However, if they put their case in such clear terms, it couldn’t do the other thing that such assurances are designed to do: to ease the consciences of the chosen members of the NP that they are not doing anything wrong. As a result, the NP emails almost all sound like this: the PCA is wonderful, and everyone is wonderful, and we are the most wonderful, and our cause is worthy of tireless and sacrificial advocacy.

As I read the now public emails of the secret society called the National Partnership (NP), I was not at all perturbed by their occasional willingness to speak ill of their enemies (people like me). It was obvious from the structure of the group that I stand in the way of what they view as a healthy Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). That they would call me “unhealthy” or “dry bones” makes perfect sense. In fact, I would be disappointed if they didn’t say it because it’s clear enough that we are on entirely different teams, perhaps down to the very bottom of our souls.
What first bothered me about the emails was the sheer number of times that one of the NP leaders reminded his colleagues that what they are doing was not wrong. I thought about it like this: If I told my elders at every meeting that we were not doing anything wrong, could they be faulted if they concluded that I was giving them such assurances because things were really not as rosy as I was proclaiming? It may be that NP members are weighed down with guilty consciences if the leaders must assure the members frequently that their cause is noble.
What also troubled me is that men listed in this group were their repeated accusations of others breaking the ninth commandment. I have heard it from so many and in such varying circumstances that I have wondered why they talk about it as often as they do. For example, a minister with stature in my presbytery, who apparently is some kind of minor director within the NP, has personally threatened me and my session that we would be breaking the ninth commandment if we were to say something is a sin which our confessional documents bluntly call a sin, namely, attempted suicide (cf. WLC 136).
The reason I find their appeals to the ninth commandment so troubling is because their involvement in a secret society designed for the purpose of consolidating political gains is itself one of the most obvious breaches possible of this commandment.
The first thing WLC 144 says is this:
“The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbour, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever…”
In other words, what God requires of us most of all in the ninth commandment is truthfulness. A truthful representation of neighbors, ourselves, and in all other things whatsoever.
However, the first requirement of membership in a secret society is that members misrepresent themselves to others. Recall the first rule of Fight Club: Don’t talk about fight club. Other people are not allowed to find out who we are or what we are up to. That is the essence of a secret society, and it is why those who desire to keep the ninth commandment do not join secret societies.
NP members must misrepresent themselves to those outside of their society, because they know that Presbyterians believe that secret societies are impermissible in a denomination that depends upon open discussion and debate in order to promote the general welfare of the church and its mission.
The second requirement of a secret society is that members misrepresent themselves to each other. If they see themselves correctly, then they will realize that what they are doing is wrong on its face and their consciences will suffer dearly for it. Therefore, secret societies wind up misrepresenting themselves to themselves.
It’s striking how often in the emails the NP leaders reassure the members that they are in the majority, and that they are fighting for a grand future which they alone can bring to fruition. We read for example, “If we are clear in advocating for greater health in the Presbyterian Church in America, we will all be part of a more beautiful, more orthodox denomination for Kingdom work around the world. But as always, it will require dedicated and sacrificial efforts” (p. 288).
On the face of it, such sentiments sound noble and virtuous. But only until we realize what it implies about those who are outside the inner circle. It means that those outside the circle are the enemies of beauty and orthodoxy, and the secret members must work tirelessly to defeat them.
However, if they put their case in such clear terms, it couldn’t do the other thing that such assurances are designed to do: to ease the consciences of the chosen members of the NP that they are not doing anything wrong. As a result, the NP emails almost all sound like this: the PCA is wonderful, and everyone is wonderful, and we are the most wonderful, and our cause is worthy of tireless and sacrificial advocacy.
Someday in the not-too-distant future, when the PCA has been splintered, everyone will know that it was the NP who charted the course. The NP will secretly applaud themselves when they are victorious, meanwhile reassuring the losing party that they had no idea that becoming “more orthodox” would make anyone want to leave the denomination. But they will seethe if they are the ones who are cast out.
The members of this secret society clearly perceive that another public group, the Gospel Reformation Network (GRN), is their rival for the future of the PCA (p. 347). However, their leader goes to great lengths to remind the members of the NP that they are not in fact rival political parties, but merely groups that are always opposite sides of the direction of the PCA and the issues related to it.
What is a rival political party if not a group that all of the members of your secret society are always to oppose in votes, committees, etc.? So we find that the destruction of the ninth commandment runs very deep in the National Partnership. Deception to others, bolstered by willful self-deception.
These emails are in fact a study in self and group deception. I accept that everyone who is or has ever been a part of this group are within the fold of Jesus Christ and committed Christians. However, it is striking to see the ways in which their leaders and members gather together to salve each other’s consciences, to the point where they apparently believe that the ninth commandment only forbids speaking poorly about people who are not in their non-secret society.
If you say it within the confines of an exclusive group, whose members are all known to one another, who all imbibe adult beverages too much at General Assembly, and laugh about the “idiot” conservatives, then it’s just words between friends, as Pastor Cassidy so kindly reminded us. On further reflection, I do recall having been to one NP fellowship gathering; I did not find it especially beautiful, orthodox, or sober. And we are to remember that we are not supposed to think critically of the several hundred PCA/NP members who believe that the rest of us are merely “dry bones.”
Mike Littell is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of South Dayton PCA in Centerville, Ohio.

