Carlisle Executive Presbyter

Report to the Presbytery Nov. 15, 2011

2011-11-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

What is the Question?

What is the question? As I ponder the life and ministry of our Presbytery, I am both grateful and bewildered. As I ponder the life and ministry of our whole Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) I am both grateful and bewildered. As I ponder the next steps of our common life I would like each of you to consider what you belief should be the guiding question for our common life. What is the question that should guide and motivate our future planning and our decisions moving forward? I wonder if we can agree on the question that should be front and center for our discernment as a Presbytery. What is the question?

With that thought in mind, I have been gathering questions from my reading. These are all important questions, but they each take us a different direction.

I highly recommend a new book by Alan Hirsch titled The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. This book seeks to help the church move into a new future as a sent and sending people. The question that Alan Hirsch asks is this, “How did the early Christians do it? In fact they had none of the things we would ordinarily apply to solve the problems of the church, and yet they grew from 25,000 to 20 million in 200 years! So how did the early church do it?” Is that the proper question for us?

But then I thought that maybe our question needs to be more about our own spiritual lives in Christ. Maybe our guiding question needs to be the question the disciples asked Jesus, “How shall we pray?” Maybe our guiding question is a question about spirituality and prayer. I wonder if Richard J. Foster in his new book titled “Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer” asks the proper question. Richard Foster’s question is this: “How does God speak to us? What should we expect or even hope for? Are there conditions of heart and mind that open us to God’s loving – and terrifying – voice? How can we develop an inward, prayer-filled listening?” Is that the proper question for us?

Or maybe the question is not about prayer and spirituality. Maybe the question is about the way we do things as a Presbytery. On this vein, I found a great question in a great book by Peter Block. The book is titled, Community: the Structure of Belonging. This is Peter Block’s question. Is this correct question for us? “The core question, then, is this: What is the means through which those of us who care about the whole community can create a future for ourselves that is not just an improvement, but one of a different nature from what we now have?”

This is an important question because many of us here, and many of us who will bother to attend Presbytery meetings, serve on committees and spend long evenings at session meetings are people that love this church. We have been blessed, nurtured, formed by this church. It is hard to imagine a new, a different, a future way of being the church because the way we do church now has been so meaningful in our lives. How can we create a future church that is not simply an improvement, but a church of a whole different nature? That is a good question. Is that our question?

Or I wonder if our question needs to be a bit more practical. Gil Rendle has written a new book focusing on the future of the mainline churches in America. The title of his book is, “Journey in the Wilderness: New Life for the Mainline Churches.” Should the question that Gil Rendle asks be our question? Speaking to us in these mainline churches, this is his question, “What have we learned by living in the wilderness for the last forty years that will sustain us in the future?”

I will appreciate any consideration you may have as to what is the proper question now for us as a Presbytery. Amen!

Letter to the Editor of the Christian Century

2011-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

This letter is written to the Christian Century in response to their cover story in the November 15, 2011 edition, The Case Against Wall Street by Gary Dorrien.

Dear Christian Century;

Please help me know what to do. Since 2008 I have been trying to educate myself concerning our financial system, the banking industry and what exactly happened in 2008. The cover article in your Nov. 15 edition from Professor Gary Dorrien is the most helpful and clarifying introduction of our financial system that I have read. This article helped me enormously. But this article renewed in me the deepest stirrings of my soul to do something. I must change! I must respond! I must do something in my own life, as a faithful Christian, to respond! Please help me understand what my response may look like.

As much as I appreciate the Occupy Wall Street movement, and have followed their story closely, I cannot camp out in a park for a few weeks or years. I am the Executive Presbyter of a small Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in central PA. I have a busy professional life. I have a home, and children and many daily professional and personal expectations. Life is good for my family now. I have a great job which pays me well and is very satisfying. My wife also has a good job in our local medical center. In response to this economic crisis we have been careful about keeping our own finances in order. Both my wife and I contribute significantly to our 403b retirement savings plans. As a Presbyterian, I am a member of a solvent, well established and truly stellar benefits and pension plan. Since 2008 we refinanced our home down to 15 years with a remarkably low interest rate. Wells Fargo Bank, one of the biggest in the nation, has given us excellent service and an excellent rate on our mortgage. Because we are able to maintain a large, monthly balance including direct deposit of our paychecks we receive outstanding service from our local PNC Bank. I never pay any fees for our routine banking. In fact, with their rewards program and interest bearing accounts, I make money from our local bank. We have no credit card debt. In many ways I have benefited from our financial system because I have a good, paying job with excellent benefits and I am in clear command of my personal finances.

But I feel this nagging emptiness and yearning when I ponder these large financial questions. I feel guilty and privileged in my settled, upper middle class life style. We are getting by quite well, and we are well prepared for retirement. But having my own financial house in order seems inadequate when, in fact, I am supporting financial institutions which are allegedly acting so inappropriately. I am participating in this financial system, which seems to be doing so much harm to our social fabric. Deep down I feel a nagging guilt about my own good fortune. What should I do? How should I act as a faithful Presbyterian, as a follower of Jesus, in America today?

Charge to the Mechanicsburg Church

2011-10-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

Give Permission for a Jesus Movement

My charge to the beloved saints of the Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church is a simple, direct, two words, “Give permission.” Give permission to your newly ordained and newly installed Associate Pastor. Give him permission to dream dreams, see visions and do ministry.

I have been in our Presbyterian Church for a long time, all my life as a believer, and for more than 25 years of professional service. I know this will be hard for you to believe in Mechanicsburg, but I have learned that there are people in our church today who are discouraged. There are people in our church who are kind of weary, whose hands are hanging down, whose heads are kind of drooped, and, believe it or not, there are people in the church today – some of the them are elders and some of them are ministers- who do not feel good about our Presbyterian Church.

Then we come to a day like this. Here we are celebrating that God continues to call, God continues to work in the lives of young people, God continues to call people into service and ministry in our Presbyterian Church. How sweet is that! How can we possibly be discouraged? When these newly called people come into our midst we must stand back in awe and wonder and simply give them permission. Let him go to live into this powerful call from God. Let him go to dream about the ministry which God alone has placed on his heart. Give him permission. Do not hold him back. Do not surround him with constraints and limitations and expectations and demands. Give him permission. Let him go.

I am doing a lot of reading, pondering and discussing these days on the relationship between institutions and movements. What is the difference between an institution and a movement? This fascinates me, and I believe I am on to something important with this question. An institution is structured and organized, it knows how to make transitions and perpetuate itself. A good institution knows how to make decisions as groups, and knows how to share power, manage risk, and implement plans and strategies. A good institution always has a plan for the future. I am an institution guy. The Presbyterian Church is a great institution. I love the institutional church. The institutional church has formed me and nurtured me. I trust the institution. I believe the institution is beautiful. Many of you are just like me. Yes, session members, I know who you are.

But today, for lots of complex, social reasons institutions, including the church, have lost their ability to transform hearts. Transformation happens in movements. Movements are free, fast and flexible. Movements are relational, not structured. Movements are about transformation, not planning for the future, but creating a new future.

This is my thought experiment. I believe institutions and movements need each other. Institutions bring structure and longevity. Movements bring passion, enthusiasm, flexibility and freedom. Without each other, movements and institutions, both will die. We are in a situation today in the church, it is an exciting time, when the institution needs to encourage, needs to give permission for a movement quality in our midst. But an institution can only encourage a movement quality if, and only if, the institution itself is strong, vital, self-confident, proud and trusting. If the institution is discouraged or paranoid then the institution will constantly snuff out any movements that emerge near it.

Give permission for Mark to inspire a movement quality for Jesus in the midst of your church. Give him permission to be free, flexible, spontaneous, creative and imaginative. Give permission.

Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, you are on my short list of our top-tier churches who are helping us live into God’s new future. Go for it!

“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3: 20-21).

Mark Englund-Krieger
October 30, 2011

Report to the Synod of the Trinity Oct. 10, 2011

2011-10-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lend a Hand

Lend a Hand is the disaster response ministry of the Presbytery of Carlisle. Lend a Hand became associated with the Presbytery of Carlisle in response to Hurricane Katrina. We expected Lend a Hand to last about six months, and then we would be finished. Thus Lend a Hand since its first days in cooperation with our Presbytery has this sort of temporary, free form, flexible, close to the ground feeling about it. We do not have to worry about sustaining and continuing the work of Lend a Hand because we have no expectation that it will be sustained and continued. Lend a Hand operates day to day, disaster by disaster. Through these years, Lend a Hand has sent teams to Mississippi, Iowa, New York, Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia. Now our own Presbytery is a disaster response site.

The purpose of Lend a Hand is simple. There are victims of disasters. There are many people in the church who immediately want to reach out to, care for, respond to those victims. Lend a Hand has been successful because it has been focused like a laser beam on this one task: connecting disaster response volunteers with victims of disasters.

There is huge benefit in having such a singular, focused task. This focus allows a very fast response. The rain stopped and the rivers and creeks crested on Friday; Lend a Hand had teams in homes on Saturday.

Lend a Hand only works with homeowners. The ministry of Lend a Hand is comprehensive. We will work with homeowners from beginning to end. We will rebuild homes, in addition to simply cleaning them out. We have a database of skilled construction people, and we keep detailed skills inventory of our volunteers. For our response within our Presbytery now we have already a database of almost 200 homes that we are serving. We will track each home individually. We trust that volunteers will keep coming. We expect to continue this response within our Presbytery until next June.

What can we learn from Lend a Hand? I ponder this question often.

Lend a Hand has not been highly organized. We refuse to institutionalize Lend a Hand. So legally there is no such thing as Lend a Hand. It is not its own non-profit corporation; it does not own anything; it is fully owned and operated by the Presbytery of Carlisle. The Presbytery donates the time from our office support staff, office space and I am responsible for all financial management. But our Presbytery does not give Lend a Hand any money. There is no Lend a Hand board of directors; there are no by-laws or operating manuals; people are not elected; there are no long term plans, goals and objectives. Lend a Hand is a movement.

It is this movement quality that I want to highlight. It is this movement quality that may be something we can learn. We should ponder together the difference between a movement and an institution. Now there is no doubt that I am an institution guy. I was called, formed, blessed, and nurtured by the institutional Church. Many of us who would bother to attend a Synod meeting or a Presbytery meeting are the same way. The institution has formed us. A good friend of mine likes to say that I am so loyal to the Presbyterian Church that he is convinced that I have the Presbyterian symbol tattooed on my but. I also now believe that people like me – institution people – are obsolete and increasingly extinct. People today do not come to Jesus through the institutional church. People come to Jesus through much more free form, loose, flexible, relational, spiritual movements. We need much more of this movement quality in our common life.

This leads me to a difficult question, “Can institutions create movements?” How can we institution people create more of a movement quality in our common life? How do we do that? My conclusion is very clear for me. We cannot. Institutions cannot create movements. All we can do is get out of the way. This is very difficult for us. This is difficult for me. I am an institution guy. Institutions cannot create movements.

We may use Lend a Hand as a case study of this. Here is a tiny example where we have allowed a movement to flourish in harmony with the institution. My role in many ways is to serve as the offensive line for Lend a Hand. Lend a Hand is the quarterback. Too often, most of the time, we allow the institution to blitz and bury all the movements that rise up in our midst. My job has been not to allow our obsession with institutionalization to take control of Lend a Hand. Lend a Hand is a movement. This is very difficult for Presbyterians today. We want to institutionalize everything. A pastor walked into my office, closed the door, and said, “Suzie spends a lot of time doing Lend a Hand work. Don’t you think we should keep track of her Lend a Hand hours, and then Lend a Hand can reimburse the Presbytery for her time?” The institution is blitzing again. My response, “NO, we are not doing that.” Of course, afterwards I asked Suzie that question. Her response, “That’s dumb.”

Obviously, Lend a Hand is small and rather peripheral. It has been easy to allow its movement quality, its freeform, close to the ground way of running to blossom. But what if we begin asking the big questions? In the life of the Synod, in the life of our presbyteries, for the future of the church can we get out of the way and allow this kind of movement quality to emerge? And when such movements do emerge with energy, innovation and leadership in our midst are we going to blitz and bury them over and over again? Institutions cannot create movements. But we can give permission and encouragement. We can get out of the way. All over the world and throughout our society today there is a profound Jesus movement emerging. Can we institutional people get out of the way and allow that movement to bless and transform us.

Report to the Presbytery September 27, 2011

2011-09-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

A Spiritual Commitment to Camp Krislund

I must tell you that I have fallen in love with Camp Krislund. And over these years I have poured blood, sweat and tears into Krislund, and, of course, I am not the only one. My friend and colleague, Joy, the General Presbyter of Huntingdon Presbytery, likes to tell the story about me from about October 2005. We were both at a monthly Board meeting at the Camp. I had started this position in July, and this was, if I remember correctly, only the second time I attended a Board meeting. I remember taking Joy aside after the meeting. Joy had only started her position with Huntingdon some months before I started here. I said to Joy, “There is a lot of work to do here. I think I need to spend some more time here; what do you think?” She smiled and agreed, saying, “I think we both do.” Indeed, many of us have poured blood, sweat and tears into Camp Krislund for these years. Look at the reports you have in your packet on both summer camp and our financial situation. I am very proud of what we have accomplished at Camp Krislund.

I want you to know that I struggle with this deeply. I pray a lot about whether this really should be the way I spend so much time and energy. I wonder and pray if it was a good decision for our Presbytery to make such a massive commitment to this Camp. Joy and I have had this conversation with our other colleagues around the state. On several occasions when all the Executives gather for our support group together, I have brought up this topic of Camps. Indeed, I have brought up this topic in conversations I have had with Presbytery colleagues all across the church. What we are doing here is increasingly rare. Many, many presbyteries are abandoning their camping ministry, and selling their camps. Many Presbyteries are pulling back from putting energy, leadership and time into their camps. So I struggle with the fact that we are doing something different; and in my position, I am doing something very different than many peers.

I want to be very clear: I am all in for Camp Krislund. I believe it is an essential piece of our ministry together as a Presbytery. I believe Krislund is one of the vital connective links in our Presbytery. I believe that Krislund is one of the reasons why our Presbytery is a high trust, highly functioning, healthy system. I have a dream that Krislund may be a sacred space and blessing for church leaders throughout our congregations.

I have in my hand now a letter that is truly one of the most wonderful letters. It is from the Centre County Planning Commission telling us that we have permission to commence construction on our Krislund cabins. Indeed construction will begin on October 3. My mind is boggled at how difficult it has been to satisfy all the government regulations for this project. Now it is ready to go.

I hope you know what this means. We will be building at Krislund twenty cabins to provide adults a comfortable place to stay at camp; no bunk beds, no shared bedrooms. These cabins are beautiful. We have had one proto-type built and delivered to Krislund already. It is sitting in the parking lot at camp. We are ready to go with the site development which will include a new sewer system to service these cabins, the electrical plan to provide power to each cabin, the specifications on all the plumbing to hook up the water and sewerage, and we have a taskforce working to identify and create a budget for all the little things we need in each cabin like shower curtains, towel bars, bath mats, two Adirondack chairs for the front porch, a small writing table and some wall decorations. Each cabin is one room, with two double beds, a full bathroom with a shower stall, a fabulous front porch, air conditioning and heating. The cabins will be connected by asphalt walking paths to the retreat center where we will have all meal service and meeting space. It will be a great facility.

What am I asking for today? Today I am asking for a financial commitment to Krislund. You can see that we are proposing continuing our support for Krislund in our Presbytery budget for 2012. We will soon be asking our congregations that have not done so yet and who are able to make a financial commitment to this project. As soon as we payoff the construction loan that we will have for this project the sooner we will put Krislund on a solid, sustainable financial path.

More important today I am asking for a spiritual commitment to Camp Krislund. We want Krislund to be a spiritual retreat center. Our children and youth summer camp at Krislund, which is a stellar program, is secondary and supplemental. I believe that our rental services, which are growing, are supplemental. First of all, most of all, we want Krislund to be a sacred space where we can go to relax and breathe deep of the presence of the Holy Spirit. We want Krislund to be a place that is truly a source of blessing, renewal and peace for all our Church leaders. We want Krislund to be a spiritual retreat center for us.

Joy and I are working on the concept of a 24 hour retreat. When our cabins are available we expect to schedule a 24 hour Presbyterian leadership retreat at Krislund every quarter, thus four times a year. A 24 hour retreat starts with lunch. This means that even for our folks in McConnellsburg, Chambersburg and Gettysburg you do not need to leave very early in the morning to get to Krislund by lunch. Our 24 hour retreat will have lunch together, all afternoon to program and gather, dinner together, evening time together, a night sleep in the cabins, possibly some very early morning time together for those who like me enjoy the morning, breakfast, program and gathering time through the morning and ending with lunch. Then everyone can be back home by 4:00 in the afternoon; 24 hours at Krislund. We hope to create these 24 hour retreats to renew, enrich and bless our spiritual lives together.

A 24 hour retreat for pastors or elders or deacons or clerks or women or men or couples or youth leaders or any variety of church leadership. A 24 hour retreat which may be a Bible study retreat or a spiritual retreat, or a sermon writing retreat, or an educational retreat or a support group retreat or a planning and visioning retreat or a book reading retreat or a silent retreat.

I am asking you to make a spiritual commitment to the future of Krislund. Starting with our pastors, I am asking you, over the next three years, to participate in at least one church leadership retreat at Krislund. Give Krislund one chance to be a blessing and support for your ministry. I know that most of our pastors have never been to Krislund. If it does not work for you, I understand. Krislund is not for everyone. But please, every pastor, give Krislund one chance to make a difference in your ministry.

What we are doing at Camp Krislund is beautiful. Thank you for your abundant support.

Report to the Presbytery June 28, 2011

2011-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Living into Amendment A in Three Movements.

Movement One: The Briggs Case

In 1874 Professor Charles Augustus Briggs started his career on the faculty at Union Theological Seminary in New York City teaching in the area of New Testament. At that time Union Seminary was affiliated with our Presbyterian Church. In 1892 his teaching sparked a whirlwind of controversy and disciplinary action in our Presbyterian Church. The problem was that Professor Briggs was teaching a controversial new approach to biblical interpretation which we call the historical critical method. He learned this method of biblical interpretation in Germany when he was a graduate student at the University of Berlin. Under the surface of the Briggs case there is a strong stench of anti-German racism. Disciplinary charges were brought against Briggs in the Presbytery of New York for approaching the interpretation of the New Testament in a way that was thought to be contrary to the Westminster Confession. Briggs was convicted, the case was appealed to the Synod, the Presbytery’s action was overturned, the case was appealed to the General Assembly. The General Assembly upheld the Presbytery of New York and Briggs’ ordination in the Presbyterian Church was removed, since he refused to give up his teaching position. But by this time the Seminary itself was supporting Briggs, and the whole affair escalated into action against Union Seminary. Because of the General Assembly decision, the Seminary broke all official relationships with the Presbyterian Church, becoming an independent theological seminary, which is today affiliated with Columbia University. The no-longer Presbyterian, Professor Briggs was retained on the faculty at Union Seminary and had a long, prolific career as a New Testament scholar.
Fast forward with me about eight decades. In the 1980s I was a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary which continues to be affiliated with our Presbyterian Church. My professor of New Testament was Ulrich Mauser. My professor of Old Testament, a wonderful mentor of mine and also the preacher at my Ordination Service, was Eberhard von Waldow. Think about that: Mauser and von Waldow. Now what nationality do you think they are? Indeed both Professors Mauser and von Waldow were born and educated in Germany. While on the faculty of Pittsburgh Seminary, they immersed their students, including me, in the historical critical method of biblical interpretation. We were taught to take seriously the cultural, historical and linguistic context of the Bible.
As I reflect on the Briggs case I find that history to be sad. Given the culture and theological commitments of the church at that time, it probably could not have come out any different. But I wish we as a church were big enough to listen to Professor Briggs. In fact, what he was teaching and preaching has become foundational for our Presbyterian Church. The Presbyterian Church believes that the Bible must be interpreted. Our pastors, in their theological education and in our continuing commitment to study Greek and Hebrew, are taught the tools and methods by which we interpret the Bible. We interpret the Bible. We believe that the Bible must be interpreted. What I am saying is not at all controversial or debated today. This is the air we breath; we all know this. If we believe that the Bible must be interpreted; we must also believe that there may be different interpretations of the Bible. This is a belief with which we truly need to make peace.

Movement Two: The Fundamentalist Modernist Controversy
In the 1920s our Presbyterian Church moved into a bitter season of conflict which was complex, multi-faceted and nasty. In order to be brief, I need to jump to the end of the story. But in some ways the Fundamentalist Modernist controversy has never ended and we are still living with it. Nonetheless there was a formal end to the Fundamentalist- Modernist controversy with a report that was overwhelming received and appreciated: the Special Commission of 1925. There are two conclusions of the Special Commission which define the church we are today.
In a nutshell, without discussing any of the personalities involved, the essential issue at the heart of the Fundamentalist Modernist Controversy was the desire of the General Assembly to define five specific points of theological doctrine as absolutely essential. In fact, the General Assembly has approved these five points of necessary theological conviction several different times prior to 1925.
But the Special Commission of 1925 clearly articulated what has always been, what was then, and what continues to be the practice of the Church. The General Assembly cannot define the theological doctrines of the church without the approval of the presbyteries. We have always lived in this tension between a unified, national voice spoken by the General Assembly and the many local voices and convictions spoken by the presbyteries. We are always going to live in this messy place which is a tug of war between the presbyteries and the General Assembly, and between presbyteries themselves. It is exactly in that messiness, in that tug and pull between these different councils and between different convictions that we seek to discern the will and way of God and move the church forward. In my opinion, one of great gifts of being Presbyterian is that we learn to live with, and I hope, embrace this deep discernment. We have never had and we will never have a General Assembly, or a Book of Order, or a council of bishops, or, God forbid, an executive presbyter that is going to precisely define the way we should act or our theological convictions. We are going to figure it out and continue to figure it out in the beautiful and awkward dance of the General Assembly, the presbyteries, and our congregations together.
The Special Commission of 1925 also expressed a significant spiritual conviction which I wish was more important and more practiced in our common life. The Commission in 1925 called us to a principle of toleration. Here is a direct quote from the Special Commission of 1925, an age long before the use of inclusive language: “Toleration does not involve any lowering of the Standards. It does not weaken the testimony of the Church as to its assured convictions. It does not imply that support is offered to what may be regarded as a brother's error. But it does mean that in the spirit of Christ, patience is exercised by the body of the Church toward those deemed to be at fault in some of their beliefs, remembering our own proneness to err, in order that by the manifestation of such graces, and by prayer, together with fidelity in our own witnessing, all finally, may be brought to see eye to eye in a fuller apprehension of the truth, and led into a convincing compliance with the Master's new commandment that His disciples should love one another.”

Movement Three: The Book of Confessions
In the 1960s our Presbyterian Church made a transformative decision. We approved the Confession of 1967 and created our Book of Confessions. Up to that time the Presbyterian Church had one authoritative Confession of Faith, the Westminster Confession. Today there are now several generations of pastors, including me, who have grown up with and have been formed in the theology of the Book of Confessions. I believe the theology of the Book of Confessions is beautiful and correct; this is the way I was raised and educated. The theology of the Book of Confessions is the conviction that theological expression changes. Theological expression changes. As culture, historical context, political and social practices change over time so does theological expression. Thus the Scot’s Confession is different than the Barmen Declaration which is different than the Confession of 1967. The theology of the Book of Confessions is essential today.
But there was consequence to the approval of the Book of Confessions which I would like to address, as my final word. The Presbyterian Lay Committee was formed in 1965 in opposition to the Confession of 1967 and what was considered the dilution of the Westminster Confession. The Lay Committee started a modern phenomenon in the church of what I will call theological political action committees. And now there are many in our Church: The Lay Committee, Covenant Network, Presbyterians for Renewal, The Outreach Foundation, The Frontier Fellowship, the Witherspoon Society, Presbyterians Pro-life, etc. It looks like we have a new group forming called the Fellowship. I certainly respect these groups. My concern is not about the existence of these groups; I have no problem with that. But I believe there has been an unintended consequence. Because we now have many different theological political action groups all around the church, it seems to me that they have become the location for theological discussion. Thus, I believe, serious, deep, thoughtful and prayerful theological discussion has been sucked out of the presbyteries. We simply do not do it anymore. The Presbytery must get back into the hard work of doing theology. Let’s do theology together. Let’s do theology together as a Presbytery, not in small groups of like-minded friends. Let’s do theology together as a Presbytery, fully aware of the wild diversity in our midst. Let’s do theology together which is immersed in the Bible, which is inspired by the theology of our Book of Confessions, and which embodies a principle of toleration. Let’s do theology together. Amen!

Using Bonhoeffer for Prayer and Reflection

2011-06-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

A resource for prayer and spiritual reflection
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Life Together.

Introduction: Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a German Lutheran Pastor arrested, imprisoned and killed by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. His writings, especially the books The Cost of Discipleship and Life Together, have become enduring classics for the church. There is a new, English critical edition of Bonhoeffer’s works published by Fortress Press, including an Amazon Kindle electronic version. For an introduction to Bonhoeffer search on his name in Wikipedia.org. All quotations here are from “Community,” the first chapter in Life Together.

Bonhoeffer: Therefore, let those who until now have had the privilege of living a Christian life together with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of their hearts. Let them thank God on their knees and realize: it is grace, nothing but grace, that we are still permitted to live in the community of Christians today.

How important is the community of Christians in your life today?
Consider in your mind and heart, and pray for the people who have been part of your Christian community throughout your life?

Bonhoeffer: Therefore, we may now say that the community of Christians springs solely from the biblical and reformation message of the justification of human beings through grace alone. The longing of Christians for one another is based solely on this message.

Bonhoeffer considers the message of justification through grace alone to be foundational.
What do you think this means?
What are the foundational convictions of your Christian faith?

Bonhoeffer: Now Christians can live with each other in peace; they can love and serve one another; they can become one. But they can continue to do so only through Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus Christ are we one; only through him are we bound together.

What is it that separates Christians from one another?
What is it that binds Christians together?

Bonhoeffer: It is essential for Christian community that two things become clear right from the beginning. First Christian community is not an ideal, but a divine reality; second, Christian community is a spiritual and not a psychic reality.

Bonhoeffer makes a striking distinction here between ‘ideal’ and ‘divine reality’ and also between a ‘spiritual’ and ‘psychic’ reality.

What do you think he means?
Do you agree?
Are these distinctions helpful for you today?

Bonhoeffer: Because God already has laid the only foundation of our community, because God has united us in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that life together with other Christians, not as those who make demands, but as those who thankfully receive.

What do you believe is the foundation for Christian community today?
Do you believe you belong to such a Christian community?

Bonhoeffer: We are bound together by faith, not by experience.

Do you agree with this sentence?

Bonhoeffer: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)

Bonhoeffer begins the book Life Together with this Bible verse.
What comes to your mind when you read this verse?

Please pray for life together in unity.

Mark J. Englund-Krieger
Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of Carlisle
May 2011

Questions concerning Amendment A

2011-06-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Some Questions and Answers in response to the approval of Amendment A
The Change in Ordination Standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

What has happened?
In July 2010, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved a proposed amendment (10-A) to the Book of Order, part of the PC(USA) Constitution, regarding ordination standards. As with all constitutional changes, Amendment 10-A required ratification by a majority of the PC(USA)’s 173 presbyteries (regional bodies) for it to become part of the Book of Order. Now a majority of our presbyteries have approved Amendment 10-A.

What will change?
The following provision that is currently in the Book of Order (G‐6.0106b) will be changed:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W‐4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self‐acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

The new language (Amendment 10-A) will read:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G- 14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

What does this mean?

• A person in a same-gender relationship can be considered for ordination as deacon, elder, or Minister of the Word and Sacrament. The ordination standards have changed from “living in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” to “joyfully submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

• All other church wide standards for ordination remain unchanged. (There was never a prohibition against a person being ordained based on sexual orientation, as long as that person was celibate.)

• Ordaining bodies continue to retain the right and responsibility to determine their own memberships. A congregation continues to elect their deacons and elders and the session examines them for suitability of office. Likewise, presbyteries examine individuals for suitability to be ordained as ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

What will remain the same?
Ordaining bodies have always had, and will continue to have, the right and responsibility to determine their own memberships; and our church continues to affirm that all those called by God to ordained office acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all and Head of the Church.

What’s next?
Amendment 10-A will take effect on July 10, 2011 (one year after the adjournment of the last assembly). Already, the change has energized many conversations at all levels across the PC(USA) about how we can best enable the gifts of those called to service in Christ’s church and have mutual respect for each other’s integrity. In addition, sessions and presbyteries will review their processes for examination.

May congregations now ordain people who are openly gay?
The previous standards were never based on a person’s orientation, but on their behavior. The new standards do not list specific behaviors that automatically exclude someone for consideration for ordination. Each examining body is responsible to look at all possible factors to determine if someone is being called into ordained ministry.

What practical changes will we see?
If Pastors, elders, and deacons who are ordained in one area move to another location, they shall be examined according to the standards of that ordaining body before being able to take up their office. Those standards may or may not conform to the standards that were used by the body that originally ordained them.

Is the ordination of sexually active gays and lesbians mandated?
No, it is not required, but it is no longer prohibited by specific Constitutional language.

Will a congregation be required to change anything?
A congregation cannot be forced to ordain or receive pastors or elders or deacons of whom they do not approve. The congregation retains the right to determine who will serve as officers.

May a congregation or presbytery continue to uphold the old standards?
Yes, as long as the standards used are applied on a case by case basis. The authority for ordaining elders and deacons is fully vested in the local congregation. The authority for ordaining Ministers of the Word and Sacrament is fully vested in the presbytery. The new language calls the ordaining body to be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying ordination standards to individual candidates.

May a congregation or presbytery now ordain or install a sexually active homosexual?
Yes, if after a thorough examination, the congregation or presbytery believes the person to be called by God to serve as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament, elder or deacon and not to be living in violation of the church’s ordination standard, its Confessions, or Scripture.

Is a presbytery required to receive, by transfer of membership, an ordained sexually active gay or lesbian minister?
No, each presbytery determines which ministers to receive into its membership.

May questions about a candidate’s sexuality be asked or are such questions forbidden?
All questions are allowed during an examination. The acknowledgement of being sexually active outside the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman does not automatically disqualify a person from being ordained.

Is a congregation required to call a pastor who is openly gay or lesbian?
No.

How will this change influence Presbyterian World Mission?
We do not want to lose our relationship with our global partners, mission personnel or with the advocates of World Mission throughout the United States. We know we are better together and we celebrate the work we do on behalf of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. We always remember that we serve at the invitation of our global partners. We have always taken into consideration that our partners in other places in the world might have differing views on who is suitable for ordination, or who is suitable to be appointed as a mission co-worker. We always work appropriately in a collegial way with those partners.

Gathered and edited from a variety of sources.
Mark J. Englund-Krieger
Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of Carlisle
May 2011

Report to the April 26, 2011 Presbytery meeting

2011-04-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Included with the papers for our April 26, 2011 Presbytery meeting is a comprehensive review and evaluation of our Presbytery's new ministry initiative. That full report is too large to post into this blog, but I call it to your attention. Posted here is the cover letter to the report. I was interested comments shared by Brian McLaren on this topic of new ministry. Please join with me in pondering what 'far-reaching experimentation' may look like with the life of our presbytery?

* * * *

Recently the General Assembly Mission Council sponsored a podcast interview with popular, contemporary Christian theologian Brian McLaren. We appreciated his comments to our General Assembly staff which were reported in a recent Presbyterian ENews article.

His words are directly applicable to the New Ministry Initiative we have begun in our Presbytery with the leadership of Dan and Alison Siewert. McLaren said, “If we want our tradition to continue in the future, we have to give permission and encouragement for creative innovation and creative exploration, which will require us to go back and rediscover what it is about the gospel that’s precious. What does it really mean to be a Christian? What is our identity and mission in the world?”

The Enews article reported that, “McLaren proposed to the group of staff several steps mainline denominations like the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can take to help foster ‘fresh expressions of church.’ Among the steps are:

• Having creative marginal zones for far-reaching experimentation and providing support for leaders of those zones to have the freedom and entrepreneurship needed to be creative.
• Sequestering funds for new lines of ministry.
• Attracting new people in new ways to new zones.
• Thinking in terms of a garden (diversity) instead of a tree (a single trunk with branches).
• Thinking in terms of ‘refounding’ instead of preserving or renewing or restoring. ‘Existing churches imitate,’ McLaren said. ‘New churches innovate.’
• Trusting the Holy Spirit.”

The report is our first effort at a comprehensive review of our New Ministry Initiative. We are grateful for the many people who have encouraged and supported this ministry thus far. We hope you will find an ‘onramp’ to join us in this journey. Even more we hope you will join us in fostering fresh expressions of the church.

Response to the Open Letter from Pastors

2011-02-19T03:39:00.000-08:00

“Deathly Ill” or “Called by Christ.”

Are we “deathly ill” or “called by Christ”? It is astonishing to me that a group of our pastors would begin an open letter by using the phrase “deathly ill.” I do not know any of the writers of this letter personally, and none are serving in the Presbytery where I am on staff. But I can imagine that these are all talented, gifted, and wonderfully positive and encouraging pastors. No one is ever called to be the pastor of one of our congregations by focusing on how sick and dysfunctional the congregation may be. I imagine that in their own ministry, and in their own contexts, these pastors are gifted communicators of the “Good News.” Why is it their thoughtful, and in some ways prophetic, open letter requires such a dire and deathly tone? I would much rather ponder the exciting new ways that we are being called by Christ; ways which will, of course, transfigure all our institutions and habits.

The Presbytery of Carlisle recognized the 25th anniversary of my ordination last year. All but five of these years I served as a pastor. I learned a valuable lesson early in my pastoral career. When I am leading a funeral service, I presume that the dead person has some good, beautiful and redeemable qualities which God knows and will bring to glorious resurrection. At funeral services I always try to preach hope, healing and resurrection in Christ. During my years of pastoral ministry, funeral services were some of the most fruitful times for faithful proclamation. If these good pastors would like to preach at the funeral service of our Presbyterian Church, I wish they could do so with a bit more graciousness and hope.

But, despite the yearning of these pastors to do so, I am not convinced that we should be writing the funeral sermon for our Presbyterian Church just yet. The statistics and historical allusions which the pastors use in their open letter are boring. Everyone knows this: the membership decline, the incessant conflict, and the institutional downsizing. So what else is new! These things have been our reality for my entire ministry. What is important and new (as recognized and appreciated by the pastors) is that the culture of the Presbyterian Church has been shifting so that our congregations are now the true center of our vitality and ministry. This is a crucial culture shift which I believe prepares us well for moving into the future.

