First Presbyterian Church of Houston Session Agenda – April 18, 2017 5:30 PM LC 181 Devotional and Opening Prayer (5:30 PM) We will be discussing Chapters 6 and 7 of “The Pursuit of God-‐ The Human Thirst for the Divine” by A. W. Tozer Omnibus Resolution Approve Minutes of the March Session Meeting
Cindy Cook
45 min.
Jim Birchfield
5 min.
Approve Membership Reports Additional Consent Motions (listed in packet)
Committee/Task Force Reports and Recommendations Report on Ground Lease to Presbyterian School and Related Matters Approval of Presbyterian School Contractor and Plans Approval of Presbyterian School Trustee Candidates Proposed Motion Delegating Authority to the Strategic Planning Board of Trustees (no action to be taken) Operations Committee Budget Pastor’s Report Shepherding Elder Update Clerk’s Report Old Business Dismiss the Implementation Task Force Session Debrief on Mark Galli Presentation New Business Prayer and Praise Communion and Doxology Motion to Adjourn Important Dates:
Debbie Hanna
45 min.
Jim Birchfield Jenn Rustay Fred Robertson
5 min. 5 min. 15 min.
Chris Champion Chris Champion
10 min. 30 min. 20 min.
Bill Heston Bill Gutermuth Jim Birchfield
5 min.
Jim Birchfield
5 min. 15 min. 10 min
Jim Birchfield
10 min. 5 min.
State of the City Neighborhood Connect Prayer Gathering May AC Meeting May Session Meeting
April 21-‐22, 2017 April 30, 2017 May 9, 2017 May 23, 2017 (new date)
MINUTES OF THE SESSION THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HOUSTON, TEXAS March 21, 2017 The March Stated Meeting of the Session began at 5:30 pm in LC181 with a quorum present. Cindy Cook led a discussion on Chapters Four and Five of “The Pursuit of God” by A. W. Tozer. Cindy Cook closed the discussion with prayer. Rev. Jim Birchfield called the meeting to order and opened the meeting with prayer. Attendance: See the attached Session Attendance Record for attendance to date for this year. Omnibus Motions The following omnibus motions, provided to Session in advance of the meeting, were passed without discussion. Permanent Funds Request approval from Session on the following: • Request from Africa Renewal University for $20,000 for sports facility. • Request from CrossWalk Center for $15,000 for start-‐up re-‐entry hub. • Request from Forge for Families for $20,000 for parking lot restriping, surveillance and playground cover. • Request from Houston Graduate School of Theology for $10,000 for IT/web site upgrade. • Request from Outreach Foundation for $15,000 for Bibles for Neur-‐speaking South Sudanese Presbyterians in refugee camps in Ethiopia. (This grant will satisfy a 2017 Quarterly Legal Settlement payment of $15,000.) • Request from Palestinian Bible Society for $25,000 for family community Bible Center Jenin, West Bank. • Request from Treasure in Clay for $20,000 to construct hall and chapel (Uganda) Committee/Task Force Reports and Recommendations: Worship Committee: Michael Homan reviewed the current ministries and staff positions of the Worship Committee. The staff and pastors continue to create and cultivate meaningful and engaging opportunities for corporate worship. The Prayer Ministry Team will be offering more opportunities for corporate prayer and prayer retreats forthcoming in the fall of 2017. Keith and Kristyn Getty, together with all of our choirs, will offer an evening of worship singing April 8 in the Grand Hall. Congregational Life: Rev. Jon Crantz reviewed the ministry teams and staff positions for the Congregational Life Ministry. The Medical Center Ministry, Covenant Partner Class and Lead Them Home/Outreach in Montrose were highlighted. Beautiful Orthodoxy: Rev. Jim Birchfield introduced Mark Galli our speaker and author of Beautiful Orthodoxy. Mark spoke of -‐
How to be more welcoming to others, that visitors should be able to see how we love each other and to see Jesus in us. • We should speak with love and respect even in our disagreements. • We need spiritual and emotional healing after dealing with conflict. • Why do we persevere through conflict? To sustain the integrity and Life of the church and to be able to spread the gospel. • Don’t hold on to the victory but give it away, let it go… • What ways do we see that we could be involved in the needs of our city? • Are we personally involved and not just monetarily? • What more can we do that we are not doing now? • How to involve more of the congregation in volunteering. Following the presentation there was corporate prayer for Mark. Operations Committee: Chris Champion reported that giving is close to budget. The Stewardship Campaign will be March 12 to April 9. The stewardship packets have been mailed. A final budget will be presented to the session at the April session meeting. Pastor’s Report: • Rev. Jim Birchfield discussed recent worship attendance. A handout was distributed showing attendance for the first ten weeks of the past four years. There was discussion as to the causes and prescriptions for the decline in the attendance. • State of the City will be April 21-‐22, 2017. • Rev. Bill Heston