Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

PROK “7th Document” Reflects on Church’s Mistakes, Its Recovery and Its Hopes

2015-07-30 17:18

“It seems like blind obedience to Western theology if we pattern (our document) after the negative style of expression in the Barmen Declaration” (Rev. Park Yun-su, Muri Church). “There is little reflection on contemporary problems such as the ecological crisis, the sexual minorities issue, and discrimination against irregular workers” (Rev. Kim Gyeong-ho, Deulggot Hyanglin Church). “Please make a document that can be read as a confession of faith by the congregation in worship” (Rev. Jo Heon-jeong, Hyanglin Church).

These were some of the opinions expressed by members of the clergy during discussion and suggestion time at the “Open Hearing on the 7th Document and the Clergy Tax,” organized by the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK; Rev. Hwang Yong-dae, moderator) on July 28 at the Korean Christian Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

This was the third in a series of open hearings: the first took place on May 28 and the second on the 16th of last month. As it drafts its “7th Document” on the denomination’s future direction of mission in Korea and overseas, the PROK General Assembly is opening up discussion on the document to ensure contributions by clergy and church members from various areas.

This open hearing started with a progress report by the 7th Document Special Drafting Committee on the outcome of the first two hearings, and continued with the presentation of the first draft, and discussion and proposals for its modification. The 30 some PROK clergy and believers who took part in the hearing, listened to an explanation of the 7th Document by the theologians who had drafted it, then entered into enthusiastic discussion. Most participants agreed that parts of the 7th Document needed change, particularly the negative expressions, the lack of reference to social problems, and the lack of practical plans; and that the revision should be completed before the 100th General Assembly in September.

Rev. Park Jong-hwa of Kyungdong Church, attending in his capacity as a member of the Special Drafting Committee, said, “The 7th Document has been drafted with the purpose of activating conversation among PROK churches about mistakes the church has made, how it can recover, and what its hopes are, at a time when public trust in the Korean church as a whole has plummeted.” He promised, “The document will be revised through positive accommodation of everyone’s concerns and reprimands, and will be presented in more perfect form to the 100th General Assembly.”

The PROK General Assembly plans to decide its position on the clergy tax after drafting the final version of the 7th Document on the basis of the opinions collected through the three open hearings. PROK General Secretary Bae Tae-jin (center in photo) said, “We held three open hearings in order to prevent the document from being created as the exclusive property of a select few ministers…I hope that the devoted efforts of the Drafting Committee will produce a 7th Document that will play the role of a self-portrait of the twisted Korean church.”

Reporter Yang Minkyeong (grieg@kmib.co.kr), with Marion Kim (marionkkim@icloud.com)
Photo courtesy of PROK


Click here for the original article in Korean

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