Four Presbyterian churches in the South Hills -- from Mt. Lebanon to McKeesport -- have formed a local network that members hope will be part of a national initiative to renew and reform mainline Presbyterianism.

Beverly Heights United Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon, Lebanon Presbyterian Church in West Mifflin, Mount Vernon Community Presbyterian Church in McKeesport and Round Hill Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth have formed the New Wineskins Ministry Network of the South Hills, according to the Rev. Richard G. Wolling, senior pastor at Beverly Heights.

"The New Wineskins Initiative is an attempt to bring renewal and reformation to the denomination," said the Rev. Wolling, who believes the theology of the Presbyterian Church USA has drifted so far away from its origins that "there is a constitutional crisis."

"Our denomination doesn't know what it believes any more," said the Rev. Bob Titus, pastor of Lebanon Presbyterian Church in West Mifflin. Pastors of the other two churches did not return calls.

Pastors of the four churches signed a network covenant that says they will "agree to support one another's ministry through prayer and by sharing resources, nurturing fellowship, offering encouragement and holding each other accountable," said the Rev. Wolling. Each congregation, through its session (board of elders) endorsed the initiative, he said.

"This is not a withdrawal at this particular point of time, but restructuring," the Rev. Wolling said.

The New Wineskins Initiative is a new national movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States with approximately 2.4 million members, 11,100 congregations and 14,000 ordained and active ministers.

The initiative is a growing movement against what some characterize as a growing tendency toward liberalism and secularism within the denomination, which continues to tangle with controversial social and moral issues such as abortion and the ordination of actively gay clergy.

The Rev. Titus said the issues go far beyond the controversial social ones.

He said so many Presbyterian ministers are saying things, such as "Jesus is a way to salvation," instead of "Jesus is THE way to salvation.

"This just doesn't cut it for Christians," the Rev. Titus said.

"One of the hallmarks of Protestantism is that we stand on the authority of Scripture," the Rev. Titus said. "Now they have taken an Exacto knife to the passages they don't like."

The Rev. Wolling said the New Wineskins Initiative is calling for a renewed faithfulness to the traditional tenets of the church.

The New Wineskins Initiative has produced a proposed constitution that includes "theological essentials" and "ethical imperatives."

According to an online version of "The Presbyterian Layman," these are the essentials: that Jesus is the only Way, Truth and Life; that the Bible is the infallible rule of faith and life; and that God's holiness standards, including sexuality, are not to be compromised.

The Layman is a newspaper written by the Presbyterian Lay Committee, an advocacy group that supports conservative positions in the denomination.

During the first New Wineskins Convocation in Edina, Minn, in June, delegates from 85 congregations proposed dozens of changes in the documents, which still are being refined.

These call for changing the structure of the church so that higher governing bodies would be servants of the congregations, not their masters and regulators, according to "The Layman."

Here's how The Layman described the New Wineskins Initiative that was the outcome of the convocation in Minnesota last summer:

"It emphatically declares that Jesus is Lord. It accepts the Bible as a factual account of God's revelation. It specifies what every minister, elder and deacon ought to confess. It unapologetically states the Triune God has declared that our holiness ought to reflect his holiness. And it offers a plan for cooperative connectionalism to build the body of Christ, not toss it to and fro by every wind of doctrine."

The Rev. Wolling said the newly formed local network is the first step in organizing for "mutual support, encouragement and joint ministry" among the four participating churches.

He said the South Hills group already has sponsored a joint worship service and gathered its student ministries directors for planning future youth activities.

"We are hoping to do a pulpit exchange, where pastors will preach in each other's churches. We hope we can partner for a joint mission program.

"From my perspective, it is us being and doing what Presbyterians are," the Rev. Wolling said.

The Rev. Titus said the problems that the churches are trying to address are not with the Pittsburgh Presbytery, but with the national stand of the church.

"I think our Presbytery is doing a wonderful job of reaching out and standing firmly on the gospel," he said.

The Pittsburgh Presbytery could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The problem, as the Rev. Titus sees it, is that some leadership within the Presbyterian denomination "have forgotten why we are here."

He said some are more concerned about "power and promoting a social agenda rather than teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ."

The Rev. Titus said he has "no intention of taking my church out of the denomination.''

"I want to affiliate with those Presbyterians who are affirming Jesus," he said.