discussed recommendations for the role of Shepherding Elders. A motion was made and approved to create a “Lead Team” of Non-‐Session Elders (currently referred to as “Shepherding Elders”) to be responsive to the Clerks and available to assist various ministry teams in recruiting volunteers to address needs of the church, i.e. – homebound communion, serve as recruiting captains for communion in each of the four services, be skilled in the APEST inventories, response team for emergency action, etc. Clerk’s Report: • Rev. Andrew Stepp is still on sabbatical. • There was a luncheon meeting with the elected Trustees of First Presbyterian Church who will be installed in June. • Presbyterian School is working on finalizing the ground lease with the church. There will be a first look at the lease at the April Session Meeting and a vote at the May Session Meeting. • Presbyterian School has asked for approval of the contractor (Bellows Construction Company) and the plans for the new construction so that they may proceed with their construction plans. • In May there will be an election for the clerk of session for the elder class of 2020, the member-‐ at-‐large and the trustees for Presbyterian School. Old Business: Mission Innovation Committee: A motion was made and approved unanimously that the Session of First Presbyterian Church: 1. Approve the creation of a church planting hub under the Mission Innovation Department and support it financially through a combination of the operating budget, designated funds, and new fundraising. 2. Designate the Mission Innovation Committee and the Church Planting Strategy Team to oversee this project and report on its progress to the Session regularly. 3. Affirm first Presbyterian Church leadership’s continued support of church planting as a core value of the church’s vision by committing to raise $1 million for church planting by the end of 2018. •
New Business: A motion was made, seconded and approved for the Session to enter into executive session at 8:42 pm. The Session returned to regular order at 9:15 pm. Prayers were raised for the church, particular member concerns, ministry partners, and neighbors. Communion was served by intinction officiated by Rev. Jim Birchfield and assisted by elder George Mallory. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 pm with prayer and the singing of the doxology. ___________________________ _____________________________ Rev. Jim Birchfield, Moderator Bill Gutermuth, Clerk of Session
Consent Motions Personnel Committee Motion – April 2017 Whereas the congregation approved the Terms of Call for Pastor Birchfield at FPC-‐ Houston’s Annual Congregation Meeting on January 29, 2017. Included in those Terms of Call were additional retirement contributions to ensure Pastor Birchfield was not economically disadvantaged by FPC-‐Houston moving its denominational affiliation to ECO. A portion of these additional retirement contributions are in excess of the IRS limits allowed under the regulations that govern the church’s 403(b) plan. Therefore, it is moved, that FPC-‐Houston establish a non-‐qualified deferred compensation plan and corresponding irrevocable trust in the form and terms as set forth in the attached documents for the amount of retirement plan contributions that are in excess of the statutory limits for qualified retirement plans, and furthermore delegate the authorizations for administrating the plans and trust as provided for in such documents. Finally, it is moved, that a separate permanent fund be established for the purpose of setting aside funds for the ultimate settlement of Pastor Birchfield’s non-‐ qualified deferred compensation plan.
Reports
Equipping and Sending April 9, 2017 Attendees: Andrew Stepp, Amy Rasplicka, Catie Smith, Stephanie Justus, George Mallory (Session), Randy Schorre (Session) Absent: Mary-‐Floye Federer, Cindy Marion The meeting was opened with a prayer. Amy gave the committee an update on the State of the City conference. The focus of the conference will be identifying key challenges facing the City of Houston from a Christian perspective. The theme for State of the City is “The Dangerous Act Of Loving Your Neighbor”. The Friday evening keynote speaker will be Mr. Jim Herrington. Saturday’s speakers include Principal Clayton Crook/Cullen Middle School, Leigh Kohler/Freedom Church Alliance, Sonja Gee/Main Street Ministries, Bill Henson/Lead Them Home, and Austin Hermann/FPC Ministry Empowerment. At this point in time, only 28 people had registered – about the same as last year. We had a lively discussion about other advertising avenues. Catie gave a detailed update on the Young Adult Ministry: • • • •
The Young Adult Retreat was March 10-‐12th at Stony Creek Ranch. The retreat was by all measures a success with 52 attendees. Members of The Table will be fulfilling the role of Table Host (discussion leaders) at the upcoming God, Where Were You gathering. Small Group leadership training is still ongoing – and very well received. Young Adult Ministry is partnering with the Women’s Mentoring Program.
