The Presbyterian Layman – November/December 2000 Volume 33, Number 6 – Posted November 22, 2000

Some sacred cows are being gored The 2000 General Assembly said evangelism and discipleship should be the priorities of the Presbyterian Church (USA). No argument here. It fact, it sounds almost too good to be true. Will we really live as if our priorities are 1) evangelism, the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose to give us eternal life and 2) discipleship, teaching men, women and children about the joy of living for Christ? No one complained about the General Assembly’s priorities until the budget reckoning began recently at the meeting of the General Assembly Council. The council was asked to rank services and programs in the National Ministries, Congregational Ministries and Worldwide Ministries divisions as high priority, medium priority and low priority. Evangelism and discipleship were to be used as the gauge for determining those priorities. The purpose of the ranking is to help plan budgets. Washington Office gets little support Uh oh. Some sacred cows were gored. The Washington Office of the PCUSA drew miniscule support. Some members of the General Assembly Council had trouble understanding how the Washington Office might further the denomination’s ministries of calling people to Christ and nurturing them in Christ. But former Moderator Douglas W. Oldenburg was infuriated that the Washington Office might lose money. We are not so saddened. The Washington Office is hardly a ministry. It is a weak political lobby that marches lockstep with a partisan political agenda. In 1999, of 37 major issues in which there was a significant difference between Republicans and Democrats, the Washington Office weighed in on the Democratic side all 37 times. Attack magazine gets low ranking A low ranking also went to Church & Society, a magazine that takes great delight in mocking the standards adopted by the PCUSA. An issue in 1999 – titled Hate – accused the PCUSA of aiding and abetting murder because of its ordination standards. Hate also yelled “racism” at a denomination that has elected a black woman and a Korean man among its last four moderators. Also ranked low was the peacemaking program. That’s probably more of a commentary on the latest PCUSA Peacemaking Conference – where the keynote speaker asked “What’s the big deal about Jesus?” – than the legitimacy of a Biblically-guided peacemaking ministry. But it is becoming increasingly clear to Presbyterians that the denomination’s brand of peacemaking is to live as if all religions are equally valid. A Biblical peacemaking ministry would begin with the conviction that Jesus Christ is the only true peacemaker; he’s the Prince of Peace who breaks down the dividing wall of hostility. We won’t suggest that the General Assembly Council got a perfect score on its priorities. Neither will we suggest any alternative rankings. Godly men and women can disagree on many issues. But to be faithful to Christ, we cannot disagree about the priority of proclaiming the Gospel or the training of disciples.

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