The Good Ship PCUSA – Day 5

For several days we have been looking at the “unsmooth sailing” in the PCUSA. Let’s be honest… the PCUSA is in the midst of a Category 5 hurricane! Today we will look at strategies on saving a damaged sailboat while in the midst of the storm.

Heave to: Most sailboats are designed so that they can “heave to.” “Heaving to,” without going into all of the technical sailing stuff, allows the boat to point just off the wind, slow to an almost stop and make the motion of the boat more bearable. The crew can go below and get some rest. This is a good way for a crew to battle the fatigue that accompanies sailing through a storm. The PCUSA needs to “heave to” for a period of time. This period of time can allow the church to pray about the future, plan, rest, make difficult decision and then get under way again. This period of time can allow a close inspection of the good ship PCUSA to see the true state of the ship—what kind of damage has it sustained and how should that damage be dealt with.

Keep water out: It is imperative to keep water out of the boat! A broken hatch or missing companionway boards will doom a sailboat to the bottom of the ocean in a hurricane. A hole in the hull requires immediate action in order to have a chance of saving the boat. The PCUSA has been “taking on water” during the thirty-year ordination battle. By the way, the battle isn’t about ordination—it is about the authority and interpretation of scripture! In preparation for delivering the sailboat to Belize a thorough inspection was done of the boat. A very small leak was found—it allowed about a quarter cup of water into the boat every 24 hours. This was a new boat! While making the boat a worker mistakenly used the wrong screw to secure a bathroom (called a “head” on a boat) fixture to the floor of the bathroom. The tip of the screw just barely penetrated the hull of the boat. That entire section of the hull had to be repaired before we could make the journey! Such a small hole could eventually cause a catastrophic failure of the hull. In the PCUSA we keep “turning a blind eye” to small amounts of water entering the hull. Some will argue that it is only a few Presbyteries or churches where this is happening. It makes no difference if it is one Presbytery or ten Presbyteries. The hole will eventually cause catastrophic damage to the PCUSA.

A sea anchor or drogue: There are times when storm tactics require that a boat slows down. In extremely steep seas it is very dangerous to have a boat racing down the face of a wave--at the bottom of that wave the bow of the boat can be buried into the base of the next wave. Very bad!!! There are various devices that can be deployed to slow the boat down so that this doesn’t happen. I know that the Presbyterian Church moves forward about as quickly as a glacier. Yet, when making decisions that could cause the PCUSA sink the denomination needs to move very slowly. It has been said that most American families are two pay checks away from being homeless and on the street. The PCUSA is one General Assembly decision away from being blown apart! If such a decision is to be made it should be made only after prayer and careful thought.

Keeping damage from causing more damage: Many a sailboat has lost its mast and rigging while at sea (sometimes in very calm conditions). Those broken parts need to be secured so that they do not cause more damage. The jagged end of a broken mast can put a hole in the hull of the boat. If the broken parts cannot be secured then they must be removed from the boat. In the PCUSA this would be called church discipline. When a church or Presbytery breaks one of the “rules” of the denomination it needs to be dealt with quickly and severely. It may be necessary to remove the “damaged” part.

An emergency patch for the hull: A hole in the hull of a boat is VERY serious and demands quick action. There are various ways to slow down the amount of water entering through the hole. Large holes below the waterline cannot be fixed while at sea. It is possible to deal with smaller holes and save the vessel. This last General Assembly put a hole in the hull of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is infuriating to see how the “crew” of the PCUSA is dealing with that hole. Our moderator openly says that the PCUSA is experiencing major difficulties. Good for her!! The rest of the GA leadership has done basically nothing to deal with that hole!

The PCUSA as we know it has been damaged. It is possible that it can be saved. A “wait and see” attitude will allow that damage to spread and eventually sink the boat. Repairs need to be made immediately.