Stephanie informed the committee that the removal of the bleachers in the Grand Hall will impact the th th 11:05 worship service and select Sunday School classes from May 28 through June 30 while the new bleachers are being installed. The 11 members of the Small Group Study Guide writers will be recognized in an upcoming appreciation luncheon. Stephanie also updated the committee on successes in connecting with other ECO churches to discuss various forms of the Discipleship Model discussed in the February E&S Committee meeting minutes. Stephanie told the committee that 431 congregants had taken the APEST assessment. We then discussed upcoming activities – including a Summer Cohort – to develop and discuss an APEST curriculum. The committee also discussed how FPC plans to use the APEST Assessment data and who (staff, Session) would have access to the information. This needs further vetting in our Session meeting. In closing, Andrew Stepp recognized the many contributions that Amy has brought to the church and to the E&S Committee. Amy has taken another staff position with FPC and will be leaving our committee. We all wished God’s continued blessings on her as she faithfully serves our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The meeting was closed in prayer and adjourned at 1:45.
Ministry Investment Team April 10, 2017 Staff Present: Mary-‐Floye Federer, Amy Rasplicka Members Present: Chris Herbold, Mary Knapp, and Martha Lawler Members Absent: Matt Offenbacher This meeting was called to order by Martha Lawler. Amy Rasplicka gave the devotional. First Item of Business: Minutes from the March 22 meeting were approved. Second Item of Business: Support Requests (2) The team discussed a special request received from Sarah Haver Terwey with Pfunanane Ministries in South Africa. Pfunanane is a grassroots, low overhead ministry that serves the at-‐risk children and families of Mpungalanga, South Africa and surrounding area. Pfunanane Ministries has a school and small group homes for at risk children. FPC came to know about Pfunanane because Sarah Terwey is the sister of Becca Haver Bell with the Micah Project. In 2010, FPC visited Pfunanane and was moved and impressed with the impact of their ministry. Teams have gone to Pfunanane, most recently in 2015. Sarah and her husband Mark have 12 children who live with them and are essentially adopted. This past year, they have experienced multiple crisis and illnesses of their children and children connected with Pfunanane, causing a great strain on their finances. Sarah reached out to FPC for a one time gift of support. She provided a detailed request for the committee. Mary Knapp shared that she was deeply moved by the request and went to their website to learn more about their work. (www.pfunanane.org) She enthusiastically endorsed supporting the request as did others on the committee. Upon motion and second, the team unanimously approved a one-‐time special gift in the amount of $13,000: $10,000 from designated mission account 550-‐73150 and $3,000 from the unused South Africa vision trip account 415-‐ 64140. The team next discussed the Ministry Partnership application received from Freedom Church Alliance and their executive director, Leigh Kohler. Mary-‐Floye shared how she first met Leigh several years ago at the
introduction of FPC member, Margret McCray, her mother in law. Since then, Mary-‐Floye and Leigh and Stephanie Justus have met to learn more about the situation of trafficking in Houston and how the church can respond. Freedom Church Alliance’s mission is to unite and mobilize churches in Houston to fight human trafficking. They are collaborating with other ministries addressing trafficking, with law enforcement and the city to have a greater impact. Houston is a known hub for human-‐trafficking and needs the Church’s involvement and help to address this horrible crime. Leigh is a speaker for the 2017 State of the City Symposium which provides great exposure and visibility for more of our members to get engaged. Upon motion and second, the team unanimously agreed to officially partner with Freedom Church Alliance, and to make a gift of $3,000 to become a Strategic Member of the Alliance. $2,500 from Community Projects account 415-‐62016 and $500 from Mission Mobilization 415-‐62003. Third Item of Business: Update on Egypt Trip Mary-‐Floye Federer shared about the Vision Trip to Egypt, March 25 – April 4. The team included her, Jim Birchfield, Cindy Cook, Karen Meikle, George and Deb Mallory, James Clark, and Austin Hermann for the last part of the trip after his trip to Jordan to visit our missionary. It was an incredible time of fellowship, worship, prayer, and an encouragement to our Egyptian brothers and sisters. The team first attended meetings with KDEC, our Presbyterian church partner in Cairo, then were blessed to be part of the International Prayer Conference held at Beit el Wadi March 30 – April 1. On Friday of the conference, the day off for most Egyptians, an estimated 12,000 people attended the prayer gathering, Coptic Evangelicals, Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic and foreigners from South Sudan, China, US, Europe, etc. She shared it was a little taste of heaven. The team also was blessed to visit Mama Maggie from Stephen’s Children out at her farm near Beit el Wadi as well as spending a day in Cairo in Mokatam, garbage city with their ministry. Fourth Item of Business: Update on State of the City Amy Rasplicka gave an update on the planning for