Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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Blackhawk Presbytery at the Crossroads
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“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the
land, who
do His just commands; seek
righteousness;
seek humility; perhaps you may be
hidden
on the day of the anger of the Lord.”
Zephaniah 2:3
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“Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you will live…at
least for a while. And dying in your beds, many
years from now, would you be willing
to trade
all the days, from this day to that,
for one
chance, just one chance, to come back
here and tell our enemies that they
may take our lives, but they’ll
never take our freedom!!!!!!!”
William Wallace
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“Ride steel ponies, play, love the one
you’re with,
and buy ammo; but, most of all, trust
Jesus!”
RRK
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Do you remember Erich Segal’s
syrupy-sentimental-barf-me-with-a-spoon romantic/gothic novel Love Story?
He wrote the book and screenplay for
the movie starring Ryan O’Neal as “preppy” Harvard law student Oliver Barrett
IV and Ali MacGraw as the frigidly snarky
wouldn’t-date-her-if-you-dragged-me-through-the-desert-by-my-tongue Radcliffe
music major Jenny Cavalleri who fall nauseatingly in love and…
Blah. Blah. Blah.
Hated it!
I told chicks that I liked it so I
could…
There’s a little, uh, whore in all
of us.
Read Hosea.
Most famous line in the book/movie:
“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
Really?
Fortunately, O’Neal came back two
years later in 1972’s What’s Up Doc? with Barbra Streisand as two more
star-crossed lovers; but with an exchange that kinda validated opinions like
mine about Segal’s book/movie:
Judy (Streisand): “Love means never
having to say you’re sorry.”
Howard (O’Neal): “That’s the dumbest
thing I ever heard.”
Yeah.
Those two confusing episodes came to
mind as I heard about the PCUSA, the ecclesiastical franchise that includes
Blackhawk Presbytery, getting ready to start an apology tour – Can you say
Obama and the Islamofascistnutballs? – about the meanness of homophobic,
heterocentric, and Neanderthal pewsitting and pulpiteering fundies in not
esteeming, heralding, enabling, and celebrating gay, bi, transgender,
transsexual, and every other Heinz 57 varieties of
extra-Biblical-Pauline-Freudian-ecological-mammal-breeding-rest-of-the-world
human sexuality.
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I won’t go into the details.
You can read more about it via www.churchandworld.com,
www.pcusa.org,
www.layman.org,
or any rag covering the thanatos libido of mainline denominations featuring
the PCUSA as their poster child.
Or just google Overture 11-05 to
this year’s General Assembly (June 18-25 in Portland).
Simply, the “alternative” - as in
extra-Biblical-Pauline-Freudian-ecological-mammal-breeding-rest-of-the-world –
human sexuality lobby in the PCUSA, supported by its accomplices in secular
government/media/entertainment/education, has decided it’s time to apologize to
‘em because we’ve been so nasty to ‘em for so long.
Specifically, people like me who
still think it’s better to follow Jesus by the book than our, uh, loins and
libido have not been, you know, inviting, welcoming, including, and sloppy
agapeing self-affirming, avowed, unrepentant gays as clergywomen/men and, uh,
same-sex brides/grooms/whatevers.
Quick confession.
Yes, lots of us have not been nice
to everybody including gays and…
Yes, if we’re going to follow Jesus,
it includes agape to everybody.
No, it doesn’t mean affirming,
advocating, accommodating, and enabling all behaviors antithetical to Jesus by
the book as upheld by over 2K years of Biblical, confessional, constitutional,
historical, traditional, and common sense Christianity.
Let me put it this way.
I’m not going to ordain or preside
at a wedding or affirm, advocate, accommodate, and enable the bad behaviors of
self-affirming, avowed, unrepentant gossipers, liars, thieves, idolaters,
haters, cheapskates, pricks, dicks, and others whose behavior is
obviously/blatantly/flamboyantly antithetical to Jesus by the book as upheld by
over 2K years of…
I have nothing against gays.
I’ve employed ‘em.
I’ve got great gay friends and
relatives.
