I had been a member of the southern Presbyterian church for ten years when, in 1954, two great issues confronted its General Assembly: (1) After our separation of 1860, should we unite with the "northern" Presbyterians? (2) Should we resolve to support the desegregation of this country's public schools?
In that spring an official "yes" to the second question was on its way to Assembly vote from its Church and Society Committee. Ironically, just before the GA came the Brown decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ever after, southern Presbyterians were given little credit for that "yes."
Just twenty-five years ago, the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) reunited at a meeting of their General Assemblies in Atlanta, Ga. -- to the joy of many! We should remember and celebrate this occasion. We should use it also to recall our Presbyterian past of divisions and unions over the centuries.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of that June 1983 day in Atlanta when the northern UPCUSA and southern PCUS became the reunited Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a time, not of nostalgic indulgence in a past that once was, but a time to engage in honest reflection on how far we have come in fulfilling the dream that brought us together and see how far we have yet to go in becoming a new Church.
First, denominational reunion would never have taken place in 1983 had it not been for the creation and existence of eighteen union presbyteries between 1970-1983, once called "the most unique phenomenon in North American Presbyterianism." The constitutional changes that made their creation possible were achieved under the win-lose polity of majority rule with close majority votes.
I was born into the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA), went to one of its six colleges, and was ordained after graduating from its only seminary, Pittsburgh-Xenia. In a sense, the uniting of the Presbyterian family in the United States became one of the hallmarks of my 50 years in the ministry.
In May 1950, our stated clerk received from the Presbyterian Church U.S. (PCUS) and the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (PCUSA) "an invitation to unite with them in their program of acquaintance and cooperation and in the plan of union which they were jointly developing."
The Presbyterian Outlook has a long history of advocating unity among Christians. In the April 7, 1947 issue (vol. 129, no. 14, page 7 the co-editors, Aubrey N. Brown and Ernest Trice Thompson, share an editorial that strongly supports reunion between the branches of Presbyterianism. It is reprinted in its entirety below.
For some, baseball is more than a game. Don McKim, a retired Presbyterian minister, theologian and writer, reflects on the spiritual lessons he's learned from baseball.
DALLAS -- It's not reasonable to expect a three-day meeting in Texas to spit out all the answers to how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ought to approach world mission. But the folks gathered here for a consultation on world mission Jan. 16-18 did have some pretty clear ideas about what's happening in the world that Presbyterians can't ignore -- changes sweeping the land, whether people have figured it out yet or not.
The bottom line: this is a time of tremendous change, in the PC(USA) and in the world. As Paul Pierson, a former missionary in Brazil and Portugal and senior professor of the history of mission and Latin American studies at Fuller Theological Seminary has written: "The changes in the worldwide church today are probably greater than those that took place during the sixteenth century Reformation. The transition today is analogous to the shift from the Jewish to the Gentile church in the first century."
How the PC(USA) responds, how well it adapts to change and how quickly, may go a long way in determining what it has to contribute in a pluralistic world.
"I think we're talking about something big" said Rick Ufford-Chase, a former General Assembly moderator and executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. "I think we're talking about something that's a 50-year shift" in how the denomination interacts with the world.
Often the task of exegesis is to rescue truth from familiarity. The story of Jesus and the woman at the well is known, but its amazing surprises often are overlooked. A few of them are particularly noteworthy.
1. Dominical mission: Go in need of those you hope to serve. On arriving at the well, the disciples set off to the nearby town to buy food. The story assumes that they took with them the soft leather bucket that was necessary equipment for any traveling band in the first century.
A worsening United States economy is a huge challenge to churches. Church leaders need to prepare for it.
Even among loyal churchgoers, spiking gasoline prices, rising unemployment, unsellable houses, consumer indebtedness, sagging confidence in the future, and mounting rage over fair play in the marketplace test our constituents' willingness to support church as they know it.
Two of many examples: will Americans continue to contribute an average of $3,000 a year to their churches? Will they continue to subsidize out-of-the-way locations by driving 30 to 60 minutes at $10 to $20 a trip?
Atlanta. The city's soul still aches from the carnage suffered generations ago when the nation was divided against itself. In recent years, the city has become a healing place, a hub of reconciliation.
Forty years ago, the pulpit of the Ebenezer Baptist Church gave impetus to a movement of racial reconciliation. Twenty-five years ago, the streets filled with celebrating Presbyterians as they reunited after 120 years apart.* And, just a few weeks ago, 15,000 Baptists gathered there, and began to forge another reconciliation, a New Baptist Covenant. We Americans, and especially Presbyterians, might do well to study and emulate it.
On February 11, the General Assembly Presbyterian Judicial Commission issued a pair of decisions addressing questions about the Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108 that was adopted by the 217th General Assembly in 2006. These decisions have important implications in the life of the church, and have already generated many questions.
The case of Buescher v. Presbytery of Olympia (Remedial Case 218-09) arose when Olympia Presbytery adopted a policy that "any violation of a mandate of the Book of Order (2005-2007) constitutes a failure to adhere to the essentials of reformed polity and thus presents a bar to ordination and installation."
