Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)

Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Reformed Evangelical
Polity	Presbyterian
Origin	1981
Separated from	United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, or the Southern Presbyterian Church); more recently from the Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology, expressed in an orthodox, conservative vein. The motto of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is "In Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. In All Things, Charity; Truth In Love." The Office of the General Assembly is located in Livonia, Michigan, near Detroit. As of 2008, The EPC consists of a little over 260 churches and about 85,000 members.

History

The EPC began as a result of prayer meetings in 1980 and 1981 by pastors and elders increasingly alienated by liberalism in the "northern" branch of Presbyterianism (the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., which merged with the Southern and border-state Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in 1983 to form the present Presbyterian Church USA). An important catalyst of their separation was the decision of a Maryland presbytery to permit a minister of the United Church of Christ who did not forthrightly affirm the divinity of Jesus to become pastor of one of its churches. Another important catalyst was another presbytery refusing to ordain a graduate of seminary, who, in good conscience, declared that he would refuse to participate in the ordination of a woman, although he affirmed that he would willingly serve in a pastorate with ordained women on the staff. Such issues as social action and sexuality had prompted opposition by conservative pastors for a number of years; many of these and some laity began to believe that evangelicals and social conservatives were being systematically excluded from the UPCUSA's system of pastoral training on account of their views dissenting from national policy.

The first general assembly of the church met at Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Michigan in late 1981, drafting a list of essential beliefs. This list was intentionally short in order to help preserve the unity of the church around the essentials of the faith in theology, church government, and evangelism .

At its foundation, the EPC adopted this list of essential beliefs ("The Essentials of Our Faith") to state what the EPC views as the sine qua non of Evangelical Christianity (see below). Originally titled "The Fundamentals of Our Faith," the name was changed to avoid the negative connotations that the term "fundamentalism" had gained. The adoption of this document came in part to seek to guarantee that the EPC would not succumb to the theological problems that had plagued her parent denominations, beginning with the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy of the early 20th Century. In this respect, "The Essentials of Our Faith" is a fuller version of the "Five Fundamentals" that the old PCUSA had overturned in the infamous "Auburn Affirmation" of 1923. This document has served to assure that the EPC has always kept in view what is of primary importance for all evangelical Christians (namely the Gospel, or Good News about Jesus), as well as to maintain the irenic orthodoxy that has always been the hallmark of the denomination. (See "Ethos," below.)

In the nearly thirty years of the its existence, the EPC has become active as a missional church, through church planting in the United States as well as in a variety of foreign fields, particularly in the 10/40 Window. One significant step was the incorporation of the St. Andrews Presbytery (Argentina) as one of its presbyteries. This presbytery was released to independence as the national St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Argentina after many years of mutual cooperation & benefit. More recently, the increasing influence of theological liberalism has led many in the mainline Presbyterian Church (or PCUSA) to seek a new denominational home. The EPC has become the refuge of choice for many of these churches in the last few years. (See "Current Issues," below.) one of the major reasons for many of these churches to align themselves with the EPC has been a shared missional vision for the 21st Century.

The Essentials Of Our Faith

All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith:

1. "We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!"

2. "Jesus Christ, the living Word, become flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator."

3. "The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption."

4. "Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God's free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life."

5. "The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord."

6. "Jesus Christ will come again to the earth—personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus.' (Rev. 22:20)"

7. "The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to 'Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.' He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. 'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.' (Eph. 2:10)"

These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Explanatory statement to “Essentials of Our Faith”

The EPC has adopted the following explanation of the relationship between the "Essentials of Our Faith" and the Westminster Standards:

"The Westminster Confession of Faith is a confessional statement of orthodox Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith is our standard of doctrine as found in Scripture. It is a positive statement of the Reformed Faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith constitutes a system of biblical truth that an officer of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is required to believe, acknowledging that each individual court has the freedom to allow exceptions which do not infringe upon the system of the doctrine in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

“Essentials of Our Faith” is an irenic statement of historic evangelicalism. The purpose of “Essentials of Our Faith” is to define core beliefs of the Christian Faith. It expresses historic Christian beliefs common to all true believers and churches throughout the world. “Essentials of Our Faith” is not intended to be the exclusive test of orthodoxy for ordination. It is not intended to be used as an explicit standard for minimal core beliefs for candidates, ordination or ministerial examinations. It is not to be construed as a substitute for the Westminster Confession of Faith.

"Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of Our Faith” are important documents in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of Our Faith” are not alternative statements of truth, nor are they competitive statements of truth. They each serve important and harmonious purposes within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith preserves our commitment to the historic orthodoxy of the Reformed Faith. “Essential of Our Faith” preserves our commitment to historic evangelicalism."

Place in American Presbyterianism

As its name and the doctrinal points above strongly intimate, the EPC is a thoroughly conservative evangelical denomination, associating mainly with Reformed bodies holding similar or identical beliefs regarding Christology, ecclesiology, and ethical/moral stances. As with practically all orthodox Presbyterian bodies, the EPC is committed to Biblical interpretation governed by the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, steadfastly refusing to supplement the Westminster Standards with other confessions, as, for instance, the PCUSA has.

Being wholly within the main stream of Reformed, Westminsterian orthodoxy, the EPC is considerably more conservative than the PCUSA on matters such as theology and personal behavior. However, the ethos of the EPC (summarized in its motto) allows a greater degree of freedom in areas deemed to be non-essential to Reformed theology than the other major conservative Presbyterian bodies (e.g., the Presbyterian Church in America, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church). Unlike the PCA and OPC, it allows more latitude with respect to the charismatic movement and has determined that the ordination of women is an issue that is left up to each ordaining body. (I.e, the local church session determines whether to allow women to serve as elders & deacons & the local presbytery determines whether or not to allow women to serve as ministers.) Also, the EPC is far more tolerant of the charismatic movement than these older bodies; indeed, some of the more prominent charismatic Presbyterian churches in America are members of the EPC.

Ethos

The EPC has been described as the modern-day version of New School Presbyterianism, while the PCA & the OPC are essentially the modern-day equivalent of Old School Presbyterianism. The way that this is expressed is in the motto of the denomination: "In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity. Truth in Love." Functionally, this works out with a three-tiered approach to theological issues. These may be thought of as "A," "B," & "C" issues.

"A" issues are those which have to do with the "Essentials of Our Faith." This is a summary of those issues which are foundational to Christian faith. In the EPC, there is no allowance for disagreement among church officers (ministers, elders, & deacons) on these issues. Indeed, it is expected that all communicant members will affirm these tenets of the faith.

"B" issues are those issues which are essential to the Reformed understanding of the faith, such as the so-called "Five Points of Calvinism," Covenant Theology, Presbyterian government, etc. The definition of "B" issues for the EPC is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith & in the Westminster Larger Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism. As these issues aren't as foundational as the Essentials of Our Faith, the EPC allows minsters, elders, & deacons to state exceptions to the Westminster Standards, so long as these exceptions do not violate the system of doctrine contained therein. While non-ordained members aren't expected to adhere to the Westminster Standards, it is understood that the teaching position of the EPC is found in the Westminster Standards.

Finally, "C" issues are those on which Reformed, orthodox Christians can disagree, & which do not violate the system of doctrine of the EPC. As stated above, this would include the issues of women's ordination & the charismatic movement, as well as issues such as eschatology (views on the End times), worship preferences, liturgy, etc.

Current Issues

As of the 2007 General Assembly, the EPC has created a non-geographic "New Wineskins Presbytery" (NWEPC) to provide a home for churches associated with the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) that are seeking to find a new denominational home after finding that their current home in the PC(USA) is no longer suitable to them theologically, organizationally, or missionally. For more information on this, see the article on the New Wineskins Association of Churches.

See also

• New School Presbyterians

External links

• Evangelical Presbyterian Church Website
• Book of Order for the EPC
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/412024/New-School-Presbyterian-Church
• http://www.amazon.com/Presbyterian-Creed-Confessional-Tradition-Christian/dp/1606084801/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241021802&sr=8-2