'Sea change' for evangelical group

Christian Century, March 22, 2000 by Rns

But for 85-year-old Eunice Posset of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the worship style was going to take a bit of adjustment. "This is different from previous conventions that we attended," said Posset, who with her husband, John, attends a Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America congregation that only sings psalms a cappella. "Personally, the noise, the constant instrumental music during prayer time is foreign to me." Yet she remains confident the NAE will find its way because "the message is the same."

Others are taking a wait-and-see attitude as they watch the organization evolve with a new generation of leaders. "To me, NAE's a huge battleship," said Terry Powell, a district superintendent over Indiana and Michigan congregations of the Missionary Church, an Indiana-based denomination with 440 U.S. churches. "It's going to take a while to get it turned around and go in another direction.... I think the best days of NAE may well be just ahead."