Second day of Committee part two

After we'd finished with the Trinity Paper we went on to discuss a study of sacramental practices. It wasn't a bad paper, but it didn't really reflect the Presbyterian Church of my experience. We were told that renewal and growth will come to the PC(USA) if we will (and I may not remember them all) - Put the communion chalice and patten on the table every week - conduct part of worship every week from the communion table - pour water into the font every week during the time of confession - celebrate communion more frequently (weekly is what they really want). There was one other thing, but it was similar. Now call me a cynic ("Here Cynic"), but I don't think they are going to batter down the doors of our churches just because we take the flowers off the communion table. Fine, try it if you want, but don't force me to do it. The trouble is that there is more than one traditional stream in the Reformed church. The one with which many of us is far more familiar only celebrates communion 4 or 5 times a year, and makes a big deal of it when we do. We were still using communion tokens to admit people to communion when I started in the ministry 23 years ago. The sacramental theology behind the recommendations places a far greater emphasis on liturgical worship than we are familiar with, on the use of the lectionary and form prayers. It also seems to give a higher place to baptism than it does to conversion. The report talked about the importance of the Word as well as the sacraments, but I can't help feeling that it was, largely, lip service. Their recommendations sounded more like Anglicanism, with a five minute sermon or homily, instead of the people of the Reformation, gathering around the Word of God, revealed in Scripture and expounded by faithful preaching. These points were made, but were largely ignored. Several amendments were offered, which failed. This is not as big a deal as the Trinity paper, it's only a study document, but it worries me that we can determine the essential elements of worship (no flowers on the Table) but we can't identify the essential tenets of Reformed theology. Is this the rise of the worship nazis? I don't really think so, but it still annoyed me that theological argument was still ignored by commissioners who still feel that a report should be supported because the authors are "such nice people and they have worked so hard."
I got back to thinking about the Trinity Report again. It amazes me that we heard so few substantial arguments in favor of the report (except from its authors), yet it still passed. We offered some really good criticism of the report, yet it still passed. Are the decks stacked? Maybe, maybe not. What would seem to me indisputable is that there is a level of theological and biblical illiteracy among commissioners that is simply astonishing, and not a little worrying. There were statements made in debate that were completely off the wall in terms of orthodox Christianity. Some of them even came from pastors. They made mistakes that should have been obvious to a freeshman in divinity. Perhaps, then, the problem should be traced back to those colleges that are more concerned about social activism than they are about solid Bible teaching.
A quick word about other committees. The Ecclesiaology committee, which is dealing with the PUP report just kept going and going, I was going to say "like the energizer bunny" but a better analogy might be "like an attack of Montezuma's revenge..." There had been some very minor revisions made to the report, and recommendations 1 - 4 had passed, but despite valiant attempts, it looks like the thing is very likely to be passed virtually as it was presented to the church last September. Of course it still has to go through the plenary session next week, but the indications are that it will probably pass. Then we will have to see what will happen.
On a better note, the nonsense about divestment in Israel looks likely to be reversed, despite a lot of pressure from some of the agencies of the denomination to delay any action. If the plenary agrees, we will rescind the nightmare of divestment and, hopefully, form a more rounded and less divisive policy on the Middle East.
In short, the conservatives have had victories here and there, but the major battle, over the PUP report, to which our overture spoke from New Covenant, looks to be going the other way.
Tonight, the assemblies of three Presbyterian denominations will meet together for worship: the PC(USA), the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. I don't know how many thousands of people will be there, but it should be quite a few. Will they all be worshiping the same God?
One final note, despite my poor memory (messing up tournaments) and certain dire predictions, the US soccer team made a real go of their game against Italy. We can all be proud of them. Drawing 1-1 with only 9 men left on the field is quite an achievements. We can only hope that this, feisty, team shows up for the Ghana game, and not the jet-lagged crew that capitulated to the Czech Republic. And as for the England team. Won 2, lost 0 sounds good, but you "ain't gonna get no predictions out of me."
Presbuteros