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First Presbyterian Church
4815 Franklin Rd.
Nashville, TN 37220
615/383-1815 contact us.
Fax: 615/298-9565
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General Assembly 2010 Report
By Etta Wilson, Commissioner
The opportunity to participate in our church’s highest court was exciting and mind-expanding. I am very grateful for the whole experience and especially for your prayers that went with me. While I was certainly aware that we are a connectional and a diverse church, it came through loud and clear during the eight days I was a commissioner at General Assembly in Minneapolis. For example, one day at our lunch table we ate with a young Presbyterian pastor just returning from four years of teaching in Beijing and the head of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon.
Our Moderator for the past two years has been Bruce Reyes-Chow, a dynamic young California pastor, who preached at the opening worship service on July 4 on the theme of the Assembly—“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” Each morning’s worship and each plenary session thereafter began with the pouring of water, which we commissioners had brought with us, into a clear basin for all to see. The service began with Native American pageantry, a parade of banners and interpretative dance. In many ways, it was evident that Presbyterians are a diverse lot. Just as clear in many ways was the truth that the one thing that holds us together is our allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord.
The election of the Moderator for the coming two years was held on Saturday night. There were six candidates including a Korean from Minnesota, an African American from Atlanta, and a Hispanic from California. On the 4th ballot we elected Cindy Bolbach from National Capital Presbytery and the only elder of the six. Although I didn’t vote for her, her absolute fairness, her good humor, her ability to move the Assembly through its array of business, and to work well with the new stated clerk convince me that she was the best choice. Speaking of the stated clerk, Grady Parsons, who was born in Shelbyville and has served a church in Johnson City, is an unusual combination of pastoral skill and knowledge of the Book of Order. I feel the General Assembly is in good hands.
Middle Tennessee Presbytery was represented by 6 commissioners—3 pastors and 3 elders plus 2 youth delegates, one of whom is working at NaCoMe this summer. We were a very congenial group and Teresa Howell, our Presbytery’s stated clerk, took good care of us. The Youth delegates at the Assembly were a treat for all of us—well-informed, not bashful about voicing their opinion, enthusiastic but orderly.
The first few days of the week were spent in committee as we considered overtures from the various presbyteries and formulated recommendations to go to the floor of the Assembly. I was assigned to the Church Growth, Christian Education and the Presbyterian Investment and Pension Plan. This year the number of committees was reduced to 18, and some combinations seemed more successful than others. It was disappointing that almost no overtures related to Christian education efforts appeared on our docket. On the other hand, we spent time in Bible study and heard a glowing report from the Investment plan chair.
Plenary sessions for the 712 delegates from 173 presbyteries began on Wednesday evening. Business was expedited by the use of electronic voting pads, which worked smoothly after some glitches at the opening session. Although printed information was available in most cases, all reports and overtures were shown online and each commissioner had a laptop hooked up to the restricted server in the Assembly hall, so we could follow the overtures, the committee’s reaction and their recommendation to the commissioners as it was being given. This helped move business along tremendously and cut down on the enormous amount of paper usually called for. Our Presbytery’s seating location was not the best, and it discouraged our going to one of the microphones to speak. All the results from the Assembly are available to read at the www.pcusa.org web site, and I encourage you to visit the site.
The most significant issues were changes in our Form of Government delegating more responsibility to presbyteries and whether or not to ordain homosexuals. Both these issues will go to presbyteries for consideration and voting. While we are still a declining denomination, the rate of decline has markedly slowed. It was clear that smaller churches are choosing commissioned lay pastors and tentmakers for their leadership. The emphasis in church programming has changed to basic Bible study with less mention of spirituality, specific social issues and the finer points of theology. These changes have been affected in several ways by the many resources for biblical study on the Internet. I also saw more evidence of music of all kinds within the life of the church.
Personal highlights at the Assembly included:
1) Hearing Phyllis Tickle’s address at breakfast on Monday morning about the changing makeup of the church into smaller bodies of believers amid a non-Christian culture;
2) Hearing Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message, speak to the Presbyterian Writers Guild luncheon about how he became a pastor and a writer;
3) Attending the Union Seminary luncheon and hearing President Brian Blount describe some of the exciting new programs for theological education;
4) Hearing Chris Scruggs’ sermon at closing worship as he described how his church in Cordova, Tennessee, began its amazing trajectory in growth as it turned to mission beyond its own congregation.
