PRESENTATION
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, TULSA, OK

DECEMBER 6~7, 1994

JOHN M. BUCHANAN, PASTOR
FOURTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHICAGO

SCRIPTURE
Romans 13:8-10, Mark 2:18-22

"No ONE PUTS NEW WINE INTO OLD WINE-

SKINS... -MARK 2:22 (NRSV)

WHy I AM A PRESBYTERIAN ... IT 128
SOMETIMES SAID THAT THE TROUBLE WITH
MOST RELIGION IS THAT IT IS BUSY PROVID-
ING ANSWERS TO GUESTIONS NOBODY IS

ASKING ...

IF I AM SURE OF ANYTHING THIS
MORNING IT IS THAT FEW PEOPLE LIE AWAKE

ASKING, "WHY IS HE A PRESBYTERIAN?"

AND YET -- IT IS AN INTERESTING AND
CRITICAL MOMENT FOR RELIGIOUS DENOMINA-
TEONS IN THIS COUNTRY. ARE THEY ANACH-
RONISMS, PHENOMENA WHICH EMERGED OUT OF
A PARTICULAR HISTORIC SITUATION AND
WHICH NOW NEED TO FADE AWAY? OR, ARE
THEY OF PERMANENT VALUE? Is THERE
SOMETHING ABOUT PRESBYTERIANISM, METHOD-
ISTISM, LUTHERANISM THAT NEEDS PRESERV-

ING AND DESERVES CELEBRATING?

It 1S, BY THE WAY, REFORMATION
SUNDAY FOR PROTESTANTS AND FOR ALL
CHRISTIANS, THE WEEK OF ALL SAINTS Day,
WHEN THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS LOOKED BACK
AND ENJOYED AND REVIVED ITS MEMORY AND

SOMETHING OF ITS IDENTITY ...

SO, INDULGE ME PLEASE AND THINK
WITH ME ABOUT WHAT MAY BE A QUESTION OF

SOME MERIT: WHY PRESBYTERIANISM?

FoR THE RECORD I'M A PRESBYTERIAN
BECAUSE MY PARENTS WERE. I wAS BAPTIZED
IN A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATTENDED
SUNDAY SCHOOL, WAS CONFIRMED, PARTICI~
PATED IN YOUTH FELLOWSHIP AND CHURCH
CAMP, PRESBYTERIANISM IS ALMOST AS

DEEPLY A PART OF WHO I AM AS MY NAME.

But I AM ALSO A PRESBYTERIAN BE-
CAUSE I CHOSE TO BE. WHEN I LEFT THE
BASIC STRUCTURES OF LIFE -- FAMILY AND
COMMUNITY -- I ALSO LEFT MY CHURCH FOR A
WHILE AND WANDERED AROUND IN THE WILDER-
NESS, TRYING TO DECIDE WHO I WAS AND WHO
I WANTED To BE. AND I DISCOVERED WHAT

MANY OF US DISCOVER IN THAT PARTICULAR

WILDERNESS, NAMELY THAT WHILE OUR FAMILY
MAY NOT BE THE MOST WONDERFUL FAMILY IN
THE WORLD, IT IS OUR FAMILY AND THERE I$
MUCH ABOUT IT THAT IS ADMIRABLE. AND SO
WITH MY CHURCH, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING
IN, IT APPEARED DIFFERENT, STRONGER,
MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN IT DID FROM THE
INSIDE LOOKING OUT, NOT UNLIKE NOAH'S
Arx, I supposk, TO WHICH THE CHURCH IS
OFTEN LIKENED AND ABOUT WHICH SOMEONE
QUIPPED THAT THE STENCH INSIDE IS SOME-
TIMES SO BAD THAT LEAVING SOUNDS LIKE A
GOOD IDEA, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT
THERE IS A STORM QUTSIDE AND A PERSON

COULD EASILY DROWN.

