Address to the Presbytery of New Castle
The Rev. Nate Phillips

 Pastor, Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church
January 18, 2011

Five years ago, almost to the day, I stood in the pulpit of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, hopeful that you would bless me with ordination as minister of Word and Sacrament. I was wide-eyed and willing; but, more importantly, you were gracious and encouraging.  Today, I stand before you here, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Rehobeth, as part of this gracious, encouraging body inviting you to join me in voting for new and hopeful language for the PC(USA) and its ordination standards.  That language is expressed in Amendment 10-A.

In five years of membership, this is the first time I’ve stood before you and made my opinion known on any piece of presbytery policy.  For those that know me, you can imagine what kind of discipline that has taken.  Today, I stand to speak – not because this is a referendum on homosexuality – because it isn’t.  Not because this is a referendum on chastity – because it isn’t.  No, this vote is a referendum on us, and it is a referendum that asks, “are we who say we are?”

Are we or are we not a community that believes that God alone is Lord of the conscience, as touted by our Book of Order?  While opponents to 10-A cling to scripture passages like Leviticus chapters 17-26, contemporary scholars offer a new, compelling read. 

Dr. Choon-Leong Seow of Princeton Seminary relays a litany of offenses in the Leviticus Holiness Code, including that priests should not trim their sideburns, have an impaired leg, be too small, have defective eyesight, or marry widows and then says “how do we decide that these regulations that are explicitly concerned with ordination to the ministry are not relevant today, but the prohibitions about homosexual acts are?” [1]   Dr. Beverly Gaventa, also of Princeton Seminary, offers similar exegesis for the oft argued Romans 1.  [2]  Aren’t these interpretations equally as valid as the ones that have come before, and if they are, should the Lord not be permitted to embolden our collective conscience through them?

Are we or are we not a church reformed and always reforming – again, as touted by our Book of Order?  It is difficult to argue with Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “the tragedy is that the church has too often been a taillight rather than a headlight, and it is time for the church to be a headlight on all these problems that we face.”  Even still, in the last half-century alone we have broadened our positions on ordination regarding race, gender, and divorce.  Each time we feared how the church would recover, each time the church’s leadership was richly blessed by their account.

Are we or are we not a church that “has to start taking young adults seriously” as argued by Columbia Seminary President Steve Hayner at last summer’s General Assembly?  [3]  It is a sentiment echoed by Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow, who maintains that “religious leaders risk the very future of their faith communities if they ignore the changes that are taking place among younger adults.”  And yet, the church has a significant image problem with young adults.  In fact, the latest research on young adults reports that the vast majority of non-Christians — 91% — said Christianity had an anti-gay image. [4]  That’s what they think you are.

But, you are the Presbyterian Church – I’ve known you my whole life and I’ve known you are so much more than these statistics.

You gave my family a roof over our heads when my parents were married at 18 and couldn’t afford a home…

You gave me the youth group that was a respite from my father’s alcoholism and abuse…

You gave me the summer camp where I met my wife, the love of my life…

You sent me to the seminary where I cultivated a passion for ministry…

 You blessed me with ordination and, as far as I know, supported every second of my service.

That is what you are about.  All of that.

You are the Presbyterian church, I’ve known you my whole life, I’ve loved you, I will love you no matter how this vote goes…and I want to spend the rest of my life with these words on my lips for my generation and my daughter’s generation: “Look!  See the church I know…we are more than who we say we are, we are the church Jesus calls us to be!”  Thank you for voting yes to Amendment 10-A. 

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^[1] Homosexuality and Christian Community, p. 15

^[2] http://covnetpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/gaventa-romans.pdf

^[3] http://www.pcusa.org/news/2010/7/6/take-young-adults-seriously-keep-them-connected-sp/

^[4] http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-10-christians-young_N.htm