Jim Singleton, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs and a church historian, introduced the idea – with a new proposed list of questions. “We tend to expect what we inspect,” he said.
Here are the types of questions those congregations joining the new Reformed body, which is being called the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, would be asked to address annually to their presbytery, as an exercise in mutual accountability:
1. How has the Holy Spirit been evident in your congregation in the past year (through conversions, growth in the fruit of the Spirit, or other transformational experiences in the congregation)?
2. How has your congregation extended itself beyond its bounds through the establishment of new communities of worship and discipleship?
3. In what ways is your congregation seeking the welfare of the “city” (community) to which we are called?
4. How has your congregation devoted itself to the poor in this past year? Describe the evidence of the heart of compassion.
5. How has your congregation sought justice as an expression of the Kingdom of God?
6. Describe the state of moral expression in your congregation – are you more like the world or more like participants in the values of the Kingdom of God?
7. How are individuals, including women, men and people of different ethnic groups, experiencing the call to full-time or part-time ministry in your congregation?
8. Describe how the idea of ministry as the joy and calling of every disciple is evident in your congregation.
9. Describe how your employment practices are moving toward an expression of the values of the Kingdom of God.
10. Explain how your congregation understands its commitment to the larger church through our connectional relationship with the Body of Christ.
