In what may be its clearest move in a long line of recommendations that conservative Presbyterians give their money to anything but the denomination, the Presbyterian Lay Committee has adopted a "Declaration of Conscience."

The statement opens with a declaration that "spiritual schism exists within the Presbyterian Church (USA) because of a deep and irreconcilable disunion among its members over the person and work of Jesus Christ, the authority of God's Word written, and God's call to a holy life. We are two faiths within one denomination." The statement concludes that "without systemic change, the PCUSA will collapse."

In light of the coming collapse, the Lay Committee urges "those who remain committed to reform and renewal of the PCUSA and those who are seriously studying new forms of our connectional life ... to work together for the glory of God and the strengthening of His witness in the world."

The concrete way of doing this, of course, is the tactic that the Lay Committee has pressed for years: encouraging Presbyterians to use their dollars for anything but "the General Assembly per-capita budget or the unrestricted mission budget of the PCUSA."

Scroll down for the full text of the Lay Committee statement.

A Declaration of Conscience
By The Presbyterian Lay Committee

[10-29-03]

In recent years, the Presbyterian Lay Committee has become increasingly concerned over the erosion of our denomination's faith and life. We have prayerfully considered what God is saying to us in the midst of this crisis. With sorrow, we have concluded that spiritual schism exists within the Presbyterian Church (USA) because of a deep and irreconcilable disunion among its members over the person and work of Jesus Christ, the authority of God's Word written, and God's call to a holy life. We are two faiths within one denomination.

We grieve with our faithful brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church (USA), whose General Convention rejected the clear teachings of Scripture and 2,000 years of Christian tradition by its recent actions. We believe the same dynamics that precipitated this crisis in the Anglican Communion exist within the PCUSA. As a result, our denomination hovers on the brink of a comparable catastrophe. The Covenant Network has already announced that it will seek the repeal of the definitive interpretation of our ordination standards at the 2004 General Assembly and that it will support a full-scale assault on those standards at the 2006 General Assembly.

The Presbyterian Lay Committee believes that it is unconscionable to remain passive while some groups train their followers to subvert the Constitution and denominational officials undermine it by their refusal to require compliance. We believe that any compromise with proponents of a false gospel -- no matter how laudable the desire for peace and unity that may engender such initiatives -- will further erode our denomination's integrity and delay the day of decision that will ultimately come.

We believe that God has called us individually to be faithful stewards of all that He has entrusted to us, and has called us as officers of our congregations to ensure that offerings are consistently used to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and carry out His Great Commission. We no longer believe that either the General Assembly per-capita budget or the unrestricted mission budget of the PCUSA is worthy of support. We encourage all individuals and sessions to exercise their stewardship responsibility and right to determine how money entrusted to them is spent. We likewise encourage prayerful study as to whether their General Assembly per-capita contribution should be redirected and/or their mission gifts restricted to ministries at home and abroad that are demonstrably faithful to the gospel.

At particular moments in history, God's people have been challenged to choose between the idols of their culture and faith in the living God. We believe this is such a time. We reluctantly conclude that because of our spiritual division, without systemic change, the PCUSA will collapse.

Therefore, we affirm and encourage the efforts of those who remain committed to reform and renewal of the PCUSA and those who are seriously studying new forms of our connectional life. We urge all who share continued commitment to Holy Scripture as the infallible rule of faith and practice to work together for the glory of God and the strengthening of His witness in the world.
 

Adopted this 18th day of October 2003 by the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, meeting in Philadelphia, Pa.