"We Few, We Happy Few"

Next Meeting

2011-10-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 6th at Hope Presbyterian at noon, bring your own lunch and I'll bring some treats~

The Secret of the Good Samaritan: Reflections on the Fellowship Conference

2011-08-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

There is a secret, several secrets actually in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Luther discovered the first, namely that Jesus is the Good Samaritan. Jesus is the despised, the rejected "Samaritan" who rescues the man beaten and left for dead by the side of the road. In order to justify himself the lawyer had asked, "who is my neighbor?" but Jesus in great mercy and pity for the lawyer, turns this question on its head, answering in effect, "I am your neighbor!" "I, who come to you and see you and bind your wounds and heal you, 'I am your neighbor.'"
Knowing of Luther's interpretation then, I was disconcerted by the question posed in the small groups of the Fellowship Conference Thursday evening, "Who is my neighbor?" This is the hostile question of the lawyer! But then I realized that that is exactly who we are. You see there is a second secret in the parable: the lawyer is the man who fell among the thieves. The man in the parable is beaten by thieves and left "half-dead" (or should we say, "deathly ill?"). Jesus understands our hearts (Psalm 139) and when he sees the lawyer and hears his self-justifying question, "who is my neighbor?" Jesus knows that the lawyer has been attacked and overmastered by his sins. The lawyer stands before Jesus seemingly as right as rain, but in truth the lawyer is as good as dead utterly undone by sin and the devil, twin thieves who take all that he has. This is us. The leaders of the Fellowship Conference have correctly surmised that we are "deathly ill;" their solution is understandable and pitiable but let's face face facts, in large measure their solution is retreat, to cross by on the other side of the road. But is this Jesus' solution? On the contrary instead of retreating he comes to where we are, he crosses the road, he comes near and sees us and binds up our wounds. The kids use to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?" I think we know. We despair of solutions, but it is not our job to find solutions, our job is simply to follow Jesus and go where he goes. He is not leaving our denomination, he isn't crossing by the other side of the road, and neither am I. More than anything else I too want peace and rest, I love and respect all the leaders of the Fellowship but in the end I know that only Jesus is peace and all other sabbaths and man-made havens, false.

Stay and Tell

2011-08-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

Elijah the prophet, he ran away
He just didn't have the heart,
Anymore to stay.

"I'm all alone!" to God he cried,
And in the desert, he would have died
But in his mercy God woke him up
And gave him a meal from heaven on which to sup

And brought him to the mountain,
The truth to show: seven thousand in Israel
Never to Baal did go.

Not by power and not by might
The still, small voice wins the fight.

Be encouraged in that fight today,
For God goes ahead and gives us words to say.

Dear prophet Elijah shows us well
Not to run and hide but stay and tell

The grace of God in the face of wrong
Of Man and of Woman, Jesus, his Bride, Love's True Song--

To sing... for to him, Our Savior, we will always belong.

Not by power and not by might
The Holy Spirit will give us sight
A vision to tell to those in need
For Jesus Messiah, he is Lord indeed!

Statement Against 10-A

2011-05-11T01:43:00.000-07:00

Kathleen suggested I post this.