I only know the 52 congregations of the Presbytery of Carlisle, where I have been serving since 2005. I know our pastors and I know our congregations very well. In my speculative, back-of-the-envelope ponderings I have concluded that the Presbytery of Carlisle, as one piece of our Presbyterian common life, is alive, healthy and sustainable for many years to come. If I continue, as I hope and pray, to do this work for fifteen more years we may, as a Presbytery, close some congregations. But at least 35 of our congregations are what I may call indefinitely sustainable. This is not a glorious theological category, but it is very important. These congregations have vital ministries which are generally sustaining membership despite the passing of the builder generation, they have sustainable financial management, and, most important, they have a vital and positive spiritual life which is not afraid of the future. Because of the support and leadership of this group of congregations, the Presbytery of Carlisle is also indefinitely sustainable. Because we have reoriented all our mission and ministry to support, encourage and connect these congregations our Presbytery has purpose and direction into the future, a positive, sustainable cash flow, and, most important, a very high level of collegial trust. By any measure, the Presbytery of Carlisle is NOT deathly ill! Certainly in ten, fifteen, twenty-five or fifty years from now the Presbytery of Carlisle and our congregations will look different. We will have patterns of leadership, expressions of mission and ministry, and networks of innovative relationships and connections that will be leaner and very different than today. But we will not be dead and gone! Are the authors of the open letter interested in helping us live into that new day called by Christ, or simply focused on writing a funeral sermon for a denomination?

Report to the Presbytery January 25, 2011

2011-01-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

Resources for Planning and Visioning within your Congregation:

ONE) Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Research Services

Website: http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/research/

“Research Services provides a wide variety of services including articles and reports, demographics information, statistics, program evaluations and Ten-Year Trends.”

“In an effort to help congregations understand more about the local congregation and its needs, we developed the Church Home Improvement Toolbox: This resource contains a variety of "do-it-yourself" research strategies for positive church improvement. You wouldn't try to build a new home using just an electric drill – why work on congregational improvement without a full toolbox?

1. Ten-Year Trends in Your Congregation: Statistical reports based on annual congregational reports to the Office of the General Assembly in the Session Annual Statistical Report.

2. Demographic Report: Learn about the people who live in the community around your church.

3. Congregational Surveys: Surveys can give your congregation: a picture of "who you are" (including age and marital status of members, average length of church membership, etc.), information about the strengths and priorities of church programs, and tools for strategic planning.

4. Research Strategies for Congregations: A packet of information gathering tools designed to help you learn more about your worshipers and your local community.

5. RCMS data (Religious Congregations & Membership Study): Data on religious congregations and memberships in every county in the United States.”

Books:
Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce. A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations: Who’s Going Where and Why. Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.
__________. Beyond the Ordinary: 10 Strengths of U.S. Congregations. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
__________. A Field Guide to Presbyterian Congregation: Who’s Going Where and Why. Research Services, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 2010.

TWO) Healthy Congregations: Develop. Train. Educate. Consult

Website: http://www.hcongregations.net/

“Healthy Congregations is a congregational support network which seeks to help church leaders discover the advantages of congregational vitality through a family systems approach. The organization was founded by Peter Steinke, and now offers comprehensive training and workshops in church vitality.”

Books:
Peter Steinke. A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope. An Alban Institute Publication, 2010.
__________. Congregational Leadership in Anxious times. Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What. An Alban Institute Publication, 2006.
__________. Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach. An Alban Institute Publication, 1996.

THREE) GraceNet: Research, Coaching, Consulting for Vibrant Spiritual Leadership of Christian Congregations.

Website: http://www.gracenet.info

“GraceNet serves churches. GraceNet provides research, coaching and consulting in effective spiritual leadership of new and revitalizing congregations.”

Books:
Martha Grace Reese. Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism. Chalice Press, 2008.
__________. Unbinding Your Heart: 40 Days of Prayer and Faith Sharing. Chalice Press, 2008.
__________. Unbinding Your Church: Steps and Sermons. Chalice Press, 2008.

FOUR) Natural Church Development
Website: http://www.ncd-international.org

“Natural Church Development is all about releasing the potential God has already implanted in our lives. Based on research in more than 40,000 churches on six continents, NCD describes universal principles that are applicable regardless of culture or spiritual style.”

Books:
Christian Schwartz. Color Your World with Natural Church Development: Experiencing All that God has Designed You To Be.
__________. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches.
__________. Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development.
__________. Paradigm Shift in the Church: How Natural Church Development Can Transform Theological Thinking.

Reference Book:
Gil Rendle and Alice Mann. Holy Conversations: Strategic Planning as a Spiritual Practice for Congregations. Alban Institute, 2003.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T06:58:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,
We send our warmest Christmas greetings, sharing with you the abundant numbers of grace from our lives this past year . . .

6 The number 6 is the date, June 6, 2010: the day of the marriage of our Kyle and Nicki Bastine, also class of 2010 U.S. Naval Academy. The wedding was in the Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. It was truly a perfect occasion and celebration. Mark continues to rejoice that the ceremony he led was flawless in every detail and abundantly blessed by the presence of Christ.

3 This number remains a remarkable source of pride in our hearts. We sat in the front row of the upper deck of Navy Marine Corps stadium at the United States Naval Academy waiting for the Commencement ceremonies. We could easily view the chairs lined up neatly waiting for the graduating class to march in. We knew instinctively where Kyle would be sitting. First row, third chair. Kyle graduated, with distinction, third in the class from the Naval Academy. It was a joyous, memorable day and the culmination of Kyle and Nicki’s successful careers at the Naval Academy.

21 This is a number which was hard to follow at times. This is Michael’s jersey number for his Hershey High School varsity basketball team. We sat in the stands for most every game and kept a careful eye on number 21, watching him sprint up and down the floor, and watching carefully as he got tangled in a web of players under the basket. We will forever cherish the memory of Michael’s days on the basketball court. We will forever cheer for our number 21! In the Fall of 2010 Michael started his career with the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

6 Given all the momentous events in our lives in 2010, it is also good to remember the ordinary number 6. This is Eric’s grade as he begins middle school and settles into life as an only child at home. His sixth grade year also included the start of his football career in which, although only a first year player, he thrived.

50 This is a big number which both amazes us and constantly reminds us of how abundantly blessed we have been in our lives. Kris and Mark both turned 50 years old in 2010!

25 This is also a big number which marks a longevity that truly amazes us. We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on October 12, 2010. Within our busy year which included two graduations and a wedding, we were able to escape for a long weekend vacation in Quechee, Vermont.

+1 Most of all we are grateful for Nicki, the new addition to our family. The numbers of grace in our lives are abundance upon abundance, blessing upon blessing.
From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Mark, Kris, Kyle and Nicki, Michael and Eric Englund-Krieger

Honduras Mission Trip October 2010

2010-11-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Three Boys: Juan, Jr., Daniel and Elias.

Please pray for these three boys, in two different families, with whom I have worked in Honduras. This past April our Presbytery team helped to build a new home for Juan, Jr. and his family. Juan is 21 years old and like many Hondurans small and lean. Juan is one of the few young people I have met who has a full time job. He works the night shift in a “panaderia”, a bakery. (Our restaurant’s name “Panera” comes from this word.) With my limited language skills it was difficult for me to understand exactly what he did at the bakery, but I learned he is involved somehow in the baking process. He works from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. six days a week. With this money he supports his family, which allows them to live comfortably.

His family was selected by the special mission committee of the Pena de Horeb (Rock of Horeb) Presbyterian Church. Our Presbytery, with my leadership and the support of our missionaries in Tegucigalpa, was providing the funding and the organizational leadership to build a new home. The Honduran congregation was selecting the family to receive the new home and recruit people to help with the construction. I am very pleased with this partnership in mission which helps us move beyond Honduran dependence on the Americans, builds a solid administrative structure for mission in the Honduran Church, fully involves the Hondurans in every step of the project, and includes the full support of our missionaries, Tim and Gloria Wheeler and Mark and Ashley Wright.

Juan Jr. still lives with his parents, Juan and Maria, and his two younger sisters Amanda and Roxanne. Amanda is 18 years old and already has two children: Sarah, six years old, and Brian, two years old. Roxanne, 16 years old, was pregnant when we worked on their home in April, and has now given birth to a baby boy. This family (mother, father, three adult children and three young grandchildren) all lived together in a one room, wooden shack. They are joyous people, and with Juan Sr.’s sporadic income as a butcher, and Juan, Jr.s’ steady income from the bakery they live comfortably within the deep urban poverty of Tegucigalpa.

With the full cooperation of their church, our missionaries, and our Presbytery we built them a new home. It has a long, open air hallway along one side and four bedrooms, each six by nine feet, with doorways off of the hallway. The design of this home was fully their idea; they wanted bedrooms for everyone and decided not build a kitchen inside. So they still use the small, wooden, stall out back for their baths, do all the laundry outside next to the shower stall, and cook outside on an open fire. They have a pit latrine which they share with several other families.

In April, with one week of time, we were only able to meet with them to design the home, purchase all the materials, pour the concrete foundation and lay about four courses of the block walls. I have been following the building of this home by email photographs. I was delighted at our visit this past week to see the finished home. It is beautiful, and this family could not be more joyous.

In preparation for our visit last week, the Pena de Horeb congregation’s mission committee selected another family to support. The boys, Daniel, 20 years old, and Elias, 17 years old, live with their parents, Santos and Francesca, their younger sister Aleya, 8 year old, their grandmother, and their Uncle Omar. They are living in a very poor, wooden shack which has two bedrooms and an indoor kitchen, in which the open wood stove is an incredible fire hazard. I am not at all sure why the tinder dry, rotten wood of this home has not burned down long ago from the fire that is constantly simmering in the kitchen.

Santos, the father, is a remarkable Christian man with whom I spoke at length during our visit. He is university educated and works for the Honduran Red Cross, leading HIV education classes all around Honduras. In his decrepit little shack he has a large, eclectic mix of books, probably 1,000 books, which we helped carry to a neighbor’s home for storage during construction. Santos did not actually help with construction all week because he needed to work. Both Daniel and Elias worked very hard, side by side with us, every day. Again, this is their church’s mission project and their church committee did all the planning and organization with some support from our team.

This construction project is very difficult because the new home is being built right around their old wooden shack. It is an amazing construction task to build a new home, deconstruct the old home, while the family is still living in it at the same time. During our visit we spent most of our time delivering materials. Their home is in a very congested neighborhood, on the side of a mountain. The street in front of their home is actually steps; the only way to get to their home is up and down these very steep steps. Everyone walks! Vendors carrying eggs, milk, vegetables, rice, ice cream climb up and down the steps all day long selling their wares like the beer guys in a baseball stadium working the crowds.

Our team helped to move over 1,000 concrete blocks, 20 bags of concrete, and several tons of gravel and sand down the steps, by hand and bucket, to this work site. We simply created a long line of people and passed all the materials person to person. When the neighbors saw all the Americans, many came out and joined our work line. It took us more than four hours to move a ton of sand; more than two hours to move a delivery load of 350 block. While the Americans moved slow, and took many breaks, the boys never stopped. If one of our team members needed to step out of line, they would step in and pick up the load. When our whole team took a break, they would run all the steps alone. By the end of the week all the materials were delivered, the foundation poured, and two of the outside walls are well under way. When the new walls are up, and the new roof ready to go on, the old shack will be deconstructed and the wood, I imagine, carefully stacked, for future use and for firewood.

The most amazing blessing for me happened naturally and easily on our Monday morning. As we arrived at the work site, Juan and Maria, their daughters, and Juan Jr. were already there working. The family whose home we had built in April was there at the new work site as an expression of gratitude for what they had received. The construction projects serve a powerful connector bringing people together through the church. The new homes are not the point; it is these connections and renewed relationships among their church family, especially these young teenage boys, that is most important.

I pray most of all for these boys, Juan Jr., Daniel and Elias. In the inner city wilderness of Tegucigalpa they are right at the age when the future direction of their lives will be determined. They may easily be drawn down into the scum of the drug culture, gangs and criminal culture which are all very prevalent in the city. Or they may follow the influence of their church, their family, and find a higher calling in the midst of all the poverty and urban filth. I pray that the gift of a new home, which has almost transformed their families, will allow each of them to live into this higher calling.

Report to Presbytery September 28, 2010

2010-09-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Many Cultures

We live in a time of multiple cultures. That seems like a very obvious and clear statement. But I believe this statement is the kind of fact which we know for sure in our heads, but have not allowed to penetrate into our hearts. We live in a time of multiple cultures.

I have become a student of the work of the late professor of mission, Lesslie Newbigin. He writes in his little book, “Proper Confidence”: “Although the word “culture” came to be used in a sociological sense in the nineteenth century, it was not used in the plural. There was one “civilization” and the various peoples encountered in other continents were on lower or higher rungs of this one ladder. They did not have different “cultures” (until the present century) but were considered either less or more civilized.”

One thing we have learned in the great world missionary movement of the late 1800s is that culture is plural. There are many cultures. The great missionary movement started with the great idea that we are sending Jesus and our culture to all the foreign lands. The Jesus which we sent out was all wrapped up in our culture. We completely assumed that when all the people, in all the foreign lands of the world, came to understand and believe in Jesus, they would naturally adopt our culture as well. These foreign people would get Jesus and our civilization at the same time; what a great deal, we thought!

What we have learned, and it is a remarkable lesson, is that the people of all the foreign lands in the world were glad to have Jesus but they did not want our culture. In fact, all these foreign people quickly learned what we did not know. That Jesus is much, much bigger than our western culture. The world has gone forward knowing, growing with and praising Jesus from within their own cultures. We have been taught an important lesson which we have not completely understood: culture is plural, “cultures”. There are many cultures in the world, and Jesus works very well, powerfully well, in all of them.

This means that all of our work in mission and ministry is cross-cultural. There are many different cultures and our task as church leaders is to cross cultural divisions in the name of Jesus. Of course, this influences that way we do world mission today. I believe this also influences the way we do ministry in our local churches. You – as pastors and church leaders – need to understand in a new way that the people in your churches are living in many different cultures. We need to understand the cultures our people are living in, and we need to take Jesus across those cultural boundaries. We can no longer presume that our people are in any way living in the culture of Jesus when they show up in our churches. Our ministry is cross-cultural. One of the things we must learn to do is understand the multiplicity of cultures which intersect in our lives at any given moment.

Let me name, for example, three different cultures which are very powerful today. Our people are living in these cultures; and our people come to church in these cultures.

1) The culture of consumption: Many of our people are living in the culture of consumption. Consider what the culture of consumption has done to our celebration of Christmas. Consider how many of our good church people are carrying enormous credit card debt. What happens when our very strong, solid church members, who happen to be carrying 5 or 10,000 dollars of credit card debt, are asked to make a financial pledge to our church? We face a profound clash of cultures.

2) The culture of entertainment. I can mention three names and I wonder if there is anyone in this room who has not heard of these people: Tiger Woods, Madonna, Mel Gibson. Or take, for example, a solid, hard working pastor who works 6, 8 or 10 hours a week crafting a worship service and writing a sermon. The sermon is preached with energy and conviction. In the receiving line after worship, one of the church members says to the pastor, “I really like your haircut.” That person is absorbed in a culture of entertainment. We have another clash of cultures.

3) Consider the culture of the American empire. We are the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. What happens when the Presbyterian part of our identity clashes with the U.S.A. part of our identity? The culture of the American empire is so vast and powerful that it is possible to visit a tiny nation like Honduras and never leave American culture.

Pastors and church leaders today must become students of culture. What are the values and goals of these different cultures? We need to become cross-cultural travelers, missionaries. Our people are bringing all these different cultural identities with them when they come into our churches. We can no longer presume that our people are living in and committed to the culture of Jesus when they enter our churches. Often because of the confusion of cultures and the clash of cultures, there is a new and growing anxiety in the professional life of pastors.

I have a negative and a positive conclusion to the thesis that culture is now plural. First of all, we must realize that “sola scriptura” is not good enough anymore. Sola scriptura is the classic doctrine of our church which believes that Scripture alone is all we need for teaching and preaching in the church. Phyllis Tickle has argued in her book, The Great Emergence, about the erosion of sola scriptura from a historical perspective. I am saying the same thing from this cultural perspective. Before we can preach the word, we must also understand the various cultures our people are living in. Jesus has the power to touch and transform lives in every culture, but we must also understand these cultures where our people are living. Our cultural studies must be as smart as our biblical studies.

Positively, what I am saying is a foundational emphasis of a new way of thinking theologically: missional theology. Missional theology is all about cross-cultural ministry. We seek to understand the cultures where our people are living, and we take Jesus right into those cultures.

May it be so in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

World Mission in Ethiopia

2010-09-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are there.

The March 2010 issue of National Geographic magazine includes an article titled, “Africa’s Last Frontier: Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is still a place ruled by ritual and revenge. But change is coming from upriver.” As always, the photographs are stunning and the article itself is beautifully well written. The story about the changing lives of these ancient African tribes is fascinating. But I would not have paid careful attention to this article until I heard about the mission work of Presbyterian World Mission missionaries John and Gwen Haspel in the same region of Ethiopia. According to Haspel’s, change is also coming to this remote region through the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit. The Haspels have been our missionaries in Africa – primarily in Sudan and Ethiopia – since 1974. Their service builds on and supplants the years of service which both their parents also invested in Africa.

Our Big Spring Presbyterian Church, in the Presbytery of Carlisle, has supported the Haspels for many years. The Haspels recently visited Big Spring church as part of their home itineration. John started his presentation by saying, “It is good to be back with you here at Big Spring Church. We were here before, 25 years ago.” John and Gwen told a story of missionary service that enlivened my imagination, made my skin tingle with a sense of the sheer courage and perseverance of their commitment, and bolstered my pride with the simple knowledge that our Presbyterian Church has people there with among these primeval tribes of Ethiopia. What National Geographic called the last frontier, we call, in the jargon of today’s missiology, one of the few unreached people groups in the world. And the Haspels are there with a deep, sustained, evangelistic mission to spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Haspels are an exemplary witness to the effectiveness of persistent, long-suffering commitment to mission service. Consider this description of their work from their Mission Connections webpage: John and Gwenyth Haspels work on a multiphase project in Ethiopia that would be taxing to the patience of almost anyone. It took the Haspels four years to receive work permits and resident visas from the Ethiopian government for phase I of the project. "We have been learning to wait on and trust in the Lord," said Gwenyth. Phase I of the project is devoted to construction of a 70-kilometer road to Tum and a second road through the mountains to the Surma people in Kibish, and also the development of a good water system for Tum. Phase II of the project is a comprehensive program that includes evangelism, education, medical care, and development work. The Haspels' work is being carried out at the invitation of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus.

Many of the same features of social life which are profiled in the National Geographic article were also described by the Haspels. For complex historical and geographic reasons, the assault of the colonial powers in the 19th century missed this region of Ethiopia. Until very recently this part of Africa has not been touched by western influence. In this region, in far southwestern Ethiopia, the international borders with Sudan and Kenya are less meaningful than the divisions between the tribes. Ancient language and cultural barriers are still powerful. But the long reach of the modern world is now felt in the tragic influx of AK-47 rifles from Sudan which takes the socially ingrained commitment to revenge killing to a new level. The government’s ambitious plan to build a hydro-electric plant on the agriculturally, life-giving Omo river will probably not benefit the tribes who depend on its ebb and flow but the distant, national government will make money. And, of course, change also comes in the slow work of missionaries bringing schools and churches, a message of reconciliation in Christ, and a vision of Christian community which crosses tribal lines. This spreading of the Word is, as everywhere, often compromised by the corrosive effect of every type of profit seeker, exploitive tourism, and the long reach of modern economic development typically connected in some way with oil.

Despite it all, the light shines in the darkness, the seed of truth in planted and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is proclaimed. I believe that in our lives today the movements, thoughts, reflections and insights of our modern culture are completely separated from the spiritual and theological convictions of the church. Thus it is necessary when we read and study things from our culture to ask ourselves where the hidden and mysterious work of God may be seen. This for me was confirmed again by carefully reading this National Geographic article about the Ethiopian frontier. As I expected this article did not mention the good work of our missionaries in that area. But the National Geographic article told the powerful story about a young man named Dunga. Dunga’s father had been killed by a rival tribe and Dunga’s older brother, Kornan, has also been murdered. “After Kornan was killed, the double weight fell to Dunga along paths of tradition worn as hard as the trails leading down to the river.” The article tells a compelling story about the way Dunga finally broke free of the “duty of vengeance.” This change is, the article presumes, the result of Dunga’s desire for education and hard, personal effort to seek schooling for himself. But there is a little sentence tucked into this story which the National Geographic author does not develop as transformational or important. “He wears a silver crucifix, a symbol of newly acquired beliefs.” Only we Christians will know that this little detail is, in fact, the whole Truth. Dunga’s newly acquired beliefs have changed his life bringing him out of the darkness of spiraling violence and into the light of Christ. It is this change which has the power, maybe more than electricity or economic development, to bless his family and people. Dunga, in a small, personal step, broke the tradition of violence. “The tribal elders supported his decision. . . They saw the trap of tradition that awaited Dunga, the one that had claimed Kornan. The elders understood Dunga was now more than a man caught in a blood feud – he was an educated representative of his people, a future leader, and a role model.” John and Gwen Haspel would understand Dunga’s transformation as a gift of grace. May our eyes also be open to the mystery of God’s work all around us.

General Assembly 2010: Form of Government

2010-08-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

Our Office of the General Assembly has done a very good job preparing the new Form of Government for our consideration, and has created a plethora of resources in support. Our General Assembly approved, by a wide margin, the new Form of Goverment and it will now be voted on by all the Presbyteries. This is a sweeping, proposed change in our church. I hope our Presbytery will create abundant conversation around this proposal.

Please begin understanding this recommendation by studying the proposed amendments and all the support material now available at the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) website within PCUSA.org.

Report from the General Assembly 17

2010-07-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

THIS REPORT IS FROM PRESBYTERY OF CARLISLE MINISTER COMMISSIONER DON STEELE, PASTOR OF THE SILVER SPRING CHURCH IN MECHANICSBURG. THANK YOU, DON, FOR YOUR REFLECTIONS!

REFLECTIONS ON THE 219TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Several years ago, my good friend and co-founder of Haiti Partners, John Engle, introduced me to a method of facilitating meetings called “open space.” The method was built on the observation that at many meetings, the best part of the meeting, as far as participants are concerned, is not what happens as part of the official agenda, but is what happens around the sides of the meeting, in informal conversations.

It is an insight that definitely pertains to the 219th meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that I attended July 3-10 in Minneapolis. The best part of the meeting as far as I’m concerned was what happened outside of the meeting’s official agenda. There were reunions with old friends from seminary and other presbyteries where I have served. There were fascinating presentations at special lunches and dinners. Worship was outstanding. And gathered around tables at mealtime, I was able to engage in real dialogue with other Presbyterians from across this entire country about important issues.

However, when we gathered to address the official agenda, I found General Assembly to be boring at its best, frustrating at its worst. Dialogue ended and debate began. We ceased to learn and began to be lobbied for our vote. We often found ourselves, not united, but polarized. And when God was brought onto the floor of the Assembly, the point more often than not seemed to be to claim God for “our side” rather than to lead us to try to discern whether or not we were, together, honoring God.

As I reflect on all of this, I think that part of the problem is the method that we use to facilitate the General Assembly and many other meetings in the Presbyterian Church. We use something called Roberts Rules of Order, named for the military engineer who came up with the first edition of them in the latter half of the 19th Century. They represented his attempt to standardize parliamentary procedures, and no doubt, they are still valuable in certain settings, particularly in settings that have primarily a parliamentary (that is, a legislative) function.

But in today’s church, I question their value, to be honest—questions that were deepened by my experience at the General Assembly. For in today’s church, it seems to me, our primary task is not to legislate. Instead, I think that our primary task is to build relational communities of folks seeking together to follow Jesus Christ in Christ’s mission in the world. And so, our method of facilitating meetings needs to change, it seems to me, to methods that promote dialogue over debate; mutual learning over lobbying; permission to follow our passions over promotion of polarization over our differences; all seeking together to discern the will of God, no matter how long that takes, exercising the spiritual discipline of mutual forbearance.

It’s hard to imagine things changing nationally before the next General Assembly meets in Pittsburgh in 2012. I’d guess that the air of the convention center there will be filled with the language of Mr. Robert. But here at Silver Spring, where I actually think that Roberts Rules already are less important in how we live, maybe things can change. At least, that’s the journey that I’d like us to take.

The Rev. Don Steele
Pastor

Report from the General Assembly 16

2010-07-12T10:00:00.001-07:00

A Pastoral Letter to our Churches from the Moderator of the General Assembly

July 10, 2010

To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations:

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38) …

Just one week ago, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) convened with Scripture and music and prayer. Commissioners and advisory delegates from every presbytery across the church gathered around the baptismal font with hopeful expectation of what God’s Spirit would do in and through them as they sought to discern together the mind of Christ for the PC(USA).

As the week progressed, prayer was a foundational part of each day’s deliberations and decisions, and the presence of the Spirit was palpable!

“Out of the believer’s heart…

While all assemblies are significant, this one holds particular significance in the life of the PC(USA). Among the assembly’s decisions – to be ratified by presbyteries – are the addition of the Belhar Confession to The Book of Confessions and a revised Form of Government. Both of these items give a clear signal that we are a church that is not afraid to change – an important perspective to have in these days of great change in the church and the world.

The assembly celebrated and was greatly encouraged by the commissioning of 122 young adult volunteers and 17 new mission workers for service around the globe. Commissioners voted unanimously to renew the call to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide” and were inspired by the stories (http://gamc.pcusa.org/ministries/evangelism) of congregations that are growing in evangelism, discipleship, diversity, and servanthood. They celebrated the generosity of Presbyterians who have contributed more than $10.5 million to relief and redevelopment work in Haiti in the wake of Januarys’ devastating earthquake.

The assembly also engaged in discussion about significant matters of faith and life – ordination standards, justice and peace in the Middle East, and civil union and marriage, to name just a few.
Information on the more than 300 assembly actions is available at http://pc-biz.org. Answers to frequently asked questions about the items that have already garnered media attention are attached to this letter and available online (www.pcusa.org/ga219). We commend these resources to you for their accurate and straightforward information.

While the content of the assembly’s decisions is important, what may be of equal or greater importance is the manner in which commissioners and advisory delegates did their work. They debated, but did not fight. They tackled tough issues while refraining from tackling each other. They placed great value on finding common ground as they displayed gracious, mutual forbearance toward one another. They sought the will of God within their actions, rather than regarding their decisions as the will of God. One commissioner called the experience of seeking – and finding – common ground truly “miraculous.” In short, this assembly exhibited to the whole church and, indeed, to our society and the world a way to engage in difficult issues while maintaining respect for one another. To put it another way, they exhibited well what it means for the church to “a provisional demonstration of what God intends for the world” (Book of Order, G-3.0200).

…shall flow rivers of living water.”

Just a few short hours ago, the 219th General Assembly ended in the same worshipful manner with which it began, as well as with a similar same sense of hopeful expectation that the hard work done in Minneapolis will continue forward across the church. Michael East and Caroline Sherard, elected by their peers as co-moderators of the young adult advisory delegates to this assembly, shared their thoughts in a blog entry (www.pcusa.org/ga219):

If all our commissioners and advisory delegates returned to their places of community and
encouraged others to continue similar stories, what great things could be next for the PC(USA)?
These narratives have the ability to inspire discussions on new, creative, and innovative ways of
being the Church. At the heart of being Presbyterian is the principle belief that our discernment is best done when we gather together. Being able to gather in one place, as one people, for the one
Church is a powerful and transformative experience--one which dramatically shapes future
generations.

The assembly has commended to the church a number of items for further study, out of which is hoped will come, as Michael and Caroline write, “new, creative, and innovative ways of being the Church.”

May the good and faithful work begun in Minneapolis truly be just the beginning of a season of respectful, earnest, and gracious engagement – both in our words and in our deeds – all for the sake of the gospel.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,

Elder Cynthia Bolbach
Moderator, 219th General Assembly Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Ponderings from the General Assembly 15

2010-07-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

A letter to the editor of the Harrisburg Patriot News:

On Friday July 9 I sat in the Minneapolis St. Paul airport reading a front page article about the meeting of my Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s General Assembly. When I arrived home I read an Associated Press story in the Harrisburg Patriot News on the same topic with the headline “Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): Leaders reject same-sex marriage.” Although this article in the Patriot-News was factually accurate, it does not communicate the deep theological commitments which are the foundation of our General Assembly’s action. Indeed, those of us in leadership in the Church today are increasingly convinced that the mainstream media and the general culture in America do not understand the deepest convictions and motivations of our churches. There is an increasing separation of our church’s culture and worldview from American society.

Yes, the Presbyterian General Assembly rejected same-sex marriage. But that is a superficial understanding of what we did. What we did is profoundly more important. We made a commitment as a church to try and live together in a spirit of prayer and discernment and deep dialogue. We made a commitment NOT to live in the powerful worldview of blue states versus red states; republicans versus democrats; conservatives versus liberals. This deeply embedded cultural and political paradigm of “us versus them”, however “us” and “them” is defined, is very difficult to break. But we Presbyterians are seeking another way for our church.

This is what we did. Our General Assembly in 2008 asked for a special study on the question of marriage and civil union. The special committee did good work and was reporting to our 2010 General Assembly meeting in Minneapolis last week. As the committee reported we heard a passion for our church to find another way which will not simply divide us into camps. The committee itself could not come together in its conclusions despite a continuing commitment to be together. Thus the special committee presented to our General Assembly two reports: a Majority Report and a Minority Report. What the General Assembly did next was stunning to all of us in attendance. The Assembly put the two reports together and we will send them out together to all our congregations asking for a time of careful study, prayer and discernment around this difficult issue. More important we made a commitment to stay together despite our differences around these complex questions. It is this action that is a very important witness of the Presbyterians this year.

The question now for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and, I would say, for all American Christians is whether or not we can find ways to live and serve together which are motivated by the Good News of Jesus Christ and not by America’s reigning paradigm of “us versus them” politics?

Ponderings from the General Assembly 14

2010-07-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful things at the General Assembly:

From my experience of the General Assembly this year, I want to list three events which are very different from the Actions Items upon which we typically focus. Because I am not a Commissioner, I have the opportunity to take advantage of many other events and programs that happen around the edges of this meeting.

ONE: This morning I attended the breakfast of the Committee on Theological Education. My conviction was affirmed again at this breakfast. Our Presbyterian Church has the finest group of theological institutions in the world. Our ten Presbyterian seminaries are a very important aspect of our church which need our appreciation and support. Indeed, Christians from around the world come to our seminaries to study and prepare for ministry. Our seminaries have a significant global impact in the global Church today.

At this breakfast, Professor Barbara Wheeler received a special recognition. Her address on “Excellence in Leadership” was stirring and very motivating. Indeed, despite all our conflict, stress, strain and decline, God continues to raise up gifted pastors and leaders to service in the Presbyterian Church.

TWO: I attended the Presbyterian Writers Guild luncheon today which is one of the tiny advocacy groups of the church with which few people are involved. But today the room was filled to overflowing because Eugene Peterson was received a special recognition from the Guild. In a very quiet, almost meek voice which created a deep quiet in the room, Eugene Peterson offered some of the most eloquent, deep, and beautiful words I have ever heard on the gift of being a pastor. It was one of the most affirming and inspiring presentations I have ever heard. I felt that everyone in the room was touched by his words which moved me to a deep gratitude for the calling I have received to serve the church.

THREE: At the General Assembly worship service this morning, a huge, new class of full-time, professional missionaries were commissioned. The whole gathered congregation burst out in joyous praise and applause several times as these new missionaries were introduced and commissioned. This work is, indeed, the passion of my heart. Despite everything else we must do now as a church, this work of calling, equipping, sending out and financially supporting new, full time, professional missionaries to work with church partners all around the world may be the most important. Indeed, while we continue to be in decline in many ways, we have turned the corner and we are now increasing the number of missionaries we have in the field. Our church will be abundantly blessed as we deepen and nurture close relationships with church partners around the world.

In addition, during worship, the General Assembly Mission Council announced that this week, during the meeting of the General Assembly, two large gifts were pledged to our work in World Mission. Gifts from individuals in the amounts of $400,000 and $250,000 have been pledged specifically to support new missionaries.

Beautiful things are happening in our Church!

Report from the General Assembly 13

2010-07-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

After long, sometimes passionate, and sometimes bewildering debate, and after a motion to Call the Question was defeated thus allowing even more debate, yet another proposal to change the language of the Book of Order G-6.0106b was approved. This approval was on a very narrow margin of 373 YES to 323 NO votes. This action is very similar to action approved by the last General Assembly which was defeated by the Presbyteries. The great debate continues. The actual language of the new proposal is copied here:

G-6.0106b. "Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”

Report from the General Assembly 12

2010-07-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL PASSED.
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL PASSED.
THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT PROPOSAL PASSED.

The substitute motion which would have killed the Form of Government proposal was overwhelmingly defeated, and after extensive debate the Form of Government proposal itself passed with a very strong vote of 468 YES votes and 204 NO votes. It is very important that our church leaders become familiar with this proposal in preparation for our Presbytery vote on this proposal.

Report from the General Assembly 11

2010-07-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

NOTE: The General Assembly approved the recommendation to add the Belhar Confession to our Book of Confessions. I strongly believe in the open theology that is reflected in an open Book of Confessions. I like the idea of adding Belhar to our Book of Confessions. This is, of course, a constitutional issue which we will need to act on as a Presbytery. This conversation presents us with a good opportunity to have conversation about our Book of Confessions in our churches. Resources about the Belhar Confession including a study guide are available at pcusa.org. Copied here is the actual text:

Confession of Belhar

1. We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects and cares for the church through Word and Spirit. This, God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end.

2. We believe in one holy, universal Christian church, the communion of saints called from the entire human family.

We believe
• that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been reconciled with God and with one another;
• that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain;
• that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted;
• that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways: in that we love one another; that we experience, practice and pursue community with one another; that we are obligated to give ourselves willingly and joyfully to be of benefit and blessing to one another; that we share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind; have one God and Father, are filled with one Spirit, are baptized with one baptism, eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope; together come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ; together are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity; together know and bear one another’s burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another and upbuild one another, admonishing and comforting one another; that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness; pray together; together serve God in this world; and together fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity;
• that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, opportunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconciliation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God;
• that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this church;
Therefore, we reject any doctrine
• which absolutizes either natural diversity or the sinful separation of people in such a way that this absolutization hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation;
• which professes that this spiritual unity is truly being maintained in the bond of peace while believers of the same confession are in effect alienated from one another for the sake of diversity and in despair of reconciliation;
• which denies that a refusal earnestly to pursue this visible unity as a priceless gift is sin;
• which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the church.

