Monday, February 05, 2007
Time To Leave
- ...abandons the fidelity of faith
- ...negates the authority of faith
- ...severs the continuity of faith.
- ...destroys the credibility of faith
- ...obliterates the very identity of faith
Does that not sound remarkably like the effects of sin? Of course it does, because that is precisely what it is. Having said that, we are confronted with two possible paths. One is to say, we all sin from time-to-time and move forward, the other to toss the sinner from our midst, as they have essentially done by leaving the ECUSA. The question, in a very real sense boils down to "are there limits to grace?"
Quickly will come the answer - "NO!" but then we should never leave a church, ever. And yet the evidence of the Reformation and its many denominational departures would, if we are to say it is a good thing, indicate that there is a limit, for there is a time when departure becomes necessary.
First of all I think there is a difference between personal and institutional grace. While I am confident God's grace to individuals is boundless, I am not convinced He will grant it limitlessly. If He did, there would be no Hell, no condemnation. But I am also convinced that the amount of grace to be extended to an institution is far less than the amount of grace to be extended to individuals.
The purpose of institutions is to gather together the power of the many and funnel it into a single direction. It must accentuate the positives of the many with regards to that direction while simultaneously limiting the negatives. In other words, the standards for an institution must be higher than an individual or the institution is no longer succeeding in its purpose. Thus, in this instance, even if grace were appropriate to a similarly situated individual, it is not so to the institution.
So why then am I still in the PCUSA, which is very close behind the ECUSA in all the areas they cite? The answer is a simple one. The PCUSA system gives me far more room to have voice, and far more room to have impact, and far more room to separate myself from the negative and remain institutionally attached than the ECUSA does. I have the power to change things in the PCUSA that is simply not available in the ECUSA to a person in my situation.
I may fail, in fact I think it likely; however, it is part of being a good Prebyterian to try until I am out of options. These people were out of options, I am not. At least not yet, anyway.
Related Tags: ECUSA, PCUSA, church, leaving, standards, grace
