I recently heard the polity of the Presbyterian Church in Canada described as “intentionally ambiguous.” It occurred to me that this was at the root of many of the issues we struggle with as a denomination which is reflected in the letters of van Draanen and Swanson. However, in the attempt to understand a more fundamental truth I would probably write the phrase as ‘in-tension-ally ambiguous’.
We are members in the Presbyterian Church, in a different way than we are in the society at large. But we are not simply participants in it, our identities rest in the church. We are involved, inculcated, and sometimes; in love with what the church means in the world, and in our lives. We are in the family of Christ, but we are not the totality of that family, but, we are invested in our positions, our theologies, and our priorities. We are interested, informed, and involved but we are not the church in and of ourselves. We are all in this together but we can not insist on having it entirely our own way.
Our theological roots cause us to constantly and consistently be in tension with the past, the present and the future. Siemper reformata; always reforming, and fides quaerens intellectum; faith seeking understanding are important to our identity. However, tension is not simply the result of reforming, but also the tension that we feel when the tectonic plates of our belief structure seem to shift under us, and we worry when that tension erupts and threatens to tear the foundations of our church asunder. But like the equal and opposing tension that gives both strength and flexibility to a suspension bridge the Presbyterian Church survives, in part because it is constantly under tension.
We are also and importantly brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the “ally” of one another; partners, supporters, colleagues and friends. An ally does not need to share a completely contiguous set of beliefs, but they ought to agree upon what those fundamental beliefs rest. An ally does not need to follow the same battle plan, but they ought to fight on the same front. An ally may not share everything in common, but they share a common enemy.
Finally we come upon the term Ambiguous which does not sit well with those who like things settled. Historically, it has been given negative connotations such as vague, unclear, uncertain, and confusing; it also has a liberating and inclusive aspect which is why it is appropriate for 21st Century Presbyterians. Ultimately we are an unsettled church; we are both deep theologians, and the workers in the Lord’s vineyard; we are those who push the boundaries of polity and those who stridently defend it. We are the faithful ministers at the end of their careers, and the excited students at the beginning of theirs. But ultimately we are all Canadian Presbyterians and faithful servants of the Word and therein lays the beauty.
