I belong to a local Christian community called First Presbyterian Church. Two years ago that community extended their trust to me. They asked if I would consider being ordained as an elder, a church office made up of men and women who provide spiritual support and leadership within the community. I was honored to be asked, and I gratefully accepted. As a part of the ordination ceremony, we were asked to answer these nine questions in the affirmative:
- Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
- Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God's word to you?
- Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?
- Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and continually guided by our confessions?
- Will you be governed by our Church's polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's Word and Spirit?
- Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?
- Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the Church?
- Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?
- Will you be a faithful elder, watching over the people, providing for their worship, nurture and service? Will you share in government and discipline, serving in governing bodies of the church, and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?
I take these questions seriously. They represent my community's request that I remain faithful to everyone who has come before us, everyone who is among us now, and everyone who will come after us. They are not meant to stifle critical assessment of individual or community beliefs, to reduce curiosity, or to demand unquestioned agreement with doctrinal platitudes.
My next nine or so blog posts will be personal reflections and stories related to each of these questions. What does "Yes" mean in response to each? That depends, of course, on several different things - the diversity of Christian tradition, reason, experience, and interpretation of the Scriptures. I want to spend some time writing about these questions because I've had to fight hard to provide any answer to them, let alone a confident "Yes!" Writing about the process will be clarifying for me, and hopefully reading about it will be enjoyable and challenging for you. At the heart of each of these questions - whether or not you can see it right now - is a call to examine what every one of us believes our lives are about, what we amount to, and how we live in the world. For me, the theological language of Christianity is invaluable as I make those examinations. I will write clearly and unapologetically about this, but I aspire also to write in such a way that those outside of Christianity or any organized religion may feel deeply connected to the spirit of each of these questions.
My next nine or so blog posts will be personal reflections and stories related to each of these questions. What does "Yes" mean in response to each? That depends, of course, on several different things - the diversity of Christian tradition, reason, experience, and interpretation of the Scriptures. I want to spend some time writing about these questions because I've had to fight hard to provide any answer to them, let alone a confident "Yes!" Writing about the process will be clarifying for me, and hopefully reading about it will be enjoyable and challenging for you. At the heart of each of these questions - whether or not you can see it right now - is a call to examine what every one of us believes our lives are about, what we amount to, and how we live in the world. For me, the theological language of Christianity is invaluable as I make those examinations. I will write clearly and unapologetically about this, but I aspire also to write in such a way that those outside of Christianity or any organized religion may feel deeply connected to the spirit of each of these questions.
Loaded questions, indeed. Look forward to your writing.
You mean I wasn't allowed to answer "sort of" or "mostly"? I may need a do-over.
I'd have a hard time with some of these, as I am such a questioning believer. I don't see scripture as dogma or inerrant and don't want to be told what I "have" to believe or profess. Such a rebel. Such an Episcopalian. :c)
Jayne -
Thanks for reading and for always sharing a comment. I'm with you. I do not believe that the Scriptures are inerrant or infallible, the two buzzwords that have arisen in the last hundred years to signal the "true" believer's devotion to Christian tradition. And if I thought my community was requiring my assent to certain doctrinal norms in order to allow me to serve, then I would have declined their request to become an elder. I think you may feel more of an affinity to my answers than may be apparent right now.
From a rebellious Presbyterian to a rebellious Episcopalian