Statement Against 10-A, "the conservative vote is the just vote" by Amy Kosari

A vote against 10-A is a vote for justice. The other day I was reading the theologian Mark Achtemeier’s address to the Covenant Network and the accompanying article. He said that he had once “succumbed to the temptation of ecclesiastical tunnel vision.” “I read authors I agreed with, I talked with those I agreed with, I hung out with those I agreed with.” That is a good warning to all of us and heeding it I would like to try to get to the crux of the argument of the other side: For five hundred years Protestants have preached that we are justified by faith in Christ, “the justice of God by faith in Jesus for all believers.” All believers, Paul wrote, not some. America sought to do justice to her slaves and later to women. Now it is proposed that we do justice to women who love women and men who want men--And why not? Are not there women and men who are faithful to their partners, even “till death do us part”? And do not they wish to occupy our pulpits to proclaim their faith in Christ? Surely it is meet and right that we extend to them the right hand of fellowship after so long a time when we blocked them from proclaiming this faith?
But what if justification by faith in Christ is a wrong translation? What if justification by faith is in fact when a man marries a woman? Again I ask, what if justification by faith in Christ is a wrong translation? What if, as some scholars now say, we are justified by the faith of Jesus? I think there is an even better translation. We are justified by the "establishment" of Jesus. After all, what is justice? Justice is when (to quote Isaiah 53:11 and 55:3) “the just one, my slave, shall justify many, by “the pities of David, the established ones”. Let me break that down. Justification is when the righteous slave of Isaiah 53 makes many, a numberless many, right when they were in the wrong. And how is it that the slave, the man of sorrows, Jesus, how is it that he justifies many? Isaiah 55 tells us, it is by the mercy of God, when God the Father establishes, is faithful to, the suffering servant. And here’s the final piece of the puzzle. What is the immediate effect of justification? Answer: A woman is made happy (Isaiah 54), a once despairing woman is married. And who is this woman? Zion and her assembly, “our feet are standing within thy gates.” Justification by faith, justice itself is when a man marries a woman. A colleague of mine once said, “Amy, marriage, love between a man and a woman, romance, the Song of Songs these are merely side issues.” On the contrary, it turns that romance is the good news, romance is justification, the romance between Jesus and his assembly is justification. Vote against 10-A and vote for justice.
I know what I am saying is quite new. Give me a call, talk to me. Let’s heed Mark Achtemeier’s warning and not isolate ourselves but talk with those with whom we do not agree.

Conservative Support Group Meeting

2011-05-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

We will meet at Hope on Thursday, May 5th at noon. Bring your own lunch. Hope to see you all there!

A Poem for Your Consideration

2011-04-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Interesting Article

2011-04-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

Many of you may have received this link through Presbyterian Coalition but I also wanted to post it here. "Fear not little children, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

http://www.churchandworld.com/PCUSA/2011/Viewpoint/0420-MikeGoeke-PowerofTheResurrection.htm

Meeting This Thursday

2011-02-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

We meet on Thursday, February 24th at Hope at noon. Bring your own sack lunch~ See you there!

Presbytery

2010-12-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

Keep the commissioners and guests to our Presbytery meeting on Saturday, January 8th in your prayers.

Tuesday, October 26th Meeting

2010-10-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

There will be a meeting at 12 o'clock at Hope Presbyterian in Richfield in the chapel. We will be brown bagging it for lunch. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Presbytery

2010-09-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Presbytery will be on September 14th at Plymouth, though we will not be having a conservative/evangelical meeting prior to it we will meet sometime in late October. If you have particular days that are better for you in October let me know on Tuesday or give me a ring at home or at the office. I'd love to talk with you!

What If?

2010-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

I was more than disappointed by General Assembly's recent action to change ordination standards. Words cannot express my grief. But as I sat down this morning at my office, I had to wonder what God is thinking. We are an undeserving denomination. We have gone astray in so many ways but what if God in his mercy is using us to be a witness to perseverance in the Lord Jesus? What if the pain that so many of us have experienced is what we are supposed to be doing? What if our resistance to spiritual enemies is for someone else? What if God is making us an example of resistance not just to the coming generations in the church, but the nation? If he is, then let us keep on keep on keep on! Think of our children, we love them so much we would die for them happily. If the pain we are going through now will help them one iota, then we count it all joy!

One thing is for sure, God's light is shining bright and the darkness in General Assembly just serves as the black backdrop to make the gold shine even brighter. I was honored to testify to the ordination standards committee about a new interpretation of Romans 1 but I was even more honored to hear witness after witness come forward to talk about how Jesus had saved them from same sex attraction. Many were openly weeping with joy, I know I was. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings of joy." Had we not our present controversies these voices would never have been heard as they were. But as it was, they shone out with a brilliance that out-did the sun, with the radiance that is in the face of the Lord Jesus, proclaiming the resurrection from the dead and how we are more than conquerors through him who loved us!

May 6th Meeting

2010-04-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

A Thursday, May 6th meeting is planned at Hope (Thank you!) at 12:30 p.m. Andy will lead the group and the meeting will probably go until about two o'clock.

March 11th

2010-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Our conservative/evangelical group will meet on Thursday, March 11th at Hope, Richfield at 12:30 p.m. Bring a brown bag lunch, I will (in the best of all possible worlds) bring some snacks. See you there!

January Presbytery

2010-01-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

We will be gathering at Church of the Way at 8:45 a.m. for prayer and check-in. We have been assigned the library as our meeting place. Thanks for your hospitality Church of the Way!

