The Definitive Answer to the ARP Women’s Deacon Issue - Stephen Jordan

Hey, what is an Associate Reformed Presbyterian?” Hollered the man from his car to the ARP Pastor. The pastor, without missing a beat replied, “Well, if you're not reformed we don’t associate with you”. That clever answer was met with a laugh, and the man did visit, did join, and eventually become an elder. He eventually found out what an Associate Reformed was and decided he wanted to be one. Why did you?

At the heart of any organization’s health is its identity. Who are we? What is an Associate Reformed Presbyterian?

Well, good news, the ARP’s churches, presbyteries, and Synod have done a great deal of strategic planning throughout the years. A 2007 Vision report presented to Synod gave way to the 2008 strategic planning committee to answer this question. Great resources were expended to produce a plan that I am not sure many read. This is evidenced by a motion that was brought this year to do it again. That motion failed mainly because many did not know what happened with the 2007 efforts. Many things have occurred. Our denomination is in the midst of some reorganization as well as a new slate of denomination officers. We are thankful for those striving valiantly for this denominations health and vitality. But who are we?

What does it mean to be ARP? That is a question that must have a good answer if we are going to thrive. The kingdom of God is assailed from within and without. Those who strive to glorify Christ will draw plenty of people rooting for failure and death. Over the course of our history we have drawn our fair share of attacks. This is coupled with a very real truth found in organizational leadership law; every church, every organization, every political system has an expiration date. That issue was dealt with in our magazine which can be found here: "Your Church has an Expiration Date". www.modernpubsonline.com/0A43cmq/ ARPMagazineNovDec21/html/index.html?page=6&origin=reader

The summary of that article was that we can extend our expiration date if we have an identity. This is how the ARP has been beating the odds since 1782. While the average lifespan of a fortune 500 company in the 1920’s was around 75 years, today it is less than 18 years. If you research the average lifespan of a church you will may find yourself shocked and discouraged. How the ARP has lasted to over two centuries without schism is a great testimony to the Lord’s faithfulness that has drawn us together. That faithfulness has been found in the Psalm that we close every presbytery and Synod meeting, Psalm 133.

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psalm 133

I was not raised in the ARP, but having the middle name Erskine meant that I needed to get here as fast as I could. I was exposed to reformed theology and presbyterian polity in a sister denomination during college. The first day of summer greek, our very own Professor Cara, explained Psalm 133 “Being with other believers should be this wonderful thing, as precious as this sacred oil that could only be put on head of the high priest at this very sacred time. If done wrong, the sentence was death. But it should be more than that. It should be refreshing. The Jews could see Mt. Hermon’s snow capped mountains and they believed that on a hot summer day, God melted some of that snow and sprinkled it upon Zion” and with that explanation, we sang Psalm 133.

Psalm 133 reminded me of a commercial from last century. A poor woman would cry out, “Calgon, take me away” as she melted into a tub. Is our church, our presbytery, our synod like that? Does the communion of saints wash away the trials and tribulations of the world. Do we experience this and truly feel as if we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). The test of our church doing well is simple; When I am with these people do I feel like I am being taken away from this world, set apart, being made holy, given a calling from the Lord.

There is a second test and, yes, another commercial illustration. Do you recall the magically teleportation device that could only take a person to the snowy alps. “When I bite into a York peppermint patty....” Is church, presbytery, and synod superior to York peppermint patties? Does the communion of saints carry you from the heat of this fallen world to refreshment? The test of our church doing well is simple; When I am with these people do I feel like the dew of Hermon has descended upon Zion.

Calvin argued that this psalm presents two ways of farming and invokes Moses. Moses was raised in Egypt, a place that was watered from below, when the rivers overran the banks and made a swampy, smelly mess, the crops were then planted. Moses promise to the Israelites was a place watered by God from above when the dew of heaven fell upon the land (Deuteronomy 11). Wouldn’t it be great to be part of a organization like that? A place that was situated directly below one of the Lord’s windows in heaven?

Is that not what Associate Reformed Presbyterian is at our very core? That is why I came into this denomination.

