I am back in an active search for another position. It has been 20 years since I was in the call process and a lot has changed. One thing that has not changed is Presbyterians’ love of TLAs. It is baffling when a congregational search committee uses acronyms that refer to local programs. The congregation I’m leaving, for example, offers ASAP, the After School Activities Program. It’s a great program and is accurately named, but it is not helpful to refer to it only by its initials. Likewise, local Presbyterians know that “SLAP” stands for Synod of Lakes and Prairies. (Being on the SLAP permanent judicial commission sounds like a position of real authority!) In the search process there are only three TLAs whose meaning can be assumed: PIF (Personal Information Form, what candidates send out to churches), MIF (Ministry Information Form, the congregational equivalent of PIFs) and PNC (Pastoral Nominating Committee). All other sets of initials should be defined. TLA stands for … [Read more...]
A family systems approach to parking lot meetings
I recently Googled the term “parking lot meeting” and discovered something surprising. A number of business and communication instructors currently employ this term positively rather than pejoratively. They use the term to describe a listening technique by which the meeting’s leader addresses important sidebar issues that surface in the meeting – but are not on the official agenda – by placing such issues in a “parking space.” The leader assures those who raised these concerns that they will either be addressed later in that meeting or at a later date. For years, family systems theorists have employed the term “parking lot meetings” in a more pernicious way. I now offer my definition of parking lot meetings from a family systems perspective: “Parking lot meetings” refer to private conversations that take place either before or after an organization’s official meeting or event where select persons of similar opinions discuss concerns about that organization and/or its leaders … [Read more...]
What’s right about Providence Presbyterian Church?
Providence Presbyterian Church — Gum Spring, Virginia Our historic, wood-frame structure has been in continuous use as a house of worship since 1747. But the brightly colored playground equipment situated directly behind the old sanctuary perhaps symbolizes what is most “right” about Providence. Our small, multigenerational congregation is dedicated to including children in the church’s life, as well as to serving the children of our neighbors, both near and far. Our “Backpack Blessings” program assists local children who are at risk of hunger when school is not in session. Last year, we offered a blessing as the youth returned to school and collected an offering that will provide over 20 students at La Gonave School in Haiti with lunch for the entire school year. For the last 29 years, Providence has also hosted and supported a vibrant, weekday preschool. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them” (Matthew 19:14a). The good folks of Providence have … [Read more...]
A letter to church that I love
Guest commentary by Kris Schondelmeyer Dear church that I love: On August 14, a grand jury report detailing the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church and underlying cover-up was released here in the state of Pennsylvania where I serve as a pastor. The “40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury Report”starts out: “We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere.” This report has triggered emotions that for me are all too personal. I’ve read numerous Facebook posts from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) colleagues who’ve decried that the Catholic Church must change, and that Catholic leaders must tell the truth now. Some of these colleagues have even expressed a sense of gratitude … [Read more...]
Sacred Signposts: Words, Water, and Other Acts of Resistance
Benjamin J. Dueholm Eerdmans, 176 pages Reviewed by Gordon Lindsey When we review the ways Christians have expressed their faith, we face a puzzle. Theologies vary. So do ethical systems. Worship styles come and go. So what gives the Christian movement its continuity from generation to generation, from culture to culture? It is the enduring practices of Christianity, contends Benjamin Dueholm in his new book “Spiritual Signposts.” “If nothing else, a religion is what it does,” says Dueholm, a Lutheran pastor. “We take hold of religious practices, and they take hold of us.” And so he devotes his book to discussing the “central, sacred, vexing practices of Christianity, the ‘holy possessions’ by which Christians receive and enact their faith.” For Dueholm, those seven holy possessions include the Word of God, baptism, Eucharist and the cross. His book reflects on each in a separate chapter. I found these chapters thought provoking in ways I did not expect. In each case, I came … [Read more...]
The power of relationships
Church musicians have been supplementing their income with other jobs for many years. I observed my musical mentors and those observations shaped my calling — including the first and most important lesson I learned about navigating bivocational ministry. I was called to music ministry after serving in multiple roles at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. My home church used the organist/choirmaster model, so I saw mentors Franklin Pethel and Patrick Murphy working masterfully as full-time church music professionals. I also learned from Sam Doyle, my high school music theory teacher. In addition to teaching high school, Sam served a local Episcopal church. This model seemed to fit my skill-set better, so I chose to major in music education and look for part-time church work. I had observed Sam successfully model these two related vocations. But there was an important lesson I would soon learn by living it firsthand: the importance of building relationships. I … [Read more...]
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