A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Mariano Di Gangi is Professor of Pastoral Studies, Ontario Theological Seminary, and Canadian Director of BMMF-INTERSERVE.
Some ecclesiastical conventions commence with invocation but conclude with provocation. Each General Assembly has its own character. At times, there is a prevailing calm. At others, vigorous debate and proliferating dissent. Much depends on the issues before the court, and the atmosphere in which the decision-making process proceeds. What are some of the issues likely to confront this next Assembly?
The participation of children in the Lord’s Supper (Acts & Proceedings, 1986, pp. 253-257 and p. 29) has already received considerable discussion in sessions and presbyteries. The statement provided by the Church Doctrine Committee deserves careful study. It outlines three positions: (1) all baptized children should be admitted to the Lord’s Supper; (2) only persons of faith and maturity should be admitted; (3) children with faith should be admitted.
Our subordinate standards do not deal with the privilege of participation chronologically. They do not set an age for eligibility, but rather emphasize the necessity of faith in Christ as a prerequisite for admission to the Lord’s Table. The Westminster Confession and its Catechisms summarize the teaching of Holy Scripture on the subject when they state that we are to approach the Lord’s Table with self-examination, repentance, discernment concerning the Lord’s body, love to Christ and to his people, and trust in the Redeemer (1 Cor. 11:23-28; 1 Cor. 5:7-8; John 6:35,53-56). The benefits of this sacrament are received by the hands and mouth of faith. Christ is spiritually present to the eyes and ears of faith. The crucial question is thus not age, but a personal relationship to Jesus Christ, expressed through a credible profession of faith before admission to the Lord’s Supper. This position needs reaffirmation in the current debate.
Another issue has to do with the recommendations of the Board of Ministry regarding presbytery authorization for the appointment of Christian Education personnel by congregations, particularly in cases where these are not members of the Order of Diaconal Ministries (Acts & Proceedings, 1986, pp. 391-392, and p. 28). We should certainly support the idea that properly qualified appointees be engaged for this vital work at the congregational level. All teaching in the church, whether from the pulpit, in classes, fellowships, or house groups, should be biblically faithful, pedagogically sound, and freshly relevant.
Criteria for such appointments should include: (1) personal commitment to Christ as Saviour and Lord; (2) membership in good standing in a Christian church; (3) a working knowledge of the English Bible adequate for the proposed assignment; (4) an appreciation for the distinctives of Presbyterian polity and the Reformed Faith; (5) an awareness of basic pedagogical principles, and some experience in leading group discussions or teaching classes. Any move in the direction of centralized control regarding appointments, or a closed-shop mentality restricting the field only to the graduates of certain institutions, should be challenged.
From the articles and letters in The Presbyterian Record and the secular press since last Assembly on active homosexuals as appropriate candidates for ordination or their continuance in ministry, one might suppose that some overtures on the subject may surface this June. If so, the statement approved in 1985 should be reviewed and underlined. While homosexual practices are not unpardonable sins, we cannot admit of the legitimacy of conduct that clearly contradicts God’s moral law. Deviations from that law, whether by adultery, fornication, frivolous divorce, or homosexual relationships, are clearly condemned in Scripture — not because sex is inherently evil, but because marriage and the family are so highly esteemed. The biblical alternative to marriage, whether for heterosexuals or homosexuals, is celibacy.
The matter of Church growth, in view of our declining membership trends in the past decade, is bound to be a focus of concern. Personal commitment and congregational renewal are indispensable to effective witness in the power of the Holy Spirit. We must be involved in Church growth not merely to reverse adverse trends but to see people come to a saving knowledge of the Lord.
Whatever the issues confronting the coming Assembly, let us pray for the peace, purity, and unity of the Church under Christ, our only King and Head.