Back in the Reformation, when the divine right of kings was still taken for granted and Habsburgs and Medicis wielded all the real power--more than Catholics or Lutherans or Presbyterians--way back then, there was an experiment in Geneva. Calvin and the city authorities of Geneva were trying to make scripture the only source of authority, and so they were trying to design a form of government in Geneva only based on scripture. When a refugee from the protestant-catholic conflicts in Britain named John Knox showed up in Geneva, he was very impressed. On his return to Scotland, Knox brought back Reformed Theology and wrote the Scots Confession that we have in our Book of Confessions, the first part of the Constitution of our denomination, the PC(USA).
John Knox also wrote an early draft of what later became known as the Second Book of Discipline. This book lays out a form of church government (not civil government like in Geneva) that first defined what we call Presbyterian today. "Presbyterian" is a form of government for churches ruled by elected officers called "Elders." The Greek word presbuteros means "elder."
In addition to a fairly early version of the radical idea that we all govern each other as equals (priesthood of all believers), there is another fairly radical idea here: What we do derives from what we believe. This idea exists in our Book of Order (the second part of the constitution of our denomination, the PC(USA) ). The first section of the Book of Order, titled "Foundations of Presbyterian Polity," has beautiful language in it that connects our beliefs to our polity. "The mission of God in Christ gives shape and substance to the life and work of the Church." This sets our priorities straight: accomplishing God's purposes is the goal, and the means only follows the purpose. We also express our priorities by putting the Book of Confessions (what we believe) first, and the Book of Order (what we do and how we do it) second.
Later, it also says, "The Presbyterian system of government . . . is established in light of scripture but is not regarded as essential for the existence of the Christian Church, nor required of all Christians." In other words, our way is a good way, but not the only way. Focus on the mission of God in Christ and let the organization of the government of the church follow the needs of that mission. Particularities of time, culture and place may create many different forms of government to serve the one mission. Ours is a representative form of government. Two other common forms of church government that we see today are: a hierarchical, episcopal form of government like the Methodist or Catholics, and a pure local democracy like congregationalist churches. We have no problem with those denominations' forms of government as long as they're pursuing the mission of God in Christ.
Faith, Hope and Love are the main Christian virtues. We learn these virtues from scripture, most beautifully expressed in I Corinthians 13, the "love chapter." Paul wrote I Corinthians to a community in schism. He was trying to get them to be a more unified community, living lives of love and not competition for status. We also try to arrange our government around these Christian virtues. We also hope these Christian virtues made real in our government will help us be a more unified community. The "Foundations" section of our Book of Order makes these connections explicit:
The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life.
The Church is to be a community of hope, rejoicing in the sure and certain knowledge that, in Christ, God is making a new creation. This new creation is a new beginning for human life and for all things. The Church lives in the present on the strength of that promised new creation.
The Church is to be a community of love, where sin is forgiven, reconciliation is accomplished, and the dividing walls of hostility are torn down.
The Church is to be a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus its Lord.
The "Foundations" section of the Book or Order also says, "In the worship and service of God and the government of the church, matters are to be ordered according to the Word by reason and sound judgment, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit." We believe in the Word: the written word in scripture, and also the living, eternal Word of God who is Jesus Christ. When it comes to figuring out what to do, we take seriously the process of discernment. We try to discern what the Bible meant when it was written as well as what it means for us today. We try to discern the will of God in Christ for us today. We bring to bear all our gifts for figuring out what to do: our reason and our wisdom, our study and our prayers. We value fair discourse and listen to people who disagree with us. All of this is part of the calling on our Elders: to discern what scripture says so we know what to do in the world. We value right discernment, but we also admit that we can't do it ourselves and we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in this process.
What we believe is: scripture, the Lordship of Christ, the promise of God, and lessons of the early Christian church and Paul. What we trust is the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have faith, and because of that faith we have hope. Because of that faith and hope we are able to be confident and take risks in our ministry. Because of that faith and hope, we are able to be optimist in the world, always expecting God to do new and good things, expecting God to do new and good things through us. That means our faith and our hope lead to what we do.
What we do is we choose to love. We choose to forgive, and we choose to pursue reconciliation and not cutoff. We choose to live our lives without contempt or hostility toward others. Because of our faith and hope we let no fear get in the way of our loving and forgiving and reconciling. Because of our faith and hope and love, we celebrate the grace and forgiveness we have received and offer grace and forgiveness to each other. We confidently take risks in our ministry, but there is much grace when those risks don't play out. We know that doing our work graciously IS accomplishing the mission of God in Christ, even if the details of the plan don't play out.
Because of our faith and hope and the love we receive from God and the love we live with each other, we are transformed. We choose to let the world know--we choose to be witnesses to that transformation. What we believe determines what we do and how we do it. What we do is a witness to God's transforming grace, but HOW we do it is also a witness. When people look at us, they should see people living new transformed lives, they should see people living in love together.
The "Foundations" section of the Book of Order paraphrases Ephesians 1:22 when it says, "God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and has made Christ Head of the Church, which is his body." What we believe is the Lordship of Christ. What we do is act as his body to do God's will in the world. We Presbyterians work hard to bake that into everything we do, including how organize ourselves for ministry and how we govern ourselves. We hope that brings glory to God.
Blessings,
--Chas
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