From the 214th General Assembly

The 214th General Assembly is now over. Its work has been both satisfying and frustrating. The GA has affirmed both that Jesus is the only way to salvation and that women have a right to suck out the brains of children who could survive outside the womb.

Actually, upon further reflection it was a General Assembly which affirmed the status quo in the PC(USA). We are a mainline denomination refusing to recant the historic positions of the church, yet we are unclear what these doctrines actually mean.

In all seriousness, holding onto the traditional teachings while winking and nodding is still an accomplishment. I grew up on wimpy denominational curriculum. I heard plenty of sermons which dwelled on metaphor. Nonetheless, even as a pre-Christian I knew enough to be offended by the campus pastor at University of Houston who denied the resurrection.

Of course, that doesn't mean that things will be great for the mainline American church on judgment day. But God will even use our inertia to His glory. Amen.

Hope?

From the 214th General Assembly of the PresbyterianChurch USA...

At a breakfast meeting of "Voices of Sophia" on June18, Jane Spahr, a self-proclaimed "lesbian evangelist," stated...

"I am stunned by a Presbyterian church so wrapped up now in the lordship of Jesus Christ that we forget how many ways, traditions and cultures God comes to us."

There are those who believe that we have outgrown our creeds and confessions like a snake needing to shed its skin. They are perpetually offended at our unwillingness to part with perceived childishness. As troubling as it is to hear these voices, I am heartened to hear that they believe the Presbyterian church has wrapped itself in the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Gee, maybe there is hope for the PC(USA).