3. We believe
• that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ; that the church is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells.
• that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconciliation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world;
• that the credibility of this message is seriously affected and its beneficial work obstructed when it is proclaimed in a land which professes to be Christian, but in which the enforced separation of people on a racial basis promotes and perpetuates alienation, hatred and enmity;
• that any teaching which attempts to legitimate such forced separation by appeal to the gospel, and is not prepared to venture on the road of obedience and reconciliation, but rather, out of prejudice, fear, selfishness and unbelief, denies in advance the reconciling power of the gospel, must be considered ideology and false doctrine.
Therefore, we reject any doctrine
• which, in such a situation sanctions in the name of the gospel or of the will of God the forced separation of people on the grounds of race and color and thereby in advance obstructs and weakens the ministry and experience of reconciliation in Christ.

4. We believe
• that God has revealed himself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people;
• that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor and the wronged
• that God calls the church to follow him in this; for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hungry;
• that God frees the prisoner and restores sight to the blind;
• that God supports the downtrodden, protects the stranger, helps orphans and widows and blocks the path of the ungodly;
• that for God pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphans and the widows in their suffering;
• that God wishes to teach the church to do what is good and to seek the right;
• that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream;
• that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others.
Therefore, we reject any ideology
• which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the gospel.

5. We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only head, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence.

Jesus is Lord.

To the one and only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be the honor and the glory for ever and ever.

Ponderings from the General Assembly 10

2010-07-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Grow the Church Deep and Wide

NOTE: The General Assembly voted, without debate, to continue this program emphasis on Growing the Church Deep and Wide. This conversation has not touched the life of very many of our congregations. This action is a simple, theological vision. It does provide a nice framework to begin conversation about the ministry and direction of our congregations. We may ask each session to consider their own work in response to these four priorities: Evangelism, Discipleship, Servanthood, Diversity. Copied here is the actual, approved action item:

The General Assembly Mission Council recommends that the 219th General Assembly (2010) renew its commitment to help grow Christ’s Church deep and wide by doing the following:

1. Extend a churchwide commitment to participate in God’s activity through Jesus Christ in transforming the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through the 2011–2012 biennium.

2. Encourage synods, presbyteries, sessions, and all agencies, entities, and networks of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to commit to foster the growth of Christ’s Church deep and wide in the following areas:

a. Grow in Evangelism: Share the good news of Jesus Christ. Invite persons to join in the church’s worship and fellowship. Baptize children and adults (Mt. 28:19–20; Lk. 15).

b. Grow in Discipleship: Rediscover Scripture, including daily reading and study. Nurture relationships with Jesus Christ in the context of our Reformed heritage (Lk. 14:33; Jn. 8:31, 13:35, 15:8).

c. Grow in Servanthood: Stand alongside the wider community to promote the well-being and love of neighbor. Embrace stewardship in all of life (Jn. 13:12-17; Mt. 25:34–40).

d. Grow in Diversity: Welcome everyone. Learn from others. Reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of God’s peoples in the world including leadership (Gal. 3:26–29; Rev. 7:9–10).

Report from the General Assembly 9

2010-07-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Note: Here we go! The decision of the Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues is bringing a recommendation that will be very controversial in the church. We must wait and see how the whole Assembly handles the Committee's recommendation. Presbytery of Carlisle Elder Commissioner Nancy Flint served on this committee.

COPIED FROM PRESBYTERIAN NEWS SERVICE
The Committee on Civil Union and Marriage Issues voted Tuesday (34-18-2) to recommend to the full Assembly changing the definition of marriage in the Directory for Worship from “a woman and a man” to “two people.”

Heeding the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution, the committee agreed to replace “couple” with “two people” because, according to Advisory Committee on the Constitution representative Catherine McDonald, “couple” in some languages “automatically translates as husband and wife.”

The committee also recommended approving an Authoritative Interpretation that gives ministers of the Word and Sacrament and commissioned lay pastors discretion over which marriage services they'll perform. Sessions may refuse the use of church property for wedding ceremonies of which they don’t approve.

An Authoritative Interpretation requires no approval by presbyteries and does not amend the church’s constitution. If it’s approved this week in plenary session, it becomes effective immediately.

The other nine overtures the committee considered Tuesday were either not approved or were similar enough to the two recommended overtures that they were considered by the committee to be “answered” by those overtures.

Advocating for changing the church's language of who may marry, Laura Marsh, an elder from East Iowa Presbytery, said her church, First Presbyterian of Iowa City, decided that “until we are allowed to marry everybody, we aren’t going to marry anybody. Is everybody happy? No. But there’s been no mass exodus, and we didn’t implode. But we’re urgently asking you to act.”
Committee member the Rev. Marion Haynes-Weller of Donegal Presbytery called herself “a pastor of one of those small rural congregations we seem to be worried about. We are in a very conservative community but it’s a congregation committed to welcoming (gay) members who are impatient with our lack of solidarity in standing with them.”

Young Adult Advisory Delegate Paige Eubanks of Mid-South Presbytery said “My fear is that if we open up Scripture to interpretation, we compromise purity, we become susceptible to deception and this body, my family, will disintegrate.”

Ponderings from the General Assembly 8

2010-07-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Special Offerings Review

The 2008 General Assembly initiated a major review of our four, church wide special offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing, Peacemaking, Christmas Joy and Pentecost. I was invited to meet with the review team today to share my perspective and reflections.

Some of my thoughts:
The Special Offerings are on automatic pilot. Churches that gather them do so with a sense of inertia and repetition, not any real, new energy or commitment.

The causes which the Special Offerings now support are so fragmented that few people understand what they are for and what they support.

One Great Hour of Sharing, because it is old and gathered at Easter time, continues to be very strong; although there is not much new energy to grow it. We have almost universal participation in OGHS.

The Board of Pensions has a strong, good reputation in the church and thus the Christmas Joy offering receives good support; although, I suspect, there is little enthusiasm for the support of racial ethnic colleges which is also part of Christmas Joy’s purpose.

In our Presbytery the Peacemaking offering tracks with a small group of churches who are reliably committed to this program; there is not any new energy emerging for growing this cause or purpose.

There is little energy or enthusiasm for the Pentecost offering in our Presbytery. I expect that very few people know its purpose.

I believe one of the offerings needs to be redirected to World Mission, and I believe this change will be well received.

Despite my less than positive perceptions, the Presbytery of Carlisle continues to be one of the top special offering giving Presbyteries. Thank you Presbytery of Carlisle!

I am very interested in gathering your thoughts, perceptions and ideas about our four special offerings. I am especially interested in gathering ‘best practices’ about ways they are interpreted, explained and gathered in your congregations. Please email your thoughts.

Report from the General Assembly 7

2010-07-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Note: I like the Form of Government report. I liked it in 2008 at the San Jose General Assembly. I like it now. I like to do polity on the fly, making decisions that carefully consider the ministry context and the fullness of the relationships involved. The Form of Government Taskforce report made it out of committee; and we will have a fun debate in plenary session at the General Assembly. I hope it passes and we have the opportunity to discuss it at our Presbytery. If you have not done so, I encourage you to consider Paul Hooker's background paper on "missional polity" which is available at the Form of Government website. More to come. . .

COPIED FROM PRESBYTERIAN NEWS SERVICE
The Form of Government Revision Committee of the 219th General Assembly (2010) voted 37-5 Tuesday to send the proposed Foundations of Presbytery Polity and revised Form of Government to the full Assembly.

If the Assembly approves the document, it will then move to the denomination’s presbyteries for their affirmative or negative votes. If a majority of presbyteries vote to accept the document, it will replace the current Form of Government that has been amended more than 300 times since it came into existence in 1983.

The committee rejected an overture from the Presbytery of Central Washington that called for posting the revised Form of Government online for informational purposes and seeking amendments from presbyteries to “improve and enhance the ways in which we govern ourselves missionally.”

Speaking in favor of that overture, Joan Johnson of Santa Barbara Presbytery warned of “unintended consequences of omission,” and the Rev. Jim Tony of Chicago Presbytery said, “This is way too complex to make this better than what we already have.”

The Rev. Dan Williams, co-moderator of the task force, responded to the overture advocates, saying he wanted to see a church “so infused with the presence and power of Jesus Christ that people cannot wait to be a part of it.”

He added, “I do not doubt this is happening in places throughout our denomination today, but how much more might we accomplish if we dare to step out in faith, if we are willing to take the risk and let go of a model of being the church bound up in structures and processes.”
The committee spent most of the morning making changes to the document, specifying the requirement for committees on representation and stating that such a “committee should not be merged with another committee or made a subcommittee of another committee,” and adding deadlines for the Advisory Committee on the Constitution to make requested interpretive reports 60 days prior to a meeting of the General Assembly.

Report from the General Assembly 6

2010-07-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Note: For those of us who work for Presbyteries and Synods one of the big issues at this General Assembly are several overtures asking for changes in the structure and responsiblities of our Synods. I am in favor of the full de-structuring and elimination of the Synods as a governing body. But this question is complicated and difficult. I hope this General Assembly will take significant action on this question. The article here on the Committee's deliberation is copied from our News Service. . .

COPIED FROM PRESBYTERIAN NEWS SERVICE
A willing but wary 219th General Assembly Committee on Middle Governing Body Issues has recommended creation of a Middle Governing Body Commission to act on the requests of presbyteries and synods “to divide, unite or otherwise combine” them during the next two years.

The committee debated for several hours Monday whether to create a special committee to deal with the myriad stresses facing synods and presbyteries or to establish the rarer and more powerful 21-member commission that would be “authorized to act as the General Assembly.”
The committee amended the commission proposal – brought by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) – nine times to more closely define its work and require a super-majority to take action. The final measure going to the Assembly passed 38-4 with two abstentions.

“We’re in a moment of history that is uncharted territory,” COGA member the Rev. Eileen Lindner told the committee. “We need a commission because the time is too urgent – we cannot tell some of our most hurting governing bodies to tread water for two more years.”
However, Mike Herron, stated clerk of Mississippi Presbytery, while acknowledging the sea changes going on in middle governing bodies around the country, questioned the move. His presbytery, for instance, has reduced staff rather than cut programs. “We’re just finding different ways to serve the kingdom of God,” he said. “If you need to change, appoint a committee – there’s no urgency to appoint a powerful commission.”

COGA member the Rev. John Wilkinson responded to committee members’ concerns that a 21-member commission given the full authority of the General Assembly would be too powerful.
“The commission we propose cannot act unilaterally, but only at the request of the middle governing bodies at issue,” Wilkinson insisted. “My guess is any big-ticket items are going to come to the next Assembly anyway.”

While the committee amended the proposal to require a two-thirds majority by the commission to take action, it defeated other amendments to require the affected presbyteries and synods to also approve commission decisions by a two-thirds majority and to exempt property and assets disposal from the commission’s purview.

Most, but not all, middle governing body officials who spoke to the committee during its 90-minute open hearing Monday morning supported the commission. The Rev. Betty Meadows, executive presbyter for Mid-Kentucky Presbytery and president of the Association of Executive Presbyters, urged the committee “to give the group power and flexibility because of the profound changes going on.”

Noting that three new church developments have been spawned by commissions in her presbytery, Meadows said, “We know that the Spirit is breaking out all over. We need people who are empowered to know and respond to what the Spirit is doing.”

Report from the General Assembly 5

2010-07-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Note: One of my favorite aspects of the General Asssembly meeting is the opportunity to meet many Christians from our partner churches around the world and our missionaries. A highpoint of the General Assembly for me is the World Mission Luncheon. Copied here is the New Report on this year's world mission luncheon.

COPIED FROM PRESBYTERIAN NEWS SERVICE
by Pat Cole

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is writing the third chapter of a mission “love story” that began in 1837, a denominational mission leader said Sunday at the World Mission Luncheon.
Hunter Farrell, director of Presbyterian World Mission, said the newest chapter in the saga is the formation of “communities of mission practice.” Participants in these communities include World Mission staff and mission personnel, global partners, and grassroots Presbyterians directly involved in international mission.

The purpose of the communities is “to discern the mind of Christ as we participate in God’s mission,” Farrell explained.

The earliest PC(USA) mission efforts were focused exclusively on sending mission personnel, he said. Beginning in the middle of the 20th century, Presbyterians in the United States moved into the second chapter of its history, emphasizing working in partnership with churches overseas that were formed through the efforts of early missionaries. “Partnership was limited to the leaders of our church and the leaders of partner churches,” Farrell said. Today, however, numerous congregations and presbyteries have established partnerships with international counterparts.

This has led to World Mission’s focus on facilitating communities of mission practice, which will help coordinate efforts, Farrell said.

Farrell noted that more and more mission personnel are serving as “global connectors,” helping link congregations and presbyteries with international partners.
One of those connectors, Tracey King-Ortega, the PC(USA)’s regional liaison in Central America, invited congregations and presbyteries directly involved in international ministries to work with mission personnel. “They can help you maximize efforts with these three communities working together,” she said. Transformation, she added, is the goal for everybody involved.
Speakers from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis stressed the importance of building relationships with partner congregations. Westminster member Trish Van Pilsum, who has visited the congregation’s partner in Cuba, said, “I was inspired by the people of Matanzas and my faith deepened.”

While the visitors from Westminster brought medicine, glasses and other resources, the Cubans would not say those were the most important items the congregation brought, she said. “The people of Matanzas would say that we brought energy, we brought compassion and we brought love.”

The luncheon also included remarks from the Rev. Noe Bernier, an archdeacon of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. He said the PC(USA) has worked with the diocese since the 1960s in its ministries of health, education and economic development. The church continues its holistic mission amid the daunting challenges presented by January’s massive earthquake.
“Haiti will not be destroyed,” he said. “Haiti will not perish. Haiti will rise again because of God’s people who are called to do mission.”

Ponderings from the General Assembly 4

2010-07-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ponderings from the General Assembly 4

At the “Conversations” session which I attended, hosted by Linda Valentine and Gradye Parsons, I asked a question that has nagged me for many years, and which I also have heard from many people around the church: “How should we interpret and understand the fact that the total membership of our denomination has significantly declined for many consecutive years?”

Gradye shared his own reflections on this question and admitted that this was also an issue which has bothered him deeply. He said that in studying the statistics from all across the church and from demographic studies there seems to be a 20/ 20/ 60 rule which is generally true. In terms of our active membership loss, it seems that about 20% of our loss is people transferring to other churches; 20% of our loss is due to death. But most of our membership loss, about 60%, is due to losses “out the back door.” These are the people that simply drift away from the church; typically they are not angry; there is not an issue or particular cause that created their leaving; often their leaving the church takes awhile as they drift from regular participation, to less and less, and finally to no participation or connection with the church. Simply put, most of our membership loss is due to the fact that for many people the church no longer satisfies their spiritual needs. This is confirmed by other demographic data today which reports that the fastest growing category of religion in America is the “unaffiliated”, the people that simply have no church home and no active religious life.

Generally speaking, our membership decline is not about social issues or theological positions or style or culture. Our membership decline is about the fact that for many people the church is not spiritually enriching and inspiring in their lives. This is wake up call for our congregations. More than anything, we need to create congregations that are spiritually alive, and we need church leaders who live and communicate a vigorous and energetic spiritual life in Christ.

Ponder your congregation, how many people have begun the slow drift out the back door? Create a dynamic spiritual life in the name of Jesus Christ and bring them back in!

See the Presbyterian News article on membership statistics: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2010/7/1/stated-clerk-releases-pcusa-2009-statistics/

Ponderings from the General Assembly 3

2010-07-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

Monday July 5, 2010
Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence

The book for the week at this year’s General Assembly is Phyllis Tickle’s The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why (Baker Books, 2008). She is the guest speaker at several events during this year’s General Assembly including the Presbyterian Foundation breakfast, the Office of the General Assembly breakfast and the Association of Executive Presbyter’s reception.

This book, which I have studied carefully, offers a sweeping historical perspective and a convincing argument about the changes we are living through in our culture and church.
At the Office of the General Assembly breakfast today Phyllis Tickle told this wonderful story as illustration of her thesis. She was speaking at a church conference in Atlanta during which a youth group from a local church was helping serve the dinner. While she was speaking she noticed that one of these young people stopped their dish clean up tasks and started paying very careful attention to her talk. She was, at that time, discussing the doctrine of the Virgin Birth and the ways in which the importance and understanding of theological doctrine is changing in the church today. She was making the point that many new, emergent Christians are not much interested in systematic theology and the classic doctrines of the faith.

After her presentation, and after most of the people had left the room, this young person approached her and wanted to ask a question. The question was about the Virgin Birth. The young person asked what she had meant in her statement that doctrine did not matter much anymore. This young person said that he read the story of the Virgin Birth in the Bible. He thought it was a beautiful, poetic story, and it was very important to his faith.

Phyllis Tickle’s important point is that this perceptive young person exactly articulated the great emergence that is happening in the church. Systematic, precise, intellectual doctrines of theology, like the Virgin Birth, are being replaced with the importance of story, image and mystery, like the Virgin Birth. This is a profoundly new and different way to look at the same Bible story.

What is the difference between systematic theological doctrine and stories, images and metaphors as foundations for our faith? In this difference we see the some of the Great Emergence which is happening all around us.

Report from the General Assembly 2

2010-07-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

COPIED FROM THE PRESBYTERIAN OUTLOOK NEWS RELEASE

For moderator, it's Bolbach in four

By Leslie Scanlon, Outlook national reporter

MINNEAPOLIS - After four rounds of voting and some worry about technical difficulties with the electronic voting keypads, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) elected as its moderator Cynthia Bolbach, a lawyer and the only elder in a six-person field.
Bolbach - tall, plain-spoken, with a crisp sense of humor - brings to the office decades of experience in church life, from the congregational to the national levels of the denomination.
She has served as a deacon and clerk of session for her congregation, as well as moderator of National Capital Presbytery, chair of the presbytery's Committee on Ministry and its interim general presbyter. She also serves as co-moderator of the Form of Government Task Force, which is bringing to this assembly a proposal - four years in the making - to streamline and make more flexible the denomination's Form of Government section of the Book of Order.
After the fourth-ballot, the candidate with the second-highest number of votes was Julia Leeth, a pastor from California, who earlier in the evening said she guessed she might be the most conservative of the candidates.
In that final ballot, Bolbach received 325 votes (51 percent) and Leeth 148 votes (23 percent), out of a six-person field. But Bolbach led from the start, winning 149 votes (30 percent) in the first ballot - with things splitting neatly from there, with four of the other five candidates drawing from 71 to 76 votes apiece that time around.
Before her election, Bolbach used a biblical analogy - drawn from the New Testament story of the friends who raised up a paralyzed friend, cut a hole in the roof of a building where Jesus was inside, and dropped their friend down into the room with Jesus.
The PC(USA) is paralyzed by uncertainty and fear about how to proclaim the gospel in the 21st century, Bolbach said. "You and I are the friends who can help our paralyzed denomination see Jesus," and be healed.

Ponderings from the General Assembly 1

2010-07-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ponderings from the General Assembly 1

July 3, 2010

This morning a new feature was added to our General Assembly. In the past there had been a time of orientation and training for all of the Commissioners together on this the first day of the meeting. Instead of these traditional training and orientation sessions, this year there were six different “conversations” offered this morning, all at the same time, for the commissioners to choose from as they prepared for the start of the plenary sessions this afternoon. Several of the conversations were focused on the large issues that this Assembly faces, for example, the Form of Government report, the Middle East report, and changes in the Book of Order. I attended a “Conversation” with Gradye Parsons, the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly and Linda Valentine, the Executive Director of the General Assembly Mission Council.

They offered a short presentation on their “Hopes for the 219th General Assembly". Together they listed and discussed seven hopes. I was very pleased by the deep spiritual quality of this conversation. The hopes of these two leaders of the church are spiritually very significant and theologically very sophisticated.

Hopes for the 219th General Assembly are that we:

Practice prayerful decision making;
Discern a deeper awareness of the whole PC(U.S.A.);
Discern a deeper understanding of the issues facing individual congregations;
Identify a common calling within our changing church;
Focus attention beyond ourselves;
Develop enthusiastic sharing of our Faith;
Further the mission of Jesus Christ.

I was very impressed and pleased that this discussion of the hopes of our General Assembly is much deeper than any of the individual topics and actions items which we will consider. We need this deep spiritual foundation to our work.

Report to the Presbytery June 22, 2010

2010-06-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

"Outlining what is yet to be."

A recent Newsweek article on Walt Whitman inspired me to consider again his famous collection of poetry published as "The Leaves of Grass". First published in 1855 the collection was expanded significantly through Whitman’s life time, and has become one of the most famous books of poetry in American history. On this fifth anniversary of my service with you, I wanted to claim some of Whitman’s bright, forward looking American spirit in my reflections.

Walt Whitman “To a Historian”
You who celebrate bygones,
Who have explored the outward, the surfaces of the races,
the lifethat has exhibited itself,
Who have treated of man as the creature of politics, aggregates,rulers and priests,
I, habitan of the Alleghanies, treating of him as he is in himselfin his own rights,
Pressing the pulse of the life that has seldom exhibited itself,
(the great pride of man in himself,)
Chanter of Personality,
outlining what is yet to be,
I project the history of the future.

At this June Presbytery meeting in 2005 I was examined and elected to this position with this presbytery, and I am very grateful. Indeed in this year of the Lord, 2010, I give thanks for five years of service with you. Not only that, in this year of the Lord 2010 I will celebrate my 50th birthday; our 25th wedding anniversary, the 25th anniversary of my ordination; and in this year of the Lord 2010 we have celebrated our beloved, oldest son’s wedding. (My son called me on Father’s Day, from his honeymoon, to report that he and his wife were on schedule to hike to every waterfall on the island of Maui.) In my life this year, 2010, is sacred and blessed, overflowing with gratitude and joyful blessing.

All these events of joyous memory and hopeful vision define my thinking and guide my reflection. With such a repertoire of blessing holding and surrounding me, I cannot but be hopeful for tomorrow. With Walt Whitman, I want to “press the pulse of life that has seldom exhibited itself.” This rare, cherished pulse of life is, in my mind, the spiritual life. The pulse of life, although increasingly rare in our society is still very real for you and I. This is the pulse of the Holy Spirit that thuds through the veins of faith keeping us alive, motivating us to love and serve. The pulse of life itself is for me, and for us, the very presence and power of Jesus Christ. Our fault and our problem is that powerful pulse of life is indeed seldom exhibited. So we need a new boldness in proclaiming with word and deed that we are disciples of Jesus, and this church belongs to him.

And with Walt Whitman, “I project the history of the future.” “I project the history of the future.” What a wonderful phrase. This task is not a celebration of bygones, but a new and full pressing of the pulse of life. I project the history of the future, and this is what I see:

I see a church connected. This is the great question of our day in our church. What does it mean to be connected and connectional? Is your church isolated or connected? There are fifty two congregations in our presbytery; how many of them do you feel connected with today? We are starting this grand new experiment with our Regional Associates and this is, in my mind, our motivating question: What does it mean to be connected? How may we connect together? What does that look like?

I project the history of the future, and this is what I see:
I see a church claiming a powerful, open relational spirituality. We have not paid much attention to this; but I believe the spirituality of the church is shifting and moving. I believe there are those among us who are uniquely in touch with this new, pulsing relational spirituality. You are our women in ministry. I ask this question: What does it mean to be a woman in ministry today? How does it feel? I grew up in ministry in the 1980s and 90s. In those years all the doors were, of course, officially open but still there was this unspoken sense that the women still had to prove it. It is different now; and we need to claim and celebrate it. When I see women in ministry now I see networking, collegiality, support and connectionalism all of which many of us simply do not know how to do. I see this relational spirituality increasingly blessing our church.

I project the history of the future, and this is what I see:
I see spiritual energy for mission. This is the center of my passion. I see a growing heart for mission. I define mission carefully, using the work of Professor Andrew Walls as my guide. I define mission as intentionally crossing a cultural barrier in the name of the Jesus Christ. In those crossings I have seen energy and transformation, power and blessing. We are a world full of cultural barriers; and every time we cross one, and break down these dividing walls of hostility, we bring honor and glory to our Lord.

I project the history of the future, and this is what I see:
I see a church finding new ways to do the old conversations. I am discouraged by many of our old conversations. As we move to another General Assembly this summer I am very concerned again about the toxicity of our debate. Specifically, in response to the public policy paper on the Middle East and again in response to the proposed changes to our ordination standards and revisions to our Book of Order I feel division, paralysis and a lack of inspiration. Maybe we will soon be blessed with new ways to have these old conversations.

Because of the health, the vitality, and effectiveness of this Presbytery maybe we here in this little corner of God’s Holy Church may join together in, Whitman’s words, "outlining what is yet to be". Please join me in that work. Amen!

Mark J. Englund-Krieger
Executive Presbyter

Preparing for General Assembly: Keeping a Long View

2010-05-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Two of the congregations of the Presbytery of Carlisle – First Presbyterian in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Silver Spring Presbyterian in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania - celebrated their 275th anniversaries in 2009. Both of these congregations continue to be vital, growing and forward looking communities of faith. It was a deep joy for me to participate in their joyful birthday celebrations. Of course, we are in Pennsylvania where the Presbyterian Church is planted deep in the soil. Indeed there are Presbyterian congregations to the east of us, in Donegal and Philadelphia Presbyteries, that are older than 275. As we prepare for another meeting of the General Assembly, I believe it is inspiring and helpful to ponder our long Presbyterian heritage. Ponder in your heart 275 years of church life. Faithful Presbyterians were sitting in the pews of these churches wondering about the ability of George Washington’s rag-tag army to defeat the mighty British Redcoats; these congregations may have lifted up joyful prayers for our nation every time a new state joined the union throughout the 1800s, and, I am sure, these congregations gathered for deep prayer during those fateful days of July when rivers of blood flowed in the fields of Gettysburg; these congregations would have named in prayer the people from among their flock who boldly served during the Great War and then again during World War Two. These congregations would have prayed deeply and reached out with care and compassion to neighbors during the dark years of the Great Depression. Through it all the church continued; all the way down to this year of the Lord 2010.

I am not encouraging us to rejoice in some great imaginary, bygone era when “all the men were strong, the women good looking and all the children were above average. (Yes, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion is in Minneapolis.) I am not encouraging us to spend too much time remembering and reminiscing. I am simply encouraging us, as we gather for General Assembly, to maintain a long view. This year’s General Assembly is not the first, nor will it be the last, it is not ultimate, and the whole fate of God’s universe does not rest on the shoulders of our commissioners. Take a deep breath of Presbyterian heritage. We have been doing this for a long time; and faithful Presbyterians in ages past have struggled and argued, debated and decided concerns and questions that are as important as the ones we will consider. Maintain a long view of time and providence. There is indeed a long view behind us as we remember our heritage and history. And I believe there is also a long view in front of us as we begin each new day to build on the gifts we have received and live into the church which God is bringing forth for our life together.

A Model for Mission Partnership

2010-04-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

A Model for Mission Partnership in Tegucigalpa, Honduras:
The Presbyterian Church of Honduras,
The Presbytery of Carlisle and
Presbyterian World Mission

This mission partnership is intended to promote and encourage the community outreach ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.

Since 2006 I have been leading mission teams from the Presbytery of Carlisle to Honduras to build relationships with the pastors, leaders and members of the 20 congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Honduras. One of my goals has been to help the Honduran pastors and congregations begin to understand and express a commitment to mission work. The Honduran Presbyterian Churches are all small by our standards, i.e. less than 100 people in worship and very, very poor. As I have met with and developed close relationships with the pastors, I have encouraged them to reach out with compassion and service to the members of their congregations. In many ways, this was a new idea for them although they understand the concept to be deeply biblical. Nonetheless, these churches do not have any resources for any kind of service and mission projects.

This April 10 to 17, 2010 I led my ninth mission team to Honduras for what was truly a breakthrough in our partnership. Building on conversations and planning meetings from previous mission trips and with our Presbyterian missionaries Tim and Gloria Wheeler serving as our communication link, I challenged the Honduran Presbyterian Churches to identify a mission project which our team could participate in and support. In preparation for our mission trip, the flagship congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras, the Pena de Horeb Presbyterian Church in Tegucigalpa, selected a family from their congregation for whom they wanted to build a new house.

During our week in Honduras our team met with and started the construction on a new home for this family from the Pena de Horeb Presbyterian Church. What is very special about this construction project is not the construction itself; many groups do the same kind of work. What is very special is the partnership and cooperation that is behind this project. It is this partnership that is a powerful model for what I believe is the proper way to do mission work today. It is this concept of mission partnership that I am asking our Presbytery to support. This project included the full cooperation and sharing of our Presbytery of Carlisle mission team, our Presbyterian missionaries Tim and Gloria Wheeler, the leaders of the Presbytery of Honduras and specifically Pastors Rene and Juan from the Pena de Horeb Presbyterian Church, Presbyterians from other congregations who participated in the construction, the Honduran masons who were hired to lead the actual construction, and, of course, the Presbyterian family who are receiving the new home.

Specifically, I plan to repeat indefinitely the model of mission partnership which we used this month. A Presbytery of Carlisle mission team will be recruited and each member will be responsible for their own airfare and room and board in Honduras. All our logistical support in Honduras is provided by Tim and Gloria Wheeler: they provide room and board at their retreat center for $20 per day per person, they provide all transportation in Honduras for a cost of $80 per person for the week. In addition each member of the Presbytery of Carlisle team will be expected to contribute $200 toward the home project. We are seeking other congregations and members of the Presbytery of Carlisle to support the cost of the home project beyond that which is funded by the members of our mission team, in this example, $2,300. Depending on the availability of funding we may encourage the Presbyterian Church in Honduras to identify family for new homes, and begin the planning process to work with those families. My goal is for the Presbytery of Carlisle to make a commitment to fully fund ten new homes for members of the Presbyterian Churches in Honduras, a financial commitment of $23,000.

Funds needed, New Home Project
Mission Team Contribution:
One Home: 7 members X $200 each: $1,400
Ten Teams for Ten Homes: $14,000

Other contributions:
One Home: $2,300
Ten Homes: $23,000

TOTAL COST:
One Home: $3,700
Ten Homes: $37,000

This project is intended to be a long term, sustainable relationship between the Presbytery of Carlisle, the Presbyterian Church of Honduras and Presbyterian World Mission. As long as the congregations in Honduras are able to identify families and organize the home projects and we are able to identify mission teams and funding this project will continue. The initial goal defined by the Presbyterian Church of Honduras is two new homes per year.

The project will directly support families of the Presbyterian Church in Honduras. These very poor people often live in substandard housing. Typically, we will be replacing very poor, wooden homes which seldom have doors, windows or floors with new concrete block homes.

The project is an expression of partnership in mission between Honduran and American Presbyterians to the glory and praise of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Report to the Presbytery April 2010

2010-04-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Support Presbyterian World Mission

There are two motivating questions that I try to keep in mind. These are big picture questions that bring me back to what I believe is the true purpose and direction of my calling, and my ministry among you.

The first is, “Where is the energy?” This is my spiritual discernment question. There is always so much to do, so many different directions, and so many different tasks; but this question helps me focus. “Where is the energy?” By this I am seeking to understand where and with whom I perceive the Holy Spirit to be working in our midst. What is God doing?

My second motivating question is this: “How can we connect?” How can we connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, how can our congregations connect with each other, how can we connect together as a presbytery, and, most important, how can we connect with what God is doing in our midst?

Where is the energy? How can we connect? These are spiritual discernment questions for me, and like all spiritual discernment I find bits and pieces of answers to these questions all over the place, and in many surprising places. But there is one answer to both of these motivating questions that is far above and beyond all the other bits and pieces of answers which I see in other places. There is, for me, a very clear, number one answer to both of these questions. It is our world mission work.

In our world mission work, in which I have been very involved, I find spiritual energy and powerful connections which are together motivating, transforming and incredibly life-giving. This is my thesis: In our world mission work we will find the energy and the connection to move into the future which God has prepared for our life together.

For many of you I know, I am preaching to the choir: Our Derry Church has been building homes in Nicaragua for more than ten years, our Gettysburg Church has led medical mission trips to Honduras in cooperation with CURE international for more than ten years, our Pine Street Church blessed their members Eric and Becky Hinderliter into Presbyterian world mission service and they will begin a new term of service in Lithuania, our Mechanicsburg Church built a new church building for the Presbyterian Church of Honduras, our Market Square Church has made a generous commitment to the Albert Schweitzer hospital in Haiti, our Silver Spring Church has had a sister to sister church relationship in South Africa, our Lower Marsh Creek has had a sister to sister church relationship in Russia, our Falling Spring Church blessed their members the Diane and Scott Carper into mission service in Honduras, Second Carlisle and Christ Church Camp Hill have made commitments to support the work of Presbyterian missionaries Tim and Gloria Wheeler in Honduras. This list goes on and on and on. All of this work should be encouraged and supported. I would like to ask those of you who have had a strong world mission commitment to test my thesis. In our world mission work we will find the energy and the connection to move into the future which God has prepared for our life together.

This is a remarkably healthy presbytery with a very high level of trust and a beautiful collegiality. I am very grateful for the opportunity to do ministry together with you; and I find deep joy and a lot of fun in this work. At our June Presbytery meeting in 2005 I was elected to this position. I remember pondering at that time that moving into this governing body work was a real experiment in faith. I thought then that maybe I would try this for about five years. I remember telling my wife that I am not really interested in working with some dysfunctional, conflicted, nasty presbytery. If that is what this becomes I will simply find another good church to serve. Today, I am sorry to disappoint some of you, but I am not going anywhere. I love this job. I am very grateful for this opportunity.

This is my thesis: In our world mission work we will find the energy and the connection to move into the future which God has prepared for our life together. Standing here now in 2010, my question becomes what do we need to do to move to the next level? How can we claim the future which God has prepared for our life together? Of course, I already have an answer to test with all you. In our world mission work we will find the energy and the connection to move into the future which God has prepared for our life together.

