Clichés become clichés for a reason. The expression is overused to the point of becoming a caricature, but that does not mean there is no truth in it. And, if there is truth in it, there may be no need to update it.
Unadorned. In this age of plastic surgery, liposuction, and all kinds of artificial enhancements, what is wrong with being unadorned? If one is unadorned, it may be assumed that one is not hiding anything, that—to use another cliché—what you see is what you get. In this case, it is more than acceptable to judge a book by its cover, because there are no surprises contained within.
Slightly severe. Well, this one could probably use a little revision. Presbyterians I know aren’t severe. In fact, most of them know how to party with the best. But we also know when not to party, when to get down to work. We know, with Ecclesiastes, that to everything there is a season. For us, there is a time to be severe and a time not to be severe. Scrap the revision. Slightly severe is not a bad way to be described.
Utterly determined. And this is supposed to be a bad thing? This is supposed to be an impression Presbyterians want to change? It was determination which led to the Presbyterian Church coming about in the first place, and it was determination which kept one third of all Canadian Presbyterians out of union in 1925. It will be determination which will bring the PCC well into the 21st century.
Without pretence. If Presbyterians are unadorned, then it follows that they would be without pretence. Adornment hints at covering flaws, which is the same as presenting a façade to the world, of pretending to be something one is not. This is, then, another quality which does not require updating.
Searching for self-improvement. The day anyone stops improving is usually the day that the person meets God face to face. So far, the cliché seems to be accurate.
Anchored in his convictions. Anchoring is a fact of life for a committed Christian, which is what Presbyterians are supposed to be. In this post-post-modern, secular world, there is nothing bad about being anchored.
All of the qualities mentioned in Jeffrey Simpson’s article are good qualities, ones which will serve the church well for the next 100 years.
Maybe instead of revamping this description of a typical Presbyterian, we need to make sure that it does apply to the typical Presbyterian. Maybe it is time for us to stand up and be counted, as we were counted in 1925. It is our determination which has brought us this far, and it is our determination—along with our faith—which will continue to bring us further. John Calvin was anchored in his convictions, as was Martin Luther, as are the Presbyterian theologians of today.
If anything, the Presbyterian in the pew—or, more often these days, not in the pew—should take Simpson’s definition of a Presbyterian to heart and use this to rebuild the church. Cliché? Maybe, to someone who is not a Presbyterian. To someone who is a Presbyterian, it is an accurate definition. Thank you, Jeffrey Simpson, for explaining who we are at the start of this new millennium.