5) the commissioning of new missionaries at morning worship.
Two years from now our General Assembly will meet again in Pittsburgh. A good impersonator of that strong Presbyterian Mr. Rogers gave us an invitation as he came out, put on his sweater and changed into his tennis shoes. In the meantime, all Presbyterians are invited to the Big Tent meeting in Indianapolis next June 30 to help our efforts to grow Christ’s church Deep and Wide.
Thank you again for this wonderful experience in Christ’s body at work. I’m sure I have omitted some of what I want you to know, but I will be glad to answer any questions that I can.
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What Presbyterians Believe
Scroll down to read news related to First Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church.
Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) denomination (abbreviated as PCUSA) are followers of Jesus Christ, something we share with all other Christians. We celebrate this Christ as Head of the Church. With other Christians, we believe that God has become known in human history in three ways, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, known as the Trinity.
Presbyterians are guided in their common life together by the Bible, which we believe to be the Word of God written, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ. Where this Word is read and proclaimed, Jesus Christ the Living Word is present by the inward witness of the Holy Spirit.
As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the reconciler of God and humanity. By His death on a cross, He obtained forgiveness for all wrongs. By Christ's rising we believe he offers new life and eternal life. We believe that the Christian life begins in the power of an open tomb and the celebration of a good, yet just and forgiving God.
Presbyterians also lean heavily on the sovereignty of God, believing our Lord has a purpose in all arenas of life such as the arts, culture, the political arena, personal and societal ethics.
We believe the Kingdom of God is both an inner personal reality and an outward community boundaried by God's grace. A strong sense of mission involvement has always characterized Presbyterian Christianity.
Presbyterians believe there are two sacraments, both given and endorsed by Jesus Christ. The sacrament of Baptism, symbolizes our initial belonging to Christ and cleansing by Him. We believe baptism is for both adult converts and their children who are nurtured in the Christian faith. The other sacrament, the Lord's Supper, recognizes our continuing need to be reminded of the forgiving grace of God through the cross of Jesus.
Our mission is to share by our words and our deeds the life and power of Jesus Christ so that all may come to embrace Him and acknowledge Him as Lord of all.
We are governed by presbyters or elders and could best be described as a "representative democracy," which incidentally from our denomination became the pattern for U.S. government. Most Presbyterian churches also have deacons along with elders to govern the church's compassion needs as well as to oversee the church's worship and decision making.
In many ways what we believe is common to all of Christianity, and yet the above emphases also identifies us as the Presbyterian part of Christ's larger church.
Presbyterians are also guided by the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which consists of two parts, The Book of Confessions and the Book of Order. The Book of Confessions contains the following confessions and statements of belief:
• The Nicene Creed
• The Apostles' Creed
• The Scots Confession
• The Heidelberg Catechism
• The Second Helvetic Confession
• The Westminster Confession of Faith
• The Larger Catechism
• The Shorter Catechism
• The Theological Declaration of Barmen
• The Confession of 1967
• A Brief Statement of Faith—Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Book of Order has three sections: the Form of Government, the Directory for Worship, and Rules of Discipline.
In its Constitution, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sets out for its members and the world to see what it believes and how it organizes itself, its officers, and its members for ministry. In its confessions, the Church expresses the faith of the Reformed tradition, a tradition rooted in key events in 16th and 17th century Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, Hungary, England, Scotland and other European countries.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) expresses its belief in many ways in its constitutional documents. One is the formulation known as the "Great Ends of the Church", which are:
1. The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind
2. The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God
3. The maintenance of divine worship
4. The preservation of the truth
5. The promotion of social righteousness
6. The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world
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Theological Task Force Says Stay Together Despite Conflicts
The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church was created by the 213th General Assembly (2001) "to lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in spiritual discernment of our Christian identity in and for the 21st century…" (Minutes, 2001, Part I, p. 29).
The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church voted unanimously to approve their report to the 217th General Assembly (2006) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
The vote is the culmination of the group's work, which began in December 2001. Their mandate from the General Assembly is "to lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in spiritual discernment of our Christian identity in and for the 21st century." Specific issues to be addressed include biblical authority, the nature and work of Jesus Christ, ordination standards, and power.
Click Here to access the PC(U.S.A.) website where you will find a downloadable file that answers basic questions about the task force's final report.
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