1) I challenge every one of our congregations to connect with our world mission work. About half of you are already doing this. Focus on and grow that work; there is energy and connection there. For those of you looking for an opportunity or seeking another one, I encourage you to connect with the ministry we have created in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Sponsored by and organized by the Presbyterian Church in Honduras - this is their ministry - and hosted by our Presbyterian missionaries in Honduras the Wheelers and the Wrights, we have the opportunity to contribute to a home building ministry in Tegucigalpa. If you have never been on a mission trip and have no world mission connection, please consider this opportunity. This ministry is serving Presbyterian families in the context of some of the difficult poverty in the world. This is their ministry and we simply walk along side of them in partnership.
2) I challenge every one of our congregations to make a commitment to Basic Mission Giving and Presbyterian World Mission in order to sustain and grow the number of professional Presbyterian missionaries we have deployed around the world. Support Basic Mission Giving and Presbyterian World Mission. Presbyterian World Mission is a glorious and proud dimension of our heritage, and I believe Presbyterian World Mission will help us find a way forward. Please support Presbyterian World Mission in direct and relational ways.

3) I challenge every one of our congregations to claim the “Both/And” theology of the New Testament. The call to mission in the New Testament is a call to Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. It is a “Both/And” theology. We are called to mission in Tegucigalpa and Nicaragua and Lithuania and Malawi and we are called to mission in the Allison Hill neighborhood of Harrisburg, the downside of Chambersburg and into all the almost invisible pockets of poverty up and down Path Valley and throughout Fulton, Perry, and Juniata countries. We are called to the ends of the earth and we are called to stock the neighborhood food pantry. I challenge us to cast out the destructive “Either/Or” theology of scarcity and claim again the abundant “Both/ And” theology of the New Testament.

In our world mission work we will find the energy and the connection to move into the future which God has prepared for our life together. May it be so! Amen!

Conscientious Objection to War

2010-03-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

In the sixth chapter of my book, The Presbyterian Pendulum, I discuss the history of the Presbyterian Church's advocacy for conscientious objection to war as one end of the pendulum's swing. As indicated by this recent letter from the Stated Clerk of our Presbyterian Church (copied here) this is still a very important issue for the church. . .

March 2010

To every congregation and presbytery in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and its predecessor denominations, has long recognized that
followers of Jesus Christ make different choices in regard to military service. The Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) teaches that one way Christians can be faithful is through service in the armed
forces. The General Assembly’s first statement in support of conscientious objection as an option
for people of faith was made in 1930. In 1969, the General Assembly made a statement in
support of selective conscientious objection, which means that objection to a particular war
judged by the individual conscience to be wrong is a moral obligation that may stem from
Christian just-war teaching.

The 218th General Assembly (2008) took actions that relate to Presbyterians and military service in several ways. These actions include implementation steps for General Assembly programs, presbyteries, and sessions. The assembly’s action On Supporting Those Who Feel Called to Seek Status as Conscientious Objectors:

 “Reaffirms the church’s position on the freedom of conscience, especially as it relates to
a person’s status as a conscientious objector against participating in the armed services.

 “Encourages the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program to produce and identify study guides
and discernment materials for individuals, congregations, and presbyteries to help church
members and their friends be able to articulate God’s calling on their lives in regard to
participating in the armed forces, and war.

 “Encourages presbyteries to provide education opportunities for ministers, military
chaplains, and sessions on how to fulfill their responsibility of educating young people
about issues of faith, conscience, and war, including civic alternatives to serving the
country through the armed forces.

 “Encourages presbyteries and sessions to create a structure to document and support
those who feel called to seek status as conscientious objectors to participation in the
armed forces, or war.

 “Encourages presbyteries and sessions to create a structure to document and support
those who feel called to seek status as conscientious objectors to participation in the
armed forces, or war. Active members of the church can now register with the Stated
Clerk of the General Assembly for conscientious objector status, and certificates are sent
to the church for their records and for the church member (Book of Order G-5.0202; GA
Minutes, 2003, Part I, p. 651, Recommendations 2, 3; “Presbyterians and Military
Service” – PDS #7027005035).”

In the action, On Building Peace in Iraq, the 218th General Assembly (2008) voted to “call upon
the United States government to support our military personnel by granting speedy discharges to conscientious objectors; fully funding veterans’ benefits; ensuring that injured service personnel and veterans have the best medical, mental health, and rehabilitation care available; and providing generous benefits to surviving family members.”

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has created a Web page with resources to help
individuals discern God’s call in relation to participation in the armed forces. It is available at
www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/actnow/conscientious-objection.htm.

The Office of the Stated Clerk is prepared to register active members, baptized members, and
active nonmembers of congregations as conscientious objectors. Contact Joyce Evans at (888)
728-7228, ext. 5424, or read “Presbyterians and Military Service” (PDS# 70-270-05-035 in
English; PDS# 24-358-07-012 in Spanish) for the process. This information will be included in
future publications related to this issue. The Presbyterian Washington Office has communicated
the concerns of the 218th General Assembly for our military personnel to our elected officials in
Washington.

Choices related to military service may be challenging. We will hold you in prayer as you
provide assistance to individuals as they make and live out their decisions.

In Christ,

The Reverend Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

My Book: The Presbyterian Pendulum

2010-03-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am glad to announce that my book, The Presbyterian Pendulum, is now published and available from WipfandStock.com.

The Presbyterian Pendulum is a study in mainline Protestant social ethics
with a focus on the Presbyterian Church (USA). This book is written for the
church with the hope that it will provide theological foundation and
spiritual encouragement for our efforts to find unity despite the diversity of
convictions and perspectives in our midst. This is a historical study of the
significant social and political issues to which the church responded
throughout the twentieth century. With a foundation in solid historical
research, this book offers the compelling thesis that the Presbyterian Church
is at its best when the wild diversity of worldviews, theological perspectives,
and convictions are encouraged. Even more, the book offers the spiritually
rich thesis that it is in this wild diversity, not despite of it, that the providence
of God is seen and known. What is unique and compelling about this study
is the guiding metaphor of the pendulum swinging. The vast difference of
opinion in the church around social issues has historically always been true,
is necessary today, and itself points to a deeper truth about God’s sustaining
providence. The church must discern and hold onto that deeper truth. We
must let the pendulum swing. It is my hope that this book will be an encouragement
for the church even as we continue to be mired in deep conflict.

A Call to Justice

2010-01-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for the many generous responses to my report to the Presbytery of Carlisle January 2010 which called forth a renewed commitment to our tradition of Christian realism. May I suggest that one, small way to engage this question in our churches and in our preaching is by some careful consideration of a Christian concept of justice. I am sure that many, many recent sermons from Presbyterian pulpits exalted the concept of Christian love. Maybe we also need some devoted attention to the biblical concept of justice. One way to consider the contours of our tradition of Christian realism is this constant push and pull between love and justice.

I appreciate Professor David True’s referring me to a recent web editorial in the online journal “Political Theology.” Copied here is a nice definition of justice from that editorial:

Justice “is not reducible to a check list and will power. Rather, it is a way of inhabiting the world and interacting with others that embraces more than the will and more than war. It is about habits and dispositions and how one is inclined to act in the course of the quotidian tasks of life when one is not consciously thinking about or willing it. Which is to say that the justice on which the classic just war tradition is erected, by the likes of Augustine and Aquinas, is a matter of character. It is a virtue. More specifically, it is the virtue of a people whose life is disciplined in a manner that they ordinarily, habitually care for and seek the good of their neighbors, including their enemy neighbors, in times of peace as well as war.”

From the Web Editorial: The Justice of Just War and the Exceptionalism it Requires A Response to Barack Obama's Nobel Acceptance Speech on 9 December 2009; found at: http://www.politicaltheology.com/ojs/index.php/PT/announcement/view/40.

Mark Englund-Krieger

Report to the Presbytery January 2010

2010-01-27T07:23:00.001-08:00

Peacemaking:

The General Assembly started the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program in 1980. I started in Seminary in 1982. It was time and an era when the church was seriously engaged with questions of war, peace and a commitment to peacemaking. The Commitment to Peacemaking was an idea which fostered significant support across the church, and, of course, significant debate. I remember in my first years of ministry passionate debates at Presbytery meetings about questions of war and peacemaking.

What happened to our commitment to peace? We live in a war torn world. What happened to our voice, our calling, our witness to Christ the Prince of Peace? Why are we seemingly afraid to engage these questions and these issues? Is our common life now so fragile that these debates frighten us? Questions of war and peace, questions of the ways our nation should be engaged in the world and the church’s response to that engagement are deeply controversial and difficult questions. But these are questions our church has always engaged, always debated. We have always pushed theological reflection into these realms. I am very concerned that these vital questions have simply dropped out of our conversation, out of our common life. Are we so weak and frightened, and hunkered down into the isolated life of our congregation, that we are now afraid to engage these questions of war and peace? Or, and this may be closer to the truth, have our pastors and church leaders so abandoned the hard work of theological study and reflection that we do not have anything to say, expect occasionally a trite repetition of the editorials of either George Will on one side or Thomas Friedman on the other.

In a recent edition of The Presbyterian Outlook, Professor Stanley Hauerwas, who is not Presbyterian, said in an interview that all Christians are called to be pacifists. Wow! What a provocative statement in a Presbyterian magazine. Our Presbyterian Church, and the larger Reformed Tradition, is not now and has never been pacifist. Historically and theologically it is simply wrong to say that all Christians are called to be pacifists. I know I am not. Is this not a vitally important theological and spiritual question for the church today?

In his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama was reaching for some philosophical and theological foundation for an understanding of peace which is not pacifist and fully engages the brutal realities of our world today. I quote: “A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism. – it is recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.”

I am not making a partisan comment for Obama; please do not hear that. What I am saying is deeper. I believe Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize speech was reaching back into the tradition of Christian realism for some foundational thinking about war and peace. This is our tradition. These are core convictions for the Presbyterian Church. Especially in the American Presbyterian tradition, Christian Realism has always been the theological framework with which we struggled with questions of war, peacemaking, international relations and law enforcement. Given the tenacious power of evil in our world today, the church is called to engage these questions, debate these issues. Remaining silent on these questions is not an option for Presbyterians. There must be public engagement. This is not a task we can abandon because it makes us uncomfortable or because the conversation always creates debate and heated conflict. We must speak publicly. We are the Presbyterians; this is our calling.

I am talking about the Christian realism of the Barmen Declaration of Faith in our Book of Confessions. The most profound American voice in this tradition of Christian realism is Reinhold Niebuhr. Like the Barmen Declaration, Niebuhr was also writing in the World War II era. Niebuhr was very critical of the churches reluctance to engage these questions. Niebuhr was pushing the churches and our nation to understand the reality of the world we live in.
Writing in 1941 Niebuhr published a paper which is relevant today titled, “The Christian Faith and the World Crisis.”

I quote: Too many American Christians, Niebuhr argued, believed that “war could be eliminated if only Christians and other men of good will refused resolutely enough to have anything to do with conflict. In our opinion this utopianism has contributed to the tardiness of the democracies in defending themselves against the perils of a new barbarism, and (in America at least) it is easily compounded with an irresponsible and selfish nationalism. Love must be regarded as the final flower and fruit of justice, however, when love is substituted for justice it degenerates into sentimentality and may become the accomplice of tyranny. We are well aware of the sins of all the nations, including our own, which have contributed to the chaos of our era. Yet we believe the task of defending the rich inheritance of our civilization to be an imperative one, however much we might desire that our social system were more worthy of defense.”

I believe we must stand in this long tradition of Christian realism, powerfully articulated by Reinhold Niebuhr for example, which does not flinch at the power of evil in our world, is not afraid, and boldly proclaims the sovereignty of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

We live in a day when the evil of al Qaeda is a contagious virus trying to infect our very souls. I am not arguing for some kind of pro-American militarism; I am often appalled by our American arrogance. I am arguing against the often fear-filled silence in our churches which is afraid to even discuss these issues. “Blessed at the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.” What does that mean in a world increasingly scorched by the power of evil?

NOTES:
See interview with Stanley Hauerwas, “The Presbyterian Outlook”, Dec. 7, 2009.
See President Obama’s “Nobel Peace Prize speech” now available via Google search.
See Reinhold Niebuhr, “Christian Faith and the World Crisis”, first published in Christianity and Crisis, February 10, 1941 and now available via Google search.
On Reinhold Niebuhr see Jon Meacham, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation, (Random House).

Mark J. Englund-Krieger
January 2010

An Advent Pastoral Letter to our Churches

2009-12-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2009

Dear Friends,

The themes of the season of Advent always move me into prayer and reflection. My wife encourages our family to gather regularly around our Advent wreath for Bible reading and prayers. Our boys have grown beyond their childish reluctance, and our family prayer time is important to us all. We are grateful for the good health and abundance in our family.

But my prayer this Advent also turns to a litany of recent news from our churches. This news from many places, all over our presbytery, burdens me and nags at my sense of comfort and ease. I am very concerned about the ways this nagging economic stress burdens our Pastors and discourages our Elders. I run through my mind and lift in prayer a list of reports and stories which have come to me: the note from one church saying they are using up their cash reserves which may be gone in a year; the elimination of staff positions in several of our churches; drastic cutbacks in Per Capita contributions due to financial stress; a little blurb in a church newsletter asking for donations to their heating oil fund which is now depleted; a pastor struggling with a proposed cutback from full to part-time status; one church struggling to pay their mortgage; several churches already forecasting significant decreases in Basic Mission Giving in 2010. . . And our Presbytery is looking for ways to manage a $150,000 deficit in 2009. And of course, the ripple effect of this economic stress strains the bonds of our connectionalism as our shortages are passed along to the General Assembly. I am also acutely aware of the financial stress in many of our mission agencies, social service organizations, and feeding ministries which are on the front line of meeting basic human needs. I know the burden is heavy in many of our congregations, but I must ask, if you are able, please be attentive to your Per Capita contributions and Basic Mission contributions as we approach year end. Please do not hunker down in fear and trepidation. Please do not turn in on yourself. Let us walk this journey together.

It is time to be faithful. Do not fear. Do not lose heart. The name of our God is NOT Dollar. We know the name that is above every name. “He is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Like no time I can remember in my ministry, it is time to be bold in Christ, be strong in proclamation, be constant in prayer, and walk together in love.

Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas!

Emerging Church and Karl Barth

2009-11-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

Our missional church study group is studying a collection of essays published as An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, Edited by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones. Baker Books, 2007.

One of the better essays in this book is:
Digging Up The Past: Karl Barth (The Reformed Giant) as Friend of the Emerging Church
by Chris Erdman

It is remarkable to me to see the new conversation about emergent church connecting with some old, classic theological reflection from Karl Barth. When I see the old and the new connecting in fresh ways I pay attention. For people of my generation, Karl Barth was a very important theologian in our education. Indeed, Barth was a revolutionary thinker who had a giant impact on the post-World War Two generation of pastors, especially in the Reformed Tradition. This quote from Barth, in a book on Emergent Theology, is very relevant today:

This quote is from Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, volume 1:

"How disastrously the Church must misunderstand itself if it can imagine that theology is the business of a few theoreticians who are specially appointed for the task.... Again, how disastrously the Church must misunderstand itself if it can imagine that theological reflection is a matter for quiet situations and periods that suit and invite contemplation, a kind of peace-time luxury.... As though the venture of proclamation did not mean that the Church permanently finds itself in an emergency! As though theology could be done properly without reference to this constant emergency! Let there be no mistake. Because of these distorted ideas about theology, and dogmatics in particular, there arises and persists in the life of the Church a lasting and growing deficit for which we cannot expect those particularly active in this function to supply the needed balance. The whole Church must seriously want a serious theology if it is to have a serious theology."

Report to the Presbytery Nov. 17, 2009

2009-11-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Can we do this together?

The technology that we have available to us today is remarkable. If you use the “Google Books” search engine you can find almost every book you can imagine. What for me is fascinating about Google Books are the full electronic versions of books that are now in the public domain. For example, working with the University of Michigan, Google Books now has available many of the very earliest records of our Presbyterian Church. For someone like me who likes to study our church history, I feel like a little boy on Christmas morning.

On Google books I found a book that was published by our General Assembly in 1820. In that year our General Assembly published a Digest of all previous General Assembly action going back to the start of our Church in America. Within that very long Digest, there is a shorter article titled, “A Short Account of the Missions Conducted by the Presbyterian Church.” In the introduction of that “Short Account of Missions” we find this sentence: “Our church has always considered missionary labours an an object of importance; which has been pursued sometimes with greater, and at other times with a less degree of zeal.” I learned the earliest Presbyterians in this land put some real teeth into this commitment to “missionary labours.” I quote: “The late Synod of New York and Philadelphia, as early as the year 1766, directed that a subscription should be taken, or a collection made, in all their congregations, vacant as well as supplied, for the purpose of raising a fund for sending the gospel to destitute places. The next year they determined on an annual collection, and adopted other suitable measures for the accomplishment of their benevolent design.” From our very earliest days in America, our congregations were each contributing to a common Presbyterian mission work. As our churches grew in those early days, this common commitment moved right into the work of the General Assembly. Again, I quote: “The General Assemby, which was constituted by that Synod, met for the first time in Philadelphia, in May 1789. During the session of that year, the Missionary cause claimed their particular attention. They directed the four Synods, then existing under their care, to recommend each two missionaries to the next Assembly and that funds might be prepared to meet the expense to be incurred, it was enjoined on all the Presbyteries, to take measures for raising collections in all the congregations within their bounds.”

The missionary impulse flows in our veins. In 1766 the Presbyterians found the conviction and the inspiration to work together in a common mission. Is that conviction still with us? Can we do this together? In the early days there seems to have been this natural, divinely inspired commitment to work together. The gathering of the presbyteries, and then the connecting together of the presbyteries into the first synods, and then, of course, the first meeting of the General Assembly in 1794 all happened very quickly, naturally for our ancestors. What about us? Can we do this together? Is there any inspiration and conviction to do this together? Or has the spiritual energy shifted completely so that we are now being drawn apart, and each congregation does their own thing?

What I am asking is not simply a financial question. I am asking a spiritual question. Where is the spiritual energy? Where is the Holy Spirit calling us and leading us to connect together, be together and work together? Can we do this together? Is there any spiritual energy for connectionalism? There are three large areas around which I would like us discern the spiritual energy in our churches. Again, these are spiritual questions, not first of all financial questions:

Per Capita: This is a very strong Per Capita Presbytery. But I believe spiritually there is no energy or future in the concept of Per Capita. We need to talk about this. I have not asked for or advocated for any increase in Per Capita since I started here in 2005. But with an expected $30,000 budget deficit in 2010, we could simply raise our Per Capita by $2.00 and that deficit would be funded. But I do not discern any spiritual energy there. I know some congregations are redirecting Per Capita to cover other expenses. Is there any spiritual energy for Per Capita? What should we say to churches that cannot or will not contribute their Per Capita?

Basic Mission Giving: In my opinion, the most significant structural flaw in our Presbytery is that no group, and no committee, has taken responsibility for the interpretation of and celebration of Basic Mission Giving. We have done a poor job celebrating what is, in my opinion, the best work in the Presbyterian Church: our World Mission Program. Can we do this together as Presbyterians? Why are so many of our congregations offering greater financial support for Habitat for Humanity, Worldvision and Compassion International than for Presbyterian World Mission? Why can we, within our congregations, raise tremendous support for a one week mission trip while we often have no, ongoing relationship with any of our fulltime Presbyterian missionaries? Can we do this together? Is there spiritual energy for the theology of Basic Mission Giving in your congregation?

Designated Mission Giving: I believe this may be the future of our church, and will soon define the funding patterns of our presbytery. You will notice on our budget report that we now have an income line for Designated Mission Giving to the Presbytery. This category has been growing. There is a lot of energy around designated giving. What does that mean? There are increasing numbers of our congregations who designate mission giving to the Presbytery. Let’s talk about this. Is this the future? What kind of conversations do you have at your session meeting to determine your mission giving designations? Can we do this together?

Please be very clear about my intentions. I am advocating for and calling a very activist and robust Presbytery. I see a Presbytery, maybe through the concept of Regional Associates, that is intentionally linking and connecting congregations to walk together in ministry. I see a Presbytery where pastors and church leaders relate to one another with high levels of trust, prayer and collegiality. I see a Presbytery that has made a commitment to create a holy space, a sacred place where our church leaders and our children can go to connect with God and with one another. We call it Camp Krislund. I see a Presbytery where every congregation has a relationship with, a friendship with, at least one of our Presbyterian world missionaries. I see a Presbytery which working with our World Mission office sends out full time missionaries to serve on our behalf. I see a Presbytery that has connected congregations together in international mission networks. I see a Presbytery which supports evangelists within our bounds to reach out to all the people who will never walk into our churches. I believe the Presbytery is the key link in the connectional commitment of our Church. My friends, can we do this together?

Presbyterian World Mission: Listen to the gentle ones!

2009-10-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

As I reflect on the fabulous World Mission Celebration which was held this October 21 to 24 in Cincinnati, I believe I have discerned something of the challenge we face. Our Presbyterian Church needs to celebrate and support the work being done all around the world, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, by our full time, professional missionaries. These are our people! They are serving on our behalf around the world and at the invitation of our partner churches. I have been very involved with our World Mission work for several years; I have learned something of the spiritual paradox of our missionaries. Almost to a person, including the director of World Mission Hunter Farrell, every Presbyterian missionary I have met and talked with recently has a very gentle, humble, quiet personality and presence. Our missionaries are not gregarious, loud and life-of-party personalities. They are not flashy. Our missionaries are humble servants. At times these missionaries are difficult to personally connect with because often they do not initiate conversation or broadcast their stories. But these are the people who we are asking to sing from the mountaintops, to proclaim abroad the good work of World Mission. There is a paradox of personality here. Our missionaries are the gentle servants of the church, who work in humble partnership with our church partners all over the world. But we are also asking them to be the cheerleaders for our World Mission work. We must listen carefully. We must pay attention. Our missionaries are not going get in our faces and buttonhole us at the coffee break with their stories. These missionaries are not loud. Often, I have noticed, they are uncomfortable with public speaking.

We need to listen to these gentle ones. We need to open our hearts to their stories. There is a spiritual lesson for us here. It is often the loud, flashy, polished and sexy noise of our world that gets our attention and, too often, our devotion. But maybe God is not in all the noise which attracts us and seduces us. We need to listen to the still, soft voices. We need to listen in and through the silence of deep prayer. Indeed, let us celebrate and applaud the work of World Mission around the world today and hear the quiet, gentle voices of our missionaries. If you are not listening with an open heart and a focused attention you may miss the good news. Let us listen! Let us hear the story of Mark Hare working so far out into the rural area of Haiti that few mission teams ever visit. Mark will tell the good news of the moringa tree. Let us hear the story of Tricia Lloyd-Sidle who works in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Cuba. If we listen, Tricia will breakdown many of our stereotypes and polarized perceptions. She tells the story of Presbyterians who have been faithful, devout, and persevering through all the years of the Castro regime. Let us hear the story of Gloria Wheeler who knows what happens when poor women are inspired and come together around the task of community development in rural Honduras. Let us hear Jim McGill’s story about the social and spiritual domino effect which unfolds in a rural Malawian village when a new well provides fresh, clean water for the first time ever. Listen to the heartbreaking story of the Roma people. They were in the crosshairs of Nazi Germany, and the victims of prejudice and discrimination throughout the ages. Now there are glimmers of a new tone, a new message and the breaking down of the strong walls of hatred. Our missionary Burkhard Paetzold is there. Are we listening? A quiet, deep truth is being proclaimed. It is the story of Presbyterian World Mission. Please listen to these gentle ones.

A Letter from Honduras

2009-10-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

This letter is from Mark and Ashley Wright, new Presbyterian missionaries in Honduras. This letter may also be found at the Mission Connections website: http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/letters/wrightm/wrightm_0910.htm

October 14, 2009
Friends,

Moving to a new country isn’t easy. Even though we talked about it at orientation this summer, and even though I had traveled a lot in foreign countries before, I wasn’t really prepared for the reality of it. What made this time different was that I knew I wasn’t going back home. This strange place was supposed to become my home.

I did great at first. I was so excited to finally be here, excited to be answering God’s call and thrilled to be sharing my knowledge with other people. But things started to get a bit tough when it started to set in that I wasn’t going to get to go home anytime soon, and all the frustrations started to really gnaw at me.

One day, as I was making a mental list of all the things that bugged me in Honduras, I had a sudden realization of all the things that weren’t bugging me, and I had to laugh and say, “Glory to you, God, for how you have prepared me for this, and I didn’t even know it.” In a flash, God showed me how He has been preparing me step by step for this adventure. Jesus says, “Behold, I make all things new.” And indeed, by Him and in Him, I am a new creation. My old life has gone, and a new life has begun.

Over the years, God has met me and changed me in very practical ways—from our honeymoon on the Greek islands where (like Honduras) old and inadequate plumbing means that toilet paper goes in the trash can, not the toilet; to learning to live with the nightly window-rattling “boom-boom” cars in our neighborhood in Cincinnati, which prepared me for the incessant noise of Tegucigalpa; to the culture shock of our first pastorate in the Appalachians, where mountain ways were much more different than we expected, and we learned what it meant to be outsiders. Coming to Honduras, we expected major cultural differences, but through those early pastoral years God sharpened our sensitivity to the subtle cultural norms and values that are so important, but rarely discussed.

Last spring, when we first got the chance to meet with the pastors here in Honduras and hear how they had been praying and planning for PC(USA) mission coworkers, it became so clear how God had been preparing us—all of us, in Honduras and North America—for something that we can’t even begin to understand yet.

I know that living and working here in Honduras will bring many difficult challenges. Even the smallest things we take for granted can become mountains to climb. Right now we live day to day, not knowing what the political situation will bring: Will there be a demonstration blocking the road to the kids’ school? Will there be more curfews and disruptions of daily life? What about the people who are in such need even when things are “normal?” They need to work every day just to have a bit of food for their families. I don’t know the answers to these questions, and I can’t change them. I can’t fix them. I don’t even always know how to be faithful in the face of them, but I do know that God is with us all of the time. And I know that God has called us here, to this place, at this time. And looking back, I can see how God has been patiently preparing me and my family for this very thing. Scripture tells us that even when we am faithless, God will still be faithful with us: “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

There are still days when I ask myself, “Why are we here? What possible good can we do? And though we don’t know fully how we will be used down here, Mark and I have felt that something big is happening here in Honduras. This sentiment has been echoed by other people here as well. The young and old here are so hungry for God’s word. And they are not afraid to share the hope they have in Christ. When you meet a person who knows what the good news of the gospel is, you can tell right away by the smile on their face, or the happiness in their eyes. Yes, they may have tragedy in their lives, but they know that what they see before them is not God’s final say on the situation.

When I am faithless and think that nothing will ever change, I have to remember the people we have met here who carry the promise of the gospel inside them—how they are a blessing to us, and how, somehow, just by being here without a political or economic agenda, we seem to be a blessing to them as well. Together we live in expectation of the things that God has been preparing, whatever they may be, and in thankfulness and humility that God has been preparing us for this very time.

I hope that you will pray for Honduras during this difficult time, for the political leaders and for the people.

Grace and Peace,
Ashley and Mark Wright

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.-Peter 1:3-4

Report to the Presbytery Michael Englund-Krieger

2009-09-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

With an invitation by our Presbytery's education committee, this report was presented to the Presbytery of Carlisle by Michael Englund-Krieger. Michael is a senior in high school and a member of our Derry Church:

My name is Michael Englund-Krieger. I believe some of you know my Dad. I was born and raised in the Presbyterian Church and I love our church. I love Jesus, and I am committed to live a Christian life forever. In the Presbyterian Church I have had wonderful opportunities to know Jesus, grow in faith and experience what it really means to be the church. When my dad was the pastor of Parkwood Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh we had an awesome youth group. We did the forty hour famine and we did Group work camps. We had a great youth leader who really had a great influence on me in middle school, and this is when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Those were great years in youth group and church. I had friends in that youth group, and I truly enjoyed going to that church every Sunday. The first year we moved here I went to Montreat with Pastor Kelly and the Market Square Church youth group. Montreat was a wonderful blessing in my life. The next summer, my Dad and I went on a mission trip with the Derry Church to Nicaragua. I experienced poverty, God touched my heart, and my eyes were opened. Later that summer, I went to the Presbyterian Youth Triennium along with 30 other kids from this presbytery. What a fabulous experience to be together with 3,000 Presbyterian teenagers. I think Presbyterian Triennium is a great opportunity for senior high Presbyterians. I loved Triennium because I got the opportunity to worship with other high school students around the country. At Triennium, they broke us up into small groups. In each of these groups, no two people are from the same presbytery, and I made some very close friends. My small group was excellent; we all learned about each other’s faith and grew into a small family. I still remain in touch with a few friends from my small group. The following summer, my dad talked me into applying to Project Burning Bush at Union Theological Seminary. Project Burning Bush is one of the most powerful blessings in my life. It is a leadership development program for teenagers focused on the discernment of our sense of call. In several short weeks the 16 teenagers at Project Burning Bush became some of my closest friends, truly my brothers and sisters in Christ. This summer I went with my Dad to Honduras. We talked a lot about freedom and democracy, since we had a lot of time sitting in the hotel. Our trip was cancelled because of the political crisis in Honduras. But that trip was still a remarkable blessing in my life. This summer I also worked at Camp Krislund. I was on the Adventure Team, and I am proud and grateful that not one summer camper was hurt or injured on the adventure equipment at camp. The summer staff at Krislund was an amazing community of Christians. I thank Art for his leadership and friendship, and his extraordinary impact on the camp.

I know I am supposed to talk about the 2010 Youth Triennium. But what I really want to say to all the pastors here is this: I am a teenager and I love the Presbyterian Church because I have had so many wonderful opportunities in the Presbyterian Church. Pastors, please find your teenagers, talk with them and connect them with these amazing opportunities we have in the church. Teenagers need role models at this point in their lives, be a leader and mentor for them. Tell them about Triennium, and Montreat, and Krislund. These programs will have an impact on their lives. Encourage the youth to go on mission trips. Please get your teenagers involved and connected with these events and their lives will be blessed. They will love Jesus and they will love the Presbyterian Church.

I love Jesus. I love the Presbyterian Church. I am called to serve. I am a senior in high school and I am applying to the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy. I hope for the opportunity to express my service through the Army or the Marine Corps. This deep heart for service which I have; I got it in the Presbyterian Church. Thank you.

Happy Birthday John Calvin!

2009-09-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

We celebrate this year the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. I was in Montreat on July 10, which is his actual birthday, for our church’s celebration of John Calvin. John Calvin, by the power of his mind, and his remarkable organizational skills set in motion a movement that truly changed the world and our lives. His thoughts about organizing the church have flowed through these centuries with great power and have been captured in our Book of Order, and in Reformed and Presbyterian Churches all around the world. It is no exaggeration to say that wherever in the world we witness the blossoming of the idea of democracy, we see the legacy of John Calvin. When we sit at our session tables, gather in the dignity of our presbytery meeting, and in congresses and federal courts all around the world, with our commitment to group decision making and shared authority, we feel the genius of John Calvin. From Geneva where Calvin first pondered and practiced these blessed ideas about church organization this influence has flowed. Like all brilliant ideas, these ideas have been claimed, revised, reworked and created again in different contexts and in different cultures. Like all brilliant ideas, these also have been misused and transformed into ugly patterns of ideology and idolatry. One thing I have learned in this year of remembering is that we must peel back all the layers and remember John Calvin himself, his work, his ministry and legacy; not Princeton Theology or the theology of James Thornwell, not Westminster Theology, and certainly not the theology of the Synod of Dort and it aberration of Calvin using the acronym TULIP, and not the Dutch Reformed Church and not even the heritage of the Church of Scotland. In other words we need to remember John Calvin and not simply Calvinism. The essential kernel of Calvin’s polity has flowed from Geneva to Scotland, from Scotland to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, to South Korea, Thailand and India, to Mexico and Brazil. These ideas have flowed to Kenya, Sudan, Egypt, Malawi and South Africa. And now in our world the essential ideas of Calvin’s polity are expressed in church meetings and church structures, and democratic constitutions by people who have never heard of John Calvin, and who do not know this heritage. But we know the heritage and we are grateful for the legacy.
For us today though, maybe it is the theological system of John Calvin, more than the polity, which is most astounding. It is this theology that needs to constantly be remembered and reclaimed, celebrated and breathed deep into the very soul of our prayer life. If Calvin’s church polity easily becomes confused in the interplay and interconnection of a number of different and vital themes, Calvin’s theology may be easily summarized and proclaimed in one, loud, glorious phrase: the sovereignty of God.

I want to try on with you a one paragraph summary of John Calvin’s theology: The world is filled with the dazzling beauty, majesty and magnificence of God. All around us, everywhere, in all of creation, in every creature, in the whirling of the planets, and the movements of the molecules God’s dazzling magnificence is everywhere. But we cannot see it. Why can we not see the beauty and majesty of God all around us? Our blindness cannot be God’s fault, it must be our fault. There is something wrong with us. We are sinful, totally depraved, creatures. This sin blinds us to the majesty and beauty of God all around us. We are blind. Our loving and gracious God comes to us in Word and Holy Spirit so that we might be able to see. We are by the gift of Word and Spirit assisted in seeing; we are chosen to see. Now with the new eyes blessed by the Word and the Spirit we can see all the majesty and beauty of God, and we spend our lives saying “Thank you.”

Maybe I can do even better. I can summarize the totality of Calvin’s ministry and purpose in one memorable phrase: “Lift up your hearts.” “Lift up your hearts.” This is the essential spiritual practice to which Calvin calls us. All the organizational work, and the careful themes of polity are in order to create churches, and church structures which are holy places devoted to the lifting up of our hearts. All of the carefully systemized theological reflection is intended to help us to orient our minds toward the lifting up of our hearts. Most importantly for Calvin, it is about our hearts. It is about God’s gift in Jesus Christ which fills us with a motivating passion and an ardent zeal. It is about the power of the Holy Spirit coming down into the very core of our being, not simply our minds, and not simply an act of intellectual belief, but a passionate and inspired lifting of our hearts. All the polity and all the theology of John Calvin is intended toward this one end, that the people of Jesus Christ will lift up our hearts to the Lord. Preachers, maybe at the top of every sermon as you sit down to craft and write each week you may write this: “The purpose of the sermon is to encourage us to lift up our hearts.” Elders, maybe we should print this at the top of every session meeting agenda or maybe above the door to our church buildings: “The purpose of this church is to help us lift up our hearts to the Lord.” And, maybe I pray, the purpose of our presbytery is to help us lift up our hearts to the Lord.

