1) The Name: Why is our denomination called “Presbyterian”?
Some churches are named for beliefs or practices. “Baptists” focus on believers’ baptism. “Methodists” received their name because they were seen as so methodical. “Seventh Day Adventists” meet on the “seventh” day of the week (Saturday) and have traditionally emphasized the “coming” (or advent) of Christ. Other denominations are named for persons. In the United States the best example of such a denomination is the “Lutheran” church (named after Martin Luther). Similarly, the “Wesleyan” church is named after John Wesley. Other denominations, like our own, are named after a form of government or polity. “Congregationalist” churches are churches where each person tends to have a vote or say in the church; some would call Congregationalist churches “pure democracies.” The Greek word “episkopos” means “bishop,” and so it is not surprising that the “Episcopal” church is structured in such a way that the bishops are very influential.
And the word “presbyteros”--from which we get the name “Presbyterian” also refers to a form of government. The Greek word “presbyteros,” which occurs 72 times in the New Testament, literally means “elder.” Some of us might be familiar with the root meaning of this word, because we suffer from “presbyopia,” which literally means “elderly eyes.” Our denomination, thus, is named after our system of church government, a system which locates responsibility in the ruling and teaching “elders.” These individuals are not necessarily elderly, but they have been steeped in the faith, and called to serve in teaching, serving, and helping the members of the church grow.
Note: Presbyterians are Protestants, Calvinists, and Reformed, and are sometimes referred to by those names, even though each of those designations refers to a much broader group.
2) The Church Organization: So how does the “Presbyterian” nature shape the daily life of the church?
Whereas some denominations (like the Congregationalist) are democratic, and whereas other denominations (like the Episcopal or Catholic) involve a hierarchy of leadership, Presbyterians put much of the responsibility for their government into the hands of elders. These elders are representatives of the church, and--on behalf of the membership of the church--they make the decisions which affect the daily life of the church (e.g., Should the parking lot be resurfaced? Who will make sure that there are ushers in the worship service? What Sunday School curriculum should be used? What are our mission priorities?). Elders serve on the congregation’s governing body, known as the Session. At Second Presbyterian Church, the Session consists of twelve elders, which serve on three ministry teams: Discipleship, Mission, and Administration.
3) The Church’s Historic Influence on the United States
The organization of the Presbyterian church should not seem particularly strange to Americans. The Senate, the House of Representatives, and even the Electoral College all are representative bodies, and many see these bodies’--and America’s--form of government as having resulted from the influence of our denomination. Presbyterians had a strong influence on the early years of America, with the British even referring to the Revolutionary War as “the Presbyterian Rebellion.” It is not surprising that the only clergyperson to have signed the Declaration of Independence was a Presbyterian: Dr. John Witherspoon.
4) The “Rules” of Being Presbyterian: What is the Book of Order?
Denominations that are structured in a hierarchical manner do not always need to be explicit about their organization. Because our denomination relies on elders (and not on one specific person), issues of discipline and organization are stated explicitly. The Book of Order describes the organization of the church and is used by elders as a kind of handbook when determining how things should proceed in the church. Few people would curl up by a warm fireplace to read the Book of Order, but it is a very helpful reference book. When the apostle Paul was instructing the Corinthians on their life in the church, he wrote “All things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Presbyterians’ appreciation for that philosophy can be seen in the thoroughness of our Book of Order.
5) An Academic Emphasis
For good or bad, the Presbyterian tradition is an academic one. This can be seen in a variety of ways: John Calvin was a lawyer, not a priest; Presbyterians were the first to wear the sorts of traditional academic robes which ministers wear today; Presbyterian ministers frequently don’t have “offices,” they have “studies”; Presbyterians have always expected their ministers to be able to read the scripture in the original Greek and Hebrew; and Presbyterian sermons frequently are longer--again, for good or for bad--than sermons in other traditions. As James F. White writes, “For the most part, the Reformed tradition has served highly literate people. Even today, it attracts largely professional people and tends to the cerebral. The Reformed tradition has placed a high value on an educated ministry and has done more than any other to raise the intellectual standards of theological education in the United States” (Protestant Worship: Traditions in Transition, pp. 73-74).
