The following letter was written by the Frank J. Allen, Stated Clerk and Paige M. McRight, Executive Presbyter of the Central Florida Presbytery. We think it has an important and often not articulated message about what the passage of Amendment 10-A means for ordination standards, especially with respect to how the vote may be portrayed in the media.
Dear friends;
Based on current trends, it is widely expected that Amendment #10-A will pass within the next few days. As you may recall, this is the amendment that deals with ordination standards. When it passes you may be faced with questions and concerns from your members and your local community. The information below is offered in the hope of assisting you with those conversations. You may reprint it if you wish.
What 10-A Says:
“Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”
What it DOESN’T say:
10-A eliminates the mandates on who should/should not be considered for ordination that are present in the current language. [The wording previously said that “Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness….”] Instead, the new language re-focuses the discussion of ordination on who examines (presbytery or session) and on what basis (joyful obedience to the Lordship of Christ, gifts, preparation and suitability for office, and commitment to fulfill the ordination vows).
It is also important to note that the new language does NOT REQUIRE that any person be ordained and installed, if the ordaining body’s sense of faithfulness does not commend it. Sessions and presbyteries will continue to be responsible for being sure that everyone to be ordained has full preparation and thorough examination. The examination for ‘suitability for the responsibilities’ will need to include consideration of whether anything in that person’s manner of life is unacceptable in those who are ordained. The new standard reminds us that all areas of a person’s life including, but not limited to, sexual behavior are subject to the Lordship of Christ. Ever since the current language was adopted in 1996, sessions and presbyteries have disagreed about whether the Scripture precludes ordination for homosexual persons. The revised language will lay on sessions and presbyteries the responsibility to answer that question for themselves and to take seriously their responsibility to prepare and examine those who are called to church office in their context.
The media is likely to say that this revised statement automatically opens the door to the ordination of homosexual persons in our denomination. It does not automatically open the door to ordination for anyone. There will be disagreement among Presbyterians about how the new standard should be interpreted and some will doubt whether they can stay in our denomination with this change. We are grateful that already pastors and other leaders who care deeply about our denomination are at work to find a way for us to stay united in mission even if congregations decide to separate into presbyteries around how they interpret Scripture related to this standard. We are grateful for the foresight of the General Assembly Commission on Middle Governing Bodies and the Fellowship of Presbyterian Pastors which independently of each other are working to discover ways for us to serve together in the Presbyterian Church (USA) honoring our theological diversity and our common calling to serve our common Lord.
More information is available on the Central Florida Presbytery website: http://www.cfpresbytery.org/council.html
This is really helpful, and a good, pro-active move that equips Presbyterians for answering the press, friends from other denominations, and curious onlookers about the nature of the Amendment 10-A debate.
My prayer is that the outcome of all of this will be a church that is focused on what it means to live like we believe Jesus is Lord. That kind of life is not about checking a box to prove you belong; it is about being a living witness that others can see, and point to, and say: “that person is trying to follow Jesus.” If our church can be known for that kind of witness, there’s no telling what transformation we might experience.