Two competing visions of the Church vie for influence in the PCA. Sometimes they spark, sometimes they simmer, but they are always in the room. One vision earnestly calls for a more “emotionally healthy community” where the main thing is the main thing, procedure doesn’t trump relationship, and mission isn’t lost in tradition. With the same genuine conviction, the other vision demands “confessional integrity” where historic Christianity is championed, Reformed distinctives valued, and mission isn’t an excuse for accommodation.
Both visions come from people with good hearts who want the Church to thrive. However, they also come from fallen hearts, and in their baser expressions they share a common pathology: some of their advocates behave as if the other side is a nuisance that they’d be happy to be done with.
One vision insists that relationships and mission are essential, but some of its advocates are ready to dislocate from a body of brothers that, however awkward and imperfect, is a sacred community of relationships itself and part of God’s mission. The other insists we guard the Creed, but the Confession itself makes much of our eternal union with Christ and one another. Yet as we also see, some of its advocates act like creeds and committees are the sum-total of those relationships and the mission is to assure theology and praxis alignment at a cellular level.
A little reflection, however, exposes a theological and relational problem with all this. If avoiding nuisance was a Trinitarian value, the Godhead would do Church alone, and we wouldn’t have any of the Epistles, which are, among other things, inspired catalogues of ecclesiastical annoyances. Remember too, that no one has ever been more embarrassed, obstructed, or hurt by fellow church leaders than our King. Do we think he’s so impressed by our context-savvy mission or laser-precision creed that he doesn’t care how we treat one another?
that seems hard to deny unless the plurality of elders was established so Presbyters could confirm one another’s genius
It is axiomatic that we’re called to promote causes that guard the Faith and build the Kingdom. Still, since the Book of Acts, decent men have carelessly wounded one another and the Church in that effort. For almost 50 years God has seen fit to endure our bickering with patience and continues to use our conflicts for his purposes. Leadership consultants might think God skipped the Good to Great chapter about getting the right people on the bus, but we know better. He does things with purpose, including putting elders with clashing ministry values on the same committee.
The thesis of this open letter is that chief among those purposes is to keep us safe from ourselves. God uses the other side of the ecclesiastical aisle to guard the Church from the weaknesses, biases, blind spots, unimagined outcomes, and just plain foolishness of her shepherds’ strongly held views. That seems hard to deny unless the plurality of elders was established so Presbyters could confirm one another’s genius. If, however, we’re all a little short on genius and believe iron sharpens iron, then we need to learn to clash with one another in ways that make us men who love the Savior and his Bride enough to love each other.
That’s our best hope for a second fifty years of mostly faithful, often fruitful, occasionally floundering, sometimes flourishing ministry together. This article and the posts that follow are my effort to help us understand what being fellow elders means.
I admit that the following posts are probably born of the presumption older men have who feel wiser than they once were but are not as wise as they think they are now. Please forgive me for that and trust that wherever these many words come from, they also come from love for our common home.
Here’s a look at what’s coming in this series:
Thoughts on the 25-11 Ejection Button
Thoughts on the Parliamentary Arts
Thoughts on (not)Fixing the Denomination
Thoughts on Losing Votes (and something even harder)
Finally, since Reformed epistemology makes much of presuppositions, let’s begin with this starting point from Moby Dick, which is a more apt metaphor for church leaders than we might admit.
… Heaven have mercy on us all – Presbyterians and Pagans alike – for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending.
