The Presbyterian Outlook, Author at The Presbyterian Outlook

U.S. tries to raise profile of religion

WASHINGTON (ENI/RNS) O ften accused of ignoring religion as they craft foreign policy, the White House and State Department are trying to show that religion is a rising priority for U.S. diplomacy.

Multichannel Church Report

Embrace change to grow your ministry

You don't need to remember Danny & the Juniors, the Beatles, Pearl Jam or even Red Hot Chili Peppers to know that churches are plying their trade in a rapidly and vastly changing world.

Book Reviews

Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality

by Belden C. Lane
Oxford University Press. 312 pages.

For Belden Lane, all creation is pulsating with desire and delight.

Voices

A LITANY OF REFLECTION: A Community-Wide 9/11 Observance

Leader: Ten years we were brought to our knees as a nation in shock,
fear, anger, grief. For perhaps the first time, we woke up to God’s truth that
we are as vulnerable as the rest of humanity.

Book Reviews

Year of Plenty

by Craig L. Goodwin (Foreword by Eugene Peterson)
Sparkhouse Press (imprint of Augsburg Fortress). 220 pages.

Looking for something fresh, restoring, creative? Presbyterian pastor Craig Goodwin’s “Year of Plenty” may be just the thing — a book for our time.

Mexican Presbyterian Church votes to end 139-year-old relationship with PC(USA)

The National Presbyterian Church of Mexico (known as INPM) has voted to end its 139-year partnership in mission with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in response to the PC(USA)’s decision earlier this year to allow the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians.

Pre-Minneapolis Reflections

Let’s all take a deep breath. In the run-up to our time in Minneapolis, we must ask ourselves what has changed and what has remained the same.

What has changed is that a majority of PCUSA presbyteries have voted to remove the requirement from our Book of Order that all ministers, elders and deacons practice fidelity if they are married and chastity if they are single. The substitute language that is now part of our constitution calls upon leaders “to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

Taste and see that the Lord is good, NCD conference told to embrace full humanity of Jesus

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (PNS) As anyone who’s ever been to a church potluck knows, food that looks good can taste terrible. The same can be said for our lives, said Kim Hammond, speaking Aug. 11 at the New Church Development Conference here.

New international mission appointees complete orientation: Assignments stretch from Haiti to Taiwan

Six newly appointed Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission workers, along with another mission worker who is assuming a new role, attended orientation last month in preparation for their assignments.

The universal tentmaker

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (PNS) Although the term tentmaking — serving as a minister while earning a living in another field — is often only applied to church leaders, all Christians should be tentmakers, said the Rev. Dan Kimball, speaking at the Engage Conference for new church development leaders here Aug. 10.

Movie Reviews

Film in review: “Crazy, Stupid Love”

Cal (Steve Carell) is an oblivious dad who complacently goes about his home life thinking everything is fine.

Movie Reviews

Film in review: “Sarah’s Key”

The reason we must keep telling the story of the Holocaust is that there are some people alive today who have never heard of it.

Here, there and everywhere: PC(USA)’s Young Adult Volunteers prepare to deploy

LOUISVILLE (PNS) Sixty-eight young people will gather at Stony Point Conference Center later this month for orientation as Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Changing times, changing needs: New church development pastors must be humble, teachable, authentic

BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico (Special to PNS) Twenty years ago, the ideal candidate for a church-planting pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was a 34-year-old married male with two or more kids, a dog and a mortgage. He was a charismatic leader who could draw people to himself, according to research done at the time.

Fellowship PC(USA) sends mixed signals- Minneapolis gathering will be multi-“tier”-ed

Written by Jack Haberer, Outlook editor
Friday, 12 August 2011 14:55

The Minneapolis gathering of nearly 2,000 Presbyterians on August 25 and 26 looks to be a potentially historic event, perhaps the beginning of yet another denominational division to rock the Presbyterian world. Yet leaders of what formerly called itself “Fellowship PC(USA)” and now is using the name the “Fellowship of Presbyterians” are acknowledging that unity among its own supporters will be tested, given that the participants come to Minneapolis with a diverse set of expectations of what they hope will result.

Meetings by foes of trends in church could hold portent for its future

They are coming to Minneapolis like stars flooding the night sky.

Editorials

That the devils might weep

If, as Charles Finney claimed, the devils of hell rejoice when the Presbyterian General Assembly is in session, do they rejoice doubly when other Presbyterians gather near the site of the previous assembly? The upcoming, two-day, Minneapolis gathering called by Fellowship PC(USA) has generated about 2,000 registrations, mostly from Presbyterians disheartened by recent constitutional changes that signal to them a turn toward hell. As they gather the devils have reason to hope and much to fear.

hooded youths ransacked hundreds of businesses and shops in many parts of

London, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham and smaller towns.

Northern Sudan Christians face challenges after South’s secession

Nairobi, Kenya (ENI)- As Christians in South Sudan mark one

month after independence, churches in the Muslim North are facing pressure

from government officials and members of the public who are demanding their

closure.