Let's Meet at 8:45

2010-01-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

There will be a brief meeting at 8:45 a.m. for prayer and check-in just prior to Presbytery this Saturday. I am not sure as yet which room at Shoreview they might allow us to use. Presbytery begins at 9:30.

For Your Encouragement: Paul Capetz Must Abide by G-6.0106b

2009-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Just wanted to draw your attention to the Presbyterian Coalition's comments on the recent GA-PJC decision:

"Despite their limitations, the commission's decisions produced some help for the church. The PJC signaled in Naegeli et al v. Presbytery of San Francisco that its previous decision in Bush v Presbytery of Pittsburgh still stands, by quoting from that decision: "It would be an obstruction of constitutional governance to permit examining bodies to ignore or waive a specific standard that has been adopted by the whole church, such as the 'fidelity and chastity' portion of G-6.0106b, or any other similarly specific provision."

Similarly, though allowing the restoration of a person to ordained office in Bierschwale et al v. Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, the commission said, "Having been restored to the exercise of the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament, [Paul] Capetz is fully accountable under all standards and requirements for ministers of Word and Sacrament to abide by the Constitution of the PC(USA), including G-6.0106b."

Nov. 10th meeting

2009-11-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

We will meet from 2-3:30 at Christ Presbyterian (Thank you!) in room L-200. The agenda for the meeting is prayer, bible study (lectionary reading from I Samuel 1, Hebrews 10 and Mark 13) then fellowship and "check-in" and close with prayer. If I am ambitious I might some kind of snackage for us to share. Hope to see you there!

Amy

Presbyterian Coalition Comments on GA-PJC Rulings

2009-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Terry Schlossberg of the Presbyterian Coalition writes:

GA-PJC reasserts requirement to comply with
"fidelity and chastity"

November 6, 2009
On Tuesday, Nov. 3 the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GA-PJC) made public its decisions in cases from the presbyteries of San Francisco and Twin Cities Area. Both cases relate to presbytery actions dealing with persons who, on the record, declared unwillingness to comply with the express requirement of "fidelity and chastity" in G-6.0106b of the Book of Order. These recent decisions by the GA-PJC are characterized by narrow procedural rulings rather than rulings on the substance in the cases before them.

Despite their limitations, the commission's decisions produced some help for the church. The PJC signaled in Naegeli et al v. Presbytery of San Francisco that its previous decision in Bush v Presbytery of Pittsburgh still stands, by quoting from that decision: "It would be an obstruction of constitutional governance to permit examining bodies to ignore or waive a specific standard that has been adopted by the whole church, such as the 'fidelity and chastity' portion of G-6.0106b, or any other similarly specific provision."

Similarly, though allowing the restoration of a person to ordained office in Bierschwale et al v. Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area, the commission said, "Having been restored to the exercise of the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament, [Paul] Capetz is fully accountable under all standards and requirements for ministers of Word and Sacrament to abide by the Constitution of the PC(USA), including G-6.0106b."

The PJC does emphasize that actual obedience is not optional and that it cannot be waived. However, the new decisions fail to grapple with the implications of the fifth ordination question: "Will you be governed by our church's polity, and will you abide by its discipline..?" (W-4.003e). How can a candidate give affirmative answer to this question while refusing to declare intent to comply with a constitutional requirement now and in the future?

By ruling on narrow procedural questions, while failing to rule decisively and clearly on the substantive issue--unwillingness to comply with G-6.0106b--the court avoided the substance of the issues before it.

These rulings have done harm to the church by leaving a serious conflict unresolved, by inviting more court cases, and by exacerbating a breakdown of faith and trust in the church. The extent of the harm and whether the harm is reversible is not clear.

The Presbyterian Coalition's Discipline Team is deliberating the meaning and implications of the recent decisions and will be issuing a more complete analysis in the next few days.

For further information, contact Terry Schlossberg at 703-680-4571 or terry@presbycoalition.org.

Meeting September 8th

2009-08-31T15:30:00.001-07:00

From Pastor David:

We are blessed to have John Crosby and the folks with Christ Church in Edina to host us for this meeting. I hope you can join other Ministers and Elders for this meeting for Worship, Sharing, Fellowship, Updates, and Discussion:

Tuesday, September 8, Lunch at 12:30 P.M. (Pizza--please "chip in" for payment as you are able, or
feel free to bring your own bag lunch.