IN ANY EVENT, AFTER A SERIOUS
FLIRTATION WITH ANOTHER ECCLESIASTICAL
FRADITION, AND AN EVEN MORE SERZOUS
CONSIDERATION OF THE MOST POLITYCALLY

CORRECT OPTION -~- THE TIME BEING THE

19605 ~- NAMELY A COMPLETE REJECTION OF
INSTITUTIONAL RELIGION AS HYPOCRITICAL
AND OPPRESSIVE, I CAME BACK TO WHERE I
HAD STARTED, RECLAIMED MY TRADITION, OR
RATHER CLAIMED IT AUTHENTICALLY FOR
MYSELF, AND ASKED THE PRESBYTERIAN

CHURCH IF IT WOULD HAVE ME.

In JUNE OF 1963 I WAS HOME AGAIN,
FOR THE FIRST TIME, NOW A MINISTER OF
WORD AND SACRAMENT AND THE SYMBOL OF
THAT DECISION -- MY DECISION TO BE A
PRESBYTERIAN AND THE PRESBYTERTANS TO
ALLOW ME IN -- IS THESE TWO WHITE STRIPS
OF CLOTH WE WEAR ON SUNDAY. NOT ALL
PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS WEAR THEM BY THE
WAY. But FourtH CHURCH CLERGY ALWAYS
HAVE, AND I ALWAYS HAVE. THEY ARE
SOMETIMES CALLED "PREACHING BANDS," OR
“GENEVA TABS." THEY ARE SAID TO REPRE-

SENT THE TWO FOUNDATIONS OF CALVINISM --

THE LAW AND THE GRACE oF Gop. I pon’t
KNOW ABOUT THAT. WHAT THEY MEAN TO ME
ES GENEVA, WHERE THIS CHURCH, THIS
TRADITION, MY FAMILY, THAT I AM GRATEFUL
AND PROUD TO NUMBER MY SELF AMONG,
BEGAN. GENEVA TABS REMIND ME WEEKLY OF
WHO I AM AND OF THIS UNIQUE RELIGIOUS
TRADITION CALLED REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN

WHICH I CLAIM AS MY OWN.

AND YET, EVEN THAT -~ THAT PERSONAL
LOYALTY TO A PARTICULAR RELIGIOUS TRADT~
TION ~- IS A BIT OF AN ANACHRONISM, IS

IT NOT?

BRAND LOYALTY, DENOMINATIONAL
ORIENTATION, DOES NOT RANK VERY HIGH
WHEN PEOPLE CHOOSE A CHURCH. ASK A
GROUP OF PRESBYTERIANS ANYWHERE WHY THEY
ARE MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR CONGREGATION

AND THEY WILL SAY THINGS LIKE, "It's

6

CLOSE, WE LIKE THE MUSIC, THE CHILDREN’S
PROGRAM, THE PREACHING, THE PEOPLE, THE
BUILDING, MY WIFE OR HUSBAND OR PARENTS
MAKE ME GO." ALMOST NO ONE Says, "I
BELONG BECAUSE IT'S PRESBYTERIAN." THE
SAME IS TRUE FOR METHODISTS, UNITED
CHURCH OF CHRIST AND TO AN EXTENT,

EPISCOPALIANS,

INTERESTINGLY, DENOMINATIONS ORIGI-
NALLY SERVED TO PRESERVE ETHNIC OR
NATIONAL IDENTITY FOR IMMIGRANTS TO THE

NEW WORLD,

AS NATIONAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITY
RECEDED, DENOMINATIONS IN THIS CULTURE
TOOK ON A NEW FUNCTION. In 1929 H.
RICHARD NIEBUHR WROTE A CLASSIC STUDY
CALLED “THE SocraL Sources oF DENGMINA-
TIONALISM" WHICH OBSERVED THAT THERE WAS

A RELIGIOUS SOCIAL HIERARCHY. VANCE

PACKARD WROTE ABOUT IT IN HIS FAMOUS 1959
BOOK THE Sratus SEEKERS. HE REFERRED TO
“THE LONG ROAD FROM PENTECOSTAL TO
EPISCOPAL." BASED ON INCOME, PEOPLE
MIGHT MOVE FROM PENTECOSTAL TO BAPTIST

TO METHODIST TO PRESBYTERIAN To EPIsco-

PAL, THE TOP OF THE HEAP ECONOMICALLY.