But just as my past/present/future
sins – Call and I’ll tell ya! – or rejections of God’s revealed will in Jesus
by the book as upheld by over 2K years of…cannot be rationalized into
righteousness apart from reimagining Jesus by the book as upheld by over 2K
years of…, I’m not about to be so audaciously arrogant to claim I know more
than God has revealed in Jesus by the book as upheld by over 2K years of…and ignore/defy
God: “I know that’s what Jesus and the Bible say, but I think…”
Whoa.
Talk about blasphemy…which we don’t
anymore because anybody’s word is as good as anybody else’s word on anything
anymore in the PCUSA…including God’s as revealed in Jesus by the book as upheld
by over 2K years of…
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What does this have to do with
Blackhawk Presbytery?
Simply, Blackhawk Presbytery voted
overwhelmingly on November 11, 2014 to adopt this statement to honor/respect
the consciences of both sides of the same-sex marriage issue:
“Acknowledging same-sex nuptials are
legal in Illinois and the PCUSA affords discretion to its teaching elders by
the authoritative interpretation of the 221st General Assembly to
preside or not preside at such rituals+ceremonies=rites and particular churches
may host or not host such ordinances upon session approval subject to the
review of higher judicatories, Blackhawk Presbytery will honor the consciences
of teaching elders and particular churches within its bounds; noting its
members are divided among those who embrace the authoritative interpretation as
witness to progressive theology and those who reject it according to
traditional Christianity.
Presiding/participating teaching elders and hosting churches may
exercise their consciences as permitted by the authoritative
interpretation. No efforts to force
teaching elders and sessions who decline to preside/participate/host will be
encouraged, enabled, or condoned. Those
who embrace and those who decline do not need to fear ministerial infringements
or vocational reprisals in Blackhawk Presbytery.”
That’s a mouthful.
Concisely, Blackhawk Presbytery is
on record as recognizing faithful women and men can disagree on the issue,
exercise their consciences, and not fear some kinda inquisition about their
exercised preference.
The problem with voting for the
apology overture is those who disagree with what is now permitted are demonized
while those who agree are lionized.
Moreover, many envision the next
step of the relentless gay and more lobby will be to Kenyonize pastors
who will not preside/participate in same-sex nuptials, the ordination of
self-affirming/avowed/unrepentant gays, and the like.
Parenthetically, and please check
out the aforementioned rags plus www.koppdisclosure.com
for background on the whole
Kenyonesque-exclusion-of-pastors-and-churches-who-still affirm Jesus by the
book as upheld by over…, to Kenyonize means to defrock and kick out anybody who
disagrees with the current ideological “policy” antithetical to Jesus by the
book as upheld by over…
Practically,
in a personal word to Blackhawk Presbytery with a caution for the franchise and
sister franchises, if you think you can’t pay the bills now, just wait and see
what happens if you affirm the apology and its subsequently supportive
overtures.
Three churches in the last few years
have left our presbytery, a few more are about to bolt, and several more are
holding their breath over, uh, stuff like this.
While we’re rearranging the deck
chairs (restructuring), which I think is necessary because we’ve got less
horses for the courses, and debating fossil fuels, which I think is O.K. but
know nobody outside of our constituency really cares what we think anymore,
and…, we have churches that can’t pay their pastors and bills, churches
cannibalizing themselves, a wonderful camp/conference center in jeopardy, and…
So here’s the deal.
While I may be wrong, I think we can
get some positive inertia going by recommitting ourselves to what we declared
back in 2014, further declare we will ignore/defy anybody or any sustained
overture that threatens the consciences of anybody about almost anything in
recognition of our irretrievably diverse ideologies/theologies, and commit
ourselves to pray at every meeting for fresh peace, unity, and purity that can
be incarnated through increased intimacy with our God who is not as
double-minded as we have become.
If we can’t do that, “Turn out the
lights! The party’s over!”
That’s not a threat.
That’s kairos.
One more analogous thought.
U.S. Representative Lou Barletta
(Hazelton, Pennsylvania) recently endorsed Donald Trump for President saying
it’s time for the GOP establishment to stop trying to figure out a way to stop
him but, instead, listen to why he has become so popular.