State of the City -‐ The Dangerous Act of Loving our Neighbors, which will be held on April 21-‐22, 2017. Jim Herrington, Faith Walking, will be the keynote speaker Friday night. He will lay the groundwork from a more Christian perspective as to how we can love well and engage our members. Saturday’s speakers include Leigh Kohler, Freedom Church Alliance, who will speak on human/sex trafficking; Clayton Crook, Cullen Middle School, education; Sonja Gee, Main Street Ministries will discuss their new program Family Hope; and Bill Henson, Lead Them Home, will speak of the generous orthodoxy and how as a church we can serve and help with teen suicide and other issues. The day conference concludes over lunch with Austin Herman rolling out Project Flourish. She reported that registration is low, and encouraged everyone to share the promotional email with our contacts, and to not forget to register ourselves. She also asked for volunteers. State of the City will be lifted up during the services on Easter Sunday as well. Mary-‐Floye closed the meeting in prayer. The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.
Mission Innovation Wednesday, April 5, 2017 Members present: Matt Offenbacher, Edet Okon, Chris Wolfe Members absent: Merry Davis, Jim Birchfield Staff present: Jonathan Ramsay, Daniel Stidham, Austin Hermann I. Call to Order and Prayer – The meeting was called to order at 5:41 and opened with prayer II. Introductions – Jonathan Ramsay reviewed the committee’s role in the church planting strategy team and the goal to seat a PST that reports to the MIC and introduced Houghton Hutcheson’s role to support III. Interview with Emmanuelle Reagan as a Church Plant Resident A. Emmanuel introduced his vision for a church plant and the value of the residency program to fulfill that vision B. Open Question Period – those present asked questions tied to his vision and his growth C. Discussion – the committee prayed over Emmanuelle and he was excused for separate discussion IV. Close – the meeting closed in prayer at 7:41
Personnel Committee Chris Champion and Chris Herbold convened telephonically. The following motion was discussed and approved for submission to Session: Whereas the congregation approved the Terms of Call for Pastor Birchfield at FPC-‐Houston’s Annual Congregation Meeting on January 29, 2017. Included in those Terms of Call were additional retirement contributions to ensure Pastor Birchfield was not economically disadvantaged by FPC-‐Houston moving its denominational affiliation to ECO. A portion of these additional retirement contributions are in excess of the IRS limits allowed under the regulations that govern the church’s 403(b) plan. Therefore, it is moved, that FPC-‐Houston establish a non-‐qualified deferred compensation plan and corresponding irrevocable trust in the form and terms as set forth in the attached documents for the amount of retirement plan contributions that are in excess of the statutory limits for qualified retirement plans, and furthermore delegate the authorizations for administrating the plans and trust as provided for in such documents. Finally, it is moved, that a separate permanent fund be established for the purpose of setting aside funds for the ultimate settlement of Pastor Birchfield’s non-‐qualified deferred compensation plan. The personnel committee meeting was closed. Respectfully submitted, Chris Herbold
PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOL TRUSTEE NOMINEES Chris Champion • SVP, CAO and Controller, Anadarko • Presently FPC elder; will roll off this spring • Father of two PS students, Paige in sixth and Reagan in second • Willing to assist PS where needed, ready to help with finance or church/school relations Carlton Wilde, Jr. • Lawyer in commercial litigation at Crady Jewett law firm • Has served as FPC elder for 20+ years, past clerk of session • Father of three PS alumni, two sisters in law were trustees and father was founding trustee Nelson Mabry • Managing director in investment banking in global natural resources at Barclays • Member of FPC since 2009, serves as an usher • Father of two PS early childhood students, William (beta) and Elizabeth (incoming beta) Marilyn Winters • Serves on boards of ROGC and MFAH at Rienzi • Member of FPC for 30+ years • Terrific past (and present) fundraiser for PS • Mother of two PS alumni, Christopher (25) and Andrew (23); former PS trustee Kerry Sandberg • With Hines for 20+ years; responsible for accounting/controllership and external financial reporting for US based activity, financial reporting and analysis; assists with firm-‐wide liquidity/debt management; previously at E&Y • Mother of two PS students, Wyatt (fifth) and Sloan (second) • Family attends St. Luke’s • Kerry assisted PS on finance committee for the past year when we needed extra assistance