BUT EVEN THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF
DENOMINATIONS IS NOW GONE. THE OLD
SOCIAL HIERARCHY IS GONE. WADE CLARK
ROOF AND WILLIAM MCKINNEY ARE TWO SOCI~
OLOGISTS WHO STUDY RELIGION. IN THEIR

WIDELY READ AMERICAN MAINLINE RELIGIONS

THEY DESCRIBE OUR NUMERICAL DECLINE AND

THEN INCLUDE A HILARIOUS WALL STREET

JOURNAL FEATURE ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JACK

CASHILL.

"My STRATEGY IS TO CONSOLIDATE THE

VARIOUS NAME BRANDS, EVEN THE STRONG,

8

FLAGSHIP BRANDS LIKE SOUTHERN BAPTIST,
INTO ONE IDENTIFIABLE EXXON-LIKE ENTITY.
THE TARGET AUDIENCE HERE 1s Mom, Dap,
Butcu anp Sirs - sop SUBURBAN AMERICANS
WHO WANT A LITTLE GOD IN THEIR LIFE AND
A PLACE TO GO BEFORE BRUNCH. AND, AFTER
TEST-MARKETING VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES, I
HAVE DECIDED ON THE NAME MIDDLE AMERICAN
CHRISTIAN CHURCH, OR MACCHURCH FOR AD
PURPOSES. [Jack CASHILL, WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 7/30/85, IN RooF AND MCKINNEY,
P. 229]

CASHILL, AN ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE,
CREATED A MARKETING PLAN FOR REVITALIZ~
ING THE MAJOR RELIGIOUS FAITHS. JuDA-
TSM, HE SAID, DEFINITELY NEEDS A NEW
PRODUCT FOR BABY BoomMERS; FoR ROMAN
CATHOLICS A MARKET-SEGMENTATION AP~
PROACH: "'RC Lieut’ For LIBERALS, ‘RC

CLASSIC’ FoR FRADEITIONALISTS, ’RC Free‘

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN LIBERATION THEOL~
OGY." PROTESTANTISM PRESENTS SPECIAL
PROBLEMS: INDIVIDUAL CHURCHES WILL HAVE
TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS ONLY SOQ MUCH
THEOLOGICAL SHELF SPACE, THAT PRODUCT
DIFFERENTIATION IS NOT VIABLE FOR GO~AS-
YOU-PLEASE PROTESTANTS; THUS THE MIDDLE
AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CHURCH OR

"MacCHurcu." L[Iprp]

PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION IS NOT VERY
IMPORTANT. IT NEVER REALLY WAS INTENDED
TO BE. THE THEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN PRESBYTERIANS, METHODISTS,
LUTHERANS, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST,
BAPTISTS ARE MINIMAL, WE DIFFER IN THE
WAY WE GO ABOUT BEING A CHURCH BUT THERE
ARE NO SUBSTANTIVE DIFFERENCES IN OUR
BELIEFS. THE SAME IS TRUE BETWEEN
PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS. THE FUNDA-

MENTALS ARE THE SAME. WE BELIEVE TN GoD

10

THE CREATOR AND JEsuS CHRIST AS Gop'sS
INCARNATION, AND THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT
IN THE WORLD AND THE CHRISTIAN VOCATION
TO BE FAITHFUL AND TO LIVE IN THE LOVE

OF CHRIST.

SO, WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, "TELL ME
WHAT PRESBYTERIANS BELIEVE," THE ANSWER
IS THE SAME THING AS METHODISTS oR
BAPTISTS OR CATHOLICS BELIEVE: THE
GOSPEL OF Jesus CHRIST. OUR OWN KEW
MEMBER STATISTICS INDICATE THAT PRODUCT
DIFFERENTIATION IS NO LONGER VERY IMPOR-
TANT AT ALL. IN THE FIVE MONTHS BETWEEN
JUNE AND OCTOBER, WE RECEIVED 110 NEw
MEMBERS: ONLY 23, ONE IN FIVE, WERE

PRESBYTERIANS.

