As the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has faithfully sought to develop, grow, and equip leaders for the new millennium, we have simultaneously witnessed in recent decades the expansion of the church’s use of Commissioned Lay Pastors (CLPs). Because the evolving role of CLPs currently claims both its supporters and detractors, it is important that we understand the history of this ministry in order to appreciate its implications for our future.
Editor’s Note: Erin Cox-Holmes is the “mother hen”’ of the Commissioned Lay Pastor (CLP) program in Kiskiminetas Presbytery in Yatesboro, Pa., as part her duties as associate general presbyter. She helped develop their original training program more than 10 years ago; she led the updating of that program two years ago; and she serves as technical director of the distance learning component for it, in cooperation with six other western Pennsylvania presbyteries and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She teaches the Christian Education course for Dubuque Seminary’s program for CLPs. Outlook Editor Jack Haberer sat down with her to talk about trends and developments in CLP programs around the church.
The press has recently been full of talk about the voting habits of evangelicals. Reporters have learned not to call theologically traditional Protestants Fundamentalists. Now all members of “the religious right” are referred to as Evangelicals. But this also is a serious error.
When we use the term “customer-driven,” as opposed to “provider-driven,” to describe best practices in church management and program, we aren’t redefining church members as paying customers in a profit-making enterprise.
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia — While listening to a panel on Islamic economics in Sumatra, Indonesia, I surreptitiously watched the U.S. election returns on my wireless laptop. Strange. So far away and yet so close.
NEW YORK — (ENI) Millard Fuller, the founder of the humanitarian organization Habitat for Humanity International, who was later fired by its board, is being mourned as a visionary whose commitment to providing housing for the poor was rooted in his Christian faith.
LOUISVILLE — Bruce Reyes-Chow has never been to the Philippines, but his visit there this month will be a homecoming of sorts.
Reyes-Chow, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 218th General Assembly, is a third-generation Filipino — his grandparents are from the Philippines.
LOUISVILLE — (PNS) Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), has selected members for the General Assembly Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage.
LOUISVILLE — (PNS) I will admit it up front: This column is an unabashed promotion for the Big Tent event, June 11-13, in Atlanta.
The Big Tent will bring together several of our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) summer conferences in one place at the same time so that participants might experience the breadth and width of the ministries of the PC(USA).
SAN ANTONIO — As a child growing up in California, Linda LeBron loved spending time at church with her mother, who was a director of Christian education. “I thought what she did was so much fun,” says LeBron.
On January 31, one of the nation’s great Presbyterians joined the Church Triumphant. It’s still hard for me to believe John Anderson is gone. By the sheer force of his amazing personality he made his mark on both the church and the world.
LOUISVILLE — John B. Evans, whose life of service to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) included particular devotion to theological education, died Jan. 29 in Davidson, N.C. He had fought cancer for many years.
“New In Town”
This is an old story: a fast-track corporate executive is sent to Podunk, U.S.A., to take over the operations of an unprofitable factory and lay off all the deadwood so the bottom line improves. But when she arrives there, all business and clacking high heels and attitude, she’s not exactly received with warmth by the locals, who are wary of her for good reason. She’s likely to fire them all. Plus she’s a bit full of herself. Not a winsome combination in a small town.
DULUTH, GA. (PNS) — Although Sue Youngsook Yon is intimately acquainted with loss, she has also experienced profound rebirth, most recently in following her call to become one of the first Korean-American women to be certified as a Christian educator in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
LOUISVILLE — The annual conference of Presbyterian Men is all set for April 17-19 in Denver with the theme “Challenges Facing Men in the 21st Century.” It will include worship, workshops, fellowship, and a number of keynote speakers.
(ENI) — Thousands of people are gathering in Brazil for the World Social Forum to address exploitative globalization, while organizers say the economic crisis illustrates that its message, "another world is possible", is more essential and more possible than ever.
(ENI)--Calls for a return to basic banking and an economy propelled by values other than greed have been made in London, one of the world's financial capitals, at a conference of Christian thinkers examining the current economic crisis.
(ENI)--Human rights advocates are praising the decision of a Spanish judge to formally investigate the role of Salvadoran military members in the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests and two others during El Salvador's 12-year civil war.
Reading and reflecting on Erwin C. Barron’s three-part essay on the perennial controversy over ordination of gay and lesbian pastors — (November 10, 17 and 24, 2008 issues of The Presbyterian Outlook), as well as subsequent related letters from readers — has been a discouraging experience for this observer. A highly contentious vote of the presbyteries is coming, and a basis for genuine consensus does not exist. No matter which side “wins” the presbytery balloting in coming months, the issue will not be settled and will not go away. It seems probable that continuing contention in the short term will only delay the adoption of a widely accepted way forward, but that forbearance in the short term could favor success over time.
I was five when I was baptized. I don't know why they waited, but one Sunday my parents took me and my little brother to the local Presbyterian Church. I vividly remember standing in front of the congregation, excited, knowing something very special was happening but entirely unsure of what it was. An elder from the Session gave us each a tiny embroidered rainbow as a reminder of God’s Covenant. It still hangs in my childhood room in my parents’ home.
Anne Martin Wilson Rowe, 74, of Fredericksburg, Va., died January 24 at home after a long illness. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, January 30 in The Presbyterian Church in Fredericksburg.
(ENI)--Groups campaigning for changes in the Roman Catholic Church plan to convene a "worldwide assembly of the people of God" in Rome in 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council.
LOUISVILLE — Twenty years ago, Brad Smith, a seminary intern at Spring Valley Church in Columbia, S.C., asked worshipers to bring donations of canned goods and money on Super Bowl Sunday to help feed the local hungry.
In 1944, global economic leaders gathered at Bretton Woods to plan the massive economic recovery that would be necessary after the destruction of World War II. Out of that meeting came such financial institutions as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
If the chief end of man [and woman] is to glorify God, then the central purpose of worship must be the same. While pursuing that purpose, would it be inappropriate for worshipers to enjoy God as well? Reformed worship proclaims God’s greatness. It also teaches participants to order their beliefs and behaviors in godly ways. It calls believers to gather in community and to scatter into mission. But enjoy God? Not in First Presbyterian Church!
© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO