A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Rev. Dr. J. Kevin Livingston is minister of First Presbyterian Church, New Westminster, B.C.

When someone visits our home for the first time, they often see things that have become “invisible” to us. That’s what happened to me recently. There was a stain on the hall carpet I’d forgotten about. Having walked past it so often, I scarcely noticed it anymore. But last week we had the carpets cleaned. And the minute the cleaning man arrived, his eyes fell on that stain. Needless to say, the stain is now gone, thanks to the keen eyes of that first-time visitor.

As a first-time commissioner to the General Assembly in St. Catharine’s last June, I felt akin to that cleaning man. The story of the 119th Assembly has been ably told by John Congram in the Presbyterian Record, and so I will not discuss the decisions of the Assembly. There may, however, be some benefit in reviewing the Assembly from the perspective of a “first-timer.” My observations may seem amateurish – but then again, they may help more seasoned members of our church see things we’ve taken for granted.

Three Kudos

First, I was impressed with the calibre and spiritual commitment of program staff in church offices. At the briefing sessions and during informal chats over coffee, I found the national staff people to be genuinely concerned for the spiritual welfare of our congregations, and deeply committed to the service of Christ and the renewal of the church. In two instances since Assembly, I have been contacted by folk at the Life and Mission Agency, who promptly followed up on specific requests I had made of them at St. Catharine’s. The image is often portrayed of some “far-away” church bureaucracy, out of touch with the constituency in the pews. This is a false perception! My regard for the folk at Don Mills has been enhanced considerably.

Second, I gained a renewed appreciation for the national character of our church. Serving as we do in our own comer of the Lord’s vineyard, it is all too easy to feel isolated and cut off from other Presbyterians. But what a delight it was at General Assembly to gather around the table with such a variety of God’s people: from Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia to Salmon Arm, B.C. I found it profoundly encouraging and informative to experience first-hand the breadth and diversity of Christ’s church.

Finally, I was tremendously encouraged by the daily prayer meetings for commissioners sponsored by the Renewal Fellowship. These gatherings became a focal point for sharing, dialogue, reflection, and intercession. Although the meetings were attended by only a fraction of the commissioners, I would covet this experience of koinonia for all persons at Assembly.

Two Criticisms

Dr. James McCord of Princeton Theological Seminary once remarked that the Presbyterian Church (USA) had developed a case of “theological amnesia.” By that he meant that the church has largely forgotten her rich biblical and Reformed theological heritage, which has impoverished the church and her witness in the world. I fear we in the Presbyterian Church in Canada may be suffering from the same problem.

Apart from Rev. Zander Dunn’s excellent morning meditations, I listened in vain for any substantial theological reflection in the briefing sessions or in the Assembly reports. One of the ecumenical delegates, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, looked around the assembly hall and asked “Where are your Bibles?” “Indeed!”

It appears that we are linked together not so much by a unifying theological perspective, as by a common organizational polity. At one point in the Assembly, theological debate broke out during – of all places – the report of the Presbyterian Church Building Corporation. One commissioner questioned the wisdom of charging interest, citing the Westminster Confession and Scripture. Those around me looked puzzled and surprised. Without commenting on this commissioner’s argument, I would like to ask: Why should it sound so strange to our ears to hear Holy Scripture and the Confession cited in Assembly of the Presbyterian Church?

Another telling example of this “theological amnesia” came when I enquired at the Assembly Book Table about copies of the Westminster Confession and the Shorter Catechism. The person looked at me rather quizzically and then referred me to an obscure publisher in Edinburgh? This ought not to be.

Surely what is needed is a recovery of our theological identity as Reformed Christians. Presbyterian theologian John Leith, of Union Seminary, Virginia, has written that:

the renewal of the church will begin with a remembering of what has been bequeathed to us. … The task of the minister in good times and bad is first of all to know the scriptures and to master the theological wisdom of the church in proclaiming the gospel with conviction and competence. (From Generation to Generation: The Renewal of the Church According to its own Theology and Practice, Westminster Press, 1990, pp. 13,15.)

This is not merely the task of the minister, but of the whole church, including the General Assembly.

I was also dismayed by the apparent lack of concern in the Assembly over our continued numerical decline (losing 2,357 communicant members and 1,051 students from our Sunday Schools). I have nothing but praise for the present “Live the Vision” campaign, which seeks funds for evangelism and new church development. This is a vital first step. But much more than a financial campaign is needed if we are to reverse the slow, steady loss of members over recent years.

We need to become more “effective” churches. As Posterski and Barker have reminded us, Canadians continue to seek out churches that are biblically orthodox, culturally relevant, genuinely caring, and sensitively reaching out to meet people’s needs (Where’s a Good Church?’. Wood Lake Books, 1993.) Without necessarily resurrecting the “Church Growth Committee” of the 1980s, the General Assembly must assert its leadership by calling us to renewed growth and evangelism. And staff in church offices must place evangelism front and centre of their agenda. This is not a matter of institutional survival, but of faithfulness to the Gospel.

May God grant us a renewal of faith, a fresh experience of the Bible as the Word of God, a sensitive memory to recover our Reformed heritage, and a passion to proclaim the Gospel.