Friends, Last fall, we asked you to join us in the challenging and important work of studying our existing Book of Confessions and researching additions to this collection. As you learned at the National Gathering in Greenville, SC, many churches have been undertaking this work and are starting to share the fruit of their labors. As coordinator of the Theological Task Force for our Presbytery of Texas and Louisiana, I am writing to you today for several reasons: • To SHARE the approved recommendations that have received Session approval within our Presbytery. • To REQUEST that if your church/session has finished their work, that you submit your final recommendation to me as soon as possible. These will be compiled along with those attached to this letter, and considered by our task force and presbytery. If your Session is still working on this, please let me know that you are in process. • To INVITE you to stay current with what is going on with regard to the Confessions study around the denomination. Please visit https://www.theology-‐eco.org/ to read current overtures and better understand the process we will be using for national approval. Only recommendations that have been approved by Sessions will be considered by the Presbytery. We will ONLY be able to consider recommendations that are submitted BEFORE MAY 15, since we need to find time to review and decide which overture we will choose to align with or author as a Presbytery. We anticipate having a conference call Presbytery meeting in June to discuss and vote. Attached to this correspondence you will find: 1. Recommendations from West Isle Presbyterian Church, Galveston, First Presbyterian Church, Kingwood, and Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Houston. 2. A letter from the Resource Coordinator of the National Theological Task Force, Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr Your fellow servant, Rev. Mark R. Renn First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood mark@fpc-‐kingwood.org
Fourth Sunday of Lent, 2017 Dear Followers of Jesus in ECO, Greetings, I have been asked to write to you on behalf of the National Theological Task Force about our important and ongoing project "Considering the Confessions." After Jesus was baptized he was "led up into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" (Matthew 4:1). During this season of Lent we consider Jesus' temptation, and we ought to be reminded of another temptation by the devil, of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. The mission of God, when we consider the whole of Scripture, is to prepare a people worthy of ruling with him with his character. Adam and Eve fail their trial. They want to be like God without being able or willing to bear divine responsibility. And we are the same way. But Jesus proved worthy by not only taking responsibility for himself, he bore the sins of the world in his body on the cross! Our task as the church is to grow into maturity which is the measure of the stature of Christ. That way we won't be "carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:13–14). Our job is to become like Christ, our King, who proved his character and led the way for us to rule with God by becoming like Christ. This is discipleship: not shrinking from challenges, but rising up to meet them in Christ. And discipleship, according to the Apostle Paul, involves theological maturity. ECO has set itself a test: what form of theological unity will we have to guide our mission and discipleship that is Ecumenical, Reformed, and Evangelical? The Task ECO was not a prefabricated house that churches have just needed to move into. We've all moved into a house that is still being built. In 2012, to make a start, ECO adopted the PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions in its 2012 form. But the desire was to eventually have congregations and presbyteries work out ECO's confessional identity as it matured. The Theological Task Force has been commissioned to lead this task. Five years have passed since ECO began, and now we are right in the midst of this maturing process. As you may know, this coming January (2018) during the Synod meeting of our National Gathering we will be working toward important decisions about the theological grounding of our movement. You have been asked to consider our Book of Confessions and create Presbytery motions to address a vital question that has been postponed until now: how best to express the unique theological identity of our movement. Some such proposals are already underway. Because this is no small undertaking, the Theological Task Force, and the Synod Executive Council have agreed that employing a part–time temporary position to facilitate this task will be highly beneficial. I have been commissioned as the "Resource Coordinator" to facilitate this discussion and project as we work toward January's meeting. Our hope is that this process will create unity, not through a tenuous silence on important theological matters, but by creating the relationships of trust that can only be built on mutual respect through honest conversation. We want this conversation to make good progress long before January comes around, and so create ongoing relationships of trust and theological accountability across geographic boundaries. Synod should be a place to confirm conversations, deliberate about well– researched motions, and bring strength through mutual encouragement. This is part of what denominational discipleship can look like. Major projects such as this can be intimidating. We may feel unequal to the task, or that we do not have time for it. But this is a learning and testing experience for us a movement. Our zeal for making important choices has already been proven, now is not the time to rest upon "changing denominational uniforms" as Rev. Dr. Jim Singleton likes to put it. It is time to build our team up in its theological identity. Who am I? I am Rev. Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr and have been a very active member of the national Theological Task Force since shortly after our National Gathering in Dallas a few years ago. I have helped produce many of the resources we have produced.
