 On location  The Layman Volume 38, Number 2, Posted May 27, 2005
For more than 100 years, First Presbyterian Church has lifted a cross over this land of illusion. From its center-stage location near Hollywood and Vine, this congregation has heralded the gospel, showcasing Scripture, declaring the rock-solid Word of God. From this congregation missionaries have been dispatched throughout the world; ministers have been catapulted into national pulpits, educators published curricula for millions of growing Christians. This is the church of Henrietta Mears, Louis Evans, Lloyd Ogilvie and other Presbyterian luminaries whose ministries have touched countless lives. But this church has more than a past. After years of membership declines, innovative leaders are planting seeds for a future generation. While traditionalists enjoy a glorious worship experience, complete with robed ministers and a 100-voice choir, a new breed of seekers, some 400 strong, gathers for “CUE worship” in “the warehouse.” Unfamiliar with the creeds of Christian culture, they are invited to explore the faith in the non-traditional language of their world. Here, a contemporary cohort meets the ageless claims of Jesus Christ. No reasonable person would expect that a 2,700-member, culture-crossing congregation like this would not have problems. The context in which this church has chosen to bear its witness is rife with relational, logistical, administrative and financial challenges. But when fewer than five percent of Hollywood’s members found the work of their leaders objectionable, the place for them to take their concerns was to the session, the elected governing body of their church. Instead, they went clandestinely to the presbytery’s Committee on Ministry. Had that committee honored its constitutional mandate, it would have required the dissenters to take their complaints first to the session. But the Committee on Ministry did not do that. (Incredibly, committee members say they were advised by the Office of the General Assembly not even to talk to the session!) In violation of the constitution, the Committee on Ministry secretly met with the dissenters and heard their complaints without benefit of the knowledge they would have gained had the Committee on Ministry first met openly with the session and other church members, or allowed the accused to face their accusers. Then the committee met privately with Hollywood’s ministers and, again in violation of the Constitution, told them to leave. Nothing in the Book of Order gives a Committee of Ministry such powers. When the committee’s unconstitutional behavior was challenged by the session, the COM announced its call for a special meeting of the presbytery, asking this body to remove the ministers and take over the church. The Presbytery of the Pacific did create an administrative commission, but for the purpose of bringing about reconciliation in the Hollywood church. Thus it voted down the request to remove the ministers, knowing that the desired reconciliation could only occur if the ministers were parties to it. But at 12:30 a.m., only minutes after the presbytery meeting that created the commission was adjourned, an attorney purportedly representing the commission ordered the ministers to vacate the church property in less than 12 hours. The administrative commission’s attorney is none other than Antonio de la Rosa. Those who follow denominational affairs know him well. When the Albuquerque General Assembly voted to deny ordination to persons who engage in sexual relations outside of marriage, de la Rosa led a demonstration, including homosexual activists and General Assembly staff members, to plant a six-foot cross in front of the assembly and hammer nails into it. This Los Angeles attorney has enjoyed other Louisville connections. He chaired the General Assembly Advisory Committee on Litigation. The committee that he chaired helps Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick file amicus briefs in civil courts, like a recent brief supporting “covenantal unions” for same-sex partnerships. Why are presbytery leaders going after this church? Is it theology or something more? The Hollywood church’s property is a developer’s dream. Its parking lot alone is worth millions. Could the denomination’s assaults on this church have anything to do with real estate? That’s a question worth asking Antonio de la Rosa, attorney for the commission that has now seized control of the church. It’s also worth asking staff members of the denomination’s Department of Constitutional Services, which reportedly advised the Committee on Ministry not to discuss Hollywood’s problems with its session. And it is worth asking Clifton Kirkpatrick himself. If ever there were a case of a presbytery killing a vibrant evangelical church, this is it. Why these harsh tactics against a faithful, growing congregation? Why not allow this church’s duly elected session to deal with its own problems? The corporate world has a term for it. It is called “hostile takeover.” A column by Parker T. Williamson, chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and editor in chief of its publications. |
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