If you want to understand the theology of John Calvin, and, I would say, if you want to understand the purpose of the church today standing in the legacy of John Calvin, simply ponder this little phrase, “Lift up your hearts.” How does that happen? Where does it happen? What inspires and motivates it to happen? And finally what are the consequences and results when we come together with lifted hearts. This is the legacy and the invitation we have received from John Calvin. Lift up your hearts. Thanks be to God.

Report to the Presbytery Sept. 22, 2009

2009-09-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

The Coercion of Connectionalism

When I was in high school, in both my junior and senior years, I earned a Varsity Letter in Men’s Gymnastics. Gymnastics was my sport and those years and those teams are some of the great, joyful memories of my life. I was pondering recently that my experience in men’s gymnastics, long ago, has prepared me for this job. I have a very highly developed sense of balance. A sense of balance is a good thing in a time when the ground beneath the church is shifting and moving.

We are living in a time of massive culture change and transformation in our church. Some have called the changes that are happening in the church today as sweeping and comprehensive as those of the Protestant reformation in the 1500s. I agree with that, we are living in the midst of a Modern Reformation.

Possibly the most sweeping change which is shifting the ground and undermining the foundations of our Presbyterian Church is the breaking down of our connectionalism. So much so that a polity of free association has, for many congregations, become the polity of our church. The polity of free association is the American way, and it is very successfully expressed in the Southern Baptist tradition which, of course, is by far the largest of the Protestant Churches. A polity of free association means that each church has a choice, a free choice, about what other congregations you may choose to associate with. This is a very free form, fluid polity. Congregations come and go in their relationship with one another depending on their needs and desires at any given point in their life. This polity of the free association of congregations is both a very old idea in America and a very new idea. The post-modern, emergent church movement which is blossoming all over our country is a free association of congregations. The Willow Creek association, and the Purpose Driven Church association are free associations of congregations. Each congregation decides with which other congregations they want to associate.

Let me be very clear, the Presbyterian Church is very, very different. There is supposed to be, and there has historically always been a fundamental coercion to our connectionalism. Our congregations do not, on any given day, have a choice about our connectionalism. Our connections together are part of the identity of who we are as churches. I call this the coercion of connectionalism because there is not free choice about this decision. Congregations today that choose to break our connectionalism and sever all connections with our Presbyterian Church cause tremendous trauma and pain, often expressed in disciplinary action, legal action and high rancor.

I argue the Presbyterian Church is very unique because our connectionalism binds us together in ways deeper than our own free choice. This is part of our identity and character; it is not a choice on any given day. This is a style of church which is very different from the American cultural emphasis on free choice and free association. But this all begs a very difficult question: Is our connectionalism sustainable in the midst of the modern reformation we are living through? My response is that it depends on what question is being asked when our church leaders are sitting around their session tables planning the ministry and mission of their own congregations.

If the question, “What has the Presbytery done for us?” is on your agenda as you do your session work, I submit that all connectionalism is gone. And I would argue, from my own experience, that this is exactly the question that many church leaders are asking today. “What has the Presbytery done for us?” This question does not reflect our classic Presbyterian connectionalism, but rather is an expression of a polity of Baptist free association. The Presbytery and the General Assembly cannot possibly bring resources and expertise to every one of our churches, to be able to satisfy every session need, every day. If our defining question is simply, “What is in this for me?”, we are done. Shut off the lights and close the door. This question breaks all connectionalism because it presumes that all that really matters is my congregation, my needs, and my well being. This question casts out any vision of the vital importance of being together in ministry.

For connectionalism to be true and deep in our midst we must ask a different question: “How can we participate in and support the connection of the 52 church in our presbytery, and, indeed, the 11,000 churches in our Presbyterian Church.” We must presume a deep connection between us and ponder ways, especially in these challenging times, in which we can participate in our connections. Thus I ask our Elders and church leaders to think carefully about the defining questions that are operating within your congregations. Are your guiding questions presuming that the churches of our presbytery and, indeed, throughout our church are in this together? Or are your guiding questions actually straining the bonds that unite us? I request that our church leaders take very seriously a framework of decision making that unites and builds us up together. Ask and pray and ponder this question: “How can we participate in and support the connection of the 52 churches in our presbytery?”

Our Missionaries in Honduras: Mark and Ashley Wright

2009-08-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Praise God! Ashley and Mark Wright and their three children arrived safely in Honduras to begin their mission service. Please see their mission connections webpage at:

http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/wrightm.htm

You may find webpages for all of our Presbyterian international missionaries at missionconnections. Please pray for the Wrights as they begin their service with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras. This article is copied from their initial mission connections article:

Rev. Mark and Ashley Wright

The Wrights are the first Presbyterian mission co-workers to serve with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. They began their service in July 2009. They’re tasked with leadership and theological training, as well as promoting congregational self-sufficiency in the Honduran context. While their primary role is helping to build the capacity of local church leaders, the Wrights also nurture and resource the PC(USA)’s mission network.

Once the center of the Mayan empire, Honduras is a now a sparsely populated, mountainous country in Central America, and one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Throughout most of the last century it has been ruled by various military dictatorships, but since the 1980s the military has been more restrained and democracy is growing, as is the income level of the people. The Presbyterian Church of Honduras consists of 20 churches located within a 60-mile radius from the capital city, Tegucigalpa. The church members are said to be so enthusiastic that many meet four days per week: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday as well as Sunday.

Ashley recalls a particular moment of insight that occurred in India when she was only 10 years old. “We were in New Delhi visiting the Taj Mahal and it was very, very hot. We had walked back up to the front along the flat pools, and were standing next to a man chopping sugar cane. He tossed the left-over ends into a huge pile on his left, and many children were scampering onto the pile looking for pieces that had any juice left in them. I started watching a little girl who was about 6 years old. She stopped in front of me and we stared each other up and down—I in my dress and shoes and hat and she in a dirty undergarment but with a gold stud in her nose. She was very thin, and from the way she tore into her small stump of discarded sugarcane she was obviously very hungry. For the first time, I realized how extremely blessed I was to have been born into my family in the United States and not into poverty in India. I realized at that young age that I was not put into the world to be a taker, but to be a person who gives and makes the world better.”

Mark tells about the time during his junior year abroad in 1986-87 when he was part of a group of American students who crossed the Berlin Wall and were hosted by a group of students in East Germany. The two groups defended their countries vigorously. Then, Mark reports, “As the evening wore on and our leaders went home for the night, we all began to talk and defend less and listen more. Words got easier, ideas and ideologies got softer, and we all began to be able to admit both the faults of and our love for our respective nations. A wall fell that day. Later, during graduate school at the University of Salzburg, I took another trip to Berlin and Checkpoint Charlie, where not long before the guns, dogs, and barbed wire had seemed so permanent and dangerous. This time, however, I borrowed a hammer and climbed on a stretch of that thick wall. I beat enough pieces of concrete off to fill a backpack and I brought them home when I returned to the United States. The funny thing is, I don’t know what happened to them. It seems that even the pieces of that wall have disappeared.”

Ashley spent four years in children’s ministry for the Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. She gave children’s sermons, taught both preschool and confirmation classes, and organized Bible school. Prior to that work, she had served in a similar ministry with children at First Presbyterian Church in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Before that, she worked as a librarian at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, a high school biology teacher in Charlotte/Mecklenburg, North Carolina, and a customer service representative for Eagle Vision in Memphis, Tennessee.

Mark spent a year in Germany and another in Austria and is fluent in German. He served for almost five years as pastor of Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and two and one-half years at Spruce Pine Presbyterian Church, Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in art and literature from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. She also earned an M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in religion from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. He has also earned three masters degrees. The first was in teaching from the University of Memphis, Tennessee. His certificates are in middle school and high school biology, chemistry, science, and German. The second was in German language and literature from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. The third was an M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Ashley is a member of the Balmoral Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, and is a candidate for ordained ministry in the Presbytery of the Mid-South. Mark was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament on July 1, 2001. He is a minister member of the Presbytery of Cincinnati.

Ashley and Mark have three sons—Ethan, Eliott, and Gabriel—who will accompany them on their assignment to Honduras.

Praying for our Schools.

2009-08-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

In preparation for a new school year, the New York Board of Regents wrote a prayer which they expected to be read at the start of the year in every public school in the state of New York. The pray was brief and nondenominational:

Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers, and our country.”

On June 25, 1962 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the State of New York could not have an official prayer read in public school classrooms. The Court deemed unconstitutional a public prayer to be used in public schools which was composed by governmental officials. As we know, there was a chorus of outrage at this Supreme Court decision from many devout Christians. But since that long ago day, those of us who attended public schools which never had official public prayers, and who now have children looking forward to another school year in public schools which never have public prayers, we have learned that, in fact, the civilized world has not come to an end because of that Supreme Court decision.

I believe we church leaders need to hear again and take to heart President J. F. Kennedy’s very perceptive response to that monumental Supreme Court decision:

“We have in this case a very easy remedy and that is to pray ourselves. I would think that it would be a welcome reminder to every American family that we can pray a good deal more at home, we can attend our churches with a good deal more fidelity, and we can make the true meaning of prayer much more important in the lives of all our children.”

In our churches and in our homes, our congregations, pastors and parents have the responsibility to pray for our schools, students, and teachers. As we begin another school year let us pray.

NOTE: For an excellent discussion of public religion in America, including the story of the 1962 Supreme Court ruling on school prayer, see Jon Meacham. American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. (Random House, 2007).

Honduras: A Call to Prayer

2009-08-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

This call to prayer has been sent out to the General Assembly's Honduras mission network and is posted on Tim and Gloria Wheeler's mission connections page:

A call to prayer and expression of concern for Honduras

From the Central America and Mexico Office with information from PC(USA) mission workers Tim and Gloria Wheeler

August 4, 2009:

During this time of great difficulty in Honduras we are led to ask for ongoing prayers for a peaceful process in the country and for a process of reconciliation that will lead to real benefits for the whole population. During the past three months the country has been living a time of great tension and division. The degree of polarization has become even more evident after the events of June 28. As in any conflict of this dimension, there are two sides that need to be heard in order to move ahead along a peaceful path that will eventually allow the country to develop and prosper that benefit all people, especially the most excluded and forgotten.

In this atmosphere of tension the news of mediated talks taking place in Costa Rica come as very positive news in the hope for movement forward in a process of peace, democracy and national reconciliation. The immediate future of the country depends on these talks and we pray an agreement can be reached for the upcoming months leading to scheduled elections in November. The talks will be mediated by President Oscar Arias. The positions of the parties involved are distant and both will need to make concessions and move to a more central position for the good of the country and to avoid violence. On the positive side there has been a great deal of discussion of national problems and the need for political reforms so that the democratic system will work in a better and more just way. If this can happen in a national dialogue to strength the democratic process so that public institutions work much better, then all will benefit from the present conflict, especially the people who have been traditionally left out of the national dialogue and agenda.

Special prayers are asked for Honduran families who may suffer division from a political crisis in which they have no control.

Pray for the Honduran Presbyterian Churches that are dealing with a range of difficulties brought on by the interruption of normal life.

Pray for children to be able to go back to school.

Pray for nonviolence on the streets and that people will express their opinions without violence.

Pray for people in rural communities who do not have enough to eat and in whose name so much is said and proclaimed.

Pray for continued dialogue at all levels of society on fundamental issues facing Honduras and that freedom of expression not be curtailed.

Finally, please pray for the many mission partnerships that exist between the PC(USA) and churches and communities in Honduras.

Report from Camp Krislund

2009-08-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Presbyterians,

Our Camp Krislund 2009 summer camp has been a remarkable success. We are grateful for the leadership of our new Program Director Art DeVos. One evening while our JCCC (Joint Camp and Conference Committee) was at the camp we appreciated the joyful enthusiasm of all the campers when Joel, a huge stuffed bear, was marched around the dining hall to uproarious applause. The girls’ wagons had just won the daily award for being the cleanest and best decorated unit. They won the opportunity to keep Joel for the day! Joel the Bear is a small sign of our success in bringing a new culture of clean to our Camp. Several other successful changes have been initiated this summer:

We have revitalized the chaplains program. The chaplains are now responsible for the daily “Nightfest” worship service talks, for daily staff devotions, and for preaching at the Saturday morning worship with all the parents in attendance. This intentional and high profile inclusion of our pastors in the summer camp program will reap an abundant spiritual harvest for years to come and create a closer relationship with our churches.

In the dining hall we have seen wonderful improvements. Under Pam DeVos’ leadership we have changed to family style dining. We overcame the overwhelming stress on kitchen volunteers by rotating all the campers and summer camp staff through dining hall set-up and clean up responsibilities. Importantly, because we have a large percentage of campers on scholarships, we applied for and were approved to receive food supplies from the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank system which has created extraordinary cost savings.

With expertise and volunteers from our State College and Derry Churches, we now have two new longhouses at Camp. These new housing units replaced the old, canvas tents which had been a mainstay at Krislund. The longhouses and the newly renovated Conestoga wagons improved the camping experience at Krislund this summer.

We remember well the cold, dark days in January and February when we sat at our JCCC Board meetings agonizing over a massively out of balance budget and wondering if summer camp was possible. God is good; All the time. We have a much better grasp of our financial management on a day to day basis. We have successfully concluded what many parents have told us is the best Krislund Summer Camp ever.

We need your support as we build on the success of summer camp 2009 and bring Camp Krislund up to its potential and our vision. Our financial viability is still tenuous. There is still an enormous amount of infrastructure repair and maintenance work to do. Looking ahead, we have gathered a remarkable, professional team to guide our plans for the construction of the new adult lodge through your Funding the Future capital campaign. This construction and the careful management of our new lodge are still before us.

Camp Krislund belongs to the Presbyterian congregations of our three presbyteries. It is your camp! We are grateful for the abundant support and encouragement so many of you have provided through this difficult year of transition. We believe we have turned the corner; our Camp Krislund is poised to move into a bright new future in service to our churches and our Lord.

In Christ;

Chuck Curley, Pastor State College Church, Huntington Presbytery JCCC chairperson
Joy Kaufmann, General Presbyter, Huntington Presbytery
Charlie Winkelman, Pastor Jersey Shore Church, Northumberland Presbytery JCCC chairperson
Bill Knudsen, Executive Presbyter, Northumberland Presbytery
Harold Nightwine, Elder Derry Church, Carlisle Presbytery JCCC chairperson
Mark Englund-Krieger, Executive Presbyter, Carlisle Presbytery

Report to the Presbytery June 23, 2009

2009-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

Loyalty to Presbyterian World Mission

According to my dictionary, the word “loyal” means “giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution”. Is there any loyalty left in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)? What does it mean to be loyal to an institution? Is loyalty a value or a spiritual gift which we even seek today in our church? I want to ask for and encourage loyalty to the work of Presbyterian world mission.

If there is one great, abiding legacy of American Presbyterianism it is our heritage of world mission. We are a church tradition which participated in the invention of world mission. In the great age of world mission, from the end of the Civil War to the first World War we are the church which sent missionaries around the world, building hospitals, building schools, building agricultural and farm infrastructure, building churches. Our heritage of world mission is stellar and profound. I believe it may be the most important bequest of American Presbyterianism.

I believe with this heritage of mission work the Presbyterians, and our partner mainline Protestant denominations, planted very fruitful seeds in our own culture and society. These seeds have grown up in today’s younger generations as a deep commitment to mission work and community service. These spiritual seeds, which were planted generations ago in the great era of world wide mission work, have grown up into one of the most, remarkable expressions of church work we have today, mission trips. I believe that these seeds planted during the great era of world mission have sprouted into the remarkable plethora of para-church, mission organizations that are now spanning the globe: Group Work Camps, Reach Work Camps, World Vision, Compassion International, Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity. I mention these organizations specifically because I have personal experience with them all. In many ways these organizations, and many others like them, offer important and worthy mission opportunities. For example, through their popular program called the 40 hour famine, World Vision has moved many teenagers to think deep and pray about the abundance and material blessing we have in this country. What does it mean to be a first world Christian living in such an affluent society? After a group of teenagers spend a 40 hours famine together, deep spiritual reflection about consumerism and abundance flow very easy and very deep. For example, Group Work Camps have created an infrastructure and procedure for doing short term mission trips which is easily available for even our smallest congregations. For many churches, their first mission trip with teenagers is a Group work camp, and these experiences often change lives and transform churches. Our son Michael, now a senior in high school, still has a Group work camp ball cap hanging on his bedroom wall from his first mission trip when he was in sixth grade. For example, Habitat for Humanity, as we all know, has given countless people the remarkable opportunity of hands on mission involvement. When I went to a Habitat for Humanity Global Village training class several years ago, I was by far the oldest person among the more than 50 people in our class. Most of the students were college kids preparing to go around the world on short term Habitat mission trips. I believe that the great era of Protestant world mission, during which the Presbyterians were a driving force, is the historical and spiritual antecedent for these exciting, modern and popular para-church mission organizations today.

If you look around the churches of this Presbytery, almost every vital and healthy church in this presbytery does mission trips. I believe that mission trips are as vital today in the life of the church as Sunday school. For many young people and, indeed, for many adults, mission trips are transforming experiences in Christian faith formation. I believe mission trips are vital in the church today. I am leaving on a mission trip this Sunday. But I also believe that there is a huge difference between mission trips and Presbyterian world mission.

Presbyterian world mission is a very different thing than short term mission trips. For many, many complex reasons we have as a church lost our focus on Presbyterian world mission. One of the reasons is that we have shifted enormous energy and resources to doing mission trips. I am asking us to rekindle our commitment and our loyalty to Presbyterian world mission.
At its core, Presbyterian world mission is a commitment to full time, long term, professional missionaries serving at the invitation of our partner churches all around the world. The difference between mission trips and Presbyterian world mission is the difference between kindergarten and the university. Certainly we need excellent kindergartens; we need mission trips. But we also need universities, we need Presbyterian world mission.

I ask for loyalty and commitment. I ask that we proudly proclaim that we are the Presbyterians; we are the ones with a 200 year old heritage of world mission commitment. I ask that we support Presbyterian world mission.

First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle

2009-06-04T12:43:00.000-07:00

Meeting House Springs Cemetery

Dear Mrs. Thomson,

I prayed for you today. I know that some people may consider praying for a dead person strange. But I find comfort and blessing in praying for the dead. I know you died in faith, since we know your husband was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Carlisle. Did you refer to your home as “Carlisle” when you died in 1744? I know you died too young, and I wonder if you still had young children to care for when you passed away. If so, that must have caused a terrible hardship for your husband. I trust his congregation supported him through that difficult time. I pray for your husband also, Rev. Thomson, but I am afraid that we do not know where his grave is located, and where he went after leaving our church.

I wanted to write so that you may know you have been a wonderful encouragement and blessing to the people in our church. We believe that your grave in our church cemetery may be the oldest marked grave in our Cumberland County. (I am sure it was not called Cumberland County when you lived here.) Your gravesite has become a sort of holy place for our people. I am sure you would be surprised to learn that your life has become such a cherished memory for us.

You would be pleased to know that your husband created a beautiful gravesite for you after your death. Now after all these years, some of our people have carefully cleaned and restored your grave so that we may now see the inscription your husband had carved there on the stone grave top, and the family coat of arms that is carved there also. I wish we knew today all that these symbols meant to your family.

Because of you, our people have decided to clean and restore the cemetery where you are buried. It has been more than 275 years since your death, and now many of the people you probably knew – McFarlands, Dennys, Blacks, Clarks – are buried all around you. We have soldiers buried there from our Revolutionary War, but you died long before that brutal conflict which gave birth to our new nation. I wonder if your husband ever talked about freedom. Many Presbyterians were involved in that war. They wanted to be free. Your husband picked a beautiful spot for your burial. It is a holy place, on a little bluff, not far from the spring which you must have visited daily for your water, and only a few yards from your church building.

Some of our people learned that your husband came here from Scotland before you. He moved onto the frontier of Penn’s land and gathered some other Presbyterian folk into a new congregation. There were many Scots Irish folks pushing into that wilderness and many new churches were born in those days. I am sure those were difficult years for you, being separated from your husband without knowing where he was or what he was doing. Can you remember the day you received his letter beckoning you to come and join him? That journey across the ocean alone must have been difficult? Did you land in Boston or New York? How did you travel out to your husband’s new church? That is long journey.

I prayed for you today. I hope you know that the church you and your husband started is a strong and vital congregation, in this year of our Lord 2009. I wanted you to know that your great, great, great, great, great grandson visited us today. He is a fine man with a charming wife, but they have moved south into Virginia. But your husband would be glad to know that his family is still Presbyterian.

May God bless you and keep in your eternal life.

Sincerely,

Mark

Waynesboro Presbyterian Church

2009-05-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Healing in the name of Jesus.

Can you list all the Bible stories of Jesus which involve healing? Of course, we know healing is a powerful and common dimension of the ministry of Jesus.

Despite all the changes and transformations in the church today, one constant remains true about the work of pastors. Pastors today are expected to make hospital calls. This is an aspect of ministry which simply cannot be neglected or abandoned in the church today. Indeed, most pastors understand the vital, spiritual importance of hospital calls. We understand that our pastoral presence is a powerful source of healing and encouragement when our people are living through the trauma of modern medical care.

I was richly blessed by the opportunity to worship with our Waynesboro Presbyterian Church on a Sunday when they included a Service of Healing in their worship. Given the centrality of healing in the ministry of Jesus and in our professional ministries today, it may be appropriate to consider more ways we may include a Service of Healing in our regular worship services.

The Waynesboro example is very meaningful and beautiful. This Service of Healing was expressed during the regular Sunday morning worship. Pastor Brian introduced the Service of Healing by explaining it as an extended time of prayer. The members of the session were invited forward to join him at the front of the church. A chair was brought out and the pastor and session formed a loving semi circle around the chair, facing out toward and thus including the congregation in their circle. Brian invited anyone who wanted prayers to come forward. Slowly and reverently individuals came forward and quietly whispered their prayer concern to Pastor Brian. Brian then repeated the prayer concern for the congregation to hear, invited the person to sit, the session all laid hands on the person and Brian lifted up a pastoral prayer focusing on their individual prayer need.

This Service of Healing, I learned, is a regular practice at Waynesboro expressed about quarterly and always as part of worship. I am sure there may be some uncomfortable feelings and attitudes when this practice is first introduced in worship for the first time. But the feeling I had with the Waynesboro Church was one of deep reverence and a real depth of prayer as the congregation prayed for healing. Such depth of prayer only comes with practice.

Given my introverted personality, if you asked me whether I would ever seek such public prayer for myself, I would quickly respond, “Probably not.” I typically prefer my prayers private and anonymous. But this time of healing prayer during worship at Waynesboro moved me deeply. So I went forward when there was an appropriate time, and quietly asked Brian to pray for the healing of the Presbyterian Church, and for my leadership. I was lifted and blessed by the gentle touch of the session members, and truly encouraged by Brian’s prayer for the unity of our church and my ministry.

Maybe our church will be more faithful and effective if we each identified those ways we need to be healed, and publicly asked for healing prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Report to the Presbytery April 28, 2009

2009-05-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

"Abundantly Far More"

I know many of you will find this hard to believe. But truly, I had a wonderful spiritual experience at the annual meeting of a congregation once. It was way back in the first half of the 1970s; I was still a junior high school student; I do not remember the exact year. It was a difficult time for our nation. We were in the middle of the OPEC oil embargo, and the national economy was in a very serious recession. At my small, home church our annual meeting was on one very cold, winter Sunday. At that time my father was serving as both the Clerk of Session and the financial secretary of our little church.

He did his Clerk report, not much had changed in that little church in a year. He moved right into his financial secretary report, and reviewed the financial reports and the budget for the new year. Things were very bad. There was a lot of anxiety and a lot of discussion. I have this memory of my dad responding to many questions and concerns clearly and calmly. (By the way, my parents are very well. They are now fully retired and living in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.) This was a small family church, and this meeting was much more of a conversation among friends, than a business meeting. And then, after all of the concerned discussion waned, my father gave this sort of off-the-cuff little sermon to the congregation. He said something like, “We know this is a very difficult time for the church and for many of our families. We need to make some difficult decisions; we need to be managing this situation very carefully. But the church will carry on. We will carry on through this. The church will carry on.” My dad never used God language, like we preachers use. My dad would never have used words like prayer and providence. But in his own way, and in a way that was deeply meaningful to our family church, he proclaimed our essential truth: God will be God, and the church will carry on. Preachers, I challenge you to bring that same spirit of encouragement and hope to our people now.

More than fifteen years after that annual meeting of my home church, I was the pastor of a very small church. We did not have a secretary. I took the bulletin material and the announcements to Carol’s home every Wednesday morning, and she typed and then photocopied at her dad’s auto parts store. Without a secretary, I was glad to walk out to the road every noon and gather the mail, and I took responsibility for getting all the stuff to the right people: Sunday school curriculum to our teachers, bills and bank statements to our financial secretary, etc. You all know the routine. But that day, this one envelope caught my attention, so I opened it. This was a notice from the electric company to the church that because we were three months past due our electricity was going to be turned off. I had never experienced anything like this before either in my family or in the church, and this notice really upset me. For some reason, our financial secretary, Rose, was out of town for a couple days and unavailable. So this notice sat on my desk, and burdened my mind. Sunday morning rolled around again; this notice was still sitting on my desk and rolling around in my mind.

I noticed that Ron had arrived, and was sitting in his usual pew near the front. Ron was one of the saints and was a great supporter of me. He was on session at that time and was, of course, related to our financial secretary Rose. If I was 25 years old at the time; Ron was probably 65. Ron and his family became some of my best friends in the church as I was learning how to be a pastor. So I decided, on the spot, to share this notice with Ron a few minutes before the worship service. I snatched it up off of my desk, and went out and sat down next to Ron in his pew. Ron always sat alone in worship because his wife and two daughters were all in the choir. I handed Ron the notice from the electric company, and told him that this was bothering me and Rose was out of town. I was not sure what to do about it. Ron quickly looked at the notice. Calmly, he put it back in the envelope and tucked into his jacket pocket. He looked at me and said, “The session will take care of this. You need to worry about your sermon.” That is still very good advice for our preachers. He flashed me a big smile and sent me on my way to lead worship. It was another of those moments of grace in my life. At the next session meeting I noticed on the Treasurer’s report an extra large payment to the electric company. I did not feel a need a comment on it and neither did Ron, and the electricity was never disconnected, and the church carried on.

Wow, it is stunning to me how quickly the social and economic climate has changed in the past half of a year. My friends, for times like these the church needs to carry on. The church needs to be the church. Let us be clear about who we are what we are able to do. We cannot feed all the hungry people in the world, or even in our presbytery. We cannot stop people from losing their home because they cannot pay their mortgage. We cannot stop company managers from sharing the sad news that jobs are being eliminated, and people will be out of work. We cannot restore the investment savings of our people, or insure that everyone will have an abundant retirement. We cannot pay every tuition bill, or even everyone’s utility bill. But we can be the church. We can be the church. And the church will carry on. We can proclaim a word like this one from the letter to the Ephesians:

"Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." Amen

In Memory of Carl Dudley

2009-04-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

I never met Carl Dudley. But when my email popped up with a Presbyterian News article announcing his death, a deep sadness filled my heart. This is a man who wrote a book that was a very significant source of inspiration and encouragement for me in the very first years of my ministry. After reading the short article (Presbyterian News Service, number 09338, April 24, 2009) I pulled my copy of Making the Small Church Effective, (Abingdon Press, 1978) down off my bookshelf. This is not a book I have looked at for many years, but as I paged through it quickly I felt again the power with which this book blessed my ministry. As with all my books, the year I first read it is written in the front cover: 1982. That was my first year of seminary and this book was one of the required texts in our Introduction to Ministry course.

After graduation in 1985, I started ministry in a very small, rural congregation in Kiskiminetas Presbytery. I remember those first years of ministry with great fondness. I remember most of all the profound graciousness of this family church that took me in as one of their own and literally taught me how to be a pastor. They poured out hospitality, kindness, and tolerance for the young, new minister who had all the academic answers and none of the life experience to be a pastor. Indeed, in the first years of my professional ministry we created, by the grace of God and the amazing tolerant and accepting love of the congregation, a very effective ministry.

But there were many dark days in those first years of ministry; days when isolation and loneliness burdened at my heart. On Thursday mornings when I tried to write yet another sermon, or on Monday mornings when I sat quietly wondering what exactly I should do with my time all week, I often pulled this little Dudley book off the shelf and read through it again. That a “professor of church and community at McCormick Theological Seminary,” as the back cover proclaimed, would have bothered to write a book about the tiny, isolated church where I found myself serving was an idea that itself inspired me. Somehow, just the fact that this book existed with its focus on and celebration of small churches, encouraged me. “Truly, I am not alone!” Furthermore, that such a small church could and should actually be “effective” was like a fount of divine inspiration for me.

So I type out here Dudley’s eloquent description of small church as family. This is my own heritage and history. Deep down in my heart, there is an abiding love and affection for small, family churches:

“To understand our small church, we begin with the feelings of the members. When asked, members show a strong sense of ownership and deep feelings of belonging. ‘This is our church,’ they say. Members do not begin with apologies or comparisons, unless they are implied because the questioner comes from a larger congregation. For members, the small church is not ‘small is beautiful,’ or ‘small is quality,’ or ‘small but anything.’ Members have a strong, positive attitude toward belonging, because it is a significant experience in their lives. Some ‘members’ are not active in programs, or even in regular attendance on Sunday. They may participate only on special occasions and attend only for annual events. Some such members are not even listed on the rolls of the church, but it remains ‘our church’ to them. They have remained with the church despite other alluring alternatives. In times of crisis for the congregation, they have rallied with support. In the crises of their personal families, the congregation has surrounded them with care and concern. Belonging to the church is like being a member of the family.”
(Dudley, Making the Small Church Effective, page 29)

Thanks be to God for the life, witness and ministry of Professor Carl Dudley.

Characteristics of a missional congregation.

2009-04-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Lesslie Newbigin. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989.

Our missional church study group has been intentionally reading and discussing missional theology for several years. We recently finished working through one of the seminal and early works in missional thinking: Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. I want to highlight the image of a missional congregation which Newbigin outlines in Chapter 18, “The Congregation as a Hermeneutic of the Gospel.” As I regularly visit the churches in our presbytery, I see many glimpses of these characteristics. I believe Newbigin has captured in his six, short descriptions the basic outline of what a missional congregation may look like. These characteristics may inspire good conversation in our congregations as we continue to explore new directions in ministry and mission.

It will be a community of praise (page 227). Then, too, the Church’s praise includes thanksgiving. The Christian congregation meets as a community that acknowledges that it lives by the amazing grace of a boundless kindness (page 228).

Second, it will be a community of truth (page 228) A Christian congregation is a community in which, through the constant remembering and rehearsing of the true story of human nature and destiny, an attitude of healthy skepticism can be sustained, a skepticism which enables one to take part in the life of society without being bemused and deluded by its own beliefs about itself (page 229).

Third, it will be a community that does not live for itself but is deeply involved in the concerns of the neighborhood (page 229).

Fourth, it will be a community where men and women are prepared for and sustained in the exercise of the priesthood in the world. The Church is described in the New Testament as a royal priesthood, called to ‘offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God’ and ‘to declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light’ (I Peter 2: 5,9) (page 229 – 230).

Fifth, it will be a community of mutual responsibility. If the Church is to be effective in advocating and achieving a new social order in the nation, it must itself be a new social order (page 231).

And, finally it will be a community of hope (page 232).

May it be so in our churches.

New Presbyterian Missionaries!

2009-04-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

The article is copied from Presbyterian News Service; February 17, 2009.
http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09116

A dozen new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) international mission personnel attended orientation in January and have begun their international assignments or will begin them in coming weeks.

The Rev. Sara Armstrong and Rusty Edmondson will serve in Peru as delegations and partnerships coordinators. They will organize, coordinate, and translate for Presbyterians visiting from the United States, helping to ensure that these visits reflect the mutual mission priorities of the partner churches. They will serve at the invitation of the Evangelical Presbyterian and Reformed Church of Peru.

A minister member of the Santa Fe Presbytery, Sara was associate pastor for mission and pastoral care at Central United Methodist Church in Albuquerque, NM, prior to entering mission service. She also has served two bilingual Presbyterian congregations in New Mexico and Colorado and three churches in Ohio. Her experience also includes service as a chaplain at Menaul School in Albuquerque and as executive director of a faith-based charity.
Sara earned an undergraduate degree from Smith College in Northampton, MA, and a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Rusty founded Zapata Builders, LLC, a commercial construction company, and SimpleVentures, a marketing/investment firm, in Colorado and New Mexico. Prior to that, he worked in the maintenance and interpretive divisions of the National Park Service. He is a graduate of New Mexico State University, where he studied agricultural engineering. Rusty is a member of Alamosa (CO) Presbyterian Church.They will arrive in Peru in March.

Alexandra Buck is project facilitator for Bridge of Hope, a fair trade project developed in 2005 by the Joining Hands network in Peru. Joining Hands is a program of the Presbyterian Hunger Program that addresses the root causes of hunger through networks of churches and grassroots organizations in developing countries. The networks are also linked to PC(USA) presbyteries and congregations that support the networks’ struggle against hunger.

Buck facilitates a fair trade bridge between artisans in Peru and consumers in the United States. The availability of new markets has significantly increased the income of the Peruvian artisans.
Prior to her mission appointment, Buck was a young adult intern with the Presbyterian U.N. Office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Hispanic and international studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, and is a member of West Granville Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, WI.

Amanda Craft is serving in Guatemala, where her assignment focuses on women’s leadership development. Her work in Guatemala is at the invitation of the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala.

Craft enters mission service after working for eight years as an associate for education and advocacy for the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. From 1999 to 2000 she was a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer program in Guatemala. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Granville, OH. She is a member of Highland Presbyterian Church in Louisville.
Craft is married to Omar Alexander Chan Giron, who accompanies her in her ministry in Guatemala.

The Rev. David Diercksen is serving along the border between the United States and Mexico at Puentes de Cristo, one of six sites of the Presbyterian Border Ministry. Puentes de Cristo’s work is concentrated along Mexico’s northeastern boundary with the United States.
The Presbyterian Border Ministry is a joint ministry between the PC(USA) and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Diercksen is the U.S. coordinator for the Puentes De Cristo site.
Working closely with his Mexican Presbyterian counterpart, Diercksen will facilitate the work of the numerous mission teams that visit the border region each year.

A minister member of Pittsburgh Presbytery, Diercksen has served congregations in Pennsylvania, New York and Maine. Most recently he was pastor and head of staff at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.

Diercksen earned a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ, and a Master of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Diercksen is being accompanied by his wife, Nadine, in his new ministry.

