“Turning Toward the Mission of God:
A Strategy for the Transformation of the PC(USA)”
Coalition Strategy Paper: August 1998

Introduction
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.“ (James 1:22)

As the fellowship of men and women who by grace have been engrafted into Christ by the power of the Spirit, the church seeks to live out its faith in and through the concrete structures and activities of her daily life and worship.

As the necessary complement to the Declaration, we offer the following strategic proposals for the Presbyterian Coalition’s service to the whole church in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the present context it seemed good to us to lift up six areas of church life (mission, polity, discipline, theological education, worship, and educational ministries), suggested by the text of the Declaration, as fruitful areas for critical reflection, prayer, and striving, as we seek to live out the new life which God has opened up to us in Jesus Christ.

We anticipate that these six areas of transformation will be the focus of particular working groups. The role of each group will be to examine the needs of the church in their area and apply the affirmations of the Declaration in setting specific objectives for renewing and building up the church. They will pro¬pose and develop strategies for accomplishing their own priority objectives within a five year period.

These detailed proposals will be offered up to the wider church for consideration and implementation. We affirm that this work of renewal will be carried on in and through the existing structures of the PC(USA) whenever possible. The fruits of our labor are presented here as an offering by the Presbyterian Coalition for the building up of the whole church of Christ.

The general work of each task force is described in relation to an area of the Declaration, and each contains examples of existing problems and suggestions for action. They represent concerns and ideas which the Visioning Team discussed and offer as a starting place for discussion as the task forces begin their work.

While we are critical of many things within our beloved church, we acknowledge that all too often we have been part of the problem. We, too, present obstacles to the greater working of the Spirit in our midst. The critique we present is a self-criticism in some measure, and we stand under the judgment of God for the ways in which we have been a hindrance to the work of Christ in the church and in the world.

We anticipate that the outcome of implementing this plan will be a church engaged more fully in building up its own body theologically, spiritually, and morally, and more unified in the practice of Christian discipleship;

where the local congregations are more actively involved in determining and carrying out the mission of the church;

where the decisions and actions of higher governing bodies more faithfully reflect the commit¬ments of local congregations;

where church members and their elected leadership at all levels seek and find forgiveness and a restored life in Christ;

where the structures that are intended to order our life together are more cost-effective, stream¬lined, and faithful in determining and carrying out the will of the body; and

where the Triune God is worshipped in spirit and in truth.

THE RENEWAL OF MISSION
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 21st century, we must recognize that the Church’s mission is born out of God’s love for the world. The mission of the Church involves word and deed, body and soul, church and world. At its center is a zeal for the unreached and a desire to see persons and cultures transformed to the glory of God.

In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • An incipient universalism that diminishes the urgency of the gospel message.
  • A witness which echoes cultural ideology rather than biblical fidelity.
  • A limited and biased view of ecumenism which has not allowed us to be in conversation with
    other evangelical mission enterprises or the rapidly expanding third-world mission organiza¬tions.
  • A provincialism in the local church that simply ignores mission beyond its own walls.
  • A denominational mission structure that fulfills more a gatekeeping role than a facilitating role
    for mission.

The task force on the Renewal of Mission will address the following strategic goals:

  • Encourage, support, and promote a missional understanding of the church that encompasses both evangelistic outreach and the transformation of society and culture to the glory of God.
  • Foster denominational support and encouragement of local church leadership in mission projects.
  • Celebrate, publicize, and promote ongoing work by the denomination in supporting Trinitarian Christian mission in local congregations and around the world.
  • Encourage sessions to designate mission giving to acceptable projects within the denomination as an alternative to withholding funds or redirecting them outside the church.
  • Further encourage and develop strategic partnerships for Trinitarian Christian mission with re¬newal movements in our denomination, as well as in other denominations, and with para-church missional organizations, such as the AD 2000 and Beyond movement.
  • Prioritize innovative new church development strategies as an effective means of evangelism and mission.
  • Evaluate and assess the effectiveness of continuing denominational involvement in mainline ecumenical organizations, and explore participation in evangelical ecumenical organizations.

THE RENEWAL OF WORSHIP
“… at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess in heaven and on earth and under the earth that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 2lst century, we must have worship that is Trinitarian, dynamic, and relevant to its cultural setting. The pressing worship issue will not be debates over style but whether or not the worship experience faithfully lifts up Jesus Christ and draws people to him.

In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • The idolatry of holding that only one worship style is uniquely faithful in expressing the Re¬formed tradition.
  • Nonbiblical and uncompelling preaching.
  • Worship services that are manipulated by political and ideological agendas.
  • Deep division between proponents of differing styles of worship. Failure to teach our children how to worship.

The task force on the Renewal of Worship will address the following strategic goals:

  • Encourage, celebrate, and support worship expressions that reach across barriers of class, ethnicity, age, and culture.
  • Establish national and regional conferences on Reformed worship that will include training and dialogue on effective preaching, music, the sacraments, and liturgy, from a variety of stylistic perspectives.
  • Identify teaching churches across the country that model the diversity of dynamic, Christocentric worship within our tradition.
  • Develop Reformed devotional materials for use in personal and family worship. Strategize for including children and youth in the worship life of the church family.

THE RENEWAL OF POLITY
“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 21st century, we must have a polity that promotes the spiritual objectives of the church. It should establish proper lines of account¬ability, place decision making and mission in the governing body closest to the congregation, and maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • An estrangement between the denominational leadership and the church it is called to serve.
  • The ongoing transformation of the Book of Order from a constitutional document setting forth the essentials of our faith and governance to a detailed and unwieldy operations manual.
  • Our failure to be knowledgeable, faithful, and responsible presbyters.

