93 :: Redeemer Presbyterian Church

 

This evening, we worshiped at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in South Charlotte, a congregation that is part of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Redeemer meets in the chapel on the campus of Reformed Theological Seminary, which is around the corner from our home. RTS has a clear alignment with the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America). I have met some of the professors at RTS, and I believe they are all PCA church attendees. It is no surprise that an OPC church is on the campus of RTS, as the OPC is a strictly Reformed branch of Presbyterianism, a theology that is deeply rooted in Calvinism.

This was a noteworthy church visit in that it invigorated my already-high interest in Presbyterianism and its labyrinthian denominational pathways. 

Before we dive in to particulars of our visit, let's cover a bit about the myriad forms of Presbyterianism.

The Presbyterian family tends toward disunion more often than other denominations. There is PCA (Presbyterian Church in America), PCUSA (Presbyterian Church of the USA) , EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), ECO (Evangelical Covenant Order), ARP (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) and OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church). 

And that is only in the US! This tendency toward schism runs deeply within the collective psyche of Presbyterianism, to say the least. 

Here is a picture of what Presbyterianism can look like through an historical lens:

The multiple parts of Presbyterianism are experiencing different demographic shifts. All segments show some numerical growth, with the exception of the PCUSA, which has lost more than three million members since 1965. The PCUSA is likely to go below one million active members in the next few years, a first for the denomination.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church [link] came into being in the United States during the 1930s. The rationale for this group of Presbyterians to break off from the larger body of Presbyterianism goes back to a theological dispute over modernism. I learned from my research that the OPC came into existence to stand against societal standards that were starting to change that time. The OPC came into being to protect conservative doctrines from what were perceived as vacillating and unorthodox movements in the larger culture. 

Today, there are slightly over 30,000 members in OPC churches.

The changing demographics in the US are also impacting Presbyterianism. At the founding of the United States, about twenty-five percent of the population was Presbyterian. Now it is around two percent. To learn more about the demographics of Presbyterianism in the United States, see this article [link], from the OPC website. 

This stuff is really interesting to me. 

Beth was raised as a Methodist, which was her father's denomination. Her mother grew up in the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. I grew up Congregationalist, but was raised by two parents who were both brought up as Presbyterians. My parents attended a Presbyterian church in Florida during the latter years of their marriage, before my father's passing. My mom still sporadically attends that church from time to time. And I attended a Presbyterian church for twenty-five years. 

As such, the description of how Presbyterianism has diminished, flourished (in pockets) and changed over the last century is part of my personal story and my family's story. Without presuming to speak for them, my candid assessment is that my siblings have no connection to Presbyterianism at all. I don't believe any of my children have an active connection to the denomination at this phase of their lives.

With all of this knowledge as a backdrop, Beth, MC and I walked into Redeemer Presbyterian Church at 5:30 this evening. This was the evening worship, as the congregation had had worship in the morning, followed by their Sunday school hour, which ended mid-day. 

About forty-five people were in attendance. Most everyone was in a familial group, with some older single people. There were about ten children in attendance. We were handed a bulletin and took our seats in the large chapel that had chairs lined up in rows. 

One thing that was noteworthy was the way people were dressed. Several of the men had suits and ties on. Most of the women were wearing long skirts. It was a traditional presentation that can be a bit harder to find these days. Despite its reduced frequency, such formality at a church service can definitely still be found.

The service lasted about one hour, with piano music accompanying the hymns throughout. One interesting fixture of the church was when the pastor asked the congregation what music they would like to sing. People called out a few hymn names and numbers from their seats, and the congregation sang those hymns. 

That was very unique.

Here are a couple of the hymns that we sang, in video format:

The preaching was two-fold, with Licentiate David Vogel giving an overview of the Westminster Confession of Faith's stance on baptism. In it, he elaborated why immersion in water was not an essential facet of the act of baptizing. He also explained why it is acceptable to baptize an infant, liking it to circumcision - something that we do on a child's behalf to  welcome them into the community of God, but not something that we do based on the consent of the child.

Beth and I discussed this, and we do not conform to this understanding. Water baptism is symbolic, but it is also an essential milestone in a salvation experience. There are literally dozens of Bible verses that address the issue of baptism, both baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit. The one that is most impactful to me is John 3:5, in which Yeshua says, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." It doesn't seem likely that water baptism could occur without your awareness and consent, while the baptism in the Holy Spirit would require your awareness and consent. It would seem that both must be a choice and both are essential parts of being "baptized into Christ" (Romans 6:3). 

Nonetheless, this was an interesting exploration of both Reformed and Presbyterian theology.

The sermon was given by Pastor Cliff Blair. It dug into Psalm 119 and the section that correlates to the Hebrew letter vav. As a reminder, Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and it is broken up into multiple sections that correspond to each of the twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Vav is roughly equivalent to the letter V, although it can be used as a vowel sound for ee, oo, and oh with only minor modifications via a niqqud dot.

Pastor Blair spoke to these verses:

May your unfailing love come to me, LORD,

    your salvation, according to your promise;

then I can answer anyone who taunts me,

    for I trust in your word.

Never take your word of truth from my mouth,

    for I have put my hope in your laws.

I will always obey your law,

    for ever and ever.

I will walk about in freedom,

    for I have sought out your precepts.

I will speak of your statutes before kings

    and will not be put to shame,

for I delight in your commands

    because I love them.

I reach out for your commands, which I love,

    that I may meditate on your decrees.

Pastor Blair elaborated on the concepts of freedom and liberty, pointing out the stark difference between what freedom means in the Bible versus what it means in the world. He also detailed out the multiple ways that the word "word" was used in the original Hebrew.

It was an excellent and interesting sermon. Pastor Blair kept appealing to the congregants' "biblical understanding" as a way of unpackaging the meaning of Psalm 119. We felt pretty certain that all of these people did indeed have a solid "biblical understanding".

At the end, we had a benediction and a small section of music, then everyone got up.

As sometimes happens during a church visit, these people showed a great deal of interest in us. Pastor Blair and multiple other people stood around us and asked many questions, showing particular interest in this blog and our spiritual journey. We carried on a comfortable and affable conversation for quite a while, then we departed and the three of us stepped out into the Carolina spring evening.

If you have picked up from this post that I found this to be a very interesting church visit, you would be correct. For me, the Presbyterian denominations are a very interesting subject. I always feel a special affinity with each and every part of it. And there is precious little that coheres the various branches of Presbyterianism to one another, so why I feel this connection so broadly is a bit of a mystery.

One observation that Beth made really struck home. These Presbyterians were not worldly Christians. They were modest and understated in every way, except for their intelligence and friendliness. They were kind people with a time-tested liturgy that has yet to embrace the contemporary approach. 

But a question does arise - is there a price to be paid by going into the contemporary church format?

My bias is to say, "No, modernity in format and orthodoxy in theology makes for the optimal combination. We need to harness the mandate of the Great Commission with everything we have available to us, while never compromising the message." The future vitality of the church will require us to use all of the technology and production capabilities that the world has to offer. By doing that, we can make the gospel visible to more people. 

With that said, it also does my heart good to know that there will always be traditional, gentle and mild congregations in the Body of Christ, like Redeemer Presbyterian Church. This congregation is definitively those things.

Thanks to Redeemer for our enjoyable visit to their fine church.