You don't leave your sick mother

(A third post in a short series on Presbyterian Church History)

When do you leave a church? What grounds justify forming a new one? American Presbyterians could learn a lot from their Scottish church forefathers who detested separatism.

Which Prophet called for the true Israelites to break from the idolatrous Old Testament Church? Which Apostle gave instructions to split from an immoral New Testament Church? Finding none, the Scottish Presbyterians kept their vows to their Church despite its corruption. Error in the Church was no reason to separate from it.

Separation was permissible only over the fundamentals of the gospel itself. They knew that separation is not the only way to testify against error. You don't leave a sick mother (the church, see Gal 4:26), you stay and help her to recover.

For more than 150 years the idea of a unified, visible Church of Jesus Christ had an immense hold on the Scottish Presbyterian mind. Apparently, very little of that mindset survived contact with the independent American spirit.

"His face is white, but his heart be black!"

(The second post in a short series on Presbyterian history)

Such was the loving response one newly freed black woman gave when asked about her white pastor, John L. Girardeau. The federal government had sent to Charleston a black pastor to minister to the former slave congregation of 1,500. He was rejected in favor of Dr Girardeau who had not yet returned from the War.

Dr Girardeau has been called the forgotten Spurgeon of the South, loved by his congregation and remembered as a preacher with power and precision. He is a bright spot among Southern Presbyterians in a dark time.

I had the privilege to visit his grave and hear moving accounts of his love and faithful ministry among the slaves in Charleston.

Tour of old Charleston (part 1)

Last week I enjoyed an intensive class in Presbyterian Church History which included a tour of the oldest Presbyterian sites and stories in our nation.

Over the next few posts I'll cover some of the highlights of the class; this post will focus on one part of our tour of historic Charleston, South Carolina.

The oldest Presbyterian church building in the nation is on John's Island, part of the Charleston peninsula. The building dates from 1719 and is still in great shape and active use.
The layout of the sanctuary tells you a lot about the beliefs of the people that have worshipped there. You can't miss the raised pulpit in the center front of the room. There is no center aisle so that the congregation can center on the Word being read and preached. The elders of the church sit in the front pews on either side of the pulpit, symbolizing the safeguarding role the elders have over the preached Word.

Presbyterian worship, at its best, is simple, reverent, and Word-centered. When done right, it is also timeless, for our God is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.

The making of split-P soup

Seeking a Better Country tells the story of 300 years of American Presbyterianism. From its beginning in 1706 until the present day there has been no golden age for the Presbyterian church in this country but instead a struggle, at times acrimonious, to define a Presbyterian identity and then to hold fast to it.

Most often the denomination has been split by a large group of Presbyterians neglecting the confession of faith and adopting the methods of the broader Christian Church (e.g. Revivalism), or it has all-together abandoned the historic Christian faith (e.g. Liberalism).

Sometimes the reason for splitting and forming another Presbyterian denomination doesn't seem to rise to the level warranted for such an action. And the longest lasting split to-date began largely over slavery and its abolition. The consequences of all the divisions leaves us with the split-P soup we have today.

The book itself is not dry, even though it is a denominational history. In fact, it explains and informs the major events and personalities in American Presbyterianism in an interesting and at times startling way.

To bring this post to an end, the book closes by identifying the three types of Presbyterians today: confessionals, evangelicals, and mainliners. The first two are found mainly in the "sideline" denominations (PCA, OPC, etc) with the confessionals emphasizing theology and the evangelicals focusing on activism. The mainliners (e.g. PCUSA) have, by and large, drifted far from confessional moorings. But the history of all three camps is a mix of folly and insight, failure and accomplishment.

9 signs of life

I've enjoyed reading a letter a day from the pen of one of the great Scottish puritan Presbyterians. The Letters of Samuel Rutherford (1660-1661) were mostly written during his imprisonment for the sake of the Gospel.

This excerpt from my reading today provides a good example of the richness of 17th-century devotional literature:

Loving Brother, Hold fast Christ without wavering, and contend for the faith. You may put a difference betwixt you and reprobates (those without Christ), if you have these marks,

1. If ye prize Christ and his truth so as ye will sell all and buy him, and suffer for it.

2. If the love of Christ keepeth you back from sinning, more than the law, or fear of Hell.

3. If ye be humble, and deny your own will, wit, credit, ease, honor, the world, and the vanity and glory of it.

4. Your profession must not be barren and void of good works.

5. Ye must in all things aim at God's honor; ye must eat, drink, sleep, buy, sell, sit, stand, speak, pray, read, and hear the word, with a heart-purpose that God may be honored.

6. Ye must show yourself an enemy to sin, and reprove the works of darkness, such as drunkenness, swearing, and lying, albeit the company should hate you for so doing.

7. Keep in mind the truth of God, that ye heard me teach, and have nothing to do with the corruptions and new guises entered into the house of God.

8. Make conscience of your calling (as a Christian), in covenants, in buying and selling.

9. Acquaint yourself with daily praying; commit all your ways and actions to God, by prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving; and count not much of being mocked; for Christ Jesus was mocked before you.

Las Cruces

I spent today in the southern New Mexico college town of Las Cruces representing our church at the regional meeting of elders (called Presbytery). Our Presbytery covers NM, AZ, and the El Paso region; we rotate the Presbytery meetings through the different churches in the region. Today we met in a converted skating rink that is now home to Grace Covenant Church. The day-long meeting is work but it's a good kind of work. Today we:

Ensured two pastors moving into our region were biblically faithful in doctrine and life

Helped about a dozen men who are becoming pastors to better prepare for the ministry

Heard reports from border ministries, campus ministries, and church planting, then prayed for each of them

Proposed a strategy for increasing church planting and campus ministry

Prayed repeatedly and passionately for our churches, our communities, and missions

Worshipped the Lord together through Word and Sacrament

May King Jesus be honored in all we did today

Presbytery

I returned yesterday from Scottsdale, AZ, the site of our latest Presbytery meeting. As usual it was a great time. At these meetings the elders of the churches in the area (for us, New Mexico, Arizona, and El Paso) meet to guide, pray, and hear updates on the spread of the kingdom throughout our area.

One highlight of this meeting was the attendance of Dr Lig Duncan (of Together for the Gospel fame). He was in town for Ligonier's West Coast Conference and came early to preach and meet with us.

He delivered an edifying sermon on preaching and then spent an hour of Q&A with us. We focused several questions on the role of women in the church, which he handled nicely, but to me the most helpful response he gave concerned unity in the PCA. You can hear both recordings here. (My goofy question to Dr Duncan is about 4:30 minutes into the Q&A session).