Room 204, Christ Church, Edina

Presbyterians for Renewal

2009-08-05T18:00:00.001-07:00

There will be a Presbyterian for Renewal meeting at Hope Presbyterian on Tuesday, September 22nd from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Hope to see you all there.

Update: Time and Place

2009-07-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

The evangelical pastors' meeting has been rescheduled today from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. We will meet in the church library.

Meeting, July 14th

2009-06-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hi again!

I hope you can gather with other sisters and brothers in Christ from our evangelical community in the Twin Cities Area on:

Tuesday, July 14

1:00 P.M.

Sanctuary of
Presbyterian Church of the Master
Coon Rapids (just north of Minneapolis)

We will join in a time of sharing in
small groups for getting to know one another
better, for encouragement in prayer.

We will have updates on 2 or 3 items

We will worship the Lord together

We will, if needed, have a smaller task force
or two form if needed for strategy on various
issues in Presbytery.

In Christ's Peace & Hope,

David Bierschwale

Voting on Amendment B

2009-05-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Non nobis, Domine, Domine, non nobis, Domine
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to your Name give glory

Let's give thanks to God that once again the truth has been proclaimed.

Meeting May 12 at Stadium Village

2009-04-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

Pastor David B. writes,

Now that we are back to the more typical Tuesday
Presbytery meeting schedule, our Evangelical
Fellowship Group will meet:

on May 12 at 1:30 P.M.

Stadium Village Church
501 Oak St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

(Huron Street Exit off I-94)

Kathleen adds the following:

We have 5-6 parking spots, in the drive way between house and church (park tightly) & they can park in empty spots in our lot off Oak St.

We can meet in the church Commons lower level, enter the front door.

Hope to see you there as we gather to worship the Lord and to encourage one another!

Theology Matters

2009-03-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

If you do not already receive the magazine Theology Matters be sure to check it out online at

http://www.theologymatters.com/

The magazine is scholarly and well-written, giving both encouragement and food for thought. The link will preserved under "Theological Resources" at right.

Poem for Good Friday

2009-03-19T07:42:00.001-07:00

A Home for The Desolate: A Poem Based on John 19:26-27

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘ Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

A home for the desolate,
God gives today
On his cross
Opening a new way

A way of love and truth and joy
John became Mary’s own dear boy.

So may we in our churches dear
Be brothers to one another in all good cheer,
Loving, cherishing, forgiving too
Because Jesus died for me and you
That we might be one through thick and thin
He suffered and died that we TOGETHER might win
Abundant life and brotherly love
These are the gifts that come from above.

Reminder from David B.

2009-03-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

We are blessed to have Paul Detterman, Executive Director of Presbyterians for Renewal, come to the Twin Cities on Tuesday, March 17 at Hope Church, Richfield for a gathering from 7:00 P.M. to
9:00 P.M.

Thoughts on Our Recent Meeting

2009-03-16T10:35:00.001-07:00

The Wrath of God and Our Present Controversies

In Judges 2:14 we read that because the Israelites turned to other gods, “the anger of the Lord was kindled...he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them; and he sold them into the power of their enemies round about so t hat they could no longer withstand their enemies.” But then, just a verse later, we read that in response to the suffering of Israel, God in his pity “raised up judges who saved them out of the power of those who plundered them” (vs. 16). It is interesting here that instead of withdrawing the Philistines and the other enemies of Israel, to whom God himself had handed them over, he raises up both judges and kings to stand against and defeat the enemies of Israel.

This is what is happening in the encounter between David and Goliath, the story of the young shepherd boy who defeats the giant Goliath and rouses the discouraged army of Israel so that with a great shout they rise up to pursue their oppressors and drive them from the land.

And this is the background to Romans 1, a chapter that in recent days invites much controversy.
In Romans 1:18-2:3, we learn that all society is thankless, we do not count our many blessings, and so, as he did with the Israelites, God hands us over to our enemies, not enemies of flesh and blood like the Philistines, but enemies that are ethereal but even more powerful. “We fight not against flesh and blood but the powers and principalities." Paul lists those enemies in his “vice catalogue” that begins in verse 1:24: “therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts...women exchanged natural relations for unnatural and men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.” But of course this catalogue of vices does not end there but goes to encompass envy and murder, strife and deceit, malignity and gossiping, slander and hating God, to name a few.

