Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Pot Is Now Boiling And The Frog Is Unaware
Well, we went and did it yesterday. My denomination PC(USA) said, essentially, "We cannot agree, we don't want to fight, so we won't take a stand". We will now find ourselves in the somewhat unenviable position of having one church over here ordaining homosexuals and one over there that won't. And should same-sex marriage ever become the law of the land, we will see the same thing happening on that issue.
On first blush, I have to say, I am not sure people have thought this through carefully. Suppose my congregation decides not to ordain homosexuals, but, because our pastor is on vacation, we need supply to serve communion and moderate Session. (These are things, for the unintiated, that we require an ordained pastor to do.) Now suppose the only available supply is homosexual, an individual whose ordaination we do not recognize? What happens? We are then forced to either recognize ordination of homosexuals, or violate the rules about office.
I realize ordination happens on the Prebytery level, but what of the congregation that does not support homosexual ordination in a Prebytery that does? In the end that is exactly how I think the scenario I just described will happen. A non-homosexual ordaining congregation will have to realign with a different Presbytery that is geographically too distant to grant supply, thus homosexual supply will become almost inevitable. (BTW< once all that rellignment has occurred, can real schism be far behind?)
This is insidious. In my opinion, it is over. We have schism, but it will not be dramatic, it will be one congregation at a time. Either conservative congregations will be forced out when they fail to accept homosexual supply, or they will be forced to accept it. The so-called "local option" is, simply, unviable - we are too interrelated.
More importantly, what am I to do? Do I go back on Session so I can have the strongest possible voice in what my congregation does? Do I attempt to influence my congregation from off Session? - it could be argued I am better at that. Do I join the local PCA congregation? - which is unfortunately composed of graceless conservatives, but at least they are not apostate.
That's the problem with a no-decision decision like this. It's not a compromise, it's a cop-out. Pray for us. - Pray for me.
Related Tags: Presbyterian, PC(USA), homosexual, ordination, General Assembly
On first blush, I have to say, I am not sure people have thought this through carefully. Suppose my congregation decides not to ordain homosexuals, but, because our pastor is on vacation, we need supply to serve communion and moderate Session. (These are things, for the unintiated, that we require an ordained pastor to do.) Now suppose the only available supply is homosexual, an individual whose ordaination we do not recognize? What happens? We are then forced to either recognize ordination of homosexuals, or violate the rules about office.
I realize ordination happens on the Prebytery level, but what of the congregation that does not support homosexual ordination in a Prebytery that does? In the end that is exactly how I think the scenario I just described will happen. A non-homosexual ordaining congregation will have to realign with a different Presbytery that is geographically too distant to grant supply, thus homosexual supply will become almost inevitable. (BTW< once all that rellignment has occurred, can real schism be far behind?)
This is insidious. In my opinion, it is over. We have schism, but it will not be dramatic, it will be one congregation at a time. Either conservative congregations will be forced out when they fail to accept homosexual supply, or they will be forced to accept it. The so-called "local option" is, simply, unviable - we are too interrelated.
More importantly, what am I to do? Do I go back on Session so I can have the strongest possible voice in what my congregation does? Do I attempt to influence my congregation from off Session? - it could be argued I am better at that. Do I join the local PCA congregation? - which is unfortunately composed of graceless conservatives, but at least they are not apostate.
That's the problem with a no-decision decision like this. It's not a compromise, it's a cop-out. Pray for us. - Pray for me.
Related Tags: Presbyterian, PC(USA), homosexual, ordination, General Assembly
