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Crossing the Bridge Together: Telling Our Story When We Have to Say Yes or No.

In his book Becoming a Blessed Church, Graham Standish points out that while the Presbyterian deliberative process produces measurable results, it has failed the church precisely at the point where church members need their leaders to be spiritually attuned to God’s will in their decision making. Nowhere is this moretrue than in Presbytery, where good Presbyterians compromise our unity and spiritual purpose for the sake of a major vote.

Reformation is never easy, unanimous, or noncontroversial

I write in response to the claims of Merwyn Johnson and others that for change in the church’s standards on ordination, the normal process of majority approval at GA and the majority approval of the presbyteries is insufficient. In his essay of 24 February 2011, Johnson urges that a “third way” be found that “allows the two sides to move forward together.”

Big Tent may be on the move

Presbyterians are being asked to hold off making travel plans for the 2011 Big Tent conference, scheduled to be held in Indianapolis June 30-July 2, because of a possible conflict with immigration legislation being considered by the Indiana state legislature.

White paper is a symptom of ‘Christological amnesia’

Pittsburgh seminary student presents scholarly critique of the White Paper:  “While I agree with the steering committee of the white paper that the PC(USA) faces critical issues, I believe these issues are merely symptomatic of a Christological amnesia on the part of the denomination. …  The white paper not only does not address this Christological crisis, but it also both serves as evidence of the crisis and threatens to exacerbate it through its proposed solutions…”

THE WHITE PAPER: Pastors mull whether to leave PC(USA) or seek a revamped affiliation with it

Last summer, when the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was meeting in Minneapolis, John Crosby attended an assembly for the very first time.

Crosby is pastor of Christ Presbyterian church, a 5,200-member megachurch in Edina, in suburban Minneapolis. For his 20 years there, Crosby has had what he describes as “a fairly nominal” involvement with the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area and the PC(USA) as a whole.

He walked out of the General Assembly thinking: “I don’t want my successor to have to endure this.”

Jean Southard same-sex wedding conviction overturned

A minister from Boston did not violate the Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) or her ordination vows when she married two women from her congregation, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) has ruled. The wedding took place in Massachusetts – one of a handful of states that has legalized same-gender marriages.

Confession? There’s an app for that.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (RNS)  A Catholic bishop in Indiana recently gave his imprimatur to a thoroughly modern take on the ancient act of confession with a thumbs up to “Confession: A Roman Catholic App,” a new application for the iPhone and iPad that helps users catalog their sins before entering a confessional booth.

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