6) The “Other” Presbyterian Book: What is the Book of Confessions?
Consistent with Presbyterians’ academic emphasis is its emphasis on what it calls the “Book of Confessions.” This book is a collection of creeds and confessions which have shaped who we--as Presbyterians--are, and which remind us of important tenets of the faith. Some of these writings, like the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, are important to other denominations as well. Some, like the Confession of 1967, are specifically Presbyterian (with the Confession of 1967 oriented specifically to American Presbyterians). Presbyterians are not able to follow all of these creeds simultaneously, nor were the creeds brought together for that purpose. Rather, these creeds and confessions emphasize the importance of recognizing how the time and place in which we live needs to shape how we speak faithfully. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), but we Christians need to show how Jesus and the “faith of our fathers” can speak to each successive generation. Different situations require different presentations of the gospel message.
7) “That” Doctrine: Do Presbyterians believe in predestination?
Different situations require different presentations of the gospel message. The doctrine of predestination is a good example. Today many people understand predestination to be a doctrine which takes away human responsibility. Predestination is seen as saying that, in effect, life is predetermined, and that our choices will not affect the outcome. Not surprisingly, that understanding of predestination does not speak to those of us Americans who like to see ourselves as in charge of our own destiny. However, if we rewind our theological clock about five centuries, it is helpful to imagine John Calvin, standing in Geneva, Switzerland, to imagine St. Peter's Basilica, in the city of Rome, and to see the doctrine of predestination as bridging Calvin and the Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica came to represent the worst of catholic abuses, when the Roman Catholic church sold indulgences. At that time in the life of the church, Roman Catholic doctrine dealt not only with heaven and hell, but also with purgatory, a place where sinners go, after they die, until they are gradually purged of their sin and can then enter into heaven. Indulgences were sold in the 16th century, and by buying indulgences, in effect, you were buying yourself or your loved ones--who had already died--out of time in purgatory. The rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica required massive amounts of funds, and so indulgences were aggressively hawked and sold. And the coffers grew fat, St. Peter's Basilica became a larger structure, and John Calvin was incredulous.
Indulgences don't play much of any role in the catholic church today, but they did play a major role 500 years ago. Similarly, discussions of predestination don't play a major role in Presbyterianism today, but they were important for Calvin, particularly in response to indulgences. At base, Calvin was saying, "God is in charge. God. God. God. You can't be presumptuous and buy God off through giving money to clergy. You are saved only through grace.”
Why not just avoid talking about a religious doctrine that spoke much more to a different place and time? We--as Presbyterians--continue to embrace the principle that God is in charge, despite our desire to believe that we can control the outcome to various situations. There are things that we do not know. We are in the middle of the story, and we can't see the whole perspective. This emphasis on the sovereignty of God can be seen not only in our beliefs about God, but also in the basic structure of Presbyterian worship.
8) Presbyterians’ Distinctive Structure of Worship
The Mass is not central. Altar calls are not necessary. Presbyterians don’t even need to sing hymns or “pass the peace.” There are, however, three necessary elements in Presbyterian worship: the Confession of Sin; the Assurance of Pardon; and the Message (Sermon or Commission). What these elements mean is that being Presbyterian, in large part, recognizes that we sin and make mistakes, that God is the one who can save us, and that--because of that good news--we are called to respond to God in thanks.
