Greetings and Comments to the
Coalition Gathering V
Indianapolis, Indiana
October 30, 2000
by John Detterick
John Detterick is the executive director of the
General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Greetings from staff and members of the General
Assembly Council. I am delighted to be here.
In the time you have graciously given me, I would
really like to comment on one very important aspect of the work of GAC:
the current budget prioritization process that focuses our work on the
themes of evangelism and discipleship. However, the Executive
Committee's letter in response to concern expressed on a speech
delivered at the Peacemaking Conference is a much more pressing matter.
So I'll use my time on that subject.
You know the issue all too well. A keynote speaker at
an annual GAC-sponsored Peacemaking Conference, focusing on interfaith
relations, articulated a perspective that conflicts with a central tenet
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The initial public statement signed
by the Chair of the Council and me did not directly or adequately
address the core issue. Then, last week, the GAC Executive Committee
released a letter to the church intended to affirm clearly that Jesus
Christ is the only Lord and Savior.
However, some in the church, including some of you I
suspect, have found the letter from the GAC Executive Committee to be
inadequate because, while it affirms our core beliefs, it does not hold
the conference speaker accountable for his "out of bounds"
statements.
I understand that. And I also understand that the
issue needs to be addressed.
Increasingly, conflicts in our world are rooted in
faith or take on religious significance. This is true in the Mideast, of
course, in the Balkans, on the Indian sub-continent, and in other parts
of the world. That is why it was - and is - so important for our
Peacemaking Conference to focus on interfaith issues.
Now, if a Peacemaking Conference on interfaith
relations had invited a Muslim or a Buddhist to give his or her
perspective on interfaith relationships that would have been fine and
helpful to understand another's faith perspective. If a Roman Catholic
had offered perspectives that differed from our Presbyterian beliefs,
that too would have been fine and helpful. If the speaker, who is a
staff person from the World Congress of Religions, had offered a
differing view, and had not been an ordained minister of the Word and
Sacrament, that could have been acceptable. But this was not the case.
The speaker was a Presbyterian minister, and that exacerbates our
problem.
I am sure that the full General Assembly Council will
take up this matter when it convenes next February. In the meantime, let
me share two points with you. My first point is a personal observation
relative to the Executive Committee letter and, the second will be some
of my own personal learning from this whole experience.
First, as I watched and facilitated the drafting, and
redrafting, and redrafting of the Executive Committee's letter, it was
very clear to me that all of the members firmly and deeply believe that
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that he is Lord of
the world and Head of the Church.
The members of the Executive Committee come from a
variety of perspectives, from evangelical to liberal, from activist to
reflective. On many issues they bring a rich diversity of opinions. In
fact, because of the presbytery representation of the Council they
represent the diversity of the whole church. But on this issue, there
was no difference. Clearly, for all members, Jesus Christ is Lord of all
and Head of the Church.
I want you to know, that while some may find the
Executive Committee's letter deficient in one or many ways, the members
of the Executive Committee are all people of great faith and committed
to this church and its doctrines. They are striving to faithfully serve
the PC(U.S.A.) to the best of their ability.
Second, two of my own personal learnings from this
experience:
1. We must do a better job of anticipating what
speakers at conferences are likely to say and be prepared to put their
comments into appropriate context, if necessary. Presbyterians are
thinking people and need to hear other perspectives. People going into
mission work in interfaith areas must be prepared. Accordingly, our
conference planning must not be passive in setting, and in maintaining,
the context of who we are doctrinally. This is something we will need to
do better. More on that in a moment.
2. Our initial responses must be faster, be less
cautious, and more definitive. I am guilty of not doing so in the
initial letter and take responsibility for a) not moving fast enough,
and b) for speaking much too cautiously.
Based on this learning, and our sincere desire to
faithfully serve the church, Peter Pizor, Chair of the General Assembly
Council, sent an email to all Council members yesterday announcing that
he will be appointing a task force to look at our conference planning
and procedures process. The goal will be to evaluate conference planning
and procedures process and bring recommendations for improvement,
especially as it relates to doctrinal matters. We anticipate that this
Task Force will be appointed and ready for its first meeting within 45
days.
For me, it is always important to learn from our
experiences and to build towards becoming better servants of the church.
We will continue to strive to that end.
In closing, let me say that, while this matter is
painful for all of us, it is good for us to talk about theology and our
beliefs. We welcome the opportunity to talk about theology and our
beliefs. This is a good study moment for our church. Nobody likes to
initiate judicial proceedings. And, we certainly don't like being on the
receiving end of judicial proceedings.
Nevertheless, for those for whom this is not a
foundational matter, and for those for whom it is, this is a good study
moment for our church. It is good to focus and study who we are and
whose we are and in the process continue to affirm that Jesus Christ is
Lord and Savior of all.
Amen, and thank you.
