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Response to Ted Wardlaw’s 2/19/07 Book Review of Barbara Brown Taylor’s “Leaving Church.”

In response to Ted Wardlaw's well written review of Barbara Brown Taylor's last book "Leaving Church," in the February 19th Outlook, I..

“Justification by Grace Through Faith” is What the Reformation Confessions Actually Teach

I think each of us has at least one of what the French call our "betes noires," those little black beasts that drive us mad. One of mine is when I hear modern-day Presbyterians saying that faith is our response to salvation rather than saying that we are saved "by grace through faith." So while I enjoyed parts of Merwyn S. Johnson's, "The Marks of the True Church," Presbyterian Outlook, 3-5-07, I was disappointed to hear him repeat this overused--and in my view highly inaccurate--contemporary Presbyterian nostrum. He writes: "How can the Reformation marks of the true Church help us at the present time? Several things come to mind. First, the Reformation confessions have a whole different take on grace and salvation. Faith, they say, is the result of our salvation, not the cause of it." (underscore added.) He continues,  "The chief end of the Christian life is to glorify and enjoy God forever, not to be saved for its own sake (Mark 8:34f)."

Professor Bruce M. Metzger: One student’s remembrance

In his Reminiscences of an Octogenarian (1997), Bruce M. Metzger of Princeton remarks that it has often been said, "The snare of autobiographers is that we see ourselves neither as others see us, nor as God sees us." Dr. Metzger taught many of the New Testament scholars currently at work around the world. But he prepared many more of his students as pastors. I recall how some of us saw and benefited from his ministry in that role

“Downsizing” synods and presbyteries

Author's note: Denominational "downsizing" has continued with relentless persistence over the past 30 years due largely to changing views and practices of how Presbyterians ought to fund God's work in the church and the world. Periodic discussions have ensued about the various levels of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) governance and their optimum size and shape. The substance of the proposal that follows was first published in the Outlook in 1994. Much has happened in the church and the world since, but recent developments in the denomination have led to requests that the Outlook republish an updated version of the article. Perhaps the time is right for a new "big idea" that has potential to help us all re-imagine how authentically Presbyterian polity could be refashioned to serve the new needs of new times.   

On creating a Christian movement for peace

On September 26th of last year, I was arrested in the Hart Senate Office building in Washington, D.C., while participating in an intentionally nonviolent, interfaith prayer service to end the war in Iraq. I was not alone; 71 other people of faith and conscience were arrested that day as well, among them four Presbyterian pastors.

Coming out of that experience, a small group of us began dreaming of a new kind of witness for peace. It would be clearly, unapologetically Christian. It would be deeply grounded in worship and in prayer. It would be bold about who Christ calls us to be as peacemakers. It would be an invitation to join a movement of Christians who believe that genuine security will come only when all of God's people commit themselves to build right relationships with one another around the world.

Unity as work and diversity as mutual forbearance

"I believe we are at another such time in our life together when the focused and timely work ... could help us seek a more excellent way, a way guided by the Spirit of Christ seeking mutual understanding and enabling us to speak the truth in love," - the Rev. Syngman Rhee, Moderator of the 212th General Assembly

How can a Presbyterian congregation embrace "emergence" while remaining true to its historical roots? The members of Mountain View Church in Loveland, Colo., struggled with this thorny question, as have many other Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations. It is answering it in both a creative and unified way.

The wild, fierce and beautiful Spirit: Transforming church and community

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness (Acts 4: 31).

Rick Smyre wrote in a recent edition of Net Results: "All communities and churches will face, without exception, the need to transform themselves as the effectiveness of old ways crumble."* As we try to imagine new capacities for new realities, as we try to help people learn how to think differently, it will also be important to help people see God in new transforming ways. Our capacity to respond to new realities is either hampered or enhanced by the images of God we have inherited.

A Sunday surprise!

We gathered for worship at our 9:00 a.m. service on a recent Sunday morning. It was a special time--it would conclude with the baptism of a little baby. I welcomed the large contingent of family and friends who had joined us for worship, expressing to them my hope that the Scripture and sermon would speak to them on this special occasion. I would read from 1 Samuel 1, a tender passage about Hannah dedicating her son, Samuel, to the Lord.

However, instead of turning to chapter one of I Samuel, I unknowingly turned to chapter two. I began reading what I thought would be words of encouragement to the congregation and the family of the child to be baptized:

Personal reflections on the New Wineskins convocation

On February 9, I welcomed the New Wineskins gathering at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando on behalf of Central Florida Presbytery.  As I read and thought about the gathering in advance of the day, I remembered that there have been many ways to be a Presbyterian in this country down through the generations.  In the past three generations of my own family, there have been Presbyterian ministers in 5 denominations.  Grandfather served as a missionary in India for the UPNA for 40 years.  My father served in three denominations, the 'old' USA church, the UPC and the PCUS.  I have served in the PCUS and the PC(USA).  For us, the differences were matters of geography and history not controversy.  Still, I was reminded that there have been lots of ways to be Presbyterian; lots of divisions, and, thanks be to God, several reunions.

Beyond Polity

One of my treasures is a small volume titled, The Book of Church Order 1925, Revised Edition. This book is six inches high, three and one-half inches wide, and one-half inch thick, with big print and lots of white space. Our current Book of Order measures nine inches high, six inches wide, and is one inch thick, with much smaller print. Recognizing that the Book of Order had gotten somewhat cumbersome, the last two General Assemblies set into motion processes for shortening our current book and making it more user-friendly. The idea is to remove some of the material that is currently in the book and put that material in manuals to be used by groups such as committees on ministry, committees on preparation for ministry, and so forth. 

Our Seminaries: A Great Treasure

We have always known that the seminaries related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are centers of theological depth for the preparation of a new generation of ministers and church leaders. We are discovering much more than that these days.