Dr. John and Gwenda Fletcher will serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. John, a physician, will work at the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai. A major part of his assignment is to help form a network of support and collaboration among all the Presbyterian Community of Congo’s mission hospitals. He will also teach medical residents, medical students and nursing students. Gwenda will work as an education consultant with the Presbyterian Community of Congo.

The Fletchers previously served in the Congo from 1989 to 2002. Both of them grew up in India as children of Presbyterian mission workers.

John is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he received both his undergraduate and medical degrees. Gwenda holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR, and a master’s degree in special education from Portland State University.

Both are ordained elders and members of First Presbyterian Church, Yuma, AZ. They will arrive in Congo in April after completing language study.

The Rev. Brenda Harcourt is a leadership trainer for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa in Kenya. She works in the eastern and Mt. Kenya regions to help improve the leadership skills of both clergy and lay leaders.

Harcourt's assignment in Kenya is her second appointment as a PC(USA) mission worker. From 1989 to 1991 she was a seminary instructor in Ghana, serving with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.

Immediately prior to her new mission appointment, Harcourt was pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Oregon, IL. She also has been pastor of a congregation in Pennsylvania, a conference center director and a chaplain.

Harcourt holds a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University in Millersville, PA, and a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, PA.

Jed Koball is serving in Peru with Joining Hands as a companionship facilitator. He will be facilitating the relationship between the Peruvian network, Uniendo Manos Contra Pobreza (Joining Hands Against Poverty) and PC(USA) congregations.

Koball served as a Young Adult Volunteer in the Philippines from 1996 to 1997. Prior to re-entering mission service, he was interim associate pastor at Larchmont Presbyterian Church in Larchmont, NY. He also has worked in Nicaragua with Bridges to Community, a not-for-profit community development organization.

Koball earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC, and a master’s in theology from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Nancy McGaughey works in Sudan as a health coordinator with the Association of Christian Resource Organizations Serving Sudan (ACROSS). She serves at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church of Sudan, the PC(USA)’s partner in southern Sudan.

McGaughey, a registered nurse, brings 15 years of mission experience to her assignment in Sudan. She worked in Nepal from 1987 to 2002 as a PC(USA) mission worker and from 1977 to 1980 with the Peace Corps. Most recently she has worked at Clare Medical Center in Crawfordville, IN. She is a member of Russellville Community Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ in Russellville, IN.

She holds an associate’s degree in nursing from Indiana University, a bachelor’s degree in vocational home economics from Purdue University, and a master’s in vocational and technical education from Purdue.

The Rev. Stacey Steck is serving in Costa Rica as associate for congregational growth and development with the Costa Rican Presbyterian Church. He also will assist U.S. Presbyterians who travel to Costa Rica on mission trips and serve as half-time pastor of an English-speaking congregation, Escazu Christians Fellowship.

Steck has been living in Costa Rica since 2006, serving the Escazú Christian Fellowship. Prior to moving to Costa Rica, he was stated supply pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church in St. Cloud, MN.

Steck holds a B.A. degree from the American University in Washington, DC, and an M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is a minister member of Minnesota Valleys Presbytery.
Nathaniel Veltman is a development consultant with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. He will be working with the five synods of the church in the western region of the country in a variety of development projects.

Nathaniel Veltman is a development consultant with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. He will be working with the five synods of the church in the western region of the country in a variety of development projects.

Veltman recently received a master’s degree in international development from the University of Pittsburgh. His undergraduate degree is from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. While a student, he participated in service opportunities in Ghana and Malawi. Veltman is a member of Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh

The Future of the Synod

2009-03-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

My proposal for the future direction of the ministry and mission of the Synod is very simple. The Synod should be completely dismantled as a governing body. There is nothing shocking or surprising about this proposal. I have heard this very point repeatedly in conversation with many different people around the church. The complete dismantling of the Synod is often spoken of as an inevitable result of time and funding. We know this will happen someday. The Synod is going to disappear as a governing body; my concern is that this will happen by a very slow death which will devour vast amounts of money and hours of leadership time. I propose we become much more forward thinking and visionary in approaching this question. I propose we do not simply allow the force of inevitability to define our future.
I have heard all the emotional arguments which presume that the dismantling of the Synod will compromise and break our connectedness as a church. I humbly submit this is completely not true. The Synod is not a source of connectedness in the church today. The most effective source of institutional connectedness across the denomination today, and in my experience in the Presbytery of Carlisle, is provided by the General Assembly. The General Assembly provides a vital connecting link on the Office of the General Assembly side by providing our constitution in the Book of Order and Book of Confessions, and, of course, for providing the process for their amendment. Much more important to my heart and soul, I believe that the General Assembly Council, the other side of our General Assembly, provides the most important connecting link in our church through the World Mission office. It is here that we should be gathering and focusing our resources and leadership. In addition, I believe the Office of Theology and Worship and the Church Leadership Connection provide vital connecting links within our church. We do not need the Synod for any of these vital connecting links in the church today.

Very quickly, I propose to offer an overview of what we may lose and what we may gain if we boldly and courageously consider the complete dismantling of the Synod.

What we should lose: We should lose the administrative functioning of the Synod. There should not be any Synod meetings, no Synod commissioners, no official governing body action or administrative maintenance. Within our presbyteries we should not continue to hit our heads against the wall trying to recruit Synod commissioners. There should not be any Synod programs or vast Synod initiatives.

What we should gain: I propose that the position of Synod executive should be transformed into a “Consultant to the Presbyteries” position. This professional church consultant should work in two broad areas, with oversight provided by a very small Coordinating Council which may include one person from each of our presbyteries.

Leadership Development: The consultant to the Presbyteries should focus on developing the leadership of the presbyteries. This will include models of support and nurture parallel to what we now have in the Executive Presbyter Forum. The consultant will take responsibility for gathering leaders together. These leaders may be the Executives, the Associate Executives, the Clerks, the Moderators, the chairs of our COM and CPMs, large church pastors, small church pastors, lay pastors, new pastors, etc. There are many different constituencies of leaders which our Presbytery consultant could be responsible for connecting together and encouraging. The consultant’s responsibility would be to help create the bonds of prayer and patterns of mutual support, sharing, and learning for our presbytery leaders.

Mission Networks: The Presbytery consultant should initiate, support, and encourage multi-presbytery mission networks. This has been discussed in the current Synod structure, but this whole effort has, in my opinion, been completely stifled because of our concern to maintain a governing body. Thus, currently, the mission networks have been left to fend for themselves. Some of them like the Transformation Network and the Trinity Disaster Response Network, which Carlisle initiated, have thrived. I submit that the whole concept of mission networks fits the theological, technological and cultural context which we are learning to live into as a church. For example, our General Assembly’s World Mission office is supporting a system of international mission networks, where there is tremendous energy and deep spiritual commitment. I am the moderator of our nascent Honduras mission network. This model may be the future of Presbyterian World Mission. At our level, as a gathering of presbyteries, I humbly submit that we cannot have both. We cannot have a robust and energetic commitment to mission networks and a functioning governing body. As it is now, we are trying to both and we are doing neither very well.

In summary, I propose the complete dismantling of the Synod as a governing body. I propose the creation of a full-time consultant to the Presbyteries position with a focus on leadership development and mission networks. I propose that of our presbyteries redirect their Basic Mission Giving distributions from the Synod to the General Assembly. The new consultant to the presbyteries should have a salary and a support infrastructure derived solely from Per Capita contributions and current Synod financial reserves.

Book Review: Lamin Senneh

2009-03-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Lamin Senneh,
Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity
Oxford University Press, 2008

There is something truly remarkable happening in the world. I believe we must be constantly challenged and inspired to lift up our eyes and ponder what is happening in the Church (note the capital “C”) in our world today. It is easy and ordinary to be short-sighted. We may easily consider our own daily to-do list to be the full extent of our vision of the church on any given work day in ministry. There are, of course, sermons to write to satisfy the inevitable coming of another Sunday, and worship services to craft for special seasonal occasions, committee meetings to attend, and the relentless call of pastoral visits. We express ministry on a daily and a local level, and it becomes natural and easy for us to consider this the end of the story, and the fullness of our task.
But, once and again, a voice goes out and may enter our ear, which beckons our vision up and out. Lamin Senneh is such a voice. Do we realize what is happening in the Church around the world? Wow. Listen to this voice. Pay attention to this word. There is something truly remarkable happening in the Church. We are living through a great, global awakening of the Church. The fact is our little corner of Christ’s holy Church today, that is, the American Protestant churches and specifically our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are not participating in this great awakening. The implications of this fact deserve our deepest pondering and prayer. Being outside of this great global awakening will have momentous consequences for our style of church. I believe we need to start paying attention to voices like Professor Senneh.
This new book is the first in a series of books being published as the Oxford Studies in World Christianity. Lamin Sennneh, of Yale University, is the series editor.

“The extent to which the current awakening has occurred without the institutions and structures that defined Western Christendom, including the tradition of scholarship, learning, and cosmopolitanism, is an important feature of World Christianity and its largely hinterland following. In the current resurgence monasteries, theological schools, and hierarchical agency, for example, have played comparatively little role. . . .” (quoted from locations 58-63 of the Amazon Kindle edition.)

This is, of course, the fact with which we must reckon, even while we are too often captivated and captured by our local concerns: “With unflagging momentum, Christianity has become, or is fast becoming, the principal religion of the people of the world. Primal societies that once stood well outside the main orbit of the faith have become major centers of Christian impact, while Europe and North America, once considered the religion’s heartlands, are in noticeable recession.” (quoted from locations 80-83 of the Amazon Kindle edition.)

“These unprecedented developments cast a revealing light on the serial nature of Christian origins, expansion, and subsequent attrition. They fit into cycles of retreat and advance, of contraction and expansion, and of waning and awakening that have characterized the religion since its birth, though they are now revealed to us with particular force. The pattern of contrasting development is occurring simultaneously in various societies across the world. The religion is now in the twilight of its Western phase and at the beginning of its formative non-Western impact. Christianity has not ceased to be a Western religion, but its future as a world religion is now being formed and shaped at the hands and in the minds of its non-Western adherents. Rather than being a cause for unsettling gloom, for Christians this new situation is a reason for guarded hope.” (quoted from locations 88-92 of the Amazon Kindle edition.)

A guarded hope indeed! Amen!

Report to the Presbytery Jan. 27, 2009

2009-01-26T13:41:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of his Invocation at the Inauguration of President Obama, there was a lot of criticism of Rev. Rick Warren. I read a comment from Rev. Warren where he responded, “I am not for the right wing; I am not for the left wing; I am for the whole bird.” I like that image. I feel that way also. I am for the whole bird.
On this day, at this meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle, we participate again in the great debate about the qualifications for officers in our church. In my mind, and I know many others agree, there seems to be a deep spiritual fatigue around these issues. Here we go again; many of us feel with frustration and resignation. Will anyone change their mind? Are there any new insights and arguments which we have not heard before? Here we go again, and it all seems tired and deeply wearing. From my perspective, there has been very little interest in these questions in our presbytery. I have not been invited to a single session meeting or a single Sunday school class to make a presentation on these questions. On the other hand, I have done numerous presentations on missional theology, our world mission work and on Camp Krislund. Of the two, open discussion forums I created to talk about the General Assembly, one was cancelled because of a lack of response. The second, hosted by our Greencastle Church, was an excellent discussion and a good event, but with only five of our churches represented. As far as I know, our General Assembly commissioners have not been invited to other churches to discuss their experiences. In my very casual conversation with a number of pastors, I am not aware of any churches that have had session discussions, or congregational conversations around these General Assembly amendments. I hope that there has been some discussion at your session meetings in preparation of this vote today.
At the same time, I have a very different perception of our Presbytery. In many ways, and I can list examples, this Presbytery is very engaged, energized, motivated, healthy and vital. This is, in my mind, a remarkably good and healthy Presbytery, and my opinion is confirmed when I hear stories from my colleagues about some of the dysfunction and conflict that is happening in many other presbyteries. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work and serve in this presbytery.
Obviously, we have something very, very special in our presbytery. There is a tremendously high level of trust and support. There is a deep and abiding sense of collegiality and friendship among our church leaders. We have been, two years in row, the number one Presbytery in the nation in per member basic mission giving. There continues to be very strong participation in Per Capita giving. There is, I believe, a wonderful good spirit at our presbytery meetings and a very high level of participation. As I am out and about in our churches, I am blessed by the respect and appreciation which I receive. This is not about me. This reflects a high level of respect and appreciation for my office, and thus for the presbytery itself. We have a remarkable gift and grace in our presbytery.
So I ask this question: out of our health and out of our spiritual vitality as a presbytery how may we serve the whole church? How can the Presbytery of Carlisle contribute to the peace, unity and purity of the whole church? I have been pondering this question since the meeting of the General Assembly last June; I have not come up with any brilliant answers.
I put together a draft overture to the General Assembly which proposed that all changes to our constitution be decided by supermajority voting. In my own mind, I pondered this idea as a way to create a higher unity, and a greater consensus around these questions. But as I shared my proposal with some friends around the presbytery, I quickly realized that proposal did not bring people together across the great divide but, in fact, fell right into the old divisions.
So I ask again, what may we do, as one of the healthiest and vital presbyteries in the church, to share our gift? How may we give what we share to the whole church? How may we contribute to the peace, unity and purity of the whole church out of the deep sense of peace, unity and purity which we share among ourselves?
So I put that question out there for us to ponder and consider. I only have some tentative suggestions which move us in that direction. I suggest that we make a commitment to enhancing and growing what we already do very well. Let us build better relationships, enhance the bonds of unity and trust, and grow the connections which we already share in this presbytery.
Some modest proposals:
Let us organize a presbytery wide pulpit exchange this year. As a Presbytery, we did this before, long ago, in celebration of the Presbytery’s 150th anniversary. This will be an opportunity for our preachers to share their gifts with other congregations and in a small way connect our congregations together.
Let us create a church to church partnership program within the presbytery. By linking up churches with one another we create a whole list of ways in which we may grow the relationships among us. Sessions can visit the other church for worship, there may be an exchange of Sunday school teachers for some classes, or maybe congregations can join together for a common worship service or maybe a picnic.
Let us make a common, renewed commitment to Camp Krislund. Let us build a camp and holy place dedicated to bringing people together across the dividing walls which separate us.
Let us explore and commit to a new international mission partnership, not as individual congregations but as a presbytery. I encourage your to join me in our Church Leadership Conference in Tegucigalpa this March. This is an excellent experience for pastor’s continuing education.
Let us have more fellowship and fun together. I encourage your participation in our presbytery retreat. I encourage your participation in our Presbytery day at the Harrisburg Senators baseball game this June 28.
Most of all let us continue to be the best Presbytery we can, let us grow the bonds of spiritual connection and mission involvement, let us learn each others names, and preach in each others pulpits, let build on the wonderful gift we have as a presbytery, and together let us discern ways we may share our abundant gifts with the whole church.

January 27, 2009

Ordained Leadership in the Church

2009-01-10T16:17:00.000-08:00

A paradigm is an intellectual and mental framework for understanding. I like the concept of paradigm. It helps me realize that the way we think about things, the way we look at things, and our perceptions of reality are flexible and changing. We can, in fact, change our perceptions of reality. We can shift our most essential paradigms of thought.

We need a paradigm shift in the church. We need a paradigm shift, a new way of thinking and conceiving, one of the most essential aspects of the church, our leadership. What does it mean to be a leader in the church? How is leadership expressed? Who are the leaders and how did they become leaders? We need a paradigm shift around this most basic and most important question.

Conventionally, and without must serious reflection, we easily and ordinarily hold onto a paradigm of leadership in our church that we see, participate in, and appreciate in many other areas of our society. We hold onto the idea of leadership as paid professionals. In almost every area of our society leadership is provided and leadership is models by paid professionals. Thus this paradigm has controlled our thinking, and defined our perception about leadership in the church.

We must have a different paradigm for leadership in the church. We need a paradigm shift away from our common, modern social practice with its strong emphasis on paid professionals. We need to understand and claim the biblical paradigm of calling and ordination. The paid professionals are not the leaders in the church. Leadership in the church is expressed by those who have been called and ordained.

It is the power and continuing presence of God’s calling which allows the church to exist and thrive in each new day, each new year and indeed for every generation. God will provide leadership in the church through a spiritual calling which is heard and responded to by faithful people throughout the generations. The Bible story is very clear: Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Mary, Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Peter and John, and the apostle Paul, Timothy and Barnabas. God calls. The Bible is also clear that these are not perfect people. Sarah responds to her call, “Wait a moment Lord, I am a little too old for this.” Moses responds to his call, “Lord, not me, I do not have the qualifications or experience for this job.” Jesus responds, “Take this cup from me.” It is not, in the first place, the qualities and characteristics of the people that is important. All that matters is that God calls. God calls. Down through ages God calls. And here in this holy place, in the midst of all the ambiguity and challenge of being the church in our modern, fast, sophisticated society, God still calls. The still small voice; the quiet spritual nudge; the warm encouragement of a friend which becomes in our heart a divine word; the witness of the community that reaches out beyond itself into our town and around the world; in those words of scripture that settle in our minds with comfort and challenge: God calls. This is the basis, the only basis, for leadership in the church.

In our tradition, with our emphasis on good organization, but also in most every other Christian expression, the call of God into the heart and soul of individual believers is affirmed and confirmed by the gathered community, by the church. God calls, and the church sets these ones apart for leadership. This is our service and celebration of ordination; the setting apart of leaders in the church. God calls and the church sets apart these ones for leadership in the church. This is the paradigm through which we must understand leadership in the church. God calls and the church ordains and these people are set apart for leadership. It is not about paid professionals; is all about the call of God and the affirmation of the church.

Elders and Deacons; stand in your calling. Because of God’s call, and the church’s confirmation of that call in your ordination and installation, you are the leaders of the church. Please be clear about that. Elders and Deacons: you are the leaders of the church.

Deacons, remember the story of the Book of Acts. The church was growing so quickly that God set apart special people for a ministry of compassion. It is this ministry to the least and the lost, the hurting, the alone, and the oppressed that has always been central to God’s desire for the church. In the ministry of our deacons, this calling to care, support, pray, encourage, and serve continues.

Elders: remember our name. This calling is particularly powerful and important in our expression of church. The very word “Presbyterian” is linguistically derived from the New Testament word which is translated into English as “elder.” All through the ages God has called and the church has set apart elders for leadership in the church. Our Presbyterian tradition has particularly emphasized the leadership of elders. Elders, you are called to lead.
In the modern church, we have also discerned a special calling to set some people apart as trustees. Trustees are not an ordained office; but have a vital expression of leadership in our modern churches. The best way to understand our Trustees is analogous to our Deacons. They take some of the load off of the Elders, so the Elders can focus on bringing the whole church into line with God’s call and God’s purpose for your life together.

The ordained leadership of the church is responsible for leading the church. Get out of this paid, profession staff versus volunteer paradigm. That is not the church. The church is about called and ordained leaders – Elders, Deacons and Ministers – together and equally leading the people of God into the purposes of God for this place at this time. And what does this leadership look like? Remember the ordination question: “Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?” That is the leadership we need in the church today. We need leadership that is filled with energy, intelligence, imagination and love. May it be so in this place in the name and to the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!

Report to the Presbytery Nov. 18, 2008

2008-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

We are all healed in Jesus.

Early on Saturday, October 11 I was making breakfast for our sons, pancakes and scrambled eggs, as usual on a Saturday morning. While cooking I was chatting with both of them as they were sitting at our kitchen table waiting for food. My wife, Kris, came into the kitchen in her bathrobe, fresh out of her morning shower. With a bright smile on her face and in her voice, she said loudly to all of us, “Stop everything; We need to pray. I am done with my tamoxifen. Thank God.” With great ceremony, she slowly pulled open the cabinet which holds our kitchen garbage can, held her hand up high for a moment, and dropped her empty pill bottle into the garbage.

For five years, 60 months, every single day, my wife has dutifully taken her tamoxifen pill. Tamoxifen is a form a chemo-therapy routinely prescribed now as part of the treatment plan for breast cancer. In the summer of 2003, my Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer. Our lives were immediately all tossed up in the air and we landed upside down, bewildered, dizzy and very confused. Her surgery at UPMC’s Magee Women’s hospital in Pittsburgh went “perfectly”; that was the word her surgeon used when he first came out to talk with me in the waiting room. Immediately after surgery eight weeks of outpatient radiation therapy were prescribed. For those weeks, sometimes alone, sometimes with me, sometimes with other friends, Kris made the trip to the hospital for her radiation therapy. And for every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of those eight weeks the church I was serving delivered a full dinner to our home. I challenge you, in your churches, to match that kind of pastoral care.

On the advice of her doctor, after the radiation therapy, Kris started taking tamoxifen for the recommended five years. This past July she went back for her regular appointment with her oncologist. He reviewed her recent mammogram, examined her, then he gave her a big hug and told her that she had “graduated.” She does not need to see her oncologist any more; she is cancer free. Now that last tamoxifen pill is gone also, we are profoundly grateful.

In 2003, when this journey with cancer started, our three sons that year were ages 15, 11 and 3. I remember praying, hard and deep prayers, which I never shared with Kris. I prayed, “Lord, please just give Kris a few more years so we can get these boys a little older before I must take care of them by myself.” Although we always received encouragement, good news and hope, there was always a dark prayer lingering in my heart, expecting that soon cancer would win this fight. But here we are five years later. The empty pill bottle is in the garbage, my dear Kris is cancer free, and we rejoice in the abundant blessings that have been showered on our family.

Everyone responds to these kinds of traumas in life differently. Of course, many, many people do not have the good news which we have had. But everyone can be a part of God’s healing presence. Healing comes from our God in many different ways. I know the journey through breast cancer is very difficult for the women involved. But it is in very significant ways also very difficult for the men, for the husbands and the fathers, and for the children. Of course, it is not our bodies that are involved, but it is our lives. Pastors and church people know all this. Our pastoral care in these situations may be the most important thing we do in the church.

What does it feel like to be healed? What does it feel like to be blessed? By grace, I have had the privilege of walking next to a remarkable woman who has taught me about such things. Healing is always plural. Healing is always shared. Kris is healed, the landmark five year point has been passed. Today’s medical definition of being healed of cancer is real, wonderfully, truly, fabulously real for us. Kris dropped the empty pill bottle in the garbage. So I wanted to share this simple and yet important word with you all from my wife. She believes, as I do also in a new way now, that we are all healed in Jesus Christ.

After dropping the empty pill bottle in the garbage and after Kris led our family in a prayer of thanksgiving, we stood around for a moment chatting, reflecting and eating breakfast. Our now 17 year old son, Michael, asked his mom. “So what does it feel like to have had cancer?” Without hesitation Kris responded, “It has all been a great blessing. We are all healed in Jesus.” Thanks be to God.

Pretending to be a Missionary

2008-10-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Pretending to be a Missionary.

The young person is stellar and active. The congregation rejoices in having such a gifted young person in their midst. Years of Sunday school classes, Christmas pageants, Palm Sunday processionals, praise worship services and youth group activities roll by. Graduation from high school is celebrated and the young person is off to a prominent university to study, learn and grow. The young person always reconnects with the congregation during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and now and again during summer time vacations. The congregation learns of the gifted young person’s graduation from the university with an outstanding degree and a minor course of study in Spanish, or Chinese, or African studies. Soon the letters start arriving at the homes of leading church members. The young person is seeking support so they may spend two weeks or twelve months in a far off, foreign land serving as a missionary. These days such short term mission service is typically connected with some para-church mission organization that specializes in such opportunities for young people. Of course, leading church members who have watched this young person grow up in their church are eager to send $100 to support the cause. One of the active Elders pushes such support even higher and asks the session to support the effort. Soon this young person’s noble journey of discovery serving on a short term mission experience is one of the mission causes of their home congregation. The young person’s photograph standing in the midst of a group of children in some far off land is posted on the church’s bulletin board. Everyone is happy supporting this young person as part of the mission work of the congregation. Indeed, this work is appreciated by all.

I tell this story in a sort of generic sense because I know many Presbyterians can fill in the details. This is a story that can be replicated countless times across the congregations in our church. I can easily tell this same story in a very personal sense about our own son who is now 20 years old. Although his life is on track with purposeful plans and direction, he also loves to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed, the church he grew up in is always eager to support his missionary endeavors. Already he has been to Malawi, to Peru doing evangelism to an unreached people, and this month the letters will be sent out seeking support for his scheduled trip to Uganda where he will be involved with a short-term ministry to children. Let us be clear. Our young people and their short term mission experiences, which we love to support in our churches, are not about mission service. These experiences are about the personal, spiritual and emotional development of these young people whom, indeed, we should support and nurture. These experiences, especially in support of young people we know and love in our own congregations, are important and worthy. But we should not confuse these experiences with mission work. Pretending to be a missionary for a week or a year is not the same thing as long-term, sustained, professional mission service. Within the push and pull for resources within our congregations it would be more correct to name our support for our young people doing mission trips as Christian education, rather that mission work.

Here comes the rub. Especially within our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) our commitment to long term, sustained mission service is suffering because of the redirection of our attention and resources toward supporting short-term mission experiences. Indeed we have taken our eye off the prize when it comes to our church’s mission service. It may be convincingly argued that the greatest legacy and the most important heritage in our American Presbyterian tradition is our world mission work. Presbyterians were at the forefront of the world mission movement 150 years ago, and this work defines our worldview and theological foundations more than anything else. In my opinion, this legacy of world mission is so powerful in our church that it is, itself, the source of the new energy to do mission trips and seek out short term mission experiences. But this energy has exploded in some unhealthy ways. In previous generations of Presbyterians this deep calling to be engaged in world mission was expressed through a robust commitment to recruiting, equipping, and sending out long-term professional missionaries on behalf of the whole church. These career missionaries were the servants of our church serving the larger world. We still have in place through our World Mission office a comprehensive infrastructure to support, equip and send out long term missionaries on our behalf. But we have recently allowed this long term commitment to fall off because of our lack of a mature and deep theological understanding of mission.

An analogy is appropriate here. Within the life of our church we have created a very comprehensive infrastructure of pastoral support and evaluation through the work of each Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry. We have a very sophisticated understanding of the relationship between a pastor and a congregation which we test, discern, evaluate and equip. We do not allow any person in the church, or walking in off the street, to preach in our pulpits, celebrate our sacraments or moderate our session meetings. We have a sophisticated, theologically grounded and a highly functioning polity for sanctioning and supporting the relationship of a pastor and congregation. All of our churches expect this of themselves, of their pastors and of our presbyteries. The Presbyterian Church is very good at this kind of theologically grounded polity. In our churches we are deeply committed to the vision of the called, theologically rooted and equipped pastor whose relationship with a congregation is very carefully discerned and evaluated. We must have the same commitment in our world mission work. For a church that has such high expectations for our pastors, why are we not expecting the same thing of our missionaries? But it seems as if we allow anyone to pretend to be a missionary. Indeed they are often sent out with our blessing and financial support, and quite often a very poor grounding in any theology of mission. Why have we allowed our world mission work to be taken over by our obsession with short-term, unequipped, unconnected enthusiasm which often functions without language and cultural training? This enthusiasm is seldom equipped to understand what God may be doing in and through a different culture.

What should we do?

· Renew our commitment to long-term, sustained, professional missionaries who are trained and equipped by the church and sent out on behalf of the whole church. Support Presbyterian world mission.

· Develop a holistic theology of mission which moves beyond the American arrogance which presumes we can fix the world’s problems, and expects everyone in the world to “do church” just like us.

· Encourage and support our young people in their own spiritual development by encouraging mission trips and experiences in different Christian cultures. But this support must be more than financial. We must provide our young people with a robust Christian education that seeks to discern what God is doing in the world, and especially in people, cultures and churches very different from our own. We must, by word and deed, help our children to be global Christians.

· Do not do it alone. Connect people together, connect churches together and strive to create bridges across cultural divides.

Mission Networks in the PC(USA)

2008-09-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the Presbyterian Church in Madagascar has more members than our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)? Did you know that we have a close working partnership with two different Presbyterian Churches in Ghana: the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana? Did you know about the efforts of American Presbyterians to establish relations with the emerging house churches, many of which include people with a Reformed and Presbyterian background, in all the “stan” countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)? Did you know there are new efforts to connect our church with the peacebuilding efforts which have been bearing fruit in Ireland for many years, through the work of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland? Did you know about the longstanding effort of American Presbyterians to stand with our brothers and sisters in Columbia against the violence in that nation? Our Columbia Mission Network, in a powerful ministry of compassion, has provided for the General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Columbia when he, his wife and young children needed to leave Columbia because of the death threats received in response to their Christian witness? Did you know that because of the influence and support of American Presbyterians, the Presbyterian Church in Honduras, after years of effort, has finally had their legal petitions with the government, which is dominated by Roman Catholic officials, approved. Now the Presbyterian Church has official standing as a religious organization in Honduras. This means, for the first time, that the Presbyterian congregations in Honduras are able to legally own their church buildings and property. Given the lack of social infrastructure in Haiti, do you know about the incessantly difficult work which American Presbyterians are doing to bring a long-term, sustainable, mission effort to that poor country? Did you know, after generations of conflict and war, the church is emerging with amazing life and vitality in Vietnam and Laos and that American Presbyterians are partnering with those congregations? All of this work is being carried and supported by the burgeoning, new Mission Networks of our Church.

There are now thirty three Mission Networks in our church working closely with our World Mission office and spanning the globe. Do you know about this new movement in Presbyterian World Mission? We were all together for what was only the second official gathering of Mission Networks for several, strategic days in September. Hosted by Hunter Farrell, the Director of World Mission and all of the Mission Area Coordinators from around the world, each one of our mission networks participated in this gathering. The energy, vision and commitment of the more than sixty people gathered at our Mission Network conference was remarkable. The images and stories of mission work from around the world breathes life into this dry definition of Mission Networks taken from our World Mission website:

“Mission Networks bring together Presbyterians from around the United States who share a common international mission focus. World Mission Networks facilitate building and maintaining healthy partnerships, and provide a place for representatives of various PC(USA) partnerships to share information and coordinate their efforts. Each Mission Network centers around a specific country, people group or program area of ministry, and is composed of Presbyterians who represent international mission partnerships established through their synods, presbyteries, congregations, or other PC(USA) entities.”

The Mission Network movement is clearly the way forward in Presbyterian World Mission. This movement responds to the fact that the locus for World Mission has undeniably shifted to our congregations and presbyteries, who are doing mission on their own by sending out short term mission teams. The Mission Network movement is an effort to harness and connect those congregational efforts. When we learn some of the horror stories of poorly planned and unconnected mission trips the importance of our Mission Networks is clear. When we learn of two different Presbyterian congregations bringing large, medical mission teams to the same foreign medical clinic the same week, we understand the important of Mission Networks. We learn of the small, Presbyterian Church in a nation in Africa that could not handle the repeated requests from different American congregations to host their mission trips. Thus the different American teams were asked to paint the same wall in the same public school four weeks in a row and we see the need for Mission Networks. When we learn about the social scientific research of Dr. Robert Priest at Trinity Evangelical Seminary about short term mission trips we see the need for Mission Networks. Dr. Priest’s research concludes that short term mission trips have very little long term transformative power in the lives of participants if these experiences are not surrounded by very intentional support, reflection and nurture both before and particularly after the experience.

The Mission Network movement is an effort to connect all the enthusiasm and passion for mission, which is expressed in congregations doing mission trips, with the Presbyterian Church’s historic commitment to deep, long-term, sustainable mission work with Christian partners around the world. Mission Networks connect the long-term, mature, sustainable model of mission which grounds the work of our professional mission co-workers with the short-term, local, enthusiasm of mission trips. Most important, the Mission Networks may be the best connection between our congregations and the World Mission office. There is a new spirit of collaboration, partnership and mutually blowing through our General Assembly, and particularly embodied in the new team, under the leadership of Dr. Hunter Farrell, now assembled to lead the World Mission office. This spirit is very evident in the growth and support given to our Mission Networks. We have received and we stand in a glorious heritage of Presbyterian world mission. Get involved! Support World Mission!

Report to the Presbytery September 23, 2008

2008-09-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

What do you want to talk about? G.A.C. or O.G.A.?

What do you want to talk about? When we speak of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) it is very important for us to remember that there are several different conversations going on at the same time. These different conversations often have nothing to do with one another.

What do you want to talk about? On one hand we can talk about the work of the Office of the General Assembly. But, in fact, I would much prefer to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. What I want us to remember again is that when we are talking about the work of the General Assembly we must be very clear about the distinction between the Office of the General Assembly and the General Assembly Council. These two entities are very distinct, with different purposes, different sources of funding, and completely different staff.

My concern is that when we talk casually about the General Assembly, in our congregations, what we typically mean is the Office of the General Assembly. The Office of the General Assembly is funded almost totally by our Per Capita assessment, it is led by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, now the newly elected Gradye Parsons, and it is responsible for the polity side of the church. The Office of the General Assembly includes the Stated Clerk’s office, the Permanent Judicial Commission, and is fully responsible for the biennial meeting of the General Assembly. Any time we are talking about polity including the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions we are talking within the purview of the Office of the General Assembly. Indeed, we must again have conversations here at our Presbytery about polity, and about proposed changes to our Book of Order. I understand that these conversations are very important. We must carry them out with prayerful discernment.

But, my friends, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the work of the General Assembly Council. This is a very different conversation. The General Assembly Council, now under the leadership of Executive Director Linda Valentine, is the mission and program side of the General Assembly. Although we do not talk about it nearly as much, the General Assembly Council is significantly larger than the Office of the General Assembly. The General Assembly Council is funded by our mission giving and our special offerings. The General Assembly Council includes Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Hunger Program. The General Assembly Council also includes the Office of Theology and Worship, which creates excellent theological resources for our church. The largest piece of the General Assembly Council is our work in World Mission. The General Assembly Council’s office of World Mission recruits, trains, funds and supports our more than 200 full-time, professional mission co-workers around the world. Let’s talk about that work!

This is my request and my plea. Many of you, I know, on both sides of the debate, have concerns and deep questions about the conversations we are having about polity and the Book of Order. We will continue those conversations here at our presbytery as we consider the latest proposals. Please do not allow any frustrations you may have with our conversations about polity to distract from or frustrate your support for our world mission. They are very different conversations, representing very different entities within the church. More over, I have this crazy idea that if we can shift the conversation a little bit, and talk more, and learn more, and commit ourselves more to our work in world mission, on the General Assembly Council side of the church, it may help us find our way forward through our very difficult polity conversation. What do you want to talk about? We must continue our conversation about polity, but let us also remember this very important conversation and commitment to world mission.

