(OGA) The Reverend Luke Choi has accepted a call to become the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s manager for Korean-Speaking Councils Support, a new position mandated by the 222nd General Assembly (2016). “I’m truly honored and excited to join the team PC(USA) in Louisville,” said Choi, who currently lives near Cleveland, Ohio. “Having served in diverse parish settings for the last eighteen years, I’m ready for this new adventure as the very first manager of Korean-speaking Councils Support.” “It is my hope and prayer that the Lord will bless me with many new friendships and joyful sharing of Christ’s missions for years to come,” he said. The position of manager for Korean-Speaking Councils Support is lodged in the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). Duties include working with Korean-language presbyteries, connecting with other presbyteries that have Korean-language churches among their membership, working with all mid councils, and connecting with synods. Choi, who … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2017
Two coats, barn building and the eye of a needle
If often we in the church don’t have much to say about economics, Jesus sure does. The sermon on the plain, a conversation with the rich young ruler, a parable about talents, admonitions about building barns, instructions for what disciples should take when they go on the road — Jesus doesn’t shy away from conversations about money and possessions. Why, then, are we so reticent to talk about them? Perhaps for pastor-types like me, part of our unwillingness to talk dollars and cents — tithes, taxes and fair wages — comes down to feeling ill-equipped to talk intelligently. I remember sitting in a meeting of the church trustees, looking at spreadsheets, line graphs and stock market reports and thinking, “This is Greek to me.” (Except, if it had been Greek I could actually have discerned some meaning.) Returns on endowments, draws on reserves, funds in which to invest, bonds, stocks, money markets, blah, blah, blah. Acronyms with which I was unfamiliar — ROI, P&L and AR — were … [Read more...]
The American church’s devil’s bargain
President Trump wants American churches to believe they are making Christianity great again. He has vowed to “destroy” a law banning tax-exempt churches from political speech and activity. His executive order on a ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries and refugees essentially prioritized Christian over Muslim refugees. One commentator positively proclaimed Trump to be a “powerful” if “unlikely” champion in the White House for Christianity. Should the church see this as a welcome opportunity, with an “unlikely” champion? If American churches want to maintain any sense of credibility, we must definitely and loudly say no. Let’s be clear: This is a devil’s bargain. Not that President Trump is the devil, but he is presenting churches a potential “good” in exchange for what seems like an unbiblical power grab and worldly protection. Thankfully, the choice for our churches is much plainer than other “devil’s bargains” – this isn’t a nuanced theological … [Read more...]
Writing
When people ask what I do for a living I no longer say “seminary professor.” Now, more often than not I say “writer.” True enough, other vocational roles are almost as likely to fill my days: “speaker,” “teacher” and “parent” are big ones. But writing is the core. Just now, the word is taking on a new meaning for me: I’m “writing” an icon. In more familiar terms, I’m “painting a picture” of the Archangel Gabriel. It is in the style, techniques and materials used for the traditional images you see in an Orthodox worship service. People pray before them, kissing them and making the sign of the cross. It is my second icon. The first was of the Archangel Michael, written during a weeklong workshop taught by two master iconographers. Why, to the Orthodox, is this form of painting “writing”? In the Christian East, icons communicate in their own very definite language. It communicates clearly in the scenes and people portrayed, and subtly in symbols of objects and lines, colors and … [Read more...]
Working in a time of change: Presbyterian Mission Agency Board considers changes
Conversations continue about ideas for reconfiguring the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board – with no consensus yet, but some potential points of attention beginning to come into focus, including questions of how diversity will be reflected and how the corporate board of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should be structured. Questions involving the structure and governance of the Presbyterian Mission Agency are likely to be part of the discussion as the Way Forward Commission meets in Atlanta March 6-7 – the second face-to-face meeting of the 12-member group. Meanwhile, the Governance Task Force of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board is hard at work on a proposal of its own to reduce the size of the board by more than half and reconfigure its committees. That proposal is on the agenda for discussion at the board’s next meeting, March 21-24 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Here’s some of the history so far. Governance Task Force “white paper” In January, the Governance … [Read more...]
PC(USA) asks administration to respond to Puerto Rico economic crisis
February 28, 2017 President Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump and Congressional Leaders: As leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in accord with the instruction approved by our 222nd General Assembly in June 2016, we write to urge you to use your good offices to ensure an effective, prompt, and humane response to the debt and economic crisis in Puerto Rico. This is especially important to us in that we have had Presbyterian congregations in Puerto Rico for more than 100 years. Puerto Rico’s unsustainable debt, which is more than two-thirds the amount of its GDP, cannot possibly be repaid simply by using spending cuts and tax increases, since those measures will inevitably accelerate the exodus of capital and labor and shrink the economy further. More importantly, this would result in even greater distress on people who are already in dire straits—more than half of the children now live below the … [Read more...]
Tweet With Us
Be A Facebook Fan
Our World in Photos
Pin With Us