All posts nFOG: Trying to renovate a house that’s eaten up with termites
9/17/2009 12:49:34 PM
On Sept. 11, 2009, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) likened the proposed new Form of Government (nFOG) to a home improvement project disclosing that in his house the default channel is HGTV.
When the Rev. Gradye Parsons says that “The basic structure of our Presbyterian life together – the foundation and load-bearing walls – is all there in the proposal,” one understands that he is pointing to the proposed new section of the Book of Order entitled, “The Foundations of Presbyterian Polity.” There are, however, foundational issues in our common life that are left unaddressed by the proposal. Related story
For a full analysis of nFOG, please see Michael Herrin’s work on the Presbyterian Coalition’s Web site.
For example, a clear acknowledgement that Jesus Christ alone is the way to salvation.
nFOG rightly acknowledges the supreme authority and rule of Jesus and rightly confesses that “Christ alone rules, calls, teaches and uses the Church as He wills.” So, why not also confess that Jesus Christ alone saves?
nFOG rightly acknowledges that Christ is the foundation of the Church but in saying that “In Christ the Church receives its truth and appeal, its holiness and its unity,” the proposal falls short. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and no one approaches the Father except through Him. Why not confess that?
I am not casting random stones here. I remember from my own experience with the New Wineskins Initiative just how hard it is to conceive of a missional and Presbyterian ecclesiology.
Parsons says, “we need to renovate our polity space. We need to knock down some walls of regulation and build room to allow newness to happen.” The problem is that you cannot redesign the interior space without examining and fortifying the foundations and load bearing walls. To borrow another analogy, rearranging the proverbial deck chairs makes no difference if there’s a gaping hole in the hull of your ship.
Furthermore, you cannot construct a system of accountability when there is no mutual agreement on the essentials. A permissive system like the one proposed relies upon high levels of trust – a commodity that runs in very short supply in our current ecclesiastical environment. In a system of church governance predicated on the understanding that we will all follow the mutually agreed upon rules in our constitution, we have entire judicatories thumbing their noses at the definition of marriage and the qualifications for church leadership. We have preachers foregoing the Scriptures opting instead for the Koran and we have mission dollars being spent on national political agendas that are not widely agreed upon by the people populating Presbyterian pews.
We’re trying to renovate a house that’s eaten up with termites. We’re wallpapering over gaping cracks that reveal a compromised foundation.
Maybe you’ve seen the ABC hit show “Extreme Home Makeover.” When the show started out, the team did what the stated clerk proposes we do: they made interior improvements to the existing structure. However, within a few short episodes it became glaringly apparent that what was really needed was a brand new house. The structure was just too far gone to be saved. It was unhealthy for those trying to live there. Demolition and a complete rebuild would be required to meet the needs of broken and hurting families who had been devastated by life’s storms.