Note: For more information about the General Assembly Council please see their website at www.pcusa.org/gac. World Mission also has a website at www.pcusa.org/worldmission. The Office of the General Assembly also has a website at www.pcusa.org/oga.

Support World Mission

2008-09-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

A Report from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

The jet ways which off board each jet at Toncontin International airport lead everyone to a long walkway. At the end of this walkway a pair of escalators direct everyone down to the immigration desks, baggage claim and customs. Like the whole airport, this hallway is always immaculately clean, it’s polished floor glistening and bright. The outside wall of this long walkway is glass from floor to ceiling. Like the whole facility, the glass is sparkling clean. I am delighted to return to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; a place I have learned to love. Walking along this walkway, shaking off the fatigue of the long jet rides which started early in the morning in Baltimore, I breathe in the joy and satisfaction of being here again. My body enjoys the opportunity to stretch, loosen and walk after being cramped up in an airplane for the last hours. My eyes and mind are lifted up and out through the windows and far beyond to the exquisitely beautiful horizon. The jagged peaks of Tegucigalpa’s famous mountains, which are all around in all their lush green, rise up and out of the urban sprawl and touch a beautiful sky. Strolling along this walkway is a moment of spiritual transition. Now having arrived, my mind can cast aside all the details of travel. The obsession with flight schedules, making connections in Houston, and constant concerns about delays, changes, or cancellations are now all gone. Now I am here and turn to the purposes I have in mind for these few precious days in Honduras.

Our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been doing world mission for a very long time. Our heritage of world mission is deep, long and remarkable. One of the purposes of my ministry now is to understand, celebrate and support our work in world mission. Our world mission work is where my heart is; increasing this is where my passion and energy are leading me. As we have always done, the church must again rally and unite around our world mission work. This is now one of my deepest convictions. This is a conviction which has been building, growing, developing and maturing for many years. The congregations where I have served as pastor were always blessed, renewed and vitalized by strong mission programs and generous mission giving. I believe our mission work is a vital piece, maybe the vital piece, toward the future peace, purity and unity of the church. This quick, three day trip to Honduras is an expression of my continuing education. I am here again to learn how the Presbyterian Church does world mission. I want to learn with my feet on the ground, talking with the people, understanding the decision-making, beginning to discern the challenges which must be faced, and learning this process. What does our world mission work look like in our world today?

On this trip I have the opportunity to learn with the experts. Along with Kathy Wells, the Director of Christian education in our Mechanicsburg Church; we are along for the ride as our world mission people do their work. We are here with Stan Devoogd, the area coordinator for Mexico and Central America. Stan is one of six area coordinators who work with the General Assembly Council and oversee our world mission. We are joined by our mission co-worker Tracey King, the regional liaison for Central America. Tracey’s office is in Managua, Nicaragua and she is responsible for relationships with all our mission partners, supporting our mission co-workers, and relationships with other U.S. Presbyterians working in the area. Specifically, Kathy and I have joined Stan and Tracey on this quick trip to Honduras to talk with our mission partners, and begin creating plans for a potential new PCUSA mission co-worker position in Honduras.

I have learned about the structure which we now have in place in our world mission office. Hunter Farrell is the director of world mission, and works directly with Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council. Hunter is the voice and vision of world mission today. (Hunter will be with us for the April 2009 meeting of the Presbytery of Carlisle.) Hunter is supported by the six area coordinators, like Stan, who each oversee our mission work in a particular area of the world. The six areas each have several regional liaisons, like Tracey. Together these world mission staff people are responsible for recruiting, supporting, encouraging and connecting the 200 mission co-workers who are serving in world mission for the PCUSA.

The single most important feature of our world mission work today is its collegiality. We do mission in partnership with other churches, ecumenical partners and all varieties of Christian mission organizations all over the world. Thus our mission co-workers are always serving at the invitation of local Christian organizations, schools, hospitals or churches. This commitment to collegiality with Christian brothers and sisters in every nation expresses deep theological commitments about what we believe about world mission today.

Our task here in Honduras is to talk with our Christian partners, to understand their ministries, and to explore ways we may work together. In Honduras, like most nations today, we have several different Christian partners. In Honduras, our Presbyterian Church has had a long partnership with Heifer Project International with whom our PCUSA mission co-workers, Tim and Gloria Wheeler, are now serving. (For this trip, we are staying in the Wheeler’s home even while Tim and Gloria are in the United States doing mission itineration. The Wheelers will be in our Presbytery in October.) We met with the Heifer Project staff all afternoon on Friday in their office. We had a wonderful discussion of their model of community development. This work is commendable, and I encourage your support. Our Second Carlisle Church has a close relationship with the Wheelers, and has been doing mission trips with the Wheelers every year. Please talk with Rev. Jennifer McKenna about their work. I particularly encourage your support of Heifer’s alternative Christian gift program.

Most important, our world mission staff has been in a continuing conversation with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. We are exploring ways that our churches may work together and join in mutual mission. Thus we met all day with the executive board, “el junta,” of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras. Stan and Tracey led us through a three point agenda around which we worked for almost five hours. Of course, in the relaxed Latin American style, we also had a lengthy time of Bible study, shared prayer, numerous coffee breaks, a long, leisurely lunch and a lot of cordial conversation, especially since my Honduran friends keep pushing me to speak Spanish. We did spend considerable time on these questions: In what ways are the PCUSA and PC Honduras cooperating and working together now?; What would the PC Honduras propose as the responsibilities and objectives of a potential mission co-worker working with them?; How would the PC Honduras define the qualifications and personal qualities they would like in a mission co-worker? These leaders from the PC Honduras were very clear and very articulate in their appreciation for the partnership with our PCUSA. Their objectives for a potential mission co-worker working serving with them are also very clear: leadership development. They need help in the administrative organization of their Presbytery. (The PC Honduras now has one presbytery which includes all of their 20 congregations.) They need help in the theological and spiritual support of their pastors. They need help in the equipping of their Sunday school teachers and the strengthening of their ministries of Christian education. Clearly these are gifts and skills the PCUSA can bring to Honduras when the right person is called, recruited, and funded.

As I reflect on that long day of conversation with my friends in the PC Honduras, I rejoice both in my opportunity to be involved in these conversations and the beautiful work our church is doing in world mission. At this meeting we were truly brothers and sisters working together to build Christ’s church. This experience was a true embodiment of mutuality in mission and partnership. I am convinced that if our PC USA can find the will and way for growing world mission, and providing a mission co-worker to work with the PC Honduras, we will be doing a very worthy and good ministry. I plea for your generous support for our work in world mission, and specifically for this new mission co-worker position to serve the Presbyterian Church of Honduras.

Camp Krislund update

2008-07-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

July 2008

Dear Presbyterian brothers and sisters,

We write to express our grateful appreciation for the generous support which many of our congregations have already pledged toward our Funding the Future Campaign at Camp Krislund and your participation in Krislund’s Summer Camp program. We also write to offer this brief status report.

As we write this letter the most important and faithful expression of the Camp’s ministry is in full swing: our summer camping program. Krislund Summer Camp is again this year a vital program. Because of the financial stress on the regular program budget, Steve Cort has taken on the extra responsibility of serving as the Summer Camp’s program director. We appreciate his devotion and commitment to the summer program. Under his leadership a team of counselors, junior counselors, adventure coordinators, kitchen staff, life guard and nurses have been gathered to serve the almost 700 young people who will come to Camp. Of these campers, many are on full scholarships.

At the same time our plans for the future growth of the camp are underway in response to your generous support of our Funding the Future Capital Campaign. Your financial support for this effort has been remarkable. We are very grateful for the Coordinating Teams in each presbytery, the many campaign advocates in our churches, and the many elders who have responded to our presentations and solicitations at your session meetings. Thus far 94 of our congregations and many individuals have pledged more than $1.8 million to the Funding the Future Campaign. Of course, the Campaign continues.

In proper stewardship of these abundant gifts, we have already taken significant steps to address the most pressing financial need of the Camp, but the least glamorous aspect of our campaign. We have paid more than $460,000 toward our land debt. We expect that our commercial land debt with NorthWest Savings Bank will be completely paid this year! This is the first major component of our campaign. Gifts from our Funding the Future Campaign are not intended to pay off our other significant land debt which is held by the Synod of the Trinity. Our presbyteries will hear more about the restructuring of our Synod loan as these plans develop.

Under the leadership of our Director of Development and Maintenance Kent Rishell, we have accomplished a remarkable amount of legal and administrative infrastructure work in preparation for new construction at Krislund. We have received authorization and permits from both Centre County and the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection for our proposed construction. This allows us, first of all, to move forward with the two major infrastructure demands of any new construction: water and sanitation. With an estimated cost of $170,000, we expect the Camp’s new water system to be installed this fall. After satisfying stringent environmental regulations, our new well has been drilled and the system is ready to be installed. This new water system will completely replace the old system and will be large enough to include any and all of our future new construction. The next step, to be accomplished in 2009, is the installation of our new sanitation system. This is an additional system which is necessary to support all our new construction. Our current, state-of-the-art, natural sanitation system will still be used as it is now, but it cannot be expanded to include any new construction.

Of course, any project the size and scope of our Funding the Future Campaign will face obstacles and challenges. Our biggest challenge thus far has been the concept of new adult housing at the Camp. This, we know, is the most exciting and visible element of our campaign. Our new adult housing will allow us to move our Camp’s ministry and mission into bold new directions reaching many more people all year long. But the concept of one large adult lodge attached to the back of the existing retreat center has proved untenable because of construction and environmental-impact costs created by its sweeping design. Thus we have formed a Design and Construction Team to consider other options for adult housing at the camp. (Please call Mark if you are interested in joining the work of this team.) Conceptually, this team has decided to take a step back and consider again any and all options for adult, year-round housing at the Camp given our theological vision of ministry, the restraints of the legal and environmental regulations and the financial constraints of the Funding the Future Campaign. This effort will move forward with careful discernment.

As our Funding the Future Campaign has developed we sadly learned that our creative plans for an “omni building” can not be included within our current campaign. Thus our plan for this multi-purpose building which will support our Summer Camp program and also offer flexible, indoor recreational opportunities all year remains a dream. Given the success of our Funding the Future Campaign we hope there will be energy and enthusiasm to move forward with this dream in the future.

Our plans, hopes and dreams for our beloved Camp Krislund are bold and big. We have appreciated your generosity and support. We hope all our congregations will join us in creating a camp and conference center that in all its ministry and mission loudly proclaims the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely,

Presbytery of Carlisle Presbytery of Huntingdon Presbytery of Northumberland
Executive Presbyter General Presbyter Executive Presbyter

Mark Englund-Krieger Joy Kaufmann William Knudsen

Response to Newsweek, "What He Believes"

2008-07-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

To Newsweek magazine;

I appreciate your effort to understand the faith of Barack Obama, but as usual your view of Christianity is simplistic and narrow. Newsweek magazine, along with almost all the dominant public media today, refuses to acknowledge the rich diversity and multiple expressions of Christian faith in America today. You seem only interested in measuring and evaluating Obama’s faith through the lens of evangelical Christianity. By that measure, his journey of faith seems unique and different. But since Obama came to faith and was baptized in the United Church of Christ would it not be more appropriate to see him as standing within the long tradition of mainline Protestantism in America? The tradition of mainline Protestantism is as old as our nation itself and must be distinguished in important but subtle ways from modern evangelical theology. Mainline Protestantism today still represents a huge swath of American Christianity including such classic denominations as the United Church of Christ (and its antecedents), my own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Lutherans, the Methodists, the Episcopalians and the American Baptists. Of course, we share the same Christian faith with our evangelical brothers and sisters, but the differences in worldview, patterns of faith development and spiritual culture are significant. These differences are especially important when discussing the religious faith of Abraham Lincoln. The Christian faith of the society in which Lincoln lived was dominated by the mainline Protestant churches. Much of Lincoln’s reflection on and response to religious faith can only be properly understood against the backdrop of mainline Protestantism. The same week Lincoln was in Gettysburg to offer his “Address”, he attended worship in the town’s Presbyterian Church. Our Gettysburg Presbyterian Church still marks the pew where he sat. (Decades later, this is the same church where the Eisenhower family was very active.) Since your reporters and researchers seem committed to following every footstep that Obama has walked, it would be convenient for you to walk across the quadrangle from the Law School to the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, chat with the faculty there, and educate yourselves about the fullness of American Christianity today. Barack Obama is right at home in our tradition of mainline American Protestantism, and we are proud to claim him. By the way, John McCain seems very comfortable in our tradition as well, and we are also proud to claim him.

General Assembly reflections part 14

2008-06-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 14

NOTE: This is a copy of the official, church-wide letter sent out after the Assembly:

June 28, 2008

To Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The 218th General Assembly adjourned just a few short hours ago. Even now, 973 commissioners and advisory delegates are making their way back home from San Jose, CA, where they worshiped daily, discussed and debated overtures, and celebrated the countless ways Presbyterians are engaged in ministry near and very far away—all with a focus on discerning the mind of Christ for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and seeking ways to live out this assembly’s theme: “Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).

Beginning today and continuing over the next two years, elected commissioners will be about the task of interpreting the actions they took at this assembly. Already, their decisions have been broadcast across the church and, in this Internet world—with information received in real time, live blogs, and more—many people have already weighed in on the assembly’s actions, sharing their thoughts and feelings about the implications of those decisions on our life together in the PC(USA).

The assembly dealt with well over 400 business items. Some items had undivided agreement, including a covenant to join together to carry out mission together and a churchwide commitment to “Grow God’s Church Deep and Wide.” There was an action to continue to study a revised Form of Government, and one committee devoted its time entirely to youth issues. In addition, we continued our longstanding work toward peace in the Middle East. More information on these and other actions will be coming soon.

A few of the many assembly actions will make, or already have made, headlines across the country. Most likely, you will read about the actions from a number of sources over the next many days and weeks, but we want you to hear about this important gathering directly from the General Assembly. That is why we are writing this letter to you.

Perhaps the subject that will make the most headlines has to do with the ordination standards of our church. It is a subject with which Presbyterians are familiar and one that tends to evoke great debates and deep emotions. With that in mind, we want you to know what the assembly did—in the actual wording—in regard to ordination standards, and what will happen next.

By a 54% to 46% margin, the assembly voted to propose an amendment to our Book of Order to change one of our current ordination standards. The change is to replace the current language that says officers of the church must live by “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness” (G-6.0106b) to this new language: Those who are called to ordained service in the church, by their assent to the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003), pledge themselves to live lives obedient to Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, striving to follow where he leads through the witness of the Scriptures, and to understand the Scriptures through the instruction of the Confessions. In so doing, they declare their fidelity to the standards of the Church. Each governing body charged with examination for ordination and/or installation (G-14.0240 and G-14.0450) establishes the candidate’s sincere efforts to adhere to these standards.

By a 53% to 47% vote, the assembly adopted a new Authoritative Interpretation (AI) on G-6.0106b: Interpretive statements concerning ordained service of homosexual church members by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States and all subsequent affirmations thereof, have no further force or effect.

By a 54% to 46% vote, the assembly adopted a new AI on G-6.0108 which restores the intent of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church report (2006) to allow someone who is being considered for ordination or installation as a deacon, elder, or minister to register a conscientious objection to the standards or beliefs of the church and ask the ordaining body to enter into a conversation with them to determine the seriousness of the departure.
The assembly left unchanged the definition of marriage found in the Directory for Worship (W-4.9000)—“a civil contract between a woman and a man.”

By its actions, the assembly has initiated a new opportunity to focus ordination on primary allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ, as well as to Scripture and the church’s confessions. The assembly places the responsibility onto sessions and presbyteries for discerning a candidate’s fitness for ordination.

In all of this, it is important to note that the assembly has not removed the church’s standard of “fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness.” For the proposed change—making obedience to Christ the ordination standard—to become part of the Book of Order , a majority of presbyteries will need to ratify it over the next year.

We know the assembly actions may do little to ease the anxiety that seems to permeate our life together as a denomination. The debate isn’t new and the future holds difficult challenges. As the Rev. Dan Holloway, moderator of the committee that took up the items on ordination standards, said, “As we move forward, it is essential that we have conversations that are gracious and loving and welcoming, since we are not all of one mind.” Our hope is that none of us will act or react immediately to the decisions, choosing instead to pray and talk with one another about these issues.

During the question-and-answer time for the Stated Clerk election on Friday morning, now Stated Clerk-elect Gradye Parsons spoke of the story of Jesus being in the boat with his disciples in the middle of the lake when a storm arose (Luke 8). If fear could have capsized their boat, the disciples would have found themselves working hard to tread water in the midst of the wind and waves. Yet, Jesus calmed the storm and proceeded to question them about their faith.

Like the disciples, we, the PC(USA), are in the boat together, sometimes not altogether sure where we are headed. We see the storm approaching and our fears rise with the waves. Yet, as he was with the disciples, so, too, is Christ in our midst—calming the wind, settling the waves—being present and guiding us as we proceed ahead.

Gradye offered the following mantra as a summary of the Luke story: Get into the boat. Go across the lake. There will be a storm. You will not die .

As we move forward from this assembly, we know that storms may come, but we put our confidence and trust in the one who both calms the storms and leads us into God’s future with hope.

The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow
Moderator of the 218th General Assembly

The Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Elder Linda Bryant Valentine
Executive Director, General Assembly Council

General Assembly reflections part 13

2008-06-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly reflections part 13

Copied from pcusa.org

The most emotionally charged overture from the Theological Issues and Institutions Committee came from the Presbytery of Newark asking the 218th General Assembly “to correct translation problems in five responses of the Heidelberg Catechism as found in The Book of Confessions and to add the original Scripture texts of the German Heidelberg Catechism.”

The issues surrounding this confession are complex and multi-layered. After hearing much information and debate, and defeating a minority report, the Assembly approved the overture to initiate the process to revise the Heidelberg Catechism by a vote of 436-280-11.

The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. adopted The Book of Confessions in 1967, which included a 1962 translation of the Heidelberg Catechism prepared for and published by United Church Press. According to the overture rationale, Professor Edward Dowey of Princeton Theological Seminary chaired the committee of the General Assembly that compiled the confessions. He later admitted that a thorough check of this version was never undertaken and certain “illicit” changes made to this Heidelberg translation went undetected. After consulting the original German, as well as early Latin versions, five passages in the original text were discovered to be rendered incorrectly and key theological meanings were obscured.

Most of the Assembly’s attention focused on Question 87 of the catechism: “Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?” The current text of the answer reads: “Certainly not! Scripture says, ‘Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake: no fornicator or idolater, none who are guilty either of adultery or of homosexual perversion, no thieves or grabbers or drunkards or swindlers, will possess the kingdom of God.’”

According to the overture rationale, two phrases in the current answer that were supplied by the 1962 translators do not appear in the original text or in any translations produced prior to 1962. The primary phrase that is in dispute is “or of homosexual perversion.”

Neither the original German nor Latin contains text corresponding to this phrase, “Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God. Make no mistake:”
If approved, the corrected text would read: “Certainly not; for as Scripture says no unchaste person, idolater, adulterer, thief, greedy person, drunkard, slanderer, robber, or anyone like that shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

The other four responses to the catechism questions would also be amended in a way that makes them more accurate and faithful to the original text. This approach would satisfy concerns that have been raised without the need of a major rewriting of the present translation.

According to the Rev. Mark Tammen, associate stated clerk and director of Constitutional Services for the Office of the General Assembly, a special committee will be appointed by the 218th GA moderator to study the recommendation and bring back a proposal to the 219th Assembly (2010). If that Assembly approves the proposal, it will be sent to the presbyteries for approval. If two-thirds of the presbyteries vote to adopt the amendments to the catechism, it will return to the 220th Assembly (2012). If that Assembly approves the changes, then the corrected Heidelberg Catechism will replace the current version in The Book of Confessions.

General Assembly reflections part 12

2008-06-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly reflections part 12

Copied from pcusa.org

The Rev. Gradye Parsons was elected stated clerk of the General Assembly.
Parsons has served as associate stated clerk of the General Assembly for the past eight years. In that role, he has been the director of operations for the Office of the General Assembly (OGA), including director of OGA’s General Assembly Meeting Services department.
Parsons has staffed a number of General Assembly committees. He spearheaded the development of a review process for each of the six agencies of the PC(USA) and staffed five of the six committees that conducted the reviews, with the exception being the review committee for OGA. Before his national church responsibilities, Parsons served as pastor of two churches in Tennessee for fifteen years. He was executive presbyter and stated clerk of Holston Presbytery for six years.

General Assembly reflections part 11

2008-06-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 11

The Form of Government Taskforce referred:

After long discussion with many amendments, including a minority report, the Assembly approved the recommendation of their committee to refer the Form of Government Taskforce report to a new, expanded task force. Quoted here is the actual language of the action:

“That the recommendation (from the Form of Government Taskforce) be referred to the Office of the General Assembly with comment:

The referral to the Office of the General Assembly is for a period of consultation and study with churches and presbyteries through a system or systems designed and implemented by the Form of Government Task Force and members of the 218th General Assembly Committee on Form of Government Revisions. The participation of every presbytery in the period of consultation and study will be strongly urged. New members of this expanded task force are to be chosen from the 218th General Assembly (2008) Assembly Committee on Form of Government Revisions by the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008), in consultation with the moderator and vice moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) Assembly Committee on Form of Government Revisions.

The new task force will revise the Form of Government Task Force Report, taking into account the concerns and suggestions gleaned from the consultation and study process. The guidance of the Advisory Committee on the Constitution, the overtures, and the testimony received by the 218th General Assembly (2008) Assembly Committee on Form of Government revisions and the committee’s comments are referred to the task force for serious and studied consideration. “

The Presbytery of Carlisle “is strongly urged” to study the Form of Taskforce report and make our conclusions known to the new taskforce. Anyone interested in participating in this consultation and study within our presbytery is asked to contact me as soon as possible.

General Assembly reflections part 10

2008-06-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 10

Christian and Muslim relations: “Same” versus “One”

The Assembly approved, after long debate and several significant amendments, a resolution on the relations between Christians and Muslims titled, “On Calling for Tolerance and Peaceful Relations Between the Christian and Muslim Communities.” As part of this impassioned debate on the floor of the Assembly, the important distinction between believing in “one” God and believing in the “same” God was discussed. It is very correct to say that each of the world’s three great, monotheistic religions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism- each believe in one God. But these religious convictions placed in one God does not necessarily mean that these religions all believe in the same God. As we ponder the relations between the different religions of the world, especially since adherents of all these religions are increasingly present in our neighborhoods, it is a very important theological discussion to consider whether or not these different religions worship the same God.

General Assembly reflections part 9

2008-06-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Asssembly (2008) reflections part 9

The Assembly approved a resolution to study the Belhar Confession, and consider whether or not this Confession should be added to our Book of Confessions. The text and a study guide are available at this websites (or search on Belhar at pcusa.org.)

http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/confession/belhar.pdf

http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/confession/belharstudyguide.pdf

General Assembly reflections part 8

2008-06-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 8

The Presbytery of Carlisle team:

I lift up grateful appreciation for the Commissioners from the Presbytery of Carlisle serving the 218th General Assembly.

Rev. John Green, pastor of our Paxton Church, serving on the Board of Pensions, Presbyterian Foundation and Presbyterian Publishing Corporation Committee.

Elder Margaret Mielke, clerk of session of our Pine Street Church, serving on the Review of the General Assembly Permanent Committees

Rev. John Barlow, pastor of our Warfordsburg Church, serving on the Worship and Spiritual Renewal Committee.

Elder Bud Marshall, from our Greencastle Church, serving on the Youth Committee.

Youth Advisory Delegate, Sarah Flint, from our Camp Hill Church, serving on our General Assembly Procedures Committee.

General Assembly reflections part 7

2008-06-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 7

San Jose, California: Being an ethnic minority today.

This year the General Assembly is meeting in San Jose, California. I never visited this beautiful, northern California city before. I have enjoyed spending some time running each morning and using the break times during the day to walk around downtown San Jose. The convention center where our General Assembly meets is only a short walk from San Jose State University. The vicinity around the convention center and university community in downtown San Jose is a gorgeous area, highly developed but with beautiful green space and parks. I especially love the huge, majestic palm trees which are very common here and do not grow in Pennsylvania.

For lunch today, a gorgeous, sunny day in San Jose, I found a light sandwich and sat at a sidewalk table outside the restaurant. As I watched the lunchtime rush of people up and down the sidewalk, a fascinating thought entered my mind. As a white, middle-aged, male in San Jose I was an “ethnic minority”. A rich and fascinating rainbow of different kinds of people walked up and down the sidewalk past me. Only a few of them looked like me. Although I do not experience this kind of diversity on the sidewalk in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania or anyplace in the Presbytery of Carlisle, I know it is coming. What does it mean to be an “ethnic minority”? What does it feel like? The increasing ethnic diversity in our nation is a wonderful thing, in my opinion. America is a land with all kinds of difference and diversity. Whether we like it or not, whether we encourage it or not, our church is quickly becoming an ethnically diverse community as well. Although white people like me are still a vast majority group in our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we will soon be an ethnic minority in our nation? How do you feel about that fact? How should the Church respond?

General Assembly reflections part 6

2008-06-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008): Reflections part 6

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

TOP TEN

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21

“Giving has always been a mark of Christian commitment and discipleship. The ways in which a believer uses God’s gifts of material goods, personal abilities, and time should reflect response to God’s self-giving in Jesus Christ and Christ’s call to minister to and share with others in the world. Tithing is a primary expression of the Christian discipline of stewardship.” – Book of Order, W-5.5004.

The Presbytery of Carlisle is being recognized and thanked at this meeting of the General Assembly for our phenomenal commitment to Presbyterian mission giving. It is an honor and great privilege for me to receive the kind remarks, congratulations and acknowledgement of different people every day here at the Assembly. Numerous times when I either introduce myself as from the Presbytery of Carlisle or people read my name tag, some sort of grateful comment about our place on the top ten list usually follows.

The General Assembly recognizes the Presbytery of Carlisle for:
Total Giving: Basic Mission Support (#6)
Per Member Giving: Basic Mission Support (#1)
Per Member Giving: Special Offerings (#6)
Per Member: Total Giving (#2)

The Presbytery of Carlisle is a mission-shaped, mission-driven and mission-giving presbytery. As I reflect on this good news in conversations with people around the General Assembly, several reflections easily come to mind. There is, by the grace of God, a remarkable, high level of trust in the Presbytery of Carlisle. That high level of trust is especially true within our Presbytery where there is wonderful collegiality among our church leaders, and a deep commitment to being connected together as Presbyterians. That high level of trust is, of course, also reflected in the deep and generous commitment many of our churches continue to have for Presbyterian mission work.

In the light of these accolades, the questions I ponder and pray are these: How can we enhance and multiply the high level of trust which already exists in our presbytery? How can we, as a healthy and trusting presbytery, raise trust and enhance connectionalism across the whole church? We have a number of congregations who do not participate in Presbyterian mission giving and are only weakly connected within our presbytery? What can we do to listen to their concerns, build trust, and join together in mutual mission and ministry? In a presbytery with such a high commitment to mission giving, what is the next step in our journey of faithfulness and service in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ?

With Linda Valentine, the executive director of the General Assembly Council;
with Hunter Farrell, the director of world mission;
with Stan deVoogd, the regional liaison for Mexico and Central America, (with whom I work closely in our Honduras mission work);

I say “Thank you” to the pastors and church professionals, elders and church members of the Presbytery of Carlisle who give generously to Presbyterian mission work, and are truly leading the way forward in our great Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

General Assembly reflections part 5

2008-06-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008): Reflections part 5

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Reflections on the Form of Government taskforce proposal:

I listened to some of the testimony of the Form of Government taskforce members to the General Assembly committee responsible for bringing their proposal forward. There was a lot of conversation about the Taskforce’s intention in dropping out all the specific tasks for the work of the Committee on Ministry and the Committee on the Preparation for Ministry. The work of these committees, which is precisely delineated in the current Form of Government, is revised into broad categories and expectations in the proposed Form of Government. The theory behind this proposal is that each Presbytery should be empowered, given their particular context and ministry needs, to implement the broad expectations as necessary.

In explaining this point to the Assembly Committee, a member of the Form of Government taskforce told a story from his home, Grace Presbytery in Texas. His Presbytery, of course, has a huge number of Spanish speaking people, and their presbytery is trying in various ways to reach out to them. One of the ways the presbytery has done this is by building relationships with pastors and church leaders from the Presbyterian Church in Mexico. They have identified pastors from Mexico who may, with the help of our Grace Presbytery, come into America to serve with Spanish speaking congregations here. But there is a huge obstacle preventing these Mexican Presbyterian pastors from expressing full pastoral responsibilities within our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). These pastors cannot be received as minister members of our church because they do not satisfy all the ordination requirements which are currently defined and listed in the Book of Order.

This particular situation raises a huge question for our church. Should Grace Presbytery, which is actively trying to reach out to the Spanish speaking people in their midst, be allowed to receive pastors from the Presbyterian Church of Mexico as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament in our church? Currently the moment a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church of Mexico steps across the border into our church they cannot serve as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament because they have not satisfied all of our ordination requirements. Should Grace Presbytery, which needs these pastors from Mexico to support their ministry and mission to Spanish speaking people in Texas, be allowed and encouraged to receive these pastors as full and active members here? This is exactly the kind of flexibility in process and procedures which the Form of Government taskforce is proposing with their revised Form of Government.

General Assembly reflections part 4

2008-06-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 4

Reflections on our World Mission

One of the highlights for me of this week’s General Assembly meeting thus far was the World Mission luncheon on Sunday. (NOTE: We have scheduled the director of World Mission, Hunter Farrell, to be with us in our Presbytery for our April Presbytery meeting.) There is completely new national staff in place in our World Mission office, and I am very supportive of our effort in the church to grow our international mission work. It was very meaningful and moving to sit together at the World Mission luncheon with Christian brothers and sisters from our partner churches all over the world, all of whom express deep gratitude for the mission and ministry of our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). There are stories upon stories from all around the world of churches that were initially planted, and conversions to Christ that were originally sparked, sometimes several generations ago, by the work of Presbyterian missionaries from the United States.

Hunter Farrell, in a very compelling address, spoke in broad terms of the history of Presbyterian world mission work and offered his vision of this new era. The Presbyterian Church made a massive commitment to world mission more than 150 years. This began the great era of mission work during which we sent our missionaries around the world. Many of our international partners today are churches that were planted and formed in that great era of world mission emphasis. Presbyterian Churches in Korea, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and many others were planted by American Presbyterians. Because that era was also a time of limited communication and difficult international travel, our mission strategy was necessarily a “dependent” strategy. That is to say our congregations depended on our General Assembly to do this mission work. The congregations provided the funding, massive amounts of funding, and the General Assembly functioned as a mission sending agency. This was a profoundly successful strategy for doing world mission work.

Everything shifted and changed in our culture through the 1960s. Thus from the 1970s through the 1990s our world mission work shifted to an “independent” strategy. For many reasons, including the breakdown of trust in the church and the flattening of the world with our now easy communication and travel, individual congregations started doing world mission with a local and personal involvement. This is the era when the concept of mission trips started and has become an established part of our mission work. In this era the world mission work of the General Assembly floundered and downsized because congregations were no longer dependent on the General Assembly to engage in world mission. We are now learning the downside of this completely independent strategy for world mission work. I have seen this in the Presbytery of Honduras which simply does not have the resources or leadership to constantly host the vast numbers of American mission trips that are arriving. I have heard, for example, of one Presbyterian mission hospital in Kenya that was completely overwhelmed by the requests of three different American Presbyterian congregations that wanted to bring medical mission teams, each of more than 20 people, in the same month this summer. I have heard the terrible story of a small Presbyterian church in Mexico who organized the painting of the same wall in their town’s park six weeks in row by six different American mission teams because they do not have the resources or leadership to host this annual onslaught of American teams. The real tragedy of this independent, congregational based world mission work is that we have had to cut back on our financial commitment to full-time, fluent in the local language, professional mission workers because our money has shifted to short-term, usually week-long, mission trips.
Are we poised for a new era of world mission commitment? A new era which, obviously, will never return to a strategy in which our congregations are fully dependent on the General Assembly to do mission. A new era which, I hope, with a higher level of trust. A new era which may move us beyond the excesses of a completely independent strategy of world mission in which each congregation does their own thing with little coordination with others who may be working in the same nation. Are we ready to move into a collaborative era of world mission in which congregations, presbyteries and the General Assembly work together with our international church partners. This is clearly the direction in which Hunter Farrell would like to lead our world mission efforts. This is clearly the direction that is being proposed in the concept of mission networks. (I am very involved in the Honduras mission network). There are now 35 mission networks in our church.

Each congregation needs to be directly and personally connected with world mission. Each congregation needs to do mission trips, including international trips. But we also need communication and collaboration with our international church partners so we do not overwhelm them with our arrogant American audacity. We also need to make a serious commitment to the calling and equipping of full-time, professional mission workers serving with long term commitment all around the world. We also need the General Assembly, through the concept of mission networks and the regional liaisons staff people, to help congregations and presbyteries coordinate our world mission efforts so we are not paying thousands of dollars to travel to a foreign nation to paint the same wall six weeks in a row.

It is new day for the church. In the name of Jesus Christ let us make a commitment to world mission.

General Assembly reflections part 3

2008-06-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

Copied from the General Assembly website: http://www.pcusa.org/ga218

The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, 39, an energetic new church development pastor in San Francisco and leader in the “emergent church” movement, was elected moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Saturday night (June 21), capturing a second ballot victory.

Reyes-Chow — who received 48 percent of the first ballot votes — won an easy majority on the second ballot with 390 votes or 55 percent.

The Rev. William “Bill” Teng of National Capital Presbytery finished second with 255 votes or 36 percent. The Rev. D. Carl Mazza of New Castle Presbytery finished third with 52 votes or 7 percent. Elder Roger Shoemaker of Homestead Presbytery trailed with seven votes or 1 percent.

Reyes-Chow is pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, an innovative new church of San Francisco Presbytery that was recently named winner of a 2007 Sam and Helen Walton Award for outstanding new church development. In his address to the Assembly, he noted that he makes as many pastoral calls by email as by in-person visitation.

Such is the future of ministry, Reyes-Chow said. Mission Bay has a state-of-the-art Web site and extensive electronic communications among members and participants, which he said is absolutely essential for a congregation that is predominantly under-40.

In her nominating speech for him, Elder Vivian Guthrie of Greater Atlanta Presbytery urged Reyes-Chow’s election “to keep our church relevant … or we aren’t going to be on the same page as younger people. Bruce has a profound understanding of the way the world is changing, so he can help us feel less anxious and less resistant to change.”

