Pulpiteer, entrepreneur
Members and officers, my word to you is this: be entrepreneurs.
The Presbyterian Outlook
Creating and curating trustworthy resources for the church, the Presbyterian Outlook connects disciples of Jesus Christ through compelling and committed conversation for the proclamation of the Gospel.
More Stories from this Author
Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook
Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook
by Joan S. Gray
Geneva Press, Louisville, Kentucky 2009
reviewed by Roy W. Howard
In the Acts of the Apostles Luke describes the beginning of the Church: On the day of Pentecost when the believers were gathered for prayer, the Spirit of God came upon them; they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Transitional Ministry: A Time for Opportunity
Transitional Ministry: A Time for Opportunity
edited by Molly Dale Smith. Foreword by Loren Mead.
Church Publishing, 2009. Pb., 194 pp. $20.
reviewed by Joel A. Alvis Jr.
When a church is without a pastor, there is anxiety and uncertainty. For many years a church in this situation was referred to as “vacant.” But it was obvious this did not mean the church was empty. Rather it meant the pulpit did not have a “permanent” occupant.
Film in review: “Eat, Pray, Love”
This film features a main character who’s maddeningly inconsistent, and frustratingly unhappy: not only with herself, but with everyone around her.
Christian group wants to stay in Afghanistan despite killings
BANGALORE (ENI) — The International Assistance Mission, a Christian development agency, has rejected Taliban claims that 10 of its staff killed in an attack in Afghanistan had been trying to convert Muslims.
Twin brother Paul
The city of Minneapolis could not have been more welcoming to the two or three thousand Presbyterians who gathered for the 219th General Assembly. But her quiet twin brother, St. Paul, also threw open his arms of welcome.
10 Minutes (or so) with Landon Whitsitt
Landon Whitsitt, the 33-year-old pastor of First Church in Liberty, Mo., near Kansas City, and I had lunch on July 5 — just two pastors sitting down at the pub for a friendly lunch — with my recorder. Landon was Moderator Cynthia Bolbach’s pick for vice moderator.
Middle East comm. scales its own wall to amend report; GA approves
MINNEAPOLIS —The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly overwhelmingly approved an amended report on conflict in the Middle East that aims at a careful balance between Palestinian and Israeli narratives of injustice and the path to peace.
UNDERSTANDINGS WITH MUSLIMS, JEWS STUMBLE AHEAD
MINNEAPOLIS —Commissioners to the 219th General Assembly voted overwhelmingly July 8 to approve a document outlining theological understandings between Christians and Muslims, but they referred back to committee a document aiming to bring greater understanding between Christians and Jews.
New FOG document heading to presbyteries
MINNEAPOLIS — A proposed new Form of Government is heading to the 173 presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for their consideration and vote. Sent by the 219th General Assembly, it has been four years in the making. Proponents say it will give the church more flexibility to meet the mission needs of a changing world; critics are unconvinced it will improve Presbyterian governance.
Assembly establishes new commission to help MGBs
MINNEAPOLIS — Help is on the way for struggling presbyteries and synods of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), thanks to the formation of a commission to aid middle governing bodies as they explore options for their future. The commission was formed by a sound 566 to 104 vote of the General Assembly, which met here July 3-10.
Assembly approves removal of fidelity, chastity; presbyteries to vote again
MINNEAPOLIS —Once again, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted to remove the requirement in the denomination’s constitution that those being ordained practice fidelity if they are married or chastity if they are single.
SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE OVERTURES TABLED BY GA
MINNEAPOLIS —Eight overtures that would have empowered pastors to perform marriages for same-gender couples in states where these marriages are legal were effectively tabled with little discussion in a late-night session of the full 219th General Assembly July 8.
GA call for action in earth care, specifically oil-soaked Gulf Coast
Minneapolis — “THERE’S A NEED FOR THE CHURCH TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE IN THE GULF AND OUR CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO IT,” said Amber Ellington, Theological Student Advisory Delegate (TSAD) from McCormick Theological Seminary.
G. A. votes to stand with immigrant Presbyterians; welcomes Belarus guest
MINNEAPOLIS —The General Assembly approved a commissioners’ resolution asking that Presbyterians “refrain from holding national meetings at hotels in those states where travel by immigrant Presbyterians or Presbyterians of color or Hispanic ancestry might subject them to harassment.”
BELHAR, HEIDELBERG: GA RECOMMENDATIONS
MINNEAPOLIS —The 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has directed a special committee to engage in a retranslation of the Heidelberg Catechism. And it voted to ask the presbyteries to add the Belhar Confession from South Africa to the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions.
Ministering outside the “mainstays”
The healthy and growing church will offer multiple and, yes, conflicting faith experiences.
Nuclear weapons about values, says pastor who survived Hiroshima
TOKYO (ENI) — A Japanese pastor who became a Christian after surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima says his decades-long pursuit of peace has involved a resistance to "nuclear weapons in the human mind."
Post GA: Anxiously awaiting the pronouncement
Now that the 219th GA has mercifully ended and the dust on all of the policy decisions is finally settling, what conclusions..
You must change the world, Campolo tells Presbyterian Youth Triennium
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 5,000 teenagers gathered at the recent Presbyterian Youth Triennium know the issues of the world: the environment, poverty, and war, to name a few.
Peters named president of Interdenominational Center
Ronald Edward Peters, director of the Metro-Urban Institute at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has been named the new president of The Interdenominational Theological Center, a consortium of African-American seminaries in Atlanta, Ga. He will assume his new duties September 1.
Retired Kenyan Protestant clergy break with successors on new law
NAIROBI (ENI) — A number of retired Kenyan Protestant church leaders have broken ranks with their successors to mobilise support for a controversial proposed new constitution for the East African nation.
It is easy to lose democracy, says Chilean Lutheran leader
STUTTGART (ENI) — It is easy to lose democracy but difficult to get it back, says the incoming general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Martin Junge.
New YMCA president says youth must take on global leadership
HONG KONG (ENI) — The new president of the World Alliance of YMCAs has said the movement will do more to provide services to people in need, and must "work urgently" to help young people take up leadership roles in global affairs.
Catholic bishops reject “oppressive” unity for Sudan
NAIROBI (ENI) — Sudan's Roman Catholic bishops say it is "tragic" their country's political establishment has made national unity unattractive to the people of southern Sudan, who vote on secession from the north in January.