This understanding of Romans 1, helps me as a minister to answer some the questions that have been asked of me, especially as the debate grew heated around Proposition 8 in California.

Many have asked over the years if I thought men and women are “born that way” as ”lesbians or homosexuals.” The answer is is, yes of course that is possible. On the other there are also a large number of people, some known to me personally, who chose sometime in early adulthood to reject the opposite sex. But whether people have a genetic predisposition to it or whether they chose to go a certain way makes no difference to the apostle Paul. God hands over ALL society even the littlest child in the womb to sins that range from passion for those of their own sex to a predisposition for deceit. Just as the littlest one in Israel was oppressed by the cruel and continual raids on Israel by the Philistines so from the littlest to the oldest we are all harassed and harried by the vices that attack us constantly.

And here I must emphasize that it is ALL society, including you and me, that have been thankless. ALL of us have been handed over to the vices that the Apostle Paul lists in Romans 1. Chief among them to be sure, is the unnatural relations between men and men, women and women. These unnatural relations stand like a Goliath above all the others but we must remember an entire army of giants is behind him! Perhaps we love and admire the opposite sex, we are not perhaps DIRECTLY oppressed by this “Goliath” of a vice, but we necessarily fall prey to one of the other giants on the list. If we are not envious, we are faithless; if we are not disobedient to parents, we are heartless; if we are not liars we are gossips. Not one of us can avoid the cruelties of the enemy that lies within and without.

But is this bad news? No! and no again I say!

When God in his anger against our thanklessness betrays us into the hands our enemies, in his pity he raises up a savior to stand against these enemies and give us the victory! God has raised up such a savior and his name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

He is our victory over all our enemies, including the Goliath of unnatural relations that we meet everywhere and know so intimately. But it is not just Goliath who is felled, but his many brethren. I can testify personally, I was, and am and would be in the power of many of the vices listed EXCEPT for Jesus. Except for Jesus I am bossy and mean to name just a few of my sins (some of which I believe I was born with), but that “except” makes all the difference in the world.

Many among my friends and extended family have told me that they believe there to be “nothing wrong” with so-called “gay marriage.” They say, “why not live and let live? No one is harmed.” I completely understand their point of view because I was once of the same opinion. But the Lord Jesus knows better. The Bible is as the theologian N.T. Wright points out “a love story.” How true that is, not just between Adam and Eve, but also between the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and “Lady Zion” of Isaiah 54, between Jesus and his bride the church. There is no other book that cares so much about men and women liking and loving one another. In fact, the gospel itself is inseparable from the romance between God and Zion. We cannot proclaim the cross without proclaiming the love a man (God, the suffering servant) for a woman (Zion, the church).

Sometimes our troubles seem and indeed are, overwhelming. Our enemies, Paul’s entire catalogue of vice, poison our lives. But we are no different from the army of Israel standing utterly cowed before Goliath and their powerful enemies... and then comes someone entirely unexpected, a young shepherd going down to the stream to pick out five smooth stones for his slingshot. And suddenly when no expects it the giant falls flat, dead. And we rise up with a shout of victory, driving the cruel armies of the Philistines away. If it was such with Shepherd David, how much more is it with the Shepherd Jesus? The Israelites chased the enemy to their own gates, but with the Lord Jesus, even the “gates of hell shall not prevail.”

Note of Encouragement

2009-03-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hi again Sisters and Brothers in Christ--

Ephesians 3:20-21 is GREAT encouragement from our Lord in days like these. May we trust that, even if the vote Saturday goes as expected, the Lord will use our words and actions to speak the Truth of the Gospel in Love--seeds will be planted; lives will be transformed through Jesus Christ (and, as the 60s folk song put it--"let it begin with me!)!

I realize it is not easy to ask elders to attend presbytery on a saturday.

We will have 2 of 3 of our assigned number from the redress of imbalance. I am still hopeful that the 3rd elder might be able to tweak his schedule to make it at least for the morning (looks like the big votes will take place then).

Many of you may have read how it seems that folks are "staying away in droves" in various other presbyteries as they vote yet again on the Ordination standards. In some cases, there have been ties. In several cases, some presbyteries switched from their prior votes which supported our Biblical standards. I was saddened to read this was the case in my former presbytery--Western North Carolina.

One of our elders expressed a willingness to send e-mails to elder-commissioners from evangelical congregations as a little extra encouragement.

