“There is so little room for genuine give-and-take in our Presbyterian discussions these days, while at the same time so much hangs on how our conversations go. The issues that we are discussing are not simply topics about which we happen to disagree. They are matters that are vitally connected to the question of whether we can stay together as a denomination. In that sense, our present Presbyterian debates do not feel like friendly arguments over the breakfast table, or even the more heated kinds of exchanges that might take place in the presence of a marriage counselor.”
The issue referred to is the place of same-sex marriage and non-celibate LGBT ordination in the polity and practice of the church.
These are not my words but rather those of Richard J. Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, in a 2004 article in Sojourners magazine as he surveyed the denominational situation in the PC(USA). His article was titled “Why the Evangelical Church Needs the Liberal Church.” He clearly writes from an evangelical perspective but does so in a humble and forthright manner that I found winsome.
Source: Presbyterian Record | Fred Stewart