Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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GA starts meeting
on June 14 at the Cobo Center in Detroit and ends on June 21.
GA is short for
General Assembly - the biennial meeting of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that
is supposed to make decisions that will advance the Kingdom "on earth as
it is in heaven" as supposedly guided by a Book of Confessions and Book of Order supposedly
based on the Bible.
Of course, for
many Christians still remaining on the rolls in the franchise aka
denomination increasingly decreasing in membership and cultural influence,
connections between recent decisions along with unchecked constitutional defiance
from left and right seem startlingly coincidental to its books.
Indeed, many
Presbyterians who still love Jesus by the book hold their breath as recent GAs
seem determined to "amend" the answer to the first question of The Shorter Catechism: "Our
chief end is to horrify God,
and to annoy Him
forever."
Simply, it almost
seems recent GAs are darkly determined to drive off as many people as probable
who love Jesus by the book by actions antithetical to Jesus by the book.
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This year's
docket continues the lamentable trend.
Commissioners - ruling
elders (non-clergy) and teaching elders (clergy) in theoretically equal numbers
augmented by bureaucratic staff/watchdogs programmed to make sure the elders
don't drift too far from "their" priorities - are being asked to
allow member churches to host same-sex weddings, replace the Biblical
understanding of marriage including a woman and man with "two
people," create some kinda task force to keep talking about same-sex
marriages until the PCUSA pastors who don't think so wear out or walk out to
allow those who think so to preside at 'em, divest from companies who do too
much business with Israel because it hasn't been very nice to Palestinians,
abandon the Biblical "covenant" of affirming Israel as special to God
as Holy Scripture is revised again to fit into the most popular ideology
masquerading as theology, advocate female and
just-about-any-kinda-sexual-lifestyle for leadership in the Boy Scouts of America,
and...ad nauseam.
Parenthetically,
I keep wondering why some franchise jingoists - mindless drones who embrace any
decision from GA regardless of correspondence to Jesus by the book - wonder why more and more
and more folks are withholding or redirecting contributions and
"voluntary" per capita apportionments as they just take the lead from
them about divestment from companies/organizations/tribes that tick 'em off.
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Be that as it is and seems will be
until the franchise's thanatos libido is totally satisfied, I'm
asking you to join our friends in Presbyterian Elders in Prayer (www.presbypray.org) to encourage everyone
everywhere regardless of franchise to pray for the rebirth of the PCUSA
according to Holy Scripture in the name of Jesus as chastened to confession and
repentance and compelled by the Holy Spirit in a Romans 12 kinda way.
Forget renewal.
Ya can't renew something/someone
that ain't been newed.
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I'll probably be
called a troublemaker for what I just wrote; noting I've often thought I'd rather
be called a heretic by heathens than blasphemer by people who still pray and
labor to love Jesus by the book.
I'll probably be
accused of upsetting the peace, unity, and purity of the franchise for what I
think; noting I have no heaven idea what "their" standards are for
heralding peace, unity, and purity because I was called, nurtured, examined,
and ordained to undershepherding
by previous generations of Presbyterians who prayed and labored to love Jesus
by the book and books based on the book (viz., BC and BO).
I'll probably be
called some kinda theological Neanderthal for still thinking Christianity is
only about Jesus by the book rather than books about the book that always seem
to rationalize us away from Jesus by the book to satisfy the twitchings
in apostasizing heads, hearts, guts, and, uh, loins.
Uh, I'm used to
it.
After four
decades of undershepherding,
I've been called so many things; and, really, I'd rather be called a fool for
Jesus by the book than a fool for whatever foolishness is masquerading as
Christianity with only coincidental correspondence to Jesus by the book.
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Truth is sooooooo many people are sooooooo offended by just
about anything from anyone that everybody's a troublemaker of some kind in sooooooo many people's
estimation.
Everybody's a
troublemaker to someone about something.
All ya gotta do
these days is look at someone the wrong way or not look at someone the right
way or not yield the right of way or yield the right of way the wrong way or just quote Jesus by the book and
you're considered a mean, nasty, and abusive troublemaker.
