Peters Creek Presbyterian Church elder Ray Peterson raved over the large turnout for a controversial event at the Pittsburgh-area congregation last Sunday. The church voted 273-86 to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA ) for the more theologically-conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. While that represented difficulties and church conflict in the preceding months, Peterson saw the forest through the trees and found the nearly 400 worshippers who gathered to state their opinion as a sign of hope.

"It would be wonderful if we could have a vote every week," he said. "There were people here today who haven't been here in years."

The Gazette reported the movement by a group of conservative congregations in the PCUSA to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church over both doctrinal issues and sexual ethics attracted two other Pittsburgh-area congregations. Nor is Pittsburgh the only place where Presbyterians are redefining themselves along the lines of other mainline denominations' struggles over social, ethical and theological issues.

Redefining church unity

Columnist Terry Mattingly writes that these shake ups may redefine church unity for the future. He quotes the Rev. Parker Williamson, a Presbyterian conservative leader, who said he thinks the denomination of the future will be less about district offices and more about common beliefs.

"There isn't going to be a central, merged denominational office somewhere," Williamson prognosticated. "The new church unity will be in new networks of people with common beliefs."

Will these new networks eventually lead to disbanding the 2.3 million-member PCUSA? Perhaps we should see the other side of the same coin and hope, like elder Peterson of Peters Creek, that at least the controversies will increase worship attendance within individual congregations.

Considering Christian essentials

I doubt church consultants will be rushing out to advise church splits as a way to increase attendance. Still, there is something worth considering in a serious discussion of theology and what is still essential in a Christian church today.

In fact, this is exactly the slated topic for discussion at a forum sponsored by the PCUSA in Austin, Texas. On Sept. 26, Michael Jinkins and Paul Hooker will discuss "Joining and Being Church: What's Not Negotiable?" at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary's Spring President's Colloquium. According to the PCUSA News Service, the church leaders will discuss whether there are minimum standards of belief for becoming a member of a church in the PCUSA. Specifically, they want to flesh out whether or not someone has to state belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to join a Presbyterian church.

It seems the churches voting of late to secede from the PCUSA would answer a resounding, "Of course," followed by a question of their own: Does a church have to state belief in the PCUSA?