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A legacy of impact: A college ministry program shapes future church leaders

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The alums are scattered across the country in various ministries, but if you ask them to talk about the genesis of the group that united them, they can talk for hours. And they all remember the music. John Williams, chaplain of Austin College, is nothing if not of a lover of good tunes. He typically has a tidbit or two to share about the artists he gleefully plays, but that is to be expected: Williams also loves fun facts, history and sharing his love of fun facts and history with as many people as possible. For the last quarter century, Williams has led the Austin College ACtivators, a group of students who plan and lead youth ministry events for young Presbyterians. The group began in 1995, early into Williams’ tenure as chaplain of Austin College, a Presbyterian-affiliated college in Sherman, Texas. Williams, searched for new ways to engage students and, in his words, “spread the good news about Austin College” to Presbyterians in Texas and beyond. “It was one of those happy … [Read more...]

Tagged With: college/YA

Ministry together — September 16, 2019

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Where do we look for guidance and help? How do we imitate Christ and become a witness to others of God's character? In a culture fascinated with superheroes, how can the church share the saving power of God? This issue invites you to consider the importance and power of relationships: mentors, models and networks of support. Click here to read the issue in the Uberflip reader. Our need for superheroes The church can speak a word of hope into a world hungry for superheroes. A legacy of impactA ministry program at Austin College shapes future church leaders. Deep and wide New educational offerings from the Board of Pensions support wholeness. … [Read more...]

A lot like a bowtie

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    Guest commentary by William McConnell About two years ago, I went to the dark side. I succumbed to the temptation to be one of the “cool” Presbyterians. (Is that an oxymoron? I think not). It was predestined to be. I started wearing – wait for it – bowties!The denomination’s stated clerk wears them regularly. There is even a day at General Assembly where everyone on the platform wears a bow tie in honor of the late Bill Forbes, who for 35 years was platform manager for the assembly. So, with great fear and trepidation, trusting in the providence of God and counting on the perseverance of the saints and my own patience (or lack thereof), as I struggled to decipher the tying instructions on YouTube I took my first plunge into bowtie-dom. Bowties have a long and storied history. They are first recorded in 17th-century Croatia. They pre-date Langsdorf (long) neckties by some 300 years. They aren’t easy to tie. They don’t give your belly any protection from … [Read more...]

Andrea Mosie

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“Every time you handle a sample, you … realize that you’re one of the few who will ever be doing this. … That’s a special opportunity, and it’s an awesome responsibility.”  – Andrea Mosie, curator of rocks collected from the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Apollo 11 mission (in ScienceNews) … [Read more...]

Grace or faith?

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A Lutheran and a Presbyterian walk into a bar … Presbyterian: ‘’Hey friend, the other day I was thinking about you. I was crossing a very busy street and I prayed that God’s grace would keep me from being run over by the cars! I know you always tell me to have faith. I wonder what is more important, God’s grace or my faith? “From my part, I like to say that if I am going err theologically, I’d rather err on the side of grace. I love St. Augustine’s concept of prevenient grace. This fancy phrase means that grace – unmerited favor from God – is irresistible. God is constantly and intentionally reaching out to us as our Creator and Sustainer, as a mother or a father would to a child.”  Lutheran: “Okay my Presbyterian friend, consider this. Let’s think of faith as a turning or a responding to God’s reaching out to us. It’s as though we are saying that the pure gift of God’s grace becomes real for us ‘through faith.’ I think that’s what Paul is getting at in those big verses in … [Read more...]

The church as pastor (50 years ago)

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50 years ago — August 11, 1969 The celebration of our national achievement of space travel and the Apollo 11 moon landing brought a brief respite from troubling domestic concerns. There were still great issues we faced as a nation and recent seminary graduates were being sent out to minister to the people. The Outlook established a forum for key seminary faculty to bear words of encouragement to the new pastors and the churches they would serve.  “The greatest problem, as I see it, for pastoral ministry in the years lying immediately ahead, is the rapidly increasing polarization of opinion, not only within congregations, but in our culture as a whole. It will not be helpful, even if it were any longer possible, to strive for a non-committal neutral posture in the face of strong cleavages of opinion on crucial questions that plague every institution and structure in our society. Pastors will have almost unprecedented pressures brought to bear on them to take a firm and visible … [Read more...]

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