Ladies and Gentlemen, your Book of Confessions

When I think about being a member of the PC(USA), there is a list of things that come to mind about the PC(USA) and the fact that we are a confessional church is, or was until recently, not anywhere on that list. As a younger member in our church, I think about things like Montreat, Ghost Ranch, Presbyterian Youth Triennium, and Young Adult Volunteers. When I think about the church as a whole, I think of General Assembly and our democratic processes, session meetings, synods, Presbyteries, the Church is ALIVE; there is a slue of words, phrases and places that are particular or not-so-particular but important to the past, present and future of the PC(USA).

One celebrated and historical aspect of the Presbyterian Church is the fact that we confess, as a church, every Sunday. That is part of what makes us a confessional church. I’m no seminary student, or graduate for that matter, but I’ll lay out a few guidelines to understanding the Presbyterian Church USA as a confessional church, which I think is important especially since it is something we do every Sunday.

The Presbyterian Church USA has a constitution comprised of two parts: the Book of Confessions (aka the boc) and the Book of Order (aka the boo! Which is great) The Book of Confessions is a series of historical documents written in the midst of difficult situations that are meant for the our church to be able, according to the boc preface, to:

“declare to its members and to the world
who and what it is,
what it believes,
what it resolves to do.”

These confessions shed light on the unity of our church and guide us through situations that we face in our own generations. While these documents may have been written to address very specific situations or questions that troubled the church in the past, they are consistent reminders of our own contemporary presence in the world and call our congregations to action when we need to be stirred up. The confessions are also helpful in the ways in which we interpret scriptures, and are good lenses through which we can look at our world at large. So you see, they are foundational and irreplaceable in our church’s identity.

The Book of Confessions is not only for seminary students, graduates, professors, ministers and elders. It is for all of us, because we do not want to be those church members who show up to church to go through the motions every Sunday. We want to be living congregants who actively engage in scripture, liturgy, and understand what it means when we say bits and pieces of confessions and when we state creeds. I got a gold star when I was in 2nd grade for memorizing the Apostle’s Creed, and I recited it pretty absent-mindedly for a long time until I asked my mom why we say we believe in the “holy catholic Church” if we are Presbyterian. It wasn’t until recently that I started paying attention to the creeds and confessions, and there really is some interesting stuff in that boc. So don’t let it gather dust, crack it open (or download it here) and learn a little more about what it means to be a Presbyterian.