It's like I tell
young pastors who want to be liked by everybody in their churches: "Forget
it! And look up what Jesus said about being liked by everybody! I
don't think so! Here's the vocational deal. You're gonna be damned
if you do and damned if you don't. What a liberating reality!
Knowing you're gonna be damned if you do and damned if you don't, forget about
doing that damned kinda stuff and bring some heaven into your church by talking
about Jesus by the book. Give 'em the Gospel! That'll shock 'em!"
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Sooooooo what kinda
troublemaker are you?
Against Jesus by the book?
For Jesus by the book?
Are you one of
those folks who see God in the mirror and declare during deliberations, "I
know that's what Jesus and the Bible say; but
I think..."?
Are you one of
those folks who bow your head, heart, guts, and loins before Him and confess,
"Lord, I know I'm a sinner; but I will not confuse my sin with Your will
as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy Scripture. Your not my will be done 'on
earth as it is in heaven'"?
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Elijah comes to
mind.
He was called a
troublemaker because he refused to go with any flow that wasn't within the
movement of the Spirit.
You know the most
famous chapter in his story.
He beat up the
bad Baal religionists who were no match for him because, as Jesse Jackson likes
to say, "God+you=majority."
Whoa.
My favorite part
of the story is when Elijah shows up and says to King Ahab who always seemed to
have a Jezebel of a time staying faithful to God and the people of Israel who
always seemed to be bantering and moaning about something/someone and then
getting mesmerized by their idolatries that distracted 'em from fidelities by
the book, "How long will you go limping between two different
opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! If Baal, then follow
him...and go to hell!"
Whoa.
If that doesn't
sound like GA 2014 - die
Abfall oder die Erweckung.
It reminds me of
Dr. McCord who often talked about the state of mainline franchises like the
PCUSA - BTW, this story has parallels with all
of the current increasingly apostate sisters to the PCUSA - by
telling a little story about two guys at a cocktail party.
First guy:
"I don't know who I am, what I'm doing, where I'm going, or what it's all
about."
Second guy:
"Don't worry about it! Your pastor and church are going through the
same thing!"
Whoa.
I'm also reminded
of Bill Thompson, long-time stated clerk of whatever franchise preceded the
current one, who said to me in 1975 when I asked why he turned down a
nomination to become a federal judge, "There are many federal judges; but
only one stated clerk."
Whoa.
Then there was
this meeting in Aurora, Illinois a few years ago with about twenty of our
presbytery's most out-spoken theological Neanderthals like me. One of 'em
who must have been stoned or trippin' kept going on and on and on about how we
could reverse the increasingly apostate trends in the franchise by educating
the membership about Jesus by the book. Two others who have been on the
wagon long enough to be sober about it all said simultaneously, "We've
lost! Deal with it! We're never going to get it back. The challenge
for us now is to protect our congregations from the wolves at our doors while
trying to be personally faithful in a denomination where faithfulness no longer
exists."
Whoa.
Here's another
one with metaphorical value. I attended a presbytery meeting in Sterling,
Illinois on Tuesday (6/10). I had been up since 3:30 a.m. and asked if
the coffee was loaded. The hostess replied, "We only serve
'Presbyterian' coffee here! Decaf." Selah.
Whoa.
I guess it all
comes down to this for Presbyterians and sister franchisers who still love
Jesus by the book and seem to be outnumbered in their neighborhoods.
Do you/we have
the, uh, faith to
keep keepin' on and, like Elijah with a plethora of Biblical personal
parallels, tell the increasing number of apostates that they're, as Jesus said,
"making people twice as fit for hell as they are themselves" knowing
that we'll be called mean, nasty, and abusive troublemakers for the telling the
truth by the book in
the name of Jesus as compelled by the Holy Spirit?
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Let's face it.
They've won...for now; buuuuuuut in the end, He wins!
Revelation 22:12.
Sooooooo following
the lead of heroes like Luther and Bonhoeffer and so many like 'em with
Jesus as the ultimate model/Master, let's not run away, hide, or quit.
Let's keep
salting and shining in the meantime.
I mean, uh, if
Jesus can go to the cross for us/them...