WHAT DOES DIFFERENTIATE SETWEEN
CHURCHES IS THE ETHOS, THE STYLE, THE

MISSION PRIORITIES AND THE MATTER OF

11

AUTHORITY -- WHO HAS IT AND HOW IT IS
EXERCISED. AND SO BEAR WITH ME AS WE

THINK ABOUT WHO WE ARE.

WE BEGAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY, ABOUT THIRTY YEARS
AFTER MARTIN LUTHER CHALLENGED THE
AUTHORITY OF THE ROMAN CHURCH AND START-
ED THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. JOHN
CALVIN WAS A FRENCH LAWYER WHO WAS
INTERESTED IN REFORMATION THINKING, WAS
EXILED FROM FRANCE, SETTLED IN GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND, WROTE ONE OF THE MOST

IMPORTANT THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL

WORKS EVER PRODUCED, THE INSTITUTES OF

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, BECAME A RE-

FORMED PASTOR, AND WAS PERSUADED BY THE
GENEVA POLITICAL POWERS TO SETTLE THERE
AND TO ORGANIZE THE CHURCH AND THE CITY
ACCORDING TO THE NEW PRINCIPLES HE HAD

BEEN WRITING ABOUT. So HE DID AND THE

i2

RESULT WAS A NEW WAY OF BEING A CHURCH:
HE, PARDON THE EXPRESSION, WAS ONE OF

THE GREAT "RE~IMAGINERS” OF ALL Time!

CALVIN IMAGINED A CHURCH WHOSE
AUTHORITY WAS NOT IN ITS HIERARCHY BUT
ITS PEOPLE. THAT WAS A REVOLUTIONARY
IDEA, A DANGEROUS AND RADICAL IDEA IN
THE POLITICAL ARENA. CALVIN SALD THAT
NOT ONLY DOES THE INDIVIDUAL HAVE THE
RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS BY
WHICH AUTHORITY IS EXERCISED, BOTH
ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL, NO AUTHORITY
HAS THE RIGHT TO COERCE THE INDIVIDUAL'S
CONSCIENCE. Gop ALONE rs LorD oF THE

CONSCIENCE,

Ano FURTHERMORE, SAID CALVIN, THE
INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY
NEEDS TO BE EDUCATED, TO BE ABLE TO READ

AND REASON AND SO IT IS ONE OF THE

13

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF CIVIL AUTHOR-
ITY, NOT JUST WEALTHY FAMILIES, TO

EDUCATE THE YOUNG.

AND, HE SAID, TRUTH LEADS TO GOOD-
NESS; RELIGIOUS FAITH IS TO BE EX-
PRESSED, NOT JUST IN PERSONAL MORALITY
AND PIETY, BUT IN RESPONSIBLE AND COM-

PASSIONATE AND JUST POLITICAL ACTION.

AND SO THERE IS A PRESBYTERIAN

ETHOS, A STYLE, A WAY OF BEING A CHURCH.

AUTHORITY HERE IS NOT IN THE
HIERARCHY, BUT THE PEOPLE WHO ELECT
REPRESENTATIVES: ELDERS. A PRESBYTERI-
AN PARTICULAR IS TO BE VERY SUSPICIOUS
OF AUTHORITY WHICH IS NOT REPRESENTA-
TIVE. A MINISTER CAN'T MAKE MANY DECI-
SIONS WITHOUT THE SESSION. WE HAVE NO

BISHOPS AND WE GET NERVOUS WHEN ANYONE

14

STARTS ACTING LIKE ONE. WE CALL OUR
HIGHEST OFFICERS MODERATOR AND CLERK,

NOT TERRIBLY EXALTED TITLES.

