be attained if the mantra were repeated enough. In his “state of the union” address, Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick predictably gave thanks for our “rich diversity.” He appealed to Scripture to validate the call to embrace Diversity, referring to the fighting and factions in Corinth as evidence that the Church has always existed within a dynamic Diversity that is one of its true and enduring marks. Paul, however, cannot so readily be made into an apostle of Diversity. The Holy Spirit inspired him to write to the Corinthians, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Cor.1:10). The mantra of Diversity went on throughout the week. Every prepared speech and every prayer seemed to extol the holy virtue of this new mark of the Church. Douglas Oldenburg, our new moderator, declared at the opening of one business meeting that he believed in Diversity, diversity of age, gender, race–and theology. Diversity had become an article of faith. A mark of the true Church? All of this raises the question: Is Diversity, as a nearly endless range of theological and ethical beliefs, an essential mark of the true Church? Will Diversity bring unity to the PCUSA? Obviously some of our denomination’s leaders would answer “Yes!” But what does our Reformed tradition say? Our confessions univocally proclaim that the marks whereby the Church may be known are the faithful preaching of the Word, the right administration of the sacraments, and the holy exercise of discipline. If Diversity were a genuine mark of the Church, it would displace all the others, for it would be assumed that there could be no right or true preaching of the Word since there are many right words to be spoken and many true gospels to be heard. All preaching (as well as all administration of the sacraments and all exercises of discipline) done with a sincere spirit would be considered faithful, and our unity could only consist in outward rites. But, this is not the unity of the Church as described in our confessions. In the 2nd Helvetic Confession we read, “Furthermore, we diligently teach that care is to be taken wherein the truth and unity of the Church chiefly lies, lest we rashly provoke and foster schisms in the Church. Unity consists not in outward rites and ceremonies, but rather in the truth and unity of the catholic faith. ... the true harmony of the Church consists in doctrines and in the true and harmonious preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and in rites that have been expressly delivered by the Lord” (5.141). This witness was not heard at the 210th General Assembly. Our historic faith was submerged by a tide of theological pluralism. The historic marks of the Church were obscured in the haze of Diversity. Truth and doctrine were implicitly regarded as obstacles to peace and unity. And the wise warning of the 2nd Helvetic Confession – that schism will ultimately result if the Church’s unity is based on anything other than the pure doctrines of biblical faith, believed, confessed, and lived by all the faithful – was nowhere mentioned. Jeffrey W. Jones is pastor of Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church, Mt. Solon, Va. |
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