I'm ordained by a presbytery of the PCA.
As I look at this list, I see a bunch of denominations that are virtually identical. I think the Kingdom of Christ would be better served by at least some of these denominations merging.
I'm not arguing for an OPC/PCA merger (as other folks have done here and elsewhere), but in a situation where you have 2 really solid Reformed churches in one area that agree on the same issues, wouldn't their resources be better served together than apart? If anything, it would help with consistency.
A Reformed Dream
I would agree if they did agree but they don't agree and that is why they are separate. In fact they won't agree on what they should agree about to agree, so they could merge. They differ on that too.
In fact the OPC often claims to hold to the WC closer and they don't even allow exceptions, so instead they are loose subscriptionists and just let people have their exceptions and not record them or discipline them whereas the PCA say they are strict or full subscriptionists but you can take an exception, but at least they record them and are supposed to make sure that you don't teach it and don't hold to any others.
But discipline is so weak in the churches, we all want to be nice to each other and I think that is actually what causes division.
If we mandated total and strict subscription to a confession then we could all unite and submit to the Presbytery as we should instead of being independent and thinking we are smarter than the manifold wisdom of the presbytery. And we would have unity!!
Which might be more valuable than the freedom to have some distinctive deviating from the Newly Agreed Upon Confession.
But I think the ministers and elders are still humble enough to know they are not smart enough to go changing to WC much, but we think we are smart enough to disagree.
If they went to amend it to accommodate most exceptions, I guess they feel they wouldn't have much of a reformed confession left.
So its better to just hang the paper on the wall and agree to disagree about it. Maybe hoping one day we will all agree with it again??
Very Strange.
We don't even agree on the Sum of Saving Knowledge ( what the gospel is, what that minimal amount of doctrine is that one must profess to believe to actually be recognized as having been born again, having a credible profession of faith).
Nor agree on our understanding of the Covenant, so we are so far from knowing or agreeing on the essentials of the faith we just let these things be session controlled and don't bother to unite.
And then we have new ideas springing up like
paedo communion as if Covenant Baptism wasn't enough for the kids, and all the while our lives are lives with such minimal sanctification we hardly have anyone in the world hating us or persecuting us.
But Cheer up. I think its coming. God maybe going to prune or purify His church a bit because we have been so slack and not even spoken up enough to stop a 1% minority from taking God out of our schools an govt.
Remember the Constitution was to prevent the govt from interfering with the church. The church was always supposed to interfere with the govt. by telling them to obey and uphold God's law as individual people and as governors. The separation of church and state concept is un-Biblical and un-Constitutional.
Well there I have done my duty for church unity and political activism, so I can go back and read about the Reformers who sought unity through arguing in the Assembly and told the King to make sure he took a couple days off from his wars to make provision for safe travel for ministers to attend a General Assembly.
Boy, just thought of how messed up we are. We are so weak in the way we deal with our governors, we totally misunderstood and thought those foolish puritans were putting themselves under the thumb of the King and we removed that section from our American Version of the WC. But we were so wrong. They commanded him to make sure there was a time of peace for them to travel and do their work, but in submission to their King, they let him call the day he could make peace, stop any wars or take a break and assure their safe travel.
We've come along way Baby!! But I think in the wrong direction.
In His service,