I have been the Transitional Pastor of United Presbyterian Church in Cañon City, CO for nearly three years. You can find out more about me, my story, and my qualifications on our brand new website at theology-‐ eco.org. What is the Theological Task Force? The Theological Task Force (TTF) is a group that has been commissioned by the Synod Executive Council for this task, for the ongoing provision of resources on theological matters, and to help clarify specific theological questions. We are an advisory and resourcing group, and we are eager to serve ECO in this way. On our website you will find bios for each member. This job of "Resource Coordinator" is an exciting opportunity for all of us in ECO. Up until now all members of the TTF have been in full–time ministry and teaching, volunteering their time, and often money, to serve ECO. But because this project is important we want to be sure you have a dedicated contact as you address this confessions project. I am at your service to answer questions, provide resources, connect you with others in different presbyteries who may be having similar questions, and connect you with the national Theology Task Force. Resources Perhaps you still have questions about this major national project of considering ECO's Book of Confessions. What is it about? Why are we doing this? Don't the Essential Tenets suffice? We have a wealth of resources already available that will answer many of your questions initially, again on our website. There you will also find the motions and overtures that various presbyteries are already in the process of putting forth. You will find wonderful videos introducing our current confessions, presentations you can use to teach about the confessions, a booklet with introductions to the process and to each confession, and much more! If you are involved in a theology task force in a congregation, session, or presbytery, be sure to sign up at the bottom of any page for our email distribution list so you become aware of what other presbyteries are doing, news and other events as they happen. You will also find a moderated forum on our website where you can discuss motions, ask common questions, etc. My aim is to facilitate communication throughout ECO. If you find that our website just doesn't have the answer to your questions, or you would like to speak with someone in person, or explain the task and progress to your congregation, session, or presbytery, I am at your service. Our hope is that I will be your resource to create a confident unity in our theological identity. We want to believe what we confess and confess what we believe. We want our theology to serve, refine, direct, and unify our mission of building flourishing churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. And I am here to help equip you to do just that theologically. You can contact me at
[email protected] 719-‐339-‐6746 Blessings in King Jesus, Rev. Dr. Gregory Wagenfuhr,
Resource Coordinator, ECO Theological Task Force
First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood 5520 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood, Texas 77345 281-360-5555 or www.fpc-kingwood.org Dr. Jim Davis and Rev. Mark Renn
A COVENANT ORDER OF EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIANS Study and Recommendations for ECO Book of Confessions A task force of three FPCK ministers, Elders, and at-large congregation members recently conducted a four-month study, concluding in December 2016, of the PCUSA Book of Confessions with the objective of determining a recommendation for which Creeds and Confessions were consistent with ECO’s Essential Tenets and should thus be included in the denomination’s to-be-adopted Book of Confessions. The FPCK task force recommends the following be included in ECO’s Book of Confessions: Apostles Creed Nicene Creed Scots Confession Heidelberg Catechism Second Helvetic Confession Westminster Confession of Faith and Shorter & Longer Catechisms French Confession These Creeds and Confessions are doctrinally consistent between and among all of the seven faith statements, are consistent with the “Five Solas” of Reformed doctrine, have historically been relied upon by the Presbyterian family of churches, and are supportive and explicatory for ECO’s Essential Tenets. Further, while holding the Theological Declaration of Barmen in highest regard for its warning to the Church to resist the corrosive effects of secular culture against the doctrines of the faith, the FPCK task force concludes that Barmen should be held as a cherished historical document by the ECO denomination, but not included as an essential confession or declaration. The Confession of 1967 and A Brief Statement of Faith should be excluded, along with the Belhar Confession (recently added in PCUSA’s Book of Confessions), owing to egregious theological mistakes or intentional contradictions of doctrine and practice as otherwise reflected in the above seven Creeds and Confessions. The task force also examined the Athanasian Creed and Lausanne Covenant for possible inclusion in the ECO Book of Confessions, concluding that those faith statements do not add any doctrinal depth or enlightenment to the above seven faith statements and thus should not be included in the ECO Book of Confessions. The FPCK task force recommends that ECO formally compile the above seven faith statements as the ECO Book of Confessions and that ECO Polity be revised to give this document constitutional status for the denomination.
