Change That Never Comes Easily Will Continue Not To Come Easily

It appears that sometime this afternoon or this evening, The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. will pass amendment 10-A (The full text of the amendment can be found on pages1-2 on this link.). In a prior blog post, I wrote "Many say this is the amendment about allowing the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians. It is more accurate to say this amendment allows for the nomination to ordained office for gays and lesbians." A friend reminded me that this is not the only truth.

The passage of this amendment will also allows heterosexuals involved in sexual relationships outside of marriage to be ordained and installed. (I always knew this was true. I myself have taken a gracious path with betrothed, engaged, and "engaged" persons involved in ministry.) He has also reminded me this prohibition has touched older members of the church in committed relationships who don't marry because of decreases in pension and social security benefits between two singles and one couple. I forgot all about them.

Some would say the second paragraph isn't the point, the prohibition was written to deal with gays and lesbians, not heterosexuals. To this I say "It always stinks when law is interpreted as written and not as originally intended or envisioned." Believe me, those pensioners who are "living in sin" were not the target of this rule, but they were under it.

Anyway, after today and effective July 11ish, this will no longer be true. So what do I hope comes of this?

Hope 1--Humility in celebration, graciousness in defeat. This is the third time this change has come before the church and it will change this time. I honestly don't recall the "global" reaction the last time the church finished voting on this, and maybe that's a good thing. I hope beyond hope that this is how the church will respond, by forgetting the way everybody responded the last two times. But after reading white letters, blogs, and tweets from both sides of the issue, I have only limited expectations of this outcome.

Bruce Reyes Chow was the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA). In a recent twitter post he wrote, When ordination standards change in the Presbyterian Church (USA) I hope one expression of my joy will be graciousness. Wonderfully said, elegantly written.

Hope 2--A sense of scope and perspective beyond "I have such a complete handle on the word of God I know for a fact that if the vote doesn't go my way a hard rain is going to fall." Pardon this snarky hope, but so often people on both sides of the Presbyterian Ordination Argument have in one way or another said just this. Yes, I say both sides.

Michael Jinkins is the President of Louisville Seminary and said this today on the Faith and Leadership blog:

Whenever I hear someone say that the situation we face now is graver, more challenging than any we have ever faced, I stifle a laugh. Our low point surely was at the beginning of the Christian movement. We muttered and worried in that room long ago and could not imagine that Christ was raised from the dead, risen with healing in his wings, and with his death and resurrection had judged even our highest aspirations as inadequate. He pronounced our greatest hopes as infinitely too small.

Friends, it's not the end of the world. (That isn't scheduled until later this month.) The church has had many moments of controversy and has had it's embarrassing and shameful moments. But guess what, this is nothing compared to what the first disciples knew after the scene in Gethsemane and before the Resurrection. Nothing.

So friends in Christ, Christians of the Presbyterian Church (USA) persuasion, after tonight's votes, pray. Pray for the church. Pray for your friends. Pray especially for your friends who don't agree with you. There is going to be a change and change never comes easily. This change is going to be particularly charges.

On, and one more thing: Go and serve God.  In the end, that's the only change God really honors. If we do nothing, who the church ordains will not matter a lick.