Guest commentary from 27 leaders in the 1001 New Worshipping Communities movement
We write as a group of grassroots leaders in the 1001 New Worshipping Communities (NWC) movement. We are leaders of new worshipping communities, pastors of recently chartered congregations and NWC coaches. We don’t presume to speak for all in the 1001 movement, but we do speak collectively as 27 leaders in the movement.
We write in response to the lengthy investigation concerning four of our colleagues in the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) office of Evangelism and Church Growth and the events surrounding it. Together, we issue four invitations to the PMA board, staff leadership and the whole church.
An invitation to gratitude
We invite the church to join us in gratitude for the four employees whose employment the PMA Board terminated. We know Roger Dermody, Eric Hoey, Philip Lotspeich and Craig Williams to be men of integrity, deep faith and abiding commitment to Christ and his church. We express equal thanks to the PMA staff continuing to serve the 1001 movement, including Vera White, Sara Hayden, Shannon Kiser and Caz Minter. These individuals have instilled vision, guided us in the discernment of our own calls, bestowed their wisdom, equipped us with their expertise and have been a source of collegiality and fellowship. Our ministries and the communities we lead are stronger because of your work. From the bottom of our hearts: Thank you.
We also invite the church to join us in gratitude for PMA’s executive director, PMA staff and the PMA board who embraced the vision for 1001 New Worshipping Communities. We too believe in this vision, and have devoted our time, energy, resources and professional lives to this movement. Thank you for saying yes to God’s call.
An invitation to self-examination
We are distressed by the events surrounding the conclusion of the “employment issues” concerning our four colleagues. We believe that the church’s most faithful response to the statements issued by Craig and Philip and the lawsuit filed by Roger should be informed by Jesus’ command to first remove the planks from our own eyes.
We invite and encourage the PMA board and staff to enter a period of self-examination regarding the way they treat and speak of their employees.
We invite the whole church to a period of self-examination regarding the way we speak of one another, especially on social media. Many comments in response to articles published by the Presbyterian Outlook on this matter have reflected a presumption of “guilty until proven innocent” and were written with words and tone not befitting the example of Jesus.
An invitation to reconciliation
We’re grateful for the statement that the Presbyterian Mission Agency is still deeply committed to 1001 New Worshipping Communities. We are your partners in this endeavor.
However, the way in which you have treated our four brothers and the lack of transparency over the past six months has broken trust with us. We want this trust to be restored. We want to be reconciled with you. It’s our conviction that mutual confession and forgiveness will deepen our fellowship with one another and make our common mission stronger.
Many of us will be gathered this August 10-13 for the 1001 New Worshipping Communities conference in St. Pete Beach, Florida. We invite Linda Valentine and the PMA board to join us for that week, to learn alongside us, to engage with us in open and honest conversation, to worship and pray with us and to seek reconciliation together with us at the table of Christ. The theme for this conference is “Pursued by Grace.” We can think of no more timely a theme.
As we believe that reconciliation can only come when truth is spoken, we urge the PMA board to release the report from Alston and Bird. We recognize that legal counsel may advise against such a move, but legal counsel is not head of the church. The head of the church is Jesus, who brings to light that which is kept in darkness. Thus, we urge the PMA board to bring the report into the light for all to see.
An invitation to renew our mission
The NWC movement has been a source of deep joy for all of us. We’ve seen transformation as lives are given and recommitted to Jesus. We’ve seen Christian communities rediscover God’s mission. We’ve seen the Holy Spirit manifested powerfully in Word and Sacrament. We are seeing a movement that reflects the fullness of God’s Kingdom in all of its ethnic diversity. This is the real story of 1001 New Worshipping Communities, and it grieves us that this story has been overshadowed by a costly legal investigation of a bureaucratic misstep that netted zero dollars lost.
We find ourselves in a challenging time and place to be the people of God. Now more than ever, the church needs to choose risk-taking faithfulness over self-preservation, nimbleness over bureaucracy, and a freedom to experiment over a fear of failure. The 1001 NWC movement is our best vehicle to pursue this new way, and it grieves us to see the movement’s reputation tarnished and its mission compromised.
We invite PMA and the whole church to renew our collective commitment to starting new worshiping communities. We still believe this is the best way to make new disciples and to build up Christ’s church. Many of us in the movement have been deeply formed by the story of Jesus sending out 72 disciples in Luke 10. We pray Luke 10:2 daily at 10:02 a.m.: Jesus said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
We invite the church to join us in this practice, because the harvest is still plentiful and the laborers still few.
Now, let’s get going. Jesus is sending us.
Rev. Michael Gehrling
Organizing Co-pastor, The Upper Room Presbyterian Church
Pittsburgh Presbytery
Rev. Sean Chow
Associate Pastor, St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church/ Refresh,
West Jersey Presbytery
Rev. Keith Gunter
Pastor, New Creation Church
Middle Tennessee presbytery
Nancy Wind
Ruling Elder & Coordinator, Isaiah’s Table: Grace, Hope, Food for All
Cayuga Syracuse
Aaron Howard
Pastor, As One Fellowship
Middle Tennessee Presbytery
Rev. Christopher Brown
Organizing Co-Pastor, The Upper Room Presbyterian Church
Church Planting Initiative Coordinator, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Pittsburgh Presbytery
Rev. James H Kim
Senior Pastor, The Little Church on the Prairie
Olympia Presbytery
Rev. Nichole Collins MacMillan
Chief Percolator & Ministry Director, Bare Bulb Coffee
Flint River Presbytery
Rev. Sandra Luciano-Andújar
General Assembly PCC Member, Coach
Central Florida Presbytery
Rev. Jeff Eddings
Pastor, Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community
Pittsburgh Presbytery
Rev. BJ Woodworth
Pastor, The Open Door Presbyterian Church
Pittsburgh Presbytery
Nicholas Warnes
Commissioned Ruling Elder, Northland Village Church
Executive Director, New Worshiping Community Incubator
San Fernando Presbytery
Rev. Dr. Steve Wright
Organizing Pastor, Common Villages
Los Ranchos Presbytery
Rev. David Moore
Pastor, New Summit Presbyterian Church
Heartland Presbytery
Rev. Brian Clark,
Co-Pastor, Riverside Church
National Capital Presbytery
Rev. Jeya So
Co-Lead Pastor, Anchor City Church
San Diego Presbytery
Rev. Daniel So
Co-Lead Pastor, Anchor City Church
San Diego Presbytery
Rev. Jeffrey O. Richards
Evangelist for New Worshipping Communities, The WordHouse
Sacramento Presbytery
Robert Douglas
Commissioned Ruling Elder, Lightshine Church
San Fernando Presbytery
Rev. Abby King Kaiser
Cincinnati Presbytery
Rev. Dr. Jan Armstrong
Coach and Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of Santa Barbara
Rev. Mary Cox,
Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach, Roswell Presbyterian Church
1001 New Worshipping Communities Coach
Rev. Cory Marquez
Pastor, New Abbey
San Fernando Presbytery
Nancy Graham Ogne
Organizing Pastor, Hope Presbyterian Church at Lake Nona
Central Florida Presbytery
Rev. Jin Kim
Pastor, Church of All Nations
Twin Cities Area Presbytery
Rev. Dr. Stephen Moon
Founding and Lead Pastor, Fellowship of Mosaics
Sacramento Presbytery
Rev. Blaine Hill
Pastor, Cherokee Presbyterian Church
Trinity Presbytery