AND THIS MATTER OF CONSCIENCE. THE
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF JOHN CALVIN HAVE
BEEN EVERYWHERE ON THE SIDE OF LIBERTY
IN THE POLITICAL ARENA. IT WAS AN
IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR ME WHEN IN FRESHMAN
GOVERNMENT I HAD TO READ JOHN CALVIN ON
THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY. JOHN KNOX, A
DISCIPLE OF CALVIN, TOOK PRESBYTERIANISM
BACK TO SCOTLAND AND FOMENTED A REVOLU-
TION WHICH RESULTED IN FREEDOM OF RELI~
GION AND CONSCIENCE. PRESBYTERIANS WERE
HERE, ON THIS CONTINENT, IN 1640 AND BY
THE TIME OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION HAD
STRONGLY SIDED WITH THE PATRIOT CAUSE.
WILLIAM Pitt, ON THE FLOOR OF PARLIAMENT
CALLED THE SKIRMISH IN THE COLONIES "THE

PRESBYTERIAN REVOLT.” THE ONLY CLERGY TO

15

SIGN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS
ONE OF OURS, JOHN WITHERSPOON, MINISTER
AND PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE oF NEW
JERSEY. YOU WILL FIND THE PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH PRESSING FOR PERSONAL FREEDOM ALL
ALONG THE OFTEN CONTROVERSIAL POLITICAL
SPECTRUM. WE WERE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN
THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT; WE ARE HIS-
TORICALLY OPPOSED TO ANY GOVERNMENT
COERCION OF CONSCIENCE; WE ARE FOR THE
DIGNITY AND RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS TO

DETERMINE THEIR OWN DESTINY.

AND EDUCATION: THE MAJORITY OF THE
COLLEGES IN THE COLONIES AND POST-COLO-
NIAL PERIOD WERE STARTED BY PRESBYTERI-
ANS AND OTHER REFORMED CHURCHES, AND
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SOME SIXTY COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES TODAY ARE STILL RELATED
TO THE PRESBYTERIAN CHurcH. Lake For-

EST, MILLIKIN, MONMOUTH IN ILLZNOIS.

16

ONE OF OUR VERY DISTINGUISHED

THEOLOGIANS, EDWARD FARLEY, SAYS,

"IF WE HAVE A GENIUS IT 15 NOT SO MUCH
SOME DISTINCTIVE DEPOSIT OF DOCTRINE AS
TT IS A WAY OF TRANSCENDING OUR DEPOSTT-
ED TRADITIONS UNDER THE CONSTANT NAGGING
PRESSURE OF THE QUESTION OF TRUTH.”

[THE PRESBYTERIAN PREDICAMENT, P, 52]
BECAUSE WE BELIEVE so PASSIONATELY IN
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD AND THE HUMAN
CONSCIENCE, WE BELIEVE THE QUESTION OF
TRUTH IS AN OPEN ONE AND THAT WE ARE
CALLED TO SEEK THE TRUTH WITH OUR MINDS
AND HEARTS AND SPIRITS. WE BELIEVE THAT
SCIENCE AND ACADEMIC INQUIRY ARE HOLY
PURSUITS, NEVER, NEVER THE ENEMY OF

RELIGION.

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ONE OF THE GREAT MOMENTS IN THE
HISTORY OF THIS CONGREGATION, IN FACT,
WAS WHEN Davip SWING, ONE OF ITS PASTORS
IN THE YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WAS
TRIED FOR HERESY BY THE PRESBYTERY OF
CHICAGO FOR SAYING THAT “CHURCH CONFES-~
SIONS WERE NOT DEPOSITS OF ABSOLUTE
TRUTH BUT STATEMENTS HAVING A USEFUL
FUNCTION FOR A SPECIFIC TIME AND SITUA-

TION.” THE PRESBYTERY EXONERATED HIM.

QUR HERITAGE:

“INDIVEDUAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL-

ETIES IN CHURCH AND WORLD;
“THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH AND THE LIFE

OF THE MIND, COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION;

“COMMITMENT TO THE LIFE OF FAITH IN

18

THE WORLD.

I BELIEVE THIS IS A PRECIOUS AND IMPOR-
TANT INHERITANCE AND THAT THE LIFE OF
THE WORLD, THE NATION, THE COMMUNITY,
WOULD BE IMMEASURABLY POORER WITHOUT
THEM. YOU WILL NOT HEAR MUCH ABOUT THAT
KIND OF RELIGION. How TRAGIC IF MIND-
LESS PIETY, NOT GPEN TO NEW TRUTH, WERE
ALL THE CULTURE EVER HEARD ABOUT CHRIS-

TIANITY,

FARLEY THINKS, AND I BELIEVE, THAT
THE PHRASE THAT BEST DESCRIBES US IS

"CRITICAL MODERNISM."

