The Layman – July/August 2007 Volume 40, Number 2 – Posted July 30, 2007

Conundrum facing Presbyterians today – whether to go or to stay The ongoing theological crisis fracturing the Presbyterian Church (USA) grows worse by the day. More congregations are voting or planning to vote to seek dismissal to another Reformed denomination that they believe is more Biblically orthodox and authentically, fervently committed to the Great Commission. This crisis is further complicated by the legal battles over church property that are being waged from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, from Mississippi to Oklahoma, from Alabama to North Carolina. Like Joshua (24:15), these congregations have reached the point where they have chosen for themselves whom they will serve, “whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Deepening crisis Within this deepening crisis, though, is another complication – those congregations that, for a variety of reasons, plan to continue the decades-long fight to renew the denomination, but worry about how, with diminished numbers, they will be able to turn around the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s continuing slide into irrelevancy. Like the psalmist (88:13), these congregations feel called upon to bear witness within the denomination, crying “to you for help, O Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.” Within the imploding Presbyterian Church (USA), they, like the psalmist (88:11-12), petition the Lord: “Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?” This is the pressing conundrum facing many Presbyterians today – whether to go or to stay. Many Biblically faithful and Christ-centered congregations are sincerely struggling with this issue. We affirm the faithful Presbyterians in both groups, remembering that our unity is not in an institution created by man but in the timeless and inerrant Word of God, where “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11). Trying times In these trying times, and in obedience to God’s Word, we take comfort in the fact that our calling as Christians is to reflect the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Joel 2:32 Most of all, we’re mindful of John Calvin’s admonition to pray: “It is not without cause that our heavenly Father declares that our only safety is in calling upon His name since, by it, we invoke the presence of His Providence to watch over our interests; of His power to sustain us when weak and almost fainting; of His goodness to receive us into favor, though miserably loaded with sin – in the end, to call upon Him to manifest Himself to us in all His perfections. “Hence, admirable peace and tranquility are given to our consciences. With the straits by which we were pressed laid before the Lord, we rest fully satisfied with the assurance that none of our evils are unknown to Him and that He both is able and willing to make the best provision for us.” The Layman Editorial Board

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