Share Power

Ever wonder why church members seem to complain all the time?

I think it's because they feel powerless in at least part of their lives, and church is a safe place to deal with that powerlessness. If your boss is a brute, then complain about something at church. Pass along the aggravation.

Finding truth on the page and on the stage

c. 2007 Religion News Service

Before I was a journalist, I was an actor.

Briefly, a semester or so ahead of my debut in the pages of the Wheaton College student newspaper, I became a member of its theater company, a group known simply as "Workout."

The company performed in the Arena Theater, a simple black box that was transformed miraculously into imaginative sets for various productions. Long since I walked its stage, that theater remains a sacred space for me. I was transformed inside its walls, touched by grace and the hand of God in a way I've rarely felt elsewhere.

What happened in Workout was wonderfully creative and deeply spiritual, no matter what material we were working with. I learned as much about faith and doubt, forgiveness and trust, holiness and wounded wholeness from a raucous production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" as I did from a magical adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's novel "A Wrinkle in Time."

Uncovering the origins of Christianity in Ethiopia

Ethiopia shall stretch forth

its hands to God.

Psalm 68:31

Why does this Ethiopian come among us?

Ethiopian Moses, 3

References about Ethiopia and Ethiopians, like the ones above, are sprinkled throughout biblical and extra-biblical writings. Most of us are familiar with Luke's story of the Ethiopian eunuch (a treasurer of a queen of Meroë) who confessed his faith and was baptized after his encounter with the evangelist Philip (Acts 8:26-40). New Testament interpreters generally view this passage as a fulfillment of Acts 1:8, which declares Christianity is to extend to the ends of the world. Yet after the dramatic conversion experience of the Ethiopian, we hear nothing more from him, the Queen whom he represented, or the other people who may have witnessed this encounter. And though the biblical text says Christianity is to extend to the ends of the world, we who teach and research the New Testament have no readily available (or accessible) path to the world of the Ethiopians.

Basics on church giving

Many congregations emphasize giving in the fall months and during the holidays. Here are some factors to consider when your church talks about finances, budgets, and contributions. 

·         Giving follows membership. A decline in membership will be followed one to two years later by a decline in pledging. An increase in membership will lead to an increase in giving. The best stewardship program is a major commitment to membership development.

·         People give for many reasons, some discernible, some not known even to the giver.

Essay winner: PC(USA)-related college equipped me for service

Editor's Note: This essay won the 2007 Outlook Church-College Partnership Award open to graduating seniors invited to write on the topic, "How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has equipped me for significant service and leadership." The winner received a $1,000 prize. Information for the 2008 contest is available on page 32.

... and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God (Micah 6:8).

Such are the words chiseled into the lintel of the Lyon Business and Economics Building at Lyon College, the college where I invested myself -- my time, my money, my heart -- these past four years. This simple yet powerful passage was the first thing I read on the Lyon campus as an entering freshman, and will be one of the last things I read when I depart as a graduated alumna. I have had many memories at Lyon and shared in its many famous traditions -- our rich Scottish heritage, our Spring Break mission trips, our close ties to the surrounding community. I have danced the Scottish fling, floated the Buffalo, taken class after class after class, and yet as I prepare to don my graduation regalia, spending what little time I have left reflecting on what four years at this institution have meant, this passage from Micah keeps entering my mind. I consider this passage the fullness of what it means to attend a PC(USA)-related college, what it means to attend Lyon College, and to go forth as a servant-leader walking humbly with our God.

Servant leadership at Eckerd College: A student’s experiences

Editor's Note: This essay was first runner-up in the 2007 Outlook Church-College Partnership Award open to graduating seniors invited to write on the topic, "How my education at a PC(USA)-related college has equipped me for significant service and leadership." The writer received a $200 award. Information for the 2008 contest is available on page 32.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 12, Jesus serves his disciples by washing their feet. Afterwards, he commands them to wash one another's feet. This example of servant leadership was the subject of a Bible Study given recently by Eckerd College's Dean of Students. Jim Annarelli led a group of students in a foot-washing service to demonstrate the importance of serving others and allowing oneself to be served. This is just one of many examples of how Eckerd College has fostered my passion for service and desire to act as a servant leader. My experiences of service within the classroom, through extracurricular activities and Campus Ministries, have provided me with many opportunities to develop my leadership skills within the context of service.  

Reclaiming our North Carolina heritage in higher education

The most visible change in mission funding in recent years has been that of ministries in higher education. The shift from both national and regional agencies (read synods) to presbyteries and congregations has been nearly universal. One observer of a new thing happening among the presbyteries in North Carolina says, "You've just reinvented the old Synod of North Carolina!"

The five North Carolina presbyteries, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, New Hope, Salem, and Western North Carolina share a common history and a common theology for ministry in higher education. Campus Ministry has long been the passion of Presbyterians in North Carolina, a commitment that embraces both public and private institutions. In addition, the five presbyteries have covenants with nine Presbyterian related colleges and universities.

Wrestling with the death penalty

We are not good enough to kill those who kill. We are too good to kill those who kill.

On November 22, 2006, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to execute murderers by lethal injection. "Conflicting medical testimony prevents us from stating categorically that a prisoner feels no pain," the court declared. "But the prohibition is against cruel punishment and does not require a complete absence of pain." On December 15, 2006, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida suspended the death penalty because of the troubled and lengthy execution of Angel Nieves Diaz. Bush appointed a committee to study lethal injections and their constitutionality and inhumanity. Shortly after Bush's decision, a federal judge in California ruled against the lethal injection system as a violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. On September 28, 2007, in response to the United States Supreme Court's halting of an execution in Texas, officials in that state declared their intentions to proceed with impending executions. At that time, 25 Texas inmates had been executed in Huntsville in 2007 by lethal injection.