  

 In 2001, the synod was still meeting in the chapel as the YAB was yet to be built. There was a great battle on the floor. One pastor rose in support of a motion and claimed to stand on the side of heaven, another pastor rose against and claimed fidelity to Christ’s kingdom in his opposition. They spoke with passion and conviction. The motion was either passed or defeated, I do not recall. But what I did recall was after their battle, those two titans walked out of the chapel together and were talking like old friends. So I stopped the men and introduced myself as a student. I then told them that I had seen them fighting on the floor and wanted to know how could they walk together now after such a great fight. One pastor laughed and said, “Oh this is one of my oldest and dearest friends who loves me enough to let me be wrong, we are going to lunch.” Both on the floor and off the floor, they were brothers who loved one another well. Brothers who fought for their convictions, yes. Brothers who fought fair, yes. Both pointed to scripture as their only rule of faith and practice, yes. And, wonder of wonders, they accomplished this while attempting to love God and love one another. They were like anointing oil to a student looking for priesthood. They were like dew from Hermon for a young man longing for refreshing.

This year, I found myself in the familiar place of sitting in the back, observing, while a contentious issue raged. Women deacons. I was glad to hear many of the things that were said. I was proud of the way the court handled one another with love and respect...for the most part. There were a few comments from both sides of the issue that I found to be less than helpful. Often passion burns brightly in these moments and things are said that do not get us moving forward. On the other hand, it is wonderful to see a lot of passion around this issue because it showed a deep and abiding desire, by both sides, to please Christ Jesus. I am profoundly indebted to Dr. Cara for his paper and for Dr. Evans/Dr. Ross for their work on the subject. Does more work need to be done? Yes. Mr. Lauten’s motion for a study committee was a great remedy to continue moving us forward with a psalm 133 heart. Furthermore, I am thankful for the two brothers who have written on the topic for this blog which goes to the heart of the answer to our question; What is an Associate Reformed Presbyterian?

Do you know how incredibly rare it is to see brothers engage one another on this topic without becoming mortal enemies and conspire to build coalitions bent on winning by destroying the other. In my last 20+ years being part of this marvelous place, I have seen factions created and die just as quick because of who we are. The fact is that for an ARP, the very thought of damaging our fellowship over this issue is anathema. It is contrary to our deep and abiding identity. We, the ARP, are a people striving to honor Christ and love one another. We are Psalm 133 people.

Will the women deacon issue destroy the ARP? Whether or not this issue destroys the ARP will be determined by whether or not we are brothers who dwell together in unity (Psalm 133). Our fathers dwelled together in unity in the 1970’s when this issue was last decided. It was a time of great turmoil and schism was rushing headlong to our fathers in the faith. There were enough psalm 133 people in the room to hold this place together and give us this great heritage. We stand on their shoulders. What will destroy us? When we cease to be psalm 133 people, only then will we be done. This does not mean we dwell together in uniformity. Like marriage, we need to fight but we need to fight fair. Fights are important because these matters are important. Fair fights bring forth unity because it carries the parties towards Christ. This fight is one that will shape our denomination in the years to come. That shaping will be done more by how we arrive at the decision than the decision itself. What is an Associate Reformed Presbyterian?

We are a people unified in Christ. Unity is the hard work we have done as we boldly attempt to connect with other redeemed sinners by God’s anointing with Aaron’s oil and His watering with Herman’s dew. It is good for the ARP to contend for the faith and call one another to wrestle with God and His Word on issues. What a great issue for us to work on together. Let those struggles be bathed in the high priestly anointing of Christ and let the dews of heaven fall upon our labors.

This is what it means to be an Associate Reformed Presbyterian. This is what it means to thrive as a denomination. This is our identity. We belong to Christ and it is His anointing that washes over our weary world.... It is His dew that waters the fields we now work. Let us seek to honor His gifts by our love for Him and one another. We are a people striving to dwell together in unity to please the Lord. Together we will find God’s definitive answer to the deacon question that is before us, If... we dare to behold a good a thing it is when brothers dwell together in unity.