Because teaching the humanities at a juvenile detention facility is not nearly as lucrative as one might hope, I continue to look for other employment, particularly as a presbyterian pastor. Search committees frequently ask some version of "What are the greatest theological dangers facing the (insert name of confessional presbyterian denomination here)?" This is one of my responses.
I believe the greatest theological problem facing the Orthodox Presbyterian Church today is the failure on the part of too many Church officers, especially ministers of Word and sacrament, to fully inhabit the Westminster Standards as their personal confession of faith, the main instrument by which to organize instruction of Church members, and the form by which unity within the OPC and with brethren in Churches of like faith and practice may be maintained. Several inextricably linked problems emerge from this failure.
Absent a confessional mooring, pastors seek out tools and frameworks with which to organize their preaching and teaching. This can exacerbate the temptation to follow one’s most charismatic seminary professor or the current fashions of the blogosphere, whether or not these conform closely to presbyterian doctrine and tradition. In fact, the man who looks to these as his guides may well fall into the hole of online controversy and mistake a momentary fashion for a question critical to the Church’s very existence.
A teaching and preaching ministry preoccupied with transient controversy will have little time to dedicate to the fundamental doctrines of the faith, summarized in the Westminster Standards. Consequently, Church members may become more acquainted with recent trends in seminaries than with the Catechisms.
Perhaps worst of all, neglect of historic presbyterian doctrine almost necessarily leads to indifference toward presbyterian polity and discipline. Over the years, I have become ever more dismayed by how many Church officers seem entirely unaware of the presbyterian doctrine of Church power (ex.
OPC Form of Government III). Such Church officers tend to think their prerogatives are vast and they do not need to make sure they never infringe on members’ liberty of conscience (Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 20). Church power is abused, which is to say members are spiritually abused. (In the Church, spiritual abuse always precedes any other kind of abuse or misuse of power by Church officers.) As confessional presbyterians, our theology is sound. Many of the dangers we face come from the failure of many Church officers to humbly submit to this truth.
