Presbyterian Church’s Chief Spokesman Resigns 1 Day After Election

The Rev. Clark Chamberlain of Houston, a clergyman who rose to chief spokesman of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), stunned the denomination Wednesday by resigning a day after his surprise election.

Delegates to the church’s General Assembly reelected the Rev. James Andrews, 63, after Chamberlain stepped down from a four-year term as stated clerk of the 2.8 million-member denomination.

“Because of reasons that are weighty and personal to me, and I think redound to the honor of the church, I am not able to go forward and accept your election,” said Chamberlain, 45, the stated clerk of the Synod of the Sun.

The synod is a regional Presbyterian body that encompasses Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

Chamberlain left without giving any specific reasons for his decision, and departed for Houston before the annual meeting ended Wednesday afternoon.

Other church officials and people close to Chamberlain said the part-time church official and philosophy professor was not prepared for the anti-incumbency sentiment that swept him into the job.

The stated clerk oversees the General Assembly and serves as the denomination’s chief ecumenical and public spokesman.

“My gut feeling is Clark really did not expect to win, and when he realized what he got into he was simply overwhelmed,” said the Rev. Hal Bray, associate executive of the Synod of the Sun.

And therein lies a lesson for the church and the nation, one minister said.

“It’s the (Ross) Perot thing: Throw the bums out without asking who the new person is who presents himself as an alternative,” said the Rev. Gordon Stewart, a Cincinnati pastor working with the Office of the General Assembly. “It’s a lesson to the nation to be careful.”

In the hastily called election for stated clerk Wednesday, Andrews defeated the Rev. Charles Hammond, executive presbyter of the Philadelphia Presbytery, 407-124. Andrews has been stated clerk of the national body since 1984.