Theological paper affirms Lordship of Christ By John H. Adams The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 1 Posted January 24, 2001 The Office of Theology and Worship, which usually steers clear of controversy in the Presbyterian Church (USA), has imported a theological statement from the Reformed Church in America to help the PCUSA resolve the debate about whether Jesus Christ is the only path to God. The debate has continued since June 2000 when a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Dirk Ficca, questioned whether Christ alone is savior of the world. Speaking during a denomination-sponsored Peace Conference, Ficca asked rhetorically, “What’s the big deal about Jesus?” That set off a backlash across the denomination. Because the planners of the Peacekeeping Conference failed to rein in Ficca, and the General Assembly Council ducked the issue at its September meeting, several sessions have registered complaints that could become legal cases in church courts. Meanwhile, the Office of Theology and Worship remained publicly silent on the debate until recently when Joseph Small, coordinator of the office, posted on the denomination’s web site a declaration by the Reformed Church, titled “The Crucified One is Lord.” Small called the document “a superb theological paper.” The Reformed Church declaration, commissioned by that denomination’s governing body in 1996, is a classical expression of the Lordship of Christ that is designed to address theological and cultural pluralism. The Reformed Church’s Commission on Theology produced the statement, using language that is fully accessible to lay readers. In his preface to the statement, Small wrote, “Recent events within the Presbyterian Church (USA) have highlighted one of the most important theological questions facing North American Christians: How shall we confess Jesus Christ in a religiously plural society?”

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