The GAPJC held that this policy was unconstitutional. In doing so, it strongly affirmed several core principles of G-6.0108 and the 2006 Authoritative Interpretation:
On January 7, Charles F. "Chuck" Burge began service as executive director of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, which publishes The Layman newspaper, the Layman Online, and Reformation Press books.
He succeeds Parker Williamson, who retired as chief executive officer on Dec. 31, 2005.
Burge worked with D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries for the past ten years, including serving as interim executive vice president. Coral Ridge ministries is based at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. CRPC is in the Presbyterian Church in America, a denomination that split off the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in 1973. Prior to his move to Lenoir, N.C., to assume his new post, Burge served on the session of the CRPC and was a certified trainer in the church's Evangelism Explosion program.
Something was different. It might have been that this service was happening on a Friday night instead of a Sunday morning, but that was not quite it. The church was uncharacteristically packed, but that was not it, either. That about 99 percent of its occupants were women might have been part of what seemed so unusual in that sanctuary. But more than anything what was palpably, noticeably different in this northeastern mainline United Church of Christ cathedral was the sense of anticipation, of expectancy and maybe even downright excitement at what was about to transpire.
So I showed them things.
Not much that was spectacular, in fact,
more the usual, ordinary stuff
like wild flowers, birds and seeds,
The Psalms contain a collection of metaphors for God that focuses on protection. These include: shield, high tower, fortress, high place, refuge, rock, and stronghold. These images use "homeland security" language. But in the Psalms there is also a minority point of view that describes God as "the good shepherd" (Psalm 23), the good woman (Psalm 131:1-2), and the good father (Psalm 68:5-6).
In the "flat" world of Internet-centric communications, churches are a major beneficiary.
Powerful tools once reserved for well-heeled organizations are available at little or no cost to everyone, including churches struggling to control costs. All it takes is the imagination to see possibilities, the humility to try new ways, and the will to overcome resistance from those who distrust technology or fight any change.
As a teenager in the 1970s, I was committed to following Jesus wherever he would lead. My spiritual mentors -- Christian businessmen -- directed me to follow the narrow way. They organized Bible study groups, taught spiritual disciplines, promoted moral purity, and championed absolutes. I followed their lead.
But, I also found their promotion of absolutes somewhat confusing. For example, as my parents' marriage unraveled, the mentors equated divorce with the unforgivable sin. Then our pastor separated from his wife. They not only fired him, they excommunicated him -- condemning him to eternal torment. The absolutes had to be maintained.
Reflecting on this passage in its entirety is beyond the scope of this brief article. Two high points will be our focus. The first is the Christological confession of Martha and the second is the surprising anger of Jesus and its aftermath.
In semi-retirement I turned down an opportunity to serve on the candidates committee, as we used to call it, thinking that if I accepted the assignment I'd feel like I hadn't retired from anything. I'm sure those who do serve the committees on preparation for ministry are much appreciated for the work they do on behalf of new "recruits." Here are some "post-game" reflections for the benefit of those who're soon to become "rookies" and are wondering and wavering about whether or not to enter the field.
The discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus focuses on the Trinity.
After an introduction, in the dialogue between the two of them, Nicodemus makes three speeches to which Jesus gives three replies. Furthermore, Jesus introduces each reply with the phrase, "Amen, Amen I say to you." Whenever this phrase appears something of supreme importance is being said. In the Gospel of John, only in this text do three occurrences of this rare affirmation appear. What is their significance?
Churches should be aggressive in using latest technologies, both to maximize return on investment and to communicate effectively.
An e-mail newsletter is central. The days of the printed and mailed newsletter are over. They cost too much and are read too little, especially among young and middle-aged adults. You can offer a mailed newsletter to those who prefer it, but not many will prefer it. (One large church estimates that a regular postal newsletter costs $2,100 to prepare and send, not counting staff time; an e-mail newsletter costs $15.)
No, not the E.T. or the J.P. that first come to mind. That's E.T. as in Thompson, and J.P. as in Price.
'Tis no small thing to try to fill the shoes of E.T. Thompson. Ernest Trice Thompson and his partner, Aubrey Brown, took over the Presbyterians of the South newspaper and turned it into The Presbyterian Outlook in April 1954. In the years that followed Thompson collected articles, edited them, wrote editorials, and wrote Sunday School lessons -- and did all that every week.
Slowing down, this holy season,
may be the way to go.
Letting go, at least an hour here
and there, of that wheel
with which you drive, and which drives you.
Recently the world of spiritual study and practice has been shocked by a previously unknown revelation about the severe doubts of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. For years she could not find Christ and at times doubted her calling to serve the poor. Some people wonder if they should continue to honor her as a spiritual mentor if she had such trouble finding her way.
Slowing down, this holy season,
may be the way to go.
Letting go, at least an hour here
and there, of that wheel
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