Please pass the word to some other elders and ministers whom you may know about the importance of attendance:

---those serving on Council

---those serving in Immigrant Fellowships which have been officially
approved by presbytery (Kenyan, Laotian?)

Please pass the word to Ministers & CLPs:

---those serving in Validated Ministries

---those who are Retired

---those who are At-Large members

---CLPs (approved for voice & vote in presbytery on a case-by-case
basis; according to Book of Order)

---any other categories which I may have left out! :-)

PS--Here at PCOM in Coon Rapids, we accepted the invitation
from Presbytery office to host the Presbytery meeting here
on Tuesday, July 14.

In Christ's Peace & Hope,
David Bierschwale

Update

2009-03-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

Pastor David B. writes to tell us that an update and analysis on the remedial case against the presbytery can be found at layman.org

Verse for Us Today

2009-02-23T15:57:00.000-08:00

Put on The Whole Armor of God

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers... (for more, click on link)

A Note from Pastor David B.

2009-02-18T10:33:00.001-08:00

Essay

2009-02-17T21:59:00.001-08:00

Check out the essay under the link "Theological Resources" sent to us by Sue Cyre of Theology Matters

Meeting at Warrendale Presbyterian

2009-02-16T10:56:00.000-08:00

Pastor David writes:

I hope you can join in our occasional evangelical leaders' gathering on Thursday, February 19 at Warrendale Presbyterian Church,
1040 Como Ave, St. Paul, MN 55103

Phone: 651-489-6054

12:00 Noon - 2:00 P.M.

Please plan to bring a bag lunch/fast food as we will begin with meal/fellowship time around the tables.

Reminder

2009-01-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

There will be a meeting on February 7th at the Presbyterian Homes in Bloomington to talk about the proposed amendment to the the constitution that would replace G-6.016b. The meeting begins at 9:30.

Letter from "Theology Matters" Oct. 8, 2008

2009-01-27T12:58:00.001-08:00

"Members of our Board of Directors were greatly distressed by several of the actions taken by the 218th General Assembly and in the coming months we will be speaking out clearly against the false doctrines and blatant mistakes being promoted in the PC(USA) by some of its leaders. However, we will not leave the denomination, nor will we encourage others to leave. After much prayer and consideration we are firmly convinced that leaving the PC(USA) sends the wrong message and leaves far too many of God's precious children without a defense and without proper leadership. We are committed to remaining within the PC(USA) and working from within for the much needed reform. We trust God's power to bring new life to his church and seek to have the same love for the lost that took Christ to cross.

God has not abandoned his church. Today is a time to remember God's promises to his church and increase our resolve. The apostle Peter encouraged the church in Asia Minor, which was struggling against false teachers, by reminding them that their situation was not unusual. There were false teachers in the OT and there will be in our churches. Peter wrote, 'There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They wil secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them...' (2 Pet. 2:1-2)

Commenting on those verses, Calvin explains that God has a purpose in allowing the strife to continue. He writes,

'He (Peter) encourages and strengthens those to whom he writes with the argument that God has always disciplined His Church with this kind of trial so that their hearts may not be disturbed by its novelty. He says that the condiiton of the Church under the Gospel wil lbe no different from what it was under the Law; false prophets upset the old Church, and we much expect the same. It was necessary to say this specifically because there were many who though that the state of the church under the reign of Christ would be peaceful...Let us, therefore, remember that the Spirit of God has declared once for all that the Church will never be free from this internal trouble, and let this image be kept in mind that the trail of faith is common both to us and to our fathers, because it has the same purpose, namely to make clear by this means whether we truly love God as is written in Deuteronomy 13:3'

Calvin recognizes how tempting it is for us to want to withdraw from the struggle. He continues his commentary.
'the idea is apt to insinuate itself that if the Lord wants to keep his people unspotted, why does He not gather them all together into some corner of the earth where they can encourage each other in holiness? ....When God appropriates to Himself the responsibility for helping and protecting His own, so that they do not fail in the struggle, we take heart to fight the harder.'

The struggles in the church are not new and they should not weary or discourage us. God has not left us without his aid. The struggles today are over the pwoer of Christ to redeem and transform a life to live in joyful obedience to God's Word and thus glorify God. The issues we face over sexuality and marriage, over the nature of the Trinity and sin go to the very heart of the Gospel and therefore the person of Christ. We cannot grow weary of the struggle."