WE ACCEPT SCIENCE ~- SCIENTIFIC
INQUIRY, NOT AS THE ONLY ARBITER OF
TRUTH, BUT AS A GIFT OF GOD AND A HUMAN

RESPONSIBILITY,

19

WE ARE NOT BIBLICAL LITERALISTS.
WE BELIEVE IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO
ENGAGE IN HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE
BIBLE. WE SHOULDN'T HIDE THAT OR BE
SHAMED OF IT. WE SHOULD CELEBRATE IT
AND TEACH OUR CHILDREN THAT THE TRUTH OF
SCRIPTURE IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE HUMAN
INTELLECT WHEN IT IS DOING WHAT IT DOES

BEST - CHALLENGES, PROBES, QUESTIONS.

AND WE ARE "MODERNISTS," A WORD
“OFTEN USED AS A CRITICISM. WE LIVE IN
THIS WORLD. OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND
BODIES BELONG TO GOP, BUT WE LIVE IN THE
YEAR 1994, AND FRANKLY WE ARE FAR MORE
CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE THAN WE ARE
ABOUT THE PAST ~~ THE WORLD WE ARE
GIVING TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHIL~
DREN, THAN THE WORLD OF OUR GRANDPAR~

ENTS,

20

AND I'M A PRESBYTERIAN BECAUSE I

CHOOSE TO STAND IN A LINE GF OTHERS WHO
HAVE FAITHFULLY WITNESSED To Gop'’s LOVE
AND GRACE IN JESUS CHRIST AND THE CONSE-

QUENT SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPERATIVES.

I'm aA PRESBYTERIAN BECAUSE OF THE
WITNESS OF MY CHURCH IN THE WORLD. I aM
A MEMBER OF OUR CHURCH'S BoarRD oF PEN-
SIONS. WE MET LAST WEEK IN CALIFORNIA
AND WHILE THERE VISITED A RETIREMENT
FACILITY FOR MISSION PERSONNEL AT
BUARTE. WE OWN THE FACILITY BECAUSE
RETIRED MISSIONARIES DON’T HAVE MUCH OF
ANYTHING: NO HOME, NO EQUITY, OFTEN NO
FURNITURE AND NO SAVINGS. I WAS DEEPLY

TOUCHED,

I MET AND TALKED WITH A WOMAN WHO
WITH HER HUSBAND HAD TAUGHT FOR FORTY

YEARS AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN

21

BEIRUT, A VERY CRITICAL UNIVERSITY START-
ED BY HER HUSBAND'S GREAT-GRANDFATHER, A
PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN THE 1860s.

HER HUSBAND WAS A FOURTH GENERATION
PRESBYTERIAN MISSION WORKER TO TEACH AT
AMERICAN University. (Curcaco BuLis’
GUARD STEVE KERR IS THE SON OF THE
DISTINGUISHED PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY, CLARK KERR, WHO WAS ASSASSI-

NATED BY TERRORISTS SOME YEARS AGO.)

AND I WAS HOSTED ON OUR VISIT BY
RALPH AND FLORENCE GALLOWAY, FORTY YEARS
IN CENTRAL AFRICA. HE AS A PASTOR AND
LINGUIST WHO SPENT HIS LIFE DEVELOPING
WRITTEN LANGUAGE FOR TRIBAL PEOPLE WHOSE
DIALECT WAS ONLY SPOKEN AND WHO THERE-
FORE HAD NO WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE
OUTSIDE WORLD. SHE, A PUBLIC HEALTH
NURSE, SPECIALIZING IN FAMILY PLANNING

AND WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES.

22

SHE HAD LOTS OF PICTURES OF BABIES. THEY
WERE PROUD OF THEIR FIRST REFRIGERATOR

AND A COMPUTER.