Besides, why
would anyone leave one stinking denomination for another stinking denomination?
They're all sooooooo human.
As Harold always
told people when they transferred their pathologies to us and threatened to
leave, "If you find that perfect church, don't join it because it won't be perfect anymore if
you do!"
Whoa.
Woe!!!!!!!
No wonder so many
of us find more comfort in predestination than volition.
It kinda frees ya
up to look up, stand up, speak up, and act up for Jesus by the book while too
many, uh, things are going to, uh,...
Yep, heaven is
for real and so is...
That's something/Someone
to keep in mind while praying or participating in the next GA or...
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Blessings and Love!
Addendum
I asked friends who are familiar
with the franchise to prognosticate about the possible ramifications of
this year's GA; promising, "I will not identify anyone by name because big
brother will come after you if..."
Here's what I gotta say to anyone
else who responds, "You're not on your own. If you're with Him, He's
with you. It's among the most consistent themes of Holy Scripture."
Let's start with someone close to
me: "The PCUSA is irretrievably apostate under current management."
Mentor in New Jersey: "John
15:5."
Important Pastor in Bay Area:
"Our beloved mother church is about to shoot herself in both feet by
voting in gay marriage and voting out peacemaking in Israel; historic theology
and personal relationships remain our strength while common sense and
non-popularized and politicized thoughtfulness are pushed away as if by a
military zeal."
Pastor in South Carolina:
"Never have so few expected so little from so clueless."
Former Staff Member of our Last
Great President: "The pro-Islamist faction will finally succeed in radicalizing
the PCUSA as the first mainline church openly anti-Israel and boycotting
purchases and investments linked to Israel."
Pastor in Illinois with Clearing
Discernment: "To quote Saruman in the Lord of the Rings: 'So you have
chosen death.' The PCUSA/GA is like a Stage 4 lung cancer patient who has
decided that the best way to treat his pathology is to smoke twice as many
cigarettes, twice as fast."
Executive Presbyter: "The
darkhorse issue will concern the fate of the OGA/PMA."
Editor of My Favorite Website:
"Who am I to rule out the possibility that God in His grace will surprise
us as I believe He did in 2012?"
Christian Radio Manager: "The
church cannot duck these questions Scripturally."
Former Pastor in PCUSA: "A
continued and deeper descent into apostasy and depravity."
Proverbial Founder of the CCM and
Commissioner to GA: "This assembly will be the nail in the coffin.
Our evangelicals are but a remnant that can only provide a prophetic
voice. The denomination is lost and gone down the hedonistic path."
Buddy in Pennsylvania Who, Unlike
Moi, Gets Recognized by our Author Advocacy Group: "I believe the nearest
clothing store will run out of garments of self-justification in which we will
wrap ourselves."
Commissioner from My Favorite
Presbytery: "Whatever happened to obedience to the WORD of GOD?"
Photojournalist in Pennsylvania:
"How appropriate for the PCUSA to hold its convention in Detroit! A
dying denomination in a dying city!"
Lawyer in Pennsylvania:
"PCUSA? Is this even a viable organization? Or is it another
group like the Baptists, Methodists, UCC, and the like fighting for
institutional survival as their local churches fade away?"
Whoa.
Woe is...
7 comments:
The GA will continue following the lead of the world/flesh/devil by rejecting God’s Word and aligning itself against Israel in its decision making process, all the while thinking it is following the spirit.
Blessings,
There are so many resolutions before the GA and as I don’t know a lot about most of them, I would pray that the commissioners will follow the truths as set forth in the Bible.
how did that song of my generation go "we're on the eve of destruction ?
Right on.
Must be in the DNA!
I'm an orthodox commissioner to this years GA. My take is "never have so few, tried to do so much, for so many!"
We will be faithful to the Word, we will pray for the Holy Spirit to come down and surprise us with his grace and understanding.
We will hold our heads high with thoughts of "Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria", and we will not be shaken.
In Detroit we will stand, we can do no other.
Someone once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. It's hard to believe I ever wanted to be a Pastor in this franchise. But then I'm already crazy. John H.
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