Everything could fall apart. The darkest things imaginable could happen, except one: that God would lose one of us who has been saved by faith and fail to complete the work He has begun in us. We will see Jesus face to face in all of His glory. One day, all believers will inhabit a place without sickness, without tears, and without death. A place where it can no longer come undone, but this is not it.

There is something about me that always wants to be in control. If I am sick, I want to outlearn the disease and overcome it. If relationships start to fail, I want to be able to charm them back to life. We all desire control. I think this is why we buy into so many fad diets promising snake-oil results. I do not say this as a judgment on eating right; it is wise, but how much stems from the desire to bend reality to fit our ideals? If there is something I can do, then it is something I can control. “I am the master of my ship.” The desire to govern this world has even entered Christian circles. “If you can muster enough faith, all will go right. Positive thoughts create positive results.” The problem is it is not true. We could do all of this, and it could still fall apart. We are not the masters of our destinies.
With every peal of thunder, I realize that I am not the center of the universe. When it comes to orchestrating the master plan for creation, I am no more special than the other 7 billion people on the planet. We all tend to live as if we are, but it is a delusion. You and I could come into contact with something in this fallen world that could end our lives within a matter of days, and there is nothing we can do about it.
Once we are gone, our co-workers would remember us and then replace us. Sure, they may even put up a picture for a few years to commemorate our contribution, but they would continue without us. Our demise would most likely hit our family the hardest, but our children would move on with their lives just like we would want them to. Even the one we love, if the Lord wills, would find someone else to love and with whom to share the rest of their life.
I dislike thinking about these things, but it is good. It reminds me that the world is not yet how it should be, so I should not put my trust and hope in it. There is something eternal that deserves my devotion and attention. Something else should be my refuge.
Though storms swell around us, we have found salvation in the cleft of the rock: Christ Jesus. All the sins that caused us to be fearful of God have been forgiven. The great and righteous judge of the universe has reconciled us to Himself through the cross. Yes, we, sinners, are friends of God. He calls us His children.
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Some people have no wealth because they’ve devoured it for selfish ends (Prov 21:20). But when a person wisely sees their wealth as not “mine” but the Lord’s, there is a strong motivation to collect more of it and put it to good use in service of others. The Bible does not lay a guilt trip on such people, and neither should we. When a believer is faithful with a little responsibility, the Lord’s reward is to give them even more such responsibility (Matt 25:21, 23).

The book of Proverbs covers many topics and gets intensely practical. One of the topics on which Proverbs has quite a lot to say is wealth.
The struggle for many Christians is that our thinking about wealth is often shaped by influences outside the Bible. Sometimes we’re shaped by materialism. Sometimes we react against materialism in a way that seems spiritual but demonstrates the sort of asceticism labeled by New Testament authors as “irreverent, silly myths” (1 Tim 4:7) and the “teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1). And at other times, we simply allow rank fear and unbelief to lead us away from our hope in God and reception of his wisdom.
Here are five misconceptions about wealth that must go if we are to believe and receive the wisdom of God.
1. It will make all my problems go away.
This is frankly the lie I am most tempted to believe. Am I earning enough? Am I saving enough? How will I cover the costs of a growing family with all this inflation? How will we pay for college or medical needs? What we really need is a generous benefactor or a sudden windfall. Because if we had more wealth, all our problems would disappear, right?
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death
Proverbs 11:4
According to the Bible, there is a problem we all have that is far greater than we imagine: our impending death. And God’s wrath against sin is real. My kids’ college tuition and my retirement package just can’t pay for such things. Only one thing can deliver us from death, or profit us in the day of wrath. Righteousness. And the entire Bible shows us how to get it (e.g. 2 Cor 5:21, Phil 3:8-11).
So wealth will never make your problems go away (see also Prov 11:28). But the amazing thing is that it just might help make other people’s problems go away. Wealth and people are both realities in this fallen world. But which one will serve, and which will be served? Use people to serve your wealth, and you’re in grave danger (James 5:1-6, 1 Tim 6:17). But use wealth to serve people, and the Lord himself says he is now in your debt (Prov 19:17, Matt 25:40).
2. I can tell who has it and who doesn’t.
We tend to think we can tell the rich from the poor by looking. And this is great, because then we know whom to ask for favors (Prov 19:6). But appearances are deceiving.
One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
Proverbs 13:7
Those who appear to be rich often appear that way for a reason: They’re good at holding onto their stuff for themselves. And it would knock your socks off to find out which of your acquaintances are the most generous with their wealth. Because they are so generous, they tend to keep very little for themselves to flaunt.
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 11:24
I have been a support-raising missionary for nearly a quarter of a century, and I don’t know why I’m still surprised, but I am. Those whom I think could give generously to support the mission often do not. Sometimes, they look like they can because they have lots of stuff. Yet often, those whom I am afraid to ask—because they don’t look like they can afford it—are those who write checks in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
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