God is sovereign. We are not. This is seen in worship and is articulated well in one of the works in the Book of Confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism. The Catechism is divided into three parts, each of which highlights what it means to be Christian (particularly in our tradition). The sections of the Heidelberg Catechism focus on misery, redemption, and thankfulness. Those particular words may not speak to us today, but they are intended to emphasize three basic truths. The first is what some Presbyterians have called “total depravity,” that we are sinners. Despite our intentions and effort and ideals, we sin and we are sinners. To not acknowledge this is to not brace ourselves against sin, and to not do that involves the potential for disaster in our lives. To not acknowledge our sinful nature also pushes God--who does save us from our sin--out of the center of our lives, to the periphery, to a place where God is purely unnecessary.
Our confession of sin each week not only is a way of purging ourselves, but also is a reminder of our frailty and our dependence on God. The confession would be depressing, at the least, if it were not followed by the assurance of pardon: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Cor. 5:17). The second truth then is that God can save us.
The third truth is that our only appropriate response is to the sovereignty of God is a thankful one. The sermon is intended to guide us so that we can be “equipped” to serve God thankfully. Christians with a love for alliteration have said that “Sin,” “Salvation,” and “Service” describe well the reality of our lives and our commission. Salvation and Service follow from an acknowledgment of Sin; from the recognition that all is not right. Grace and Gratitude follow from an acknowledgement of Guilt.
9) Sacraments: Baptism and Communion
In our tradition, baptism has a series of meanings. Unlike the Baptist tradition, Presbyterians do not necessarily see baptism as reflecting that a person has accepted Christ in his/her own life. Unlike other traditions, baptism does not necessarily mean that a child (or the baptized) is saved from his or her sins. Rather, infant baptism is a reminder that God claims us in covenant before we ever do anything. In the Presbyterian tradition, baptism is a reminder that each of us is claimed by God and that we, as a covenant community, are called upon to help each baptized person grow in the faith so that ultimately, through the Holy Spirit, that person will feel so claimed by God that they will be able to confirm their own faith.
Presbyterian Communion, over against other traditions, does not focus on issues like transubstantiation or consubstantiation. The Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (i.e., to go across from one substance to another) claims that the bread and wine used in the sacrament become the body and blood of Christ. The Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation claims that the bread both stays bread and becomes body; the wine both stays wine and becomes blood. For Calvin, however, the focus was not on the elements in communion. The focus is on how the Holy Spirit transforms us as we take the elements. John Calvin said that in this sacrament, and only through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are raised to feast with Christ in heaven. Calvin emphasized that the real purpose of the Lord’s Supper was as an extension of the word, because we can’t understand everything just with our mind. Because we are “of flesh”, the Lord’s supper instructs us according to our “dull capacity.” When we engage in communion, Christ is present, not in the elements themselves, but in the action of remembering. When we engage in communion, the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s presence real. One of Calvin’s communion prayers illustrates well his emphasis on the Spirit: “Almighty God, since by our dullness we are so intent upon the earth, even when you stretch forth your hand to us, we cannot attain you. Grant that being attracted upwards by your Spirit, we may learn to raise our senses heavenward and to strive against our sluggishness, until you may be so perfectly known to us, that at length we may attain to the full and perfect glory, laid up for us in heaven by Christ our Lord. Amen.”
9) Mission and Service
“Service” is to be our response to “Salvation.” “Gratitude” is to be our response to God’s “Grace” in our lives. John Calvin embraced the belief that a Presbyterian approach to faith would result in a changed world. In Geneva, he not only declared prostitution illegal, but he helped prostitutes find other jobs. He fought for fair housing. He insisted that dentists be licensed, and he volunteered to test them out. He emphasized that public occupation was the finest vocation for Christians, who should be seeking the common good for all.
Second Presbyterian Church, itself, was founded as an outreach congregation. Over 100 years ago we were established to reach out to the Norfolk community in a new and distinctive way. That outreach led us from our original location, where Freemason Abbey is today, to the facility which now is home to the Unitarian Church, to our current location. Over the years and through these changes, we have continued--as our mission statement says--to seek “to glorify God through joyful worship, unceasing prayer, engaging study and acts of compassion and hospitality, so that the Peace of Christ is expressed in our individual and corporate lives.”
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