Surely, the same could be said to
the DNC establishment juxtaposed to folks in their party who are feelin’ the
Bern.
While I still like Carson, I’m
listening to the folks who like Trump and Sanders.
They’re a part of America too.
Hmm.
Get it?
If we stop listening to people of
differing opinions, churches will become as divided as America.
Oops.
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Blessings and Love!
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Look up! Stand up! Speak up! Act up for
Jesus!
Salt! Shine! Leavenate!
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9 comments:
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. --Revelation 2:7 (NIV)
There is another overture that wants to allow a Presbytery to stick its head in the sand. (04-04) It proposes to allow a Presbytery to abstain from taking a vote on any particular overture. Its being proposed in support of Christian Unity. The Advisory Committee on the Constitution (ACC) says that its already possible. If a presbytery doesn't want to vote on an overture, it doesn't have to.
Well isn't that just peachy. The whole idea of Presbyterian governance is to enable every member to have a say in the way their church/presbytery/etc is run.
Now you have can have a presbytery, usually run by a person with no constitutional duties or warrant in the Book of Order (oh, wait ... see Ovt 04-02 Add the Category “Presbyter Advisory Delegates”)or an executive council decide that for the sake of the great god unity (never mind God the Father/Son/Spirit) the presbytery can avoid all that messy and discussion about sin, and stuff like that by just saying they won't hold a vote.
When a denomination spends more time worrying about the issues of fallen mankind and their feelings, and less time worrying about spreading the Word to ALL mankind in order that they will eventually see and feel the GLORY that is God, its time to either withdraw in place, or just withdraw to a better place.
Reformed Catholic:
Well said, mon ami!
Recently, I've been catching everything but heaven from institutional idolaters for shattering the sound of silence.
Even jingoistic rules of parliamentary order know abstentions acquiesce to the majority.
Or as Simon and Disturbed and Sartre tried to tell us, silence is a cowardly way of consenting.
Keep keepin' on, my faithful friend!
Laura:
Amen, sister!
Good strong stuff, as usual. Saw the Bobbie & dog cartoon earlier in some publication.
Goodness for someone who claims not to care too much about what the PCUSA is doing, you certainly are a whiner!
This nugget, "I’ve got great gay friends and relatives." is pure gold though, my friend. Pure gold. That you wrote it un-ironically is even better. Bravo and congratulations, aren't you just a friggin' saint!
You write, "I’m not going to ordain or preside at a wedding or affirm, advocate, accommodate, and enable the bad behaviors of self-affirming, avowed, unrepentant ..." Sinners? You don't think you're going to ordain or preside at anything having to do with unrepentant sinners? Hmmm... Well, friend, how do I tell you this? I think I've got some bad news to tell you about all the miserable unrepentant sinners you've married. Because they all were, every one of them. I don't think you take sin nearly as seriously as you'd like to pretend. Well, except for one sin, apparently.
But hey, you've got gay friends, so you're all good. No worries. You're like Mother Theresa of the gays. ;)
BTW, I've asked you before for names of people who have been kicked out or "Kenyonized" over ordination or marriage after B was struck down and marriage allowed. Last time I asked you said it was only matter of time.
It's been about another six months or so. Surely you've got your list ready by now, right? You and your Chicken Little friends are sure that huge numbers of contentious objectors who are getting railroaded for disagreeing, so there's got to be a list somewhere. I've been surprised, because I haven't seen a single case out of the zillions you all continue to predict. But maybe you have some insider information. You've got to have a list by now, right?
Right? That huge list? Of all those "Kenyonized" people?
In fact, you've said that you felt sure that you would be prosecuted. Care to share how many cases have brought against you? I mean, you're not exactly shy about saying you disagree, and even paranoids have real enemies, so by now there must be many cases pending. 10? 20?
Isn't it awful when those awful facts get in the way of a paranoid delusion narrative? :)
Tom,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I pray our Lord's grace and peace for you.
Tom,
Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts and willingness to express your passions. Let us covenant together to spread the agape of Jesus. If you are ever in the Rockford area, it will be my privilege to share a cup of fraternity with you and pray for greater peace, unity, and
purity through Jesus. Blessings and love to you!
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