In both his speech and his responses to questions, Reyes-Chow reiterated over and over his belief that “nothing is too hard or too wondrous for God. If the church steps out in faith rather than clinging to survival, to be more intent on being faithful than on being right, to be together based on our common covenant in Jesus Christ rather than by property or pensions, then we will be able to live into a future in which we are a vital and vibrant presence in the world.”

Teng, the only one of the four candidates to explicitly support the current constitutional prohibition of the ordination of sexually active gay and lesbian Presbyterians as church officers, emphasized his campaign theme of “gratitude and hope.” “We gather up a wealth of meaning as Presbyterians in response to the grace of God in Jesus Christ,” Teng said. “We have no greater need than to look beyond ourselves and follow Jesus into the world he loves and calls us to love.”
Mazza, who brought to his candidacy a compelling personal story of conversion and resultant commitment to the homeless and other marginalized people as founder and director of Meeting Ground in Elkton, MD, spoke of the two “great strengths” of the PC(USA) that drive his ministry: “We have an abiding commitment to gospel and Jesus Christ and a commitment to mission in the world,” he said. Shoemaker, the only elder among the four, called for Presbyterians to develop a greater understanding of themselves as the body of Christ and as Presbyterians and in doing so “we will find ways to pursue solutions that will grow our congregations spiritually and numerically.”

Reyes-Chow, the grandson of Chinese and Filipino immigrants to California, was raised in Sacramento and Stockton, CA. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and San Francisco Theological Seminary. A prolific writer and blogger, Reyes-Chow describes himself as a “pastor/geek/dad/follower of Christ.”

General Assembly reflections part 2

2008-06-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008) reflections part 2

Quoted here is the recommendation coming to the General Assembly asking “organizations to affirm and adopt the following invitation.” I shared this document with our Presbytery at our June meeting, asking us to consider it for adoption in September. I hope this invitation will help us have conversation about mission in our Presbytery, and make a renewed commitment to our world mission efforts:

RECOMMENDATION
As a result of the Worldwide Mission Consultation, “Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World! Dialogue for Our Shared Future” that was held January 16-18, 2008, in Dallas, Texas, the Moderator, together with the Stated Clerk and the General Assembly Council, recommend that the 218th General Assembly (2008) invite the sessions, middle governing bodies, seminaries, General Assembly Council ministries areas, and all PC(USA)-related mission organizations to affirm and adopt the following invitation:

An Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission

As members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) committed to God’s mission, accompanied by global partners, we gathered together January 16-18, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. We acknowledge the rich Presbyterian heritage in world mission and reaffirm the Presbyterian understanding of God’s mission as it is expressed in “Gathering for God’s Future,”

The Good News of Jesus Christ is to be shared with the whole world. As disciples of Jesus Christ, each of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is sent into the world to join God’s mission. As individuals and as a church, we are called to be faithful in this discipleship. Our mission is centered in the triune God. Our mission is God-called, Christ-centered, and Spirit-led. Our mission is both proclamation and service; it is the reason the church exists. …

Our renewed call from God is to face the challenges of witnessing and evangelizing worldwide, equipping the church for transforming mission, engaging in ministries of reconciliation, justice, healing and grace, and living the Good News of Jesus Christ in community with people who are poor, [persecuted, and living in the midst of violence]…

The church is part of God’s plan. We are called into the community of the church, and we call new disciples into that community. With Christ as our head, the church community exists for the sake of God's mission. We learn to serve in mission in a way that is faithful to the triune God. We are to model the kind of community God intends for all humanity. To be the church is to be one large mission society. [PC(USA), “Gathering for God’s Future: Witness, Discipleship, Community: A Renewed Call to Worldwide Mission,” 2003, pp. 1, 16. Text in brackets is added.]

Grounded in this theological foundation we realize that God is calling us to new patterns of mission. The world has changed, and the majority of the world’s Christians are now in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The great growth and mission faithfulness of the Church outside the West invite us into a new posture. We must listen and learn to receive. We must also be open to new patterns of collaboration. These new patterns involve new cooperation and partnerships within the PC(USA).

I. We recognize that God calls us to mission that is grounded in confession of our sins, grows out of a life of prayer and is sustained in worship. Therefore, we covenant to live and serve together in God’s mission according to the following values:

1. Trusting in the Holy Spirit and trusting in one another as each discerns how God is moving us in mission. (Acts 10)

2. Doing mission in the way of Jesus who humbled himself, showing the way of self-giving and self-emptying. (Philippians 2)

3. Seeking to be faithful to God as we live and proclaim the fullness of Jesus Christ’s good news; personal witness to those outside the church, justice for the oppressed, and compassion for those in need. We accompany others in their efforts to be faithful. (Luke 4)

4. Affirming the complementary nature of God’s gifts to all in the one body of Christ and encouraging one another in living out those gifts. (1 Corinthians 12)

5. Recognizing our responsibility to each other by communicating openly, acting transparently, and speaking and hearing the truth in love. (Ephesians 4)

6. Striving in our mission to be aware of the context out of which we come, to respect the persons with whom we labor, and to honor the context in which they live. In an era of massive global inequalities we commit ourselves to be sensitive to and address the issues of power that result from our differences. (Philippians 2)

7. Valuing long-term relationships, partnerships characterized by perseverance and long-term commitments, which support and encourage global partners. (1 Thessalonians 2)

II. We seek to live out these mission values with humility, integrity, and steadfastness. Recognizing that God invites us all to be full participants in God’s mission, we commit ourselves to work cooperatively with one another in the following ways:

1. We will affirm and encourage World Mission as it continues to move from a regulatory role to a more enabling and equipping role.

2. We will celebrate and encourage diverse Presbyterian approaches and structures for mission while maintaining the unity of our participation in God’s mission.

3. We will share responsibility for the education and preparation of all Presbyterians for mission.

4. We commit ourselves to seeking more mission personnel who will serve long-term in cross-cultural contexts through the PC(USA), and to supporting them fully.

5. We commit ourselves to enabling and supporting our global partners as they send their mission personnel in cross-cultural service.

6. We recognize and affirm the growing opportunity for cross-cultural mission in our own increasingly pluralistic and multicultural society, and we receive the global community from near and far as mission partners and God’s gift to us. We seek increased integration between local and global mission.

III. As we move forward together in God’s mission, we commit ourselves to calling the church to ongoing intercessory prayer for God’s mission and to the following tasks:

1. We will form a coordinating committee to ensure that we will meet together to share and cooperate on a regular basis.

2. During the coming year we will work to address two immediate priorities:
a. to coordinate and collaborate in the sending of mission personnel;
b. to expand Presbyterian funding for mission personnel.

3. During the next three months we will share this document and invitation with our constituencies.

IV. With bold humility we invite those who would covenant with us to join in this new collaborative model of Presbyterian mission, and we ask for encouragement, for guidance and for prayer, remembering Jesus’ own prayer:

The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22-23)

General Assembly reflections part 1

2008-06-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

The 218th General Assembly (2008): Reflections part 1

Saturday June 21, 2008

The report of the Form of Government taskforce is certainly one of the most important issues before this year’s General Assembly. This is a sweeping, comprehensive revision of the Form of Government, which is, of course, the largest part of our Book of Order. (Our Book of Order also includes the Directory for Worship, and the Rules for Discipline.) Although the General Assembly’s first business meeting convenes today at 10:00, there was already, late Friday evening, an open presentation by the Form of Government taskforce concerning their proposal. Clearly, the taskforce has done an amazing amount of work in preparation for this decision this week. I have written about their proposal and discussed it in several different forums since their first draft was distributed last fall.

I am of two minds concerning the Form of Government taskforce proposal. I like it; I like the flexibility and streamlining of our polity which they have built into their proposal. I like the serious shift of authority and decision making back to the presbyteries, where historically it belongs. I like the focus on function rather than structure. On the other hand the approval of this proposal will require a much higher level and trust and cooperation across the church than currently exists. This kind of massive change in our administrative organization requires a very high level of trust. Does such trust exist in the church today? If not, this proposal may degenerate into deep conflict or move many people into deep apathy as they simply withdraw from this complicated conversation.

The distinction between function and structure may be the deepest change which this proposal brings. It is this distinction which may be the most important shift. The proposed Form of Government defines the function and responsibilities of the various “councils” of the church (sessions, presbyteries, synods and General Assembly). But the proposal does not define specifically how those functions should be expressed and implemented. For example, the proposed Form of Government does not explicitly state, as our current Form of Government does, that each presbytery must have a Committee on Ministry, a Committee on Preparation for Ministry and a Committee on Representation. In fact, many of the specific implementation steps and specific rules of the current Form of Government are dropped out in the new proposal. Instead broad responsibilities are outlined but specific steps for implementation are left to the decision of the individual councils.

Given some of the conversation we have started in the Presbytery of Carlisle, I want to emphasize that this proposed Form of Government is intended to be a “missional polity”. What does that mean? I want to quote here some background which was distributed by the Taskforce to help us understand their purpose and task. I quote here from “An Introduction” which is a short paper the Taskforce shared at their presentation Friday evening.

“The Form of Government proposed by the task force seeks to implement a missional polity. What is missional polity?
· To be missional begins in the confession that God has sent the church into the world to bear witness to God’s activity in reconciling and transforming the world. Therefore, mission is not something the church does; it is what the church is.
· Polity is the architecture of mission. A missional polity recognizes that the church councils – session, presbyteries, synods and General Assembly – guide and support the work of the congregation, and connect and coordinate that work with other congregations so that the whole church may witness more effectively to the activity of God in the world.
· A mission polity provides flexibility so that each congregation, as it engages the world in it particular corner of Christ’s kingdom, may do so effectively as possible, while still maintaining overarching constitutional standards that apply across the church.”

Report to the Presbytery June 17, 2008

2008-06-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Our Coordinating Council organized a very successful Committee Day in April, when all the Committees of the Presbytery had their meetings at the same time, in the same place. Many committee members present that day responded to some discussion questions which our Council had prepared. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and input. Our Council discussed your responses at length. What we have learned most clearly is that many people simple do not have a deep understanding of what our presbytery is supposed to be and do. And, of course, we always have new leaders in our midst who are first learning about our life together. I would like with this report to offer some response to that uncertainty about our presbytery’s mission and ministry.
The Presbytery of Carlisle voted to implement a new administrative structure in April, 2000. Thus the new structure is already eight years old. This Presbytery was one of the first, but now Presbyteries all across our church are doing the same thing and moving in the same direction. It seems to me that our presbytery is on the front edge of the deep restructuring and reformation that is happening in our denomination. I am excited to be part of it all.
The centerpiece of our presbytery’s, administrative structure is the philosophy of supporting congregations and the strategy of “ministry initiative.” This kind of thinking is becoming common sense across our church today. Our purpose is to support our congregations, connect them together, and identify new ministry initiatives as they are developing in our congregations.
We have created a culture in our presbytery of supporting congregations. The presbytery structure implemented in 2000 focused that purpose in the work of our Strengthening our Congregations Committee. We are now poised to push this to a whole new level with our Missional Church Initiative. We have started a professional relationship with the Center for Parish Development. We have a team working on this proposal and we will be, over the next year, be asking each church, each committee, and the presbytery as a whole to consider missional transformation as a common goal for our life together. I ask us to consider what it would look like if we established missional transformation as the theological foundation for our support of our congregations? We will, of course, have lots of discussion about what exactly that means in the days ahead.
The concept of ministry initiative is foundational to our presbytery structure. The idea is that the presbytery will identify and support new initiatives, ideas, and dreams as they come up out of our life together. My question is when do we take a ministry idea, which a lot of different people are contributing to, and establish it officially as a strategic initiative of the presbytery? This is an important discernment process. When do we have enough participation and ownership across the presbytery in a particular initiative in order to establish it as a strategic focus of the whole presbytery?
I want to name three important initiatives that are happening in our presbytery. I want to ask whether these should be established pieces of the strategic emphasis of our presbytery.
1. That the Presbytery make a renewed and aggressive commitment to Presbyterian international mission work by funding a new international mission co-worker position and establishing an international mission partnership. What would that look like?
2. That the Presbytery make a renewed and aggressive commitment to building our ministry at Camp Krislund. We need to do more than build a new building with our capital campaign; we need to build a whole new ministry at the camp. I have in a mind there a Missional Church Training Center. What could that be?
3. That the Presbytery make a renewed and aggressive commitment to clergy care building on the important work that our clergy support groups are now doing. What would that look like if the care for our church professionals was established as a wide and deep commitment across our presbytery?
As we continue to live into the administrative structure which we have adopted as a presbytery we need to theologically establish the support of congregations as the bedrock of all we do. We need to discern, discuss, claim and implement new initiatives as they are identified in our midst. May Jesus Christ our Lord bless our ministry and mission.

Report to the Presbytery April 22, 2008

2008-04-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

What kind of theology? Claiming a Missional Theology.

I am a theology junky. I love the academic study of theology. Although I was born and raised in a very active church family in a Presbyterian Church, I was never exposed to the academic world of theological study growing up. While in Seminary it is the academic study of theology that captured my heart and blessed me, and it still does. The Presbyterian Church has always made a very important intellectual assumption about church leadership. We assume that the academic study of theology is essential for our pastors and all church leaders.
But we must ask what theology should we study? Like all academic areas of study there is a rich diversity in the world of theology. In my opinion, part of the reason why the Presbyterian Church is so diverse, with such a dizzying array of convictions, perspectives and opinions, is that our church leaders do not have all the same theological grounding. We do not all read the same books. My study of theology has been incredibly diverse and, in some ways, scattered.
I have, of course, carefully studied our Book of Confessions and the historical context of our confessions. The idea of the ‘Invisible Kirk” in the Scots Confession blesses me. I look for and see glimpses of it in our churches. The Confession of 1967’s call to a ministry of reconciliation remains authentic and true for me. I enjoy the Brief Statement of Faith and I have used it extensively in my ministry.
I have studied a lot of church history and the theology of the Reformation Era. I have read a lot of John Calvin. His image of the church and its organization is remarkable. I have learned the important difference between the theology of John Calvin and the theology of Calvinism as it developed in various forms and places.
I have studied a lot of American theology including the American Great Awakenings, the great conflicts in the Presbyterian Church between the Old School and New School, the new light and old light, and the Fundamentalist Modernist controversy before World War Two. I have studied the long history of American evangelical theology. Maybe my favorite theologian is Reinhold Niebuhr. Especially in this election year, it would be good for us all to read Niebuhr again.
I have also studied a lot of Latin American liberation theology and African American liberation theology. In this tradition, Martin Luther King is a very influential American theologian. I appreciate King’s weaving together of American history and the Bible into his concept of the “beloved community.”

My point is this. As I reflect on my own theological education, I realize it is very scattered. One of the great blessings in the church has been the rich diversity of academic theology. One of the great problems, in my opinion, in the church has been the rich diversity of academic theology. There is so much to read and study that church leaders are seldom reading the same things. This, in my opinion, has contributed to our inability to come together theologically with a united heart and mind. Those of us who are immersed in Latin American liberation theology have a difficult time finding anything in common with those of us who are reading American evangelical theology. Those of us who are reading American feminist theology are having a hard time finding anything in common with those of us reading classical European Reformed theology.
From a theological perspective, I am now very excited about the church. I believe there is emerging a new school, a new brand, a new style of academic theology which has the potential to truly bring us together in common conversation. We call it missional theology. I believe missional theology has the ability to truly transcend our culture wars and bring people together. I believe that missional theology, unlike a lot of academic theology, connects theological reflection with the practice of ministry. Missional theology is truly theology for the church. I believe that missional theology is both very biblical and very consistent with our Reformed tradition. I believe that missional theology is also very attractive to young people, especially as it is being discussed in the emergent church movement.
So I bring a modest proposal to us today. Maybe we should start reading some of the same books. Maybe we should try and come together theologically. I suggest the whole genre of missional theology may be a common theme with which we all can connect. I suggest we start with the works of Leslie Newbigin, Darrel Guder and Brian McLaren. Or, for example, we may use the services of Amazon.com where there are 156 titles listed under a search on “missional theology.” Maybe a new theological movement is starting in our midst which, truly, has the potential to bring us together in service to Jesus Christ our Lord.

Preparation for the 218 General Assembly (Part Two)

2008-04-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

I believe our congregations and presbyteries should be seriously considering this call to expand God's mission:

RECOMMENDATION #34 to the 218th General Assembly:

As a result of the Worldwide Mission Consultation[1], “Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World! Dialogue for Our Shared Future” that was held January 16-18, 2008, in Dallas, Texas, the Moderator, together with the Stated Clerk and the General Assembly Council, recommend that the 218th General Assembly (2008) invite the sessions, middle governing bodies, seminaries, General Assembly Council ministries areas, and all PC(USA)-related mission organizations to affirm and adopt the following invitation:

An Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission

As members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) committed to God’s mission, accompanied by global partners, we gathered together January 16-18, 2008, in Dallas, Texas. We acknowledge the rich Presbyterian heritage in world mission and reaffirm the Presbyterian understanding of God’s mission as it is expressed in “Gathering for God’s Future,”

The Good News of Jesus Christ is to be shared with the whole world. As disciples of Jesus Christ, each of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is sent into the world to join God’s mission. As individuals and as a church, we are called to be faithful in this discipleship. Our mission is centered in the triune God. Our mission is God-called, Christ-centered, and Spirit-led. Our mission is both proclamation and service; it is the reason the church exists. …

Our renewed call from God is to face the challenges of witnessing and evangelizing worldwide, equipping the church for transforming mission, engaging in ministries of reconciliation, justice, healing and grace, and living the Good News of Jesus Christ in community with people who are poor, [persecuted, and living in the midst of violence]…

The church is part of God’s plan. We are called into the community of the church, and we call new disciples into that community. With Christ as our head, the church community exists for the sake of God's mission. We learn to serve in mission in a way that is faithful to the triune God. We are to model the kind of community God intends for all humanity. To be the church is to be one large mission society. [PC(USA), “Gathering for God’s Future: Witness, Discipleship, Community: A Renewed Call to Worldwide Mission,” 2003, pp. 1, 16. Text in brackets is added.]

Grounded in this theological foundation we realize that God is calling us to new patterns of mission. The world has changed, and the majority of the world’s Christians are now in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The great growth and mission faithfulness of the Church outside the West invite us into a new posture. We must listen and learn to receive. We must also be open to new patterns of collaboration. These new patterns involve new cooperation and partnerships within the PC(USA).

I. We recognize that God calls us to mission that is grounded in confession of our sins, grows out of a life of prayer and is sustained in worship. Therefore, we covenant to live and serve together in God’s mission according to the following values:
1. Trusting in the Holy Spirit and trusting in one another as each discerns how God is moving us in mission. (Acts 10)
2. Doing mission in the way of Jesus who humbled himself, showing the way of self-giving and self-emptying. (Philippians 2)
3. Seeking to be faithful to God as we live and proclaim the fullness of Jesus Christ’s good news; personal witness to those outside the church, justice for the oppressed, and compassion for those in need. We accompany others in their efforts to be faithful. (Luke 4)
4. Affirming the complementary nature of God’s gifts to all in the one body of Christ and encouraging one another in living out those gifts. (1 Corinthians 12)
5. Recognizing our responsibility to each other by communicating openly, acting transparently, and speaking and hearing the truth in love. (Ephesians 4)
6. Striving in our mission to be aware of the context out of which we come, to respect the persons with whom we labor, and to honor the context in which they live. In an era of massive global inequalities we commit ourselves to be sensitive to and address the issues of power that result from our differences. (Philippians 2)
7. Valuing long-term relationships, partnerships characterized by perseverance and long-term commitments, which support and encourage global partners. (1 Thessalonians 2)

II. We seek to live out these mission values with humility, integrity, and steadfastness. Recognizing that God invites us all to be full participants in God’s mission, we commit ourselves to work cooperatively with one another in the following ways:
1. We will affirm and encourage World Mission as it continues to move from a regulatory role to a more enabling and equipping role.
2. We will celebrate and encourage diverse Presbyterian approaches and structures for mission while maintaining the unity of our participation in God’s mission.
3. We will share responsibility for the education and preparation of all Presbyterians for mission.
4. We commit ourselves to seeking more mission personnel who will serve long-term in cross-cultural contexts through the PC(USA), and to supporting them fully.
5. We commit ourselves to enabling and supporting our global partners as they send their mission personnel in cross-cultural service.
6. We recognize and affirm the growing opportunity for cross-cultural mission in our own increasingly pluralistic and multicultural society, and we receive the global community from near and far as mission partners and God’s gift to us. We seek increased integration between local and global mission.

III. As we move forward together in God’s mission, we commit ourselves to calling the church to ongoing intercessory prayer for God’s mission and to the following tasks:
1. We will form a coordinating committee to ensure that we will meet together to share and cooperate on a regular basis.
2. During the coming year we will work to address two immediate priorities:
a. to coordinate and collaborate in the sending of mission personnel;
b. to expand Presbyterian funding for mission personnel.
3. During the next three months we will share this document and invitation with our constituencies.

IV. With bold humility we invite those who would covenant with us to join in this new collaborative model of Presbyterian mission, and we ask for encouragement, for guidance and for prayer, remembering Jesus’ own prayer:

The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22-23)

[1] The Dallas Mission Consultation’s website is at http://www.pcusa.org/calltomission/about.htm.
The presentations made at the conference are available at http://www.pcusa.org/calltomission/papers.htm#top.
This “Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission” is also available at http://www.pcusa.org/calltomission/read-invite.htm.

Preparation of General Assembly (2008), Part One

2008-04-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

General Assembly (2008), Part One

I begin here a series of occasional articles in preparation for the meeting of our General Assembly this June 2008. Once again all the business at the General Assembly will be transacted electronically. Everyone wanting to participate in the proceedings of the meeting must connect with the web-based program PC-biz which can be found at the home page of the General Assembly meeting (www.pc-biz.org). I have found this program to work very well; it is easy to navigate and easy to find information.

There is already a long list of business items which the General Assembly will address. This includes 81 different overtures and 10 different recommendations and reports. The overtures have not yet been assigned to individual committees. By scanning the list of overtures, we may gather a sense of what will be the vital topics before this year’s Assembly.

At the top of the list of important business items is Recommendation One from the Form of Government Taskforce which was distributed in paper-copy across the church months ago. This is a very important recommendation which offers a complete re-writing of the Form of Government, the largest section of our Book of Order. This Recommendation is now available at PC-Biz as Recommendation One. This Recommendation has already sparked fourteen overtures. (Overtures concerning the Form of Government Taskforce Report: 16, 34, 43, 47, 49, 57, 58, 59, 61, 67, 68, 71, 72, 81).

As I scan the list of overtures these topics also seem very important:
Overtures concerning the Taskforce Report on Peace, Unity and Purity (Overtures 5, 28, 44, 83).

Overtures concerning the Middle East (Overtures 6, 26, 31, 52, 63, 75).

Overtures concerning the Book of Order G-6.0106b (Overtures 9, 11, 17, 40, 46, 61, 60, 69).

In addition, I highlight several Recommendations which may be important action items for us to review in preparation for the General Assembly:

Recommendation Five, a policy paper on U.S. energy policy, The Power to Change: U.S. Energy Policy and Global Warming.

A list of several recommendations concern the administration and organization of the General Assembly Council:
Recommendation 23 is a comprehensive Mission Funding strategy;
Recommendation 25 is a large amendment concerning financial issues that is proposed to be added to the General Assembly Council’s Organization for Mission;
Recommendation 29 is a simple proposal to change the name of the General Assembly Council to the General Assembly Mission Council;
Recommendation 31 is a proposed General Assembly Council Mission Work Plan for 2009-2012;
Recommendation 32 proposes revisions to the General Assembly Council Manual of Operations;
Recommendation 33 proposes a revised General Assembly Council Organization for Mission;

In response to the influential mission conference held in Dallas in January, Recommendation 34 proposes the church affirm and adopt “An Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission” which was written as the concluding affirmation at the mission conference.

Recommendation 35 is a proposed policy statement of serious mental illness.

Recommendation 37 is a proposed policy statement on homelessness.

Recommendation 40 proposes a Social Creed for the Twenty-First Century which builds on the
historical foundation of the Social Creed of the Churches which was first adopted in 1908, one hundred years ago.

Recommendation 41 proposes approving the report, Lift Every Voice: Democracy, Voting Rights, and Electoral Reform.

Book Review: Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening

2008-04-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Book Review: Jim Wallis. The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America. (Harper One, 2008).

In this most recent book from Sojourners founder, Jim Wallis, there is a foundational thesis, reflected in his title The Great Awakening, which church leaders today should ponder seriously. Wallis argues that we are beginning a time of sweeping religious renewal and transformation in America. In the Foreward to the book, President Jimmy Carter prepares the way for Wallis’ thesis by arguing that “there is an almost unprecedented serious and persistent division among us – with faith and politics intertwined as never before in creating disharmony.” (page x). In some ways Carter may be accurately describing the Presbyterian Church with our persistent disharmony around issues of polity. And so Carter sets the stage for Wallis to ask if we are poised to move from a time of disharmony to a new revival. Wallis then begins his book with an introduction titled, “Something is Happening.” “Something is happening. Faith is being applied to social justice in ways that we might have never imagined just a few short years ago. Spiritual power is being harnessed to address the greatest social challenges that we face today.” (page 1).
As a student of American Christian history, I picked up Wallis’ book because of the title, The Great Awakening. In American Church history the phrase Great Awakening is used to refer to two different eras which experienced significant religious renewal and a lot of turmoil. This is old American history which we commonly do not pay much attention to today. These eras of Great Awakening in the American history were also very traumatic times for the Presbyterian Church. Our church had major theological battles in response to these influential renewal movements. Actually these historic, theological battles in the Presbyterian Church were much more divisive, bitter and destructive than the polity battles we are fighting today. The Old School versus New School conflicts, and the New Light versus Old Light conflicts in Presbyterian history were nasty theological traumas for our church.
Although not specifically referring to the Presbyterians, it is the long history of Great Awakening that Wallis wants to connect his thesis into. He argues that what is happening today in Christian America is the latest expression of Great Awakening. His thesis is very compelling and we need to ponder the implications of living through an era of Great Awakening. Is Wallis correct?
Indeed, Wallis begins his book by embedding his thesis in the history of spiritual renewal in America. “There have been other periods in history when faith tangibly changed things. Often called “Great Awakenings”, they are times when the revival of faith alters societies.” (page 2). Wallis then goes on quickly to outline the American religious history of great awakenings. The First Great Awakening was in the 1730s and 1740s and involved huge personalities like Jonathan Edwards, Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield and John Wesley. This religious movement shook the young America colonies. The Second Great Awakening was a century later in the 1830s. This religious movement was intertwined with serious social issues including abolition, women’s rights and all the complex issues which fed into the Civil War. Wallis then goes on to claim the Social Gospel movement of the early 19th century as another expression of great awakening. Although in academic theology the Social Gospel movement is not usually named a Great Awakening, Wallis is correct to see it within the long historical flow of powerful spiritual movements in America. Interestingly, Wallis moves forward in American history and considers the “black church’s leadership of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s as another great awakening of faith.” (page 2).
Wallis briefly outlines this American history in the first pages on his book in order to ask whether we are now poised for a new great awakening. It is a very important question. Of course, I may sarcastically reply that every era wants to believe that their particular era is of utmost importance and power. Before moving forward through Wallis’ book to consider his litany of social issues which people of faith should respond to with a new authenticity, it would be good to stop and ask this foundational question: Are we living into a new era of great awakening? Are we living into a unique period in history when people of faith step up in a special way to rally the resources of our spiritual lives and our faith communities to respond to the pressing problems of our world? May it be so for our Presbyterian Church.

Harrisburg Mission Initiative

2008-04-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

March 5, 2008

Harrisburg Mission Initiative
The Mission Advocacy Committee of the Presbytery of Carlisle called an open meeting of the Presbytery to discuss our mission work in inner city Harrisburg. The meeting was moderated by Executive Presbyter Mark Englund-Krieger and Elder Skip Becker, chair of the Mission Advocacy Committee.

Discussion:
We discussed the theological relationship between mission, evangelism and social justice. What is the unique role of the church in the city? What is unique about the church’s mission? How do we do mission in the name of Jesus? There were several different perspectives on these questions. The theological foundation for our mission work needs further discussion.

What is the unique role which the Presbytery brings to this mission work in addition to what our individual congregations are doing? There was general consensus around the idea of the Presbytery serving as a connecting and communicating function: connecting congregations together in mission, and communicating mission opportunities throughout the presbytery.

As is true in all our mission work now, there was extensive discussion about the need to identify and communicate hands-on, participatory mission projects in which our congregations may be involved. An important role of the presbytery is communicating these opportunities.

Particularly given that Harrisburg is the state capital, what is the role of the church in political advocacy? Our mission work in the city touches upon complex economic and political questions? How does the church respond to these larger political and social issues? There seemed to some consensus that our presbytery has pulled back from political advocacy. This needs further discussion.

There was general consensus that the presbytery does not have a good understanding of or participation with the mission projects we currently support through our mission grants. The Mission Advocacy Committee will continue to raise the profile of our mission work in the city. It was mentioned that the Presbytery has a ministry initiative, led by Suzi Souder, looking the whole question of communication, and a taskforce studying specifically ways to revise and improve our website.

There were a number of specific issues in Harrisburg and specific mission organizations and programs discussed:

After School Tutoring Program: The Harrisburg Public Schools are rated the worst in Pennsylvania. One response we are involved with in the after school tutoring program which Derry Church supports weekly. There is always a need for more tutors and more support. For information contact (the presbytery office). (NOTE: Email addresses are omitted from the blogged version.)

The Check-up Center: This is a free, medical clinic in the heart of one of the poorest areas in Harrisburg. For information contact (the presbytery office).

Susquehanna Harbor, Inc.: The fruits of a long, ecumenical effort have proved fruitful with the acquisition of a large, government grant (H.U.D.) to build a new homeless shelter in Harrisburg. This work is being led by Christian Churches United. As this project develops there will be a great need for volunteers and support. This was identified as an excellent mission project for our churches. For information contact (the presbytery office).

The Allison Hill Fund: A fundraising effort being coordinated by Rick Woodard, Camp Hill Church, to raise funds for ten different mission organizations in Allison Hill. For information contact (the presbytery office.)

Transformations in World Mission

2008-02-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

There are sweeping changes blowing through the General Assembly’s World Mission division. These changes, the work that is now being done in world mission, the changes in leadership at the General Assembly in the World Missions office and the shifting theology of mission at the national level have not received a lot of attention across the church. I now regularly remind people that we must understand what we mean when we speak of the General Assembly. Concerning the General Assembly offices in Louisville we must remember that this work is divided into two very separate, autonomous tracks. On one hand is the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). In my experience, it is the OGA which most people have in mind when they speak of the General Assembly. The OGA includes the Office of the Stated Clerk and is responsible for the actual meeting of the General Assembly, for the Book of Order and for all constitutional questions in the church. Anything having to do with the Book of Order, including the newly proposed Form of Government taskforce report, is under the rubric of the OGA.
We must remember that there is another, completely separate track of ministry and mission at the General Assembly that is organized under the leadership of the General Assembly Council (GAC). With its own Executive Director, newly hired Linda Valentine, the GAC is responsible for the ministry programs and mission work of the General Assembly. All the world mission work of the General Assembly falls under the rubric of the General Assembly Council. In my mind, the most exciting and most positive changes in the national church are happening within the GAC. But we generally do not seem to pay much attention to these issues.
One of the most exciting and most important transformations happening in our church is in the area of world mission but it all seems to be quietly unheralded, in the face of our massive conflicts over Book of Order issues. I want with this article to call our attention to important work that was accomplished recently at a church-wide consultation that was held in Dallas in January 2008 titled, Renewed Call to Presbyterian Mission in the World!
(Read about this conference at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/renewed.htm).

This conference brought together leaders from the General Assembly, international mission co-workers, the many mission organizations affiliated with the PC(USA), and seminary professors in the area of mission. This conference gathered some brilliant reflections on the theology of mission which we need for this new era.
For example, Setri Nyomi, General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches presented an important paper on “Mission in Unity.” He claimed the centrality of mission for the church today:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/missionandunity.pdf).

“In Reformed thinking, mission is at the heart of our understanding of the church. Where the church is facing dwindling numbers and challenged at many fronts, to revitalize the church we have to reclaim the centrality of mission and move beyond a state in which we are yielding to every issue that threatens to divide us. We have to clarify mission understanding relevant for our era and also to overcome distracting divisions, so that our mission can be effective.”

Even more, at the same conference, Professor Scott Sunquist, Professor of World Mission and Evangelism at Pittsburgh Seminary, named again the essential call of Christian mission:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/community.pdf)

“I put this up front, because I think we have forgotten that Christian mission has always been a matter of participating in the suffering and glory of the Triune God. It is not our safe and carefully planned work, it is dangerous, often imperfectly organized, it can be frightening and it is a work of the unbridled Holy Spirit of the Living God. Christian mission is a matter of spirituality more than structures, of sacrifice more than strategies. Any assumptions that our task here is to restructure life into Presbyterian mission will fail, and it should. Our task is to participate with God, and plead with God that he would breathe new life into this old institution. We should begin be confessing that we have been trapped in small dreams, we have lost our way in swirling winds of culture, and we have been concerned to defend out little kingdoms, while the Kingdom of God is about ready to overwhelm us. It is true. As we restructure and restructure and reorganize our little decreasing kingdom, the Kingdom of God is arising as a magnificent and glorious city of the poor and the oppressed.”

This important conference on world mission may have set a course for the future direction of Presbyterian world mission. The conclusion of the conference, articulated in their “Invitation to Expanding Partnership in God’s Mission” included these affirmations which all together reflect a stunning transformation in our theology of mission:
(Read this paper at: http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pdf/invitationtoexpandingpartnership.pdf).

1. We will affirm and encourage World Mission as it continues to move from a regulatory to a more enabling and equipping role.
2. We will celebrate and encourage diverse Presbyterian approaches and structures for mission while maintaining the unity of our participation in God’s mission.
3. We will share responsibility for the education and preparation of all Presbyterians for mission.
4. We commit ourselves to seeking more mission personnel who will serve long-term in cross cultural contexts through the PC(USA), and to supporting them fully.
5. We commit ourselves to enabling and supporting our global partners as they send their mission personnel in cross-cultural service.
6. We recognize and affirm the growing opportunity for cross-cultural mission in our own increasingly pluralistic and multi-cultural society, and we receive the global community from near and far as mission partners and God’s gift to us. We seek increased integration between local and global mission.