AND I ATE DINNER WITH OLD FRIENDS,
Dr. AND Mrs. NorVAL CHRISTY; HE AN EYE
SURGEON, SHE HIS NURSE AND SURGICAL
ASSISTANT. AT THE PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
IN TAXILA, PAKISTAN, DR. AND Mrs.
CHRISTY DEVELOPED CATARACT SURGERY
TECHNIQUES THAT ALLOWED THEIR TEAM OF
PAKISTANIS TO DO 150 CATARACT OPERATIONS
A DAY, EVERY DAY. PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER
THE WORLD CAME TO WATCH AND LEARN.
“WHAT’S GOING ON IN TAXILA THESE DAYS,"
T askep. Dr. CHRISTY DOESN'T TALK MUCH.
“THEY DO IT NOW," HE SAZD. "WHO," I
ASKED. "THEM, MY PAKISTANT DOCTORS. I
TRAINED SEVEN OF THEM AND THEY ARE
EXPANDING THE CLINIC." "CHRISTIANS?" I

ASKED. "YES, ALL SEVEN."

23

fi

I'm A PRESBYTERIAN BECAUSE I LOVE
THIS FAMILY AND WHAT ET MEANS AND DOES.
IN BErRuT, PAKISTAN AND ZAIRE ... IN
GREAT AMERICAN CHURCHES LIKE NASSAU
PRESBYTERIAN IN PRINCETON, FIFTH AVENUE
IN NEW YorK, PEACH TREE IN ATLANTA, IN
PHILADELPHIA, PITTSBURGH, CLEVELAND,
DENVER, DALLAS, SEATTLE, SAN FRANCISCO,
CHICAGO ~ LARGE, FAITHFUL, ROBUST,
LIVELY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN THE
CITY; AND IN DECATUR, ALTON AND SPRING~
FIELD - 11,000 CONGREGATIONS. AND HERE
IN CHICAGO AT 64TH AND KIMBARK, FIRST
PRESBYTERIAN, AND SECOND CHURCH AT
MICHIGAN AND 20TH; 130 oF US IN AND
AROUND THE CITY, A NEW CONGREGATION IN
HOFFMAN ESTATES, A STORE FRONT IN HuM-
BOLDT PARK, THE CENTER FOR WHOLE LIFE IN
CABRINI-GREEN, AND CHILDREN TUTORED AND

HOUSES BUILT AND HOMELESS FED. Gop’s

24

LOVE EXPRESSED IN THE WORLD BY PRESBYTE-
RIAN CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUAL PRESBYTERI-

AN CHRISTIANS.

No ONE PUTS NEW WINE IN OLD WINE-
SKINS JESUS ONCE SAID. IT IS SURELY THE
CLEAREST THING HE EVER SAID. No TRADI-
TION SURVIVES WHICH DOES NOT ALWAYS SEEK

NEW WAYS TO BE EXPRESSED AND CELESRATED.

JT. S. ELIOT WROTE AN ESSAY ABOUT

TRADITION ONCE IN WHICH HE SAID THAT

\“FRADITION I$ NOT SOMETHING YOU
INHERIT.... THAT IF YOU WANT TRADITION
YOU MUST OBTAIN IT WITH GREAT LABOR.

YoU MUST OBTAIN IT WITH INTELLECTUAL
TOIL, EXISTENTIAL ENGAGEMENT, CONTESTA-
TION AND INTERROGATION.” [SEE CORNELL
West IN CRITERION, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

DrvinzITyY SCHOOL, SPRING/SUMMER, 1994]

25

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BE FAITHFUL.
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO RESPOND TO
CHRIST'S CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP. PRESBY-
TERIANISM IS ONE, NOT THE ONLY ONE. BUT
IT IS OURS, YOURS AND MINE FOR A WHILE:
TO ENJOY, CELEBRATE, AND EMPLOY IN THE
WAY WE WORK OUT GUR OWN VOCATIONS. AND,
ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER UNIQUE CHURCH
TRADITIONS, THIS ONE, I THINK, IS TO BE
APPRECIATED AND RESPECTED. IT IS A GIFT
TO US TO BE HANDED ON TO OTHERS, GENERA-

TION TO GENERATION. AMEN.

26