From dinosaur to dragon: Why the Confessing Church Movement is necessary A commentary by Jeff Jones Volume 34, Number 5 Posted July 6, 2001 “O, a family is people, and a family is love; that’s a family. They come in all different sizes, shapes and kinds, and mine’s just right for me; O mine’s just right for me.” Anyone with a small child will recognize that a large purple dinosaur sings these words. What is not as obvious is the fact that they have become the unofficial theme song of our denomination. Understanding the theological implications of this children’s song can, I think, illumine the present condition of our denomination and explain why a Confessing Church Movement is necessary at this point in time. During the election of this year’s General Assembly moderator, candidate (soon to be moderator) Jack Rogers opened his presentation by saying that he wanted the denomination to support marriage and family life – and not just one kind of family but all families of every shape and size, traditional and nontraditional. “O, a family is people and a family is love, that’s a family …” At that moment I knew why a Confessing Church Movement was necessary. The theology of a seminary professor, a leader in this denomination, a candidate for moderator, had no more substance than that of a purple dinosaur. We were listening to Barney theology, and the crowd was humming along. It was disconcerting. You have to understand, of course, that Jack Rogers is on record as supporting gay “marriages” and “families,” so his statement was a carefully worded announcement of this view. Barney theology is not simply benign; it is dangerous and corrupting because it is unbiblical. We do not get to do what is right in our own eyes, or redefine marriage and family so that it’s “just right for me.” We are called to know and to do what is right in God’s eyes, not those of a purple dinosaur. Apparently, moderator (he was elected!) Rogers disagrees. Our theological ABC’s One reason the Confessing Church Movement should be supported is simply because the theological literacy level is so low in our denomination. We have forgotten our theological ABC’s, our fundamental beliefs and affirmations. Barney theology about the family is just the visible remodeling of our spiritual house. The foundations also are being demolished and redesigned. So, what can the righteous do? Confess the faith once delivered to the saints. Reaffirm publicly, lovingly, and courageously the elementary teachings of our faith. This must be done, because the redefinition of family and marriage by our new moderator and many others rests upon a foundation set in sand. If we would do what is right in God’s eyes, and not what is “just right for me,” then we must know what God’s will is. This is the question of revelation. Historically, the Church has always confessed that the Bible is God’s Word to us, wherein we may find and know clearly His revealed will. But, when we no longer trust the Scriptures we turn to Barney and other sources of false wisdom. That is exactly what has happened and what is encouraged in our denomination. ‘No one has all the truth’ On election night, candidate Rogers said we all “revere” the Bible (whatever that means), then went on to say at different times that “No one has all the truth” and that we must “always be respectful of the limits of our knowledge.” Sounds humble, doesn’t it? But is it humble toward God? Such statements, when taken in the context of questions about morality and the uniqueness of Christian salvation, show an arrogance that declares the Bible unable to provide the answers to these fundamental questions. We have lost the elementary teachings of our faith and turned to the teachings of the world. None of us has “all” the truth, but has not God given us all the truth we need to know concerning the way of salvation and the shape of a holy Christian life? “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever” (Deut. 29:29). Of course, when the truth and clarity of the Bible is abandoned, the heart of the faith will fall as well. Sadly, this was also evident on election night. In answer to the question, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation?” candidate Rogers would not affirm the historic confession of the Church, clearly revealed in Scripture, that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) Instead, he referenced the new catechisms and said we must be respectful of the limits of our knowledge. How fair; how nice; how Barneyish. Faith in Christ comes in all different shapes, sizes, and kinds, and mine’s just right for me; O mine’s just right for me. When candidate Rogers blasted the Confessing Church Movement for its insistence on the fundamental teachings of our historic faith – salvation in Christ alone, the clarity and authority of the Bible, and the holiness of God’s design for marriage and family life – the crowd roared and clapped its approval. It was the sound of darkness rolling in. The Confessing Church Movement is necessary because the Faith was and is denied on the central stage of our life as a denomination. Shouldn’t it be heard from the margins, from the bottom, from us, before the dinosaur becomes a dragon and devours the souls of our people? Jones is pastor of Memorial and Providence Presbyterian churches in Nathalie, Va.

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