Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick
First Presbyterian Church, East Aurora
Pastor - Rev. Langdon C. (Buddy) Hubbard, III
1 PM, Saturday, May 9, 2009
Summary of Lecture by Janita Byars

As the B. Gibson Lewis Jr. Memorial guest speaker at the First Presbyterian Church in East Aurora, Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, former Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and current President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), addressed both national and international trends, concerns, and opportunities.  He first addressed the question:  Is there a future for the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Although acknowledging the church’s long-standing and continuing global outreach, he pointed to the local “missionary setting,” within which the contemporary church lives.  Qualities of this mission include the need for moral values and social justice, the growing multi-cultural nature of USA culture, and the sense of and need for the spiritual nature of the Gospel.  In the shift from the Presbytery- to church-based mission/outreach,

Challenges include the decline in membership and congregational vitality, a sense of “survival mentality” (rather than “life”), partisan and interest group contention, and a lack of a sense of common mission.  The need for a new common commitment is clear. 

There are six areas that serve as reasons for hope:

1.   The Presbyterian Church has a theological foundation second to none.

The Book of Order and Constitution are visionary as well as functional.  The foundation of the Presbyterian Church is based on Jesus Christ as the living head of the church and on his vision as our mission. 

2.   The Presbyterian Church is making a difference for Christ in this nation.

Presbyterian churches have historically worked in support of human freedom - rebuilding Southern churches, for example – and in support of educating the young.  (In Mexico and Guatemala, the Presbyterian Church is the largest Protestant denomination.)

3.   The Presbyterian Church is making a difference for Christ around the world.

Kirkpatrick is converted over and over again when he sees believers around the world.  Half of the world’s Presbyterians are in Africa.  Hungary has the strongest Reformed church.  However, in Kenya, Presbyterians and those of the Reformed church kill each other.  African diplomats played a role in liberalization in China when they demanded the right to open churches.  Presbyterians are successful with international partnerships.  So, how do we work with those partnerships to revitalize ourselves?

4.   The Presbyterian Church has ten outstanding seminaries.  Their excellence is inclusive of faculty and students.

5.   To “be” Presbyterian is to “be ecumenical , by nature and instinct.”

The Presbyterian Church is the most active, ecumenically, anywhere.  Our enemies are the hatred and fear of “…isms.”  We must learn to live together more successfully.

6.   There are vital congregations where the Holy Spirit is at work.

This includes, particularly, multi-cultural congregations (Minneapolis, Louisville, and Pasadena, for example)

Other comments included the following points:
• “Doctrinal” must not be “doctrinaire.”
• Say, “Yes!” to the future.  If we are consumed by problems, that will, in itself, destroy us.
• We must set aside distrust.
• “Where there is no vision, the people will perish.”
• (See C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, defining strategies to get Christians to implode.  Therefore, “Say, ‘No!’ to screwtape.”)
• Teams of Christian and Islamic leaders are working to identify common words and beliefs.  We share the “Great Commandment.”  Our propensity for ecumenicism will serve us well.  (See the document:  “A Common Word between Us and You.)
• Church growth and recruitment may be tied to fundamentalism, but two important elements are combined:  fundamental beliefs and openness/ inclusiveness.
• Concerns include:
   i. Lack of acceptance of others.
   ii. Diminishing number of families with children.
   iii. Need to focus on what people have/believe in common, not what distinguishes them apart from each other.
   iv. More and more youth believe there is no need for religion.
   v. Difficulty in being one congregation when there are two different worship styles/times.
• Hopes include:
   i. More dialogues, rather than divisions.
   ii. Focus on the “middle” ground.
   iii. Providing service opportunities for youth.
   iv. New structures within presbyteries and churches.