Theological Task Force Report West Isle Presbyterian Church March 7, 2017 PRESENTED TO WEST ISLE SESSION March 12, 2017 The West Isle Theological Task Force met Monday, March 6, 2017, to review/assess the relevance of the current creeds, confessions, catechisms and statements of faith that make up the PCUSA Book of Confessions. The Task force was also to make recommendations for the inclusion/exclusion of these documents in the development of a new ECO Confessional Standards. Task force members individually studied each document in the PCUSA Book of Confessions and prepared notes and comments for yesterday’s discussion. Based on those discussions, we recommend the following document ranking: •
·∙ Primary -‐ Necessary to support the ECO Essential Tenets, primary in all matters of the ECO Church today and going forward.
•
·∙ Secondary -‐ Helpful, but not necessary to support the ECO Essential Tenets. These would best serve as supplemental historical documents that could be used by ECO congregations as needed.
DOCUMENT
RANKING
The Apostles ‘ Creed
Primary
The Nicene Creed (381 AD)
Primary
Scotts Confession
Primary
Heidelberg Catechism Second Helvetic Confession Westminster Confession
(Westminster) The Smaller Catechism
NOTES
Best example of essential Reformed Theology
Primary Primary
Complete and sufficient to support our ECO te
Secondary Secondary
(Westminster) The Larger Catechism
Secondary
The Theological Declaration of Barmen
Secondary
Confession of 1967
Secondary
A Brief Statement of Faith
Secondary
French Confession
Secondary
This was developed for teaching children and
Historically significant-‐needs to be rewritten fo
Lausanne Covenant
Primary
Contemporary theological Covenant guiding Missions and outreach.
Additional Recommendation: The Theological Task Force has a question concerning one the descriptions of God’s Triune nature in the ECO Essential Tenets (II.A Trinity). “God is infinite, eternal, immutable, impassible and ineffable.” We do not agree that the term “impassible” is an accurate description of God’s nature. Impassibility (from Latin in -‐, "not", passibilis, "able to suffer, experience emotion") describes the theological doctrine that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being. “Classic theism teaches that God is impassible — not subject to suffering, pain, or the ebb and flow of involuntary passions. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God is "without body, parts or passions, immutable." God is clearly shown behaving contrary to this description throughout scripture. While there may be some “thin thread” of reference to God’s inability to be permanently altered by the ways and means of His creation, there is a volume of scripture that depicts our God as emotional. So, let the theist have an “impassible” God, but let the people have a God that loves, hates, grieves and laughs. The Theological Task Force recommends that this “impassible” description of God’s nature be rewritten. Tommy Weathersbee, Chairman Theological Task Force West Isle Presbyterian Church
Mark Galli Adaptive Conversation Notes Why Persevere? Life
Lost/Dying Spirituality
sexual
More Volunteers in Known for Welcoming Church Planting
Aspirations
-‐ -‐
Legalize Undocumented Become Diversity Change stories Less comfortable Nuanced hearing Going extra mile
-‐ -‐
-‐
Talent drain
(including us)
-‐ Homeless -‐ Illegal Alien -‐ victims of abuse
Sexual Confusion physical social
-‐ Drug Abuse -‐ Foster Care -‐ Human Trafficking -‐ Prisoners -‐ Mental Illness -‐ Disabled
