Deutero Q

This past Sunday I preached from Hebrews 11:1-19 and sprinkled my sermon with the following quotations from three great Christians:

"Without an element of risk in our exploits for God there is no need for faith." --Hudson Taylor

"Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God." --William Carey

“Faith, though it hath sometimes a trembling hand, it must not have a withered hand, but must stretch.” --Thomas Watson

Of course as wonderful as those quotations are, more wonderful and powerful still is the following scriptural declaration:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

The Presbytery of South Louisiana has withdrawn a lawsuit against one of its congregations. The litigation included an effort to prevent the congregation from meeting to decide if it would leave the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The presbytery had filed suit against Woodland Presbyterian Church in New Orleans on June 6 – two days before the church's scheduled congregational meeting on its future in the PCUSA. The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order (TRO), preliminary injunction and permanent injunction to prevent the congregation from gathering that Sunday and to order it to comply with the presbytery's policies.

A judge denied the TRO petition and set a hearing on June 16 for arguments on the preliminary injunction. The congregation proceeded with its June 8 meeting and vote; they decided by a 93 percent majority (150-6, with six abstentions) to disaffiliate from the PCUSA and by a 97 percent majority (157-3, with two abstentions) to affiliate with the New Wineskins transitional presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

On June 24, South Louisiana Presbytery filed, and was granted, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice.

"We are, of course, thrilled about that," said the Rev. Dr. Scott Luckey, Woodland Church's pastor of 2½ years. "We understand that some strings have been pulled by the synod and by Louisville, and we understand that behind the scenes, Louisville and the Synod of the Sun have been at work in all of this. That's just our impression. But we are still committed to love, and serve with, the fine folks of PSL even as we align ourselves with a new denomination."

His sentiments were echoed by the church's attorney, Lloyd J. Lunceford of Baton Rouge. "I am pleased that the Presbytery of South Louisiana, in consultation with the synod's administrative commission, has chosen to voluntarily dismiss its own suit," he said. "This is far preferable to amending its suit to persist in the effort to persuade a civil court to enforce religious documents or discretionary guidelines in violation of the local church's constitutionally protected right of freedom of association."

The presbytery and its synod overseers were rightly criticized for filing the suit in the first place," Lunceford said. "However, they are now to be commended for acting to dismiss the suit rather than amending it or just doing nothing and letting the matter fester. I hope that both parties will be able to amicably move forward to the different futures to which each feels called."

'Led by Christ and not by culture'

For Luckey and his church, that future is in the smaller, more conservative EPC.

"We at Woodland want to align ourselves with a denomination that is led by Christ and not by culture," he said. "We just reached a point where enough was enough, and the last straw for us was the formation of the synod administrative commission. It's been viewed by many as a hostile takeover of our presbytery with regard to property decisions."

Luckey said he and his congregation are excited "about aligning with a Christ-centered and Bible-based body of believers. … They have been warm, gracious and Christ-like – just a real study in contrasts when you look at the way that the national denomination has treated evangelicals and the way we've been marginalized and even villainized."

Luckey said he won't miss "revisiting all of these battles that have just been a real drain on our churches in the denomination. We are looking forward to furthering the Kingdom of God and lifting up the name of Jesus. We are excited about the prospect of working with the EPC and New Wineskins, and exalting Christ and affirming the authority of Scripture, and not fighting these same old battles year after year. That just diverted our time and energy from more important matters."

The "fine and faithful members and ministers" who remain in the PCUSA will be missed, Luckey said. "I have a number of colleagues in ministry that have chosen to remain. Although the friendships will continue, we probably won't be seeing as much of one another. … We'll miss the regular gatherings, but for the most part, there's not much at all we're going to miss. We're so disillusioned by, and so discouraged with, the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

Colleagues in the presbytery will also be missed, he said. "I would point out that we view our friends in the Presbytery of South Louisiana in a favorable light. … Our concern was not so much with the Presbytery of South Louisiana; our great concern was with the denomination – the PCUSA and the direction it has been going, and continues to go."

Woodland Church has had no direct communication with the PSL since before the disaffiliation vote. The only contact has been through letters and attorneys, Luckey said.

South Louisiana's general presbyter, the Rev. Dr. Alan Cutter, did not respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment.

'Dangerously exciting times'

Woodland Church has some 300 active members – about half of its total roll before Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in August 2005, Luckey said. No one who voted against changing denominational affiliations or abstained from voting has left, he said.

"Indeed, we have begun to see already people coming to Woodland Church who have expressed support for the action we've taken," he said. "We are seeing new faces as a result of the vote to disaffiliate from the PCUSA."

Woodland Church is observing its 50th anniversary in October, and plans to invite a speaker from the EPC as part of the celebration, Luckey said. "We will continue to be, and advertise ourselves as being, a Christ-centered, Bible-based Presbyterian church. In fact, we will be the only EPC-affiliated church in the New Orleans area. So this is a real pioneering effort by our folks, and I'm just so very proud of our congregation for having the courage to say, 'Enough is enough.'"

Luckey concluded with a point he said he brings up frequently in his ministry: "We recognize that we are living in dangerously exciting times. … The more dangerous it gets, the more excited Christians can get, for in this late hour, God is moving mightily around the world. Jesus is being exalted. Lives are being transformed by the living Christ. And so we have cause for great excitement in the midst of much danger."

God says in His Word, 'I will honor those who honor Me,' " he said. "We take that very seriously and believe that with all of our heart, that the Lord will indeed honor those who honor Him."

During last night's Bible study (we are studying Colossians) we spent some time talking about overflowing thankfulness (Col. 2:7). Someone asked the question, "How do we get to the place of "overflowing with thankfulness"? The suggestion was then made that during the next 24 hours we should consciously and deliberately give specific verbal thanks to the Lord at least 24 times!

The idea is that as we reguarly get in the habit of voicing thanks--rather than complaints!--we can live more and more into Col. 2:7. Sounds like a great idea to me. Of course becoming an overflowing thanksgiver is contingent upon receiving Christ Jesus as Lord, continuing to live in him, being rooted and built up in him, and being strengthened in the faith (Col. 2:6-7). It also means that we draw upon the Lord's power rather than our own.

I am grateful for this opportunity to become a more deliberate thanksliving (rather than complaint-giving) Christian!