"The time has come!"
Exploring the possibilities for something new
[6-16-05]

More reports and reflections >>

Today’s opening worship was led by the Rev. Dean Weaver, Vice Moderator of the New Wineskins Initiative and pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, NY. Taking as his text Matthew 9:14-17, he spoke of Jesus’ referring to the time when the bridegroom will come and it will be time to break out the wine for celebration – and Jesus’ reminder that new wine must not be stored in old wineskins.

Weaver drew three points from his text.

First, he said, "It’s time to celebrate. The new wine is poured out." Jesus makes all things new, and in the words of Ecclesiastes, there is a time to tear down and a time to build. That doesn’t mean the old is bad, he said – but that there is a time for new things to replace the old.

Second, he said, "It’s not the time for tinkering." If a new patch is put on an old garment, they’ll both be ruined. So no partial measures will do, and the fullness of change must be allowed to come. He quoted Clark Cowden, who spoke on Wednesday evening, as saying some years ago, "No small tinkering will do. It’s time for a radical reinvention of the denomination."

And third, he went on, "It is time for a new wineskin, and it is time for a new wine." He has seen the new wine in congregations such as Christ Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis (where the gathering is meeting this week), in African churches, and "even in Buffalo" (where his own congregation is located).

Weaver then went through a kind of litany that ran something like this:

The time has come.

It’s time for a church that exalts Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior, and without a need for political correctness.

It’s time for a church that functions more as a missions agency than as a regulatory agency.

It’s time for a church that confronts the culture more than a church that reflects the culture.

It’s time for a church that drives out demons and heals the sick, and doesn’t just say those are metaphors.

There were more lines like these, and many of them were greeted with "amens" and applause by the group.

As he concluded he said "Sometimes when you love someone dearly, and they are nearing death, it’s time to let them go. And it’s time. I’ve poured my energies into trying to patch the old [wineskin], but quite frankly I think now’s the time for a new one." Then quoting Ecclesiastes 3:13-14, he said "The old wineskin has been beautiful in its time ... but God sets eternity in our hearts, so we will revere Him and not our structures." A standing ovation suggested that lots of people in the audience agreed that "it’s time."

More background on the New Wineskins Draft Constitution

Moderator David Henderson then gave more background on how the New Wineskins Initiative has come into being, and what it might mean for evangelical Presbyterians today.

He began by reading a message of greeting from Forward Together, an evangelical group in the Church of Scotland. It closed, "May God bless you as you seek to bring your denomination back to the theological mainstream." Cheers and applause again.

He then announced that 84 congregations have now endorsed the New Wineskins Initiative.

Henderson traced the beginnings of the movement from a meeting in Denver in 2001, when a few people talked openly for the first time "about how things couldn’t go on as they were." In 2003 he sent a letter to a number of like-minded people inviting them to a "designing" session. Just three showed up, he said – including himself. But the little group has spent much time praying and planning, and it has grown.

He emphasized that "New Wineskins is not a reaction to what we have now. ... We’re not talking about bringing a church to an end – just the denomination! We want not just to critique the denomination, but to see how God is moving into new ways around the world – to envision new things."

He pointed to three main concerns about "the present denomination" – what seems to be an easy, denigrating label for the Presbyterian Church. First, there is concern for the theological and ethical integrity of the church, which has been undermined by modernists’ reading of Scripture through changing contexts, and their willingness to accept all kinds of "diversity" in questions of morality. Repeating a line from the preceding evening he said "We are not schismatic. The schism has already happened, and we want to restore the peace, unity and purity of the church."

A second major concern is to restore "the missional calling of the church," which has been reduced to mere "institutional maintenance and societal improvement."

And finally he repeated the charge that the denominational structure "has become increasingly unhealthy," so we now have "a multilayered bureaucratic organization that has a life of its own," and that exists only for itself. We need a structure, he said, which is far more flexible so we can respond quickly to a rapidly changing culture.

It is out of these concerns that the group is offering their draft constitution for consideration and feedback. They plan to consider amendments during the delegates’ meetings planned for Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, moving toward agreement on "next steps."

Dealing with church property questions

There were more sessions during Friday, including a panel presentation by three attorneys on "Church Property and God’s Economy," which provided people with legal history and explanation of current issues in the courts’ dealings with property issues. The intent was clearly to offer some guidance (but not "legal advice," as Robert Howard was careful to point out) to congregations that are concerned about keeping their property if (or when) they separate from the PC(USA). Valerie Munson and Peggy Hadden both called attention to some of the ethical issues in matters of property, and to the "better way" of seeking mediation or other conflict-resolution processes rather than going to court. Robert Howard was critical of what he sees as current efforts by the Office of the Stated Clerk to encourage congregations to affirm "express trusts" which vest ownership of their property in the PC(USA).

Affirmations of beliefs and ethics

One of the afternoon workshops dealt with the theological and ethical sections of the proposed constitution. Dean Weaver and others who participated in the long process of formulating the listing of essential beliefs explained their concern to "contextualize" the faith statements, recognizing that for many people in our "polytheistic culture," faith is seen as a matter of choice, and no simply an acceptance of facts. Weaver also made clear that "we aim for a subscription approach," with members of each ministry group (a small group of 3 to 8 congregations) being given the opportunity each year to reaffirm their faith in the essential tenets, and their obedience to the ethical imperatives.

In a lively hour and a half discussion moderated by Weaver, many questions were raised which covered a wide range of concerns. An elder from Minneapolis criticized one affirmation in the list of "the essential tenets of our Reformed faith" that "We believe in God the Father ..." This, he said, is simply an expression of opinion, and it should be worded (as are the other affirmation) as "a statement of fact" – that "God is the Father who created all things ..."

On the other side, concerns were raised for a clearer social dimension in the statement of beliefs. One person suggested that the "Kingdom mission" of the church should be explained as caring the sick, helping the poor, and so on. Another person noted that he could not find the word "justice" in the statement, and expressed concern that "we’re way too vulnerable" to criticism from others in the denomination, and more important, "it’s not in our heart to leave out the element of justice."

And then again, someone was concerned that the tenth essential tenet, about the hope of life after death, should also make clear the fate that awaits those who do not believe.

You may want to take a look at them, since they deal with an earlier version of the "Draft Constitution" that is the focus of attention in this convocation.

John Adams’ report in The Layman Online is headlined
"New Wineskins Convocation opens with evangelicals and some monitors."

Wonder who the monitors are? In reporting on the opening presentation by David Henderson on Wednesday evening, he said that Henderson "noted that the observers included ‘denominational executives from this area and beyond, some from the Covenant Network and others from the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity.’ "