The task force on the Renewal of Polity will address the following strategic goals:

  • Assess the composition, staff, and programs of governing bodies with a view toward the reduc¬tion of what is unwieldy and the elimination of what is biblically unfaithful. Examples of this could be the possible elimination of Synods and a comprehensive evaluation of the GAC.
  • Develop an overall coordinating strategy for each General Assembly meeting. Implement a long-range plan for recruiting and equipping biblically faithful and effective leaders for service at every level of church governance.
  • Develop programs for recruiting and training elder and pastor commissioners for effective ser¬vice in the governing bodies of the church.
  • Promote nominating processes for General Assembly commissioners that are fair and open. Encourage, and provide input to the work of groups seeking to streamline the Book of Order. Develop and encourage full and honest reporting of church expenditures in ways that demon¬strate the faithfulness of church mission to donor intentions and respect the right of sessions to conscientious dissent from the support of programs they consider unfaithful.

THE RENEWAL OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your… mind.” (Mark 12:30)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 21st century, we must have theological institutions which support the mission of local congregations in equipping believers to know the scriptures and think theologically within the Trinitarian faith of the church.
In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • Theological education that is captive to ideological currents alien to the faith of the church.
  • Theological education that is primarily responsive to the interests and agendas of the academic guilds rather than to the mission of the church.
  • Graduates from our theological institutions who are ill-equipped for pastoral ministry.

The task force on the Renewal of Theological Education will address the following strategic goals:

  • Initiate dialogue with seminaries for the purpose of better accomplishing our missional task. Identify seminaries that promote Trinitarian faith, uphold the constitutional standards of the church, and equip candidates for the mission of the local congregation. Direct qualified candi¬dates and support to these seminaries and away from those that do not affirm these values.
  • Work with local congregations to aggressively identify, recruit, and support faithful and gifted individuals for service in the ministry of our church.
  • Identify and support promising candidates for advanced training toward service in seminary teaching positions.
  • Explore and propose innovative models of theological education.
  • Explore and propose innovative models of lay-leadership development, such as teaching churches, internships, mentoring, regional theological colloquia, and church-seminary partnerships.
  • Develop and circulate theological resources that equip the parish minister and the wider church for fulfilling their mission. Such resources might include: sermon resources; curricula for the theological education of the laity; and conferences addressing major theological issues.

THE RENEWAL OF EDUCATIONAL MINISTRIES
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with
gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 2lst century, we must promote a life-long process of growth in the knowledge of, love for, and obedience to Christ as revealed in Scripture.

In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • The loss of the Christian home as the primary school for faith and life.
  • Denominational ministries and programs for high school and college youth which have been ignored by many because of a loss of trust in their faithfulness to our theology and their ineffec¬tiveness in reaching the target populations.
  • The great exodus of college age students from the life of the church. Diminishing biblical knowledge and theological understanding within our congregations. The neglect of devotional practices and piety which are faithful to the Reformed tradition.
  • Denominational curricula and materials that are inadequate for teaching biblical faith and fre¬quently defy constitutional standards.

The task force on the Renewal of Educational Ministries will address the following strategic goals:

  • Reaffirm and equip families in their responsibility for the spiritual nurture of their children. Develop and encourage vital youth ministries that nurture biblical faith among young people both within and outside of the church; explore new and effective youth ministries that include para-church partnerships; develop and promote regional and national youth training events that are faithful to scripture and our Reformed tradition.
  • Emphasize biblically faithful, congregationally-based campus ministry as an effective tool for the evangelism and nurture of college students.
  • Sponsor symposia on a variety of concerns relating faith to life, such as biomedical ethics, envi¬ronmental issues, the sanctity of life, the persecuted church, economic justice, etc. Encourage, develop, and promote effective ministries which foster healthy marriages. Encourage, develop, and promote effective models for mentoring and discipleship. Encourage, develop, and promote devotional practices and resources that nurture and sustain Christian faith and life for believers of all ages and stations in life.
  • Identify and produce faithful, engaging, and effective biblical curricula for believers of all ages.
  • Identify and commission teaching churches regionally that are modeling effective educational ministry.
  • Develop resources for helping adults integrate Christian faith and professional life. Develop biblically faithful curricula for congregational instruction of young people in sexuality that empowers and encourages sexual purity.

THE RENEWAL OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE
“And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted,
help the weak, be patient with them all.”
(I Thessalonians 5:14)

If the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to be faithful to Jesus Christ in the 2lst century, we must be a disciplined community of faith whose members are accountable to God and to one another for the faithful living out of the Gospel in holiness and purity.

In order to accomplish this, we need to acknowledge and address the following frequently encountered obstacles:

  • A refusal to live under the authority of the biblical and constitutional standards of the church.
  • The acceptance of theological and moral pluralism at the expense of biblical and constitutional faithfulness.
  • A distorted understanding of grace which confuses moral permissiveness with biblical compas¬sion.
  • An understanding of personal privacy which undermines practices of self-examination and mu¬tual accountability and encouragement.
  • Neglect of denominational procedures for the theological and moral examination of church officers and the disciplining of flagrant violations of constitutional standards.

The task force on the Renewal of Church Discipline will address the following strategic goals:

  • Develop and promote a network of covenant groups for pastors and laity. These groups will practice confession, mutual accountability, and encouragement and promote spiritual maturity and the preservation of truth in the body of Christ.
  • Assist and advise sessions and pastors in such a way as to empower full grassroots participation in the life and government of the church.
  • Encourage and equip sessions and presbyteries to initiate ministries of compassion and restora¬tion for persons whose behavior has estranged them from biblical standards for the holy life.
  • Educate and encourage elders and ministers for the more faithful and effective exercise of their vows and responsibilities as presbyters of the church, including the examination of candidates for church office.

 

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