During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama affirmed directly that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. Will his profession be demonstrated in the legislation he promotes and in the leadership he exerts?
So how was your 2008? On many fronts it looked bleak: the collapse of the financial markets, an often ugly political race that turned incendiary on religious issues, continuing conflicts among the world’s religions — including stepped up persecution of Christians in some mostly Muslim and Hindu countries.
‘Tis a sign of the season: Brunswick, Ohio, cancelled its holiday lights display due to a lack of money. Snowflakes normally hung from the downtown light poles stayed in storage for possible use next year.
'Tis the season for looking back
His initial words seemed so harsh, but the others’ response was stunningly gracious. Now, together, they have become conversation partners, and an avenue toward peace may result.
Day-after reflections of an election may sound dated when you read them a couple weeks later. That being said, now that you’ve heard numerous pundits’ two cents’ worth, the mail delivers a mainline Presbyterian editor’s two cents’ worth. That is to say, I write as one who aims to obey God’s will as revealed in the inspired words of holy Scripture, as one who has a passion both to evangelize the world and to promote justice, as one who promotes the ministry of reconciliation and connectionalism, and as one who above all aims to glorify God. All this is motivated by living in the hope, the audacious hope, of the resurrection.
Beware the dangers lurking in the pages of the magazine you are holding. This “Just the Stats” issue can mess with your head.
Mark Twain once said “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who believe there are two kinds of people, and those who do not.” This week we begin a three-part series of articles by Edwin Barron on two kinds of churches. They reflect great research and offer lots of insights.
In times of economic upheaval, everybody gets inconvenienced. Most feel anxious. Some — a minority — actually lose their jobs, their homes, their savings, even their hope. Their plight often goes unnoticed.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled cycle of reporting to direct our attention to you. Older folks speak often of you as “the church of the future;” at other times they amend their words with: “The youth ARE the church right now.”
As Michael Lindvall reminds us in this week’s Benedictory column, history should be a “distant mirror” that helps us see ourselves and our times more accurately. This week’s issue of the Outlook turns our eyes to what may be the clearest mirror into which we Presbyterians are inclined to gaze: the life and writings of John Calvin.
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). If ever there were a living example of the Romans 7 dilemma, it is parading before us daily on the campaign trail. Two great men, both aspiring to be the 44th president of the United States, are behaving in ways that flat-out contradict so much of what they have promoted throughout their careers.
October: Pastor Appreciation Month. Just the kind of thing Hallmark would invent to sell more cards.
Did you notice, in the Sept. 1 edition of the Outlook, the curious juxtaposition of our extolling the Presbyterian way of life, while half the news section focused on the Anglican way of life? No, I wouldn’t trade our elders and deacons for their bishops. But those bishops were making news.
Seminaries: the schools you hate to love.
Most pastors deeply appreciate their respective theological alma maters (see report on p. 10). They thank God for the superior scholarship, for their favorite faculty-mentors’ attentiveness, and for the community spirit they experienced.
So where does that road go that’s paved with good intentions?
Sister elder, brother deacon, do you get it? Do you understand how radical it is for you to have been ordained to your position of leadership?
As editor of a magazine that speaks to the whole church, I feel compelled to speak to friends of various convictions — while allowing all others to overhear the conversation. Two weeks ago I began with the group that has most nurtured my faith: conservative-evangelicals. Last week, I wrote to those who have broadened my vision: liberal-progressives. This week, I address those who have grounded my churchmanship, centrist-ecclesiasts.
As editor of a magazine that speaks to the whole church, I feel compelled to speak to friends of various convictions — while allowing all others to overhear the conversation. Last week I began with the group that has most nurtured my faith: conservative-evangelicals. This week, I write to those who have broadened my vision: liberal-progressives. Next week, I’ll address those who have grounded my churchmanship, centrist-ecclesiasts.
As editor of a magazine that speaks to the whole church, I feel compelled to speak to friends of various convictions — while allowing all others to overhear the conversation. This week I begin with the group that has most nurtured my faith: conservative-evangelicals. Next week, I’ll write to those who have broadened my vision: liberal-progressives. Then I’ll address those who have grounded my churchmanship, centrist-ecclesiasts.
Call me crazy, but it’s time for us Presbyterians to act like Congress. Yes, I know that the voter approval rating of the U.S. Congress — 19% in mid-June, even worse than the president’s — is the lowest in recorded history. But Congress does have three attributes we do well to emulate.
“It was his youthfulness.”
“He’s the new Rick Ufford-Chase.”
Welcome to the ’tweener edition of The Presbyterian Outlook. We go to print too early to be able to report any news of the General Assembly (one exception: see p. 6). You receive the magazine about the time the Assembly is adjourning, so any pre-Assembly analysis we might offer is moot. Hence, we find ourselves caught in the middle — in between the times.
As proud bearer of the nickname, “Honest Habe,” I begged to be given the part of that heroic senatorial candidate, when Mr. Warnaar assigned our fifth grade class to re-enact the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Greg Smith was assigned the role of Stephen A. Douglas, and, sure enough, I drew the name of Abraham Lincoln.
When the General Assembly commissioners* take up proposals regarding sexual orientation and practice, three questions will hang in the air.
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