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.

What to expect in seminary

It may be helpful for some considering seminary if I briefly describe a typical week's worth of work for an introductory class. Here was last week's assignment from Introduction to Reformed Theology, a 3 credit hour course at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary:

1. Attend class (for me, listen to the audio)

2. Make an outline of three chapters in the Westminster Confession of Faith

3. Memorize four questions and answers from the Westminster Shorter Catechism

4. Read 3 hours in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion

The total time spent each week is about 8 hours.

Back to school

Two weeks ago I traveled to South Carolina to attend orientation at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. So I'm back in school again, but barely, since I'm only taking one course a semester. My hope is to slowly progress through the curriculum so that if I retire from the AF in a few years I will have less to complete in residence before, Lord willing, being called to a pastorate somewhere.

Happily, there are many good seminaries to choose from, but I decided on GPTS because it offers a unique combination: 1. Good academics, 2. Theologically conversative professors and curriculum, 3. Affordablility ($150 per credit hour versus $300+ for other places). It's also distinctly Presbyterian which suits me well and on top of all that it's very close to home, a place I long for more after being away for so long. In God's providence, my brother lives about 5 minutes from the seminary and my mother is less than an hour away.

I'm only in the second week of class but the reading and class discussion (I listen in on class each week by downloading MP3s) has been the most enjoyable of any school I've been part of (and it seems that I've been in a lot). My classmates have started a message board and have shared e-mail addresses so that also helps mitigate some of the drawbacks of being a distance student.

As my time in the Air Force draws to a close, I'm more and more interested to know what the Lord has for our family in the days ahead.