Sheldon Jackson College—Transform or Close? (Part 1)

Dahlia of the day: Summer’s End.

Sheldon Jackson College has been a part of my life since 1974. The Presbyterian mission boat, Anna Jackman, was having engine problems. I had traveled to Southeast Alaska with a group of high school students from Central Washington Presbytery. An engine developed major problems the second day we were on the boat. What were we to do? Our leaders decided it would be good for us to travel by ferry to Sitka and visit Sheldon Jackson College—a Presbyterian-related college. Who would have guessed that God would use an engine failure to connect a tall, skinny high school student and a Presbyterian College in Alaska!

A year later I would return to the Anna Jackman with the youth group from my home church. We visited small villages and logging camps—leading worship services, putting on concerts and playing with the young kids. As a part of that mission trip we spent a week volunteering at Sheldon Jackson College (SJ). Part of my task was building the fence around the fish hatchery that would open in just a few weeks. After our week on the Anna Jackman our mission team headed south. The Alaska Airlines jet made a stop in Sitka—where I departed for my stint a SJ. I was two weeks early so they had arranged for me to work at the college. That first night, alone in a strange place, I was drafted by the hatchery manager to help him empty a salmon trap – there were so many fish in the trap that they would not survive the night. It was a perfect way for a kid from the Lower 48 to begin his stint in Alaska!

When school started I found out that the college didn’t have a chaplain—they were still searching for one. I went to that first Chapel service—there were a few faculty, staff and students present. No music. No teaching. I ran back to the dorm and grabbed my guitar and study notes. For several weeks I used my personal study notes for our Chapel service. Who would have guessed that many years later I would return to SJ as the Chaplain!

Through the years I have seen the best and the worst of SJ. SJ was a 2-year college when I attended as a student. Near the end of my second year the Holy Spirit caused a revival on campus. Many students gave their lives to Christ. That was a blessing and a challenge! Many of those students were from small villages. Most of those students had serious drinking and drug problems. One of those students was assigned to be my roommate as a “last chance” to stay in school. He had broken the rules so many times while drunk that they were ready to send him home. He wanted to draw closer to Christ. He wanted to stop drinking. Alcohol is a formidable foe! My roommate had been an alcoholic since his early teens. We sat in our room—praying and crying. He was sent home in less than two weeks due to another major infraction while drunk. The best and the worst of SJ. I remember the guy who encountered Jesus while spending Christmas vacation in a small tent near Whitehorse, Canada. Butch could not afford to fly home for Christmas. He packed up his camping gear and headed for Canada for the Christmas break. He came back on fire for Jesus! I remember countless others who gave their lives to Christ as a result of the SJ experience. I also remember our dorm “dad” taking over half of our dorm out to the bar and getting them drunk as a skunk! I remember faulty so hateful to the Christian faith that it was almost impossible for a Christian to get an “A” in class. I remember the staff person who organized a “satanic” gathering at the campfire circle on Halloween (he didn’t mean for it to be a “real” satanic gathering). I remember the dorm “mom” who was sleeping with college students. I remember the faculty member who had a “relationship” with a student that was getting her degree in the program he oversaw. Yes, I saw the best and the worst of SJ!

Alyssa and Forrest were quite young when we moved to SJ (I believe that Alyssa was in first grade and Forrest was still in preschool). My kids have many fond memories of their years on campus:

· Jumping off a small cliff into the soft branches of a hemlock tree and gradually riding the branches down to the ground.

· Eating “Eskimo ice cream” -- traditionally made from seal oil, berries and sugar. Our Yupik friends would usually use Crisco since it was difficult for them to kill a seal while at SJ.

· Catching hundreds of herring late at night (that was when the herring were running that year) to be used for bait that summer.

· Feeding the friendly wild river otter the frozen herring from our freezer.

· Trying to catch salmon with their bare hands in the ocean in front of the college.

· Selling Christmas ornaments made from sand dollars and cookes to the cruise ship passengers.

· Our son catching a 55 pound halibut that was longer than he was tall!

It was with very mixed emotions that I read Sheldon Jackson would not be opening its doors as a college in the coming year. Next week’s blog will take a closer look a Sheldon Jackson College—its past and future.

At a loss for words so some dahlias will have to do!

It has been a hectic week. Rather than waste your time reading incoherent babblings I figured that I would post some more of my dahlias. The growing season is coming to an end. Heavy rains broke off most of my “dinner plate” blossoms.

Today’s dahlias from the top to bottom are:

· Kari Quill

· Fascination

· Devon Blaze

· Davenport Holey

· Penhill Watermellon

So Long, Clif—Part 5.

Dahlia of the day: Richard Rogers.

Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will not be seeking another term as Stated Clerk. Today is the fifth and final day of critiquing Kirkpatrick’s self assessment of his time as Stated Clerk.

In looking back at his service as Stated Clerk, Kirkpatrick said:

“Serving as Stated Clerk has offered me a platform I would never have dreamed possible—to serve the church I love and to give expression to my passions, my sense of call, and my gifts for the things that really matter. It has been a tremendous privilege to give voice to the witness of our church to the gospel and to justice and peace in the world, to be a leader in the ecumenical movement, to guide the church (even in our contentions) toward unity in diversity, to uphold our Constitution, and to pioneer in new ways to express old truth as we seek to discern the mind of Christ and develop a polity and a church for the 21st century.”

I wanted to compare Kirkpatrick’s self assessment to the job description of the Stated Clerk. I requested a copy of that job description from the Stated Clerk and still have not received it.

It is very difficult to critique the service of Clifton Kirkpatrick. He has an impossible job! I truly mean that. I wouldn’t wish the job of Stated Clerk of the PCUSA on my worst enemy (after all, Jesus calls us to love our enemies). The job is impossible because our Constitution does not give the Stated Clerk the authority and power to fulfill his/her duties. The Stated Clerk is to defend the constitution but has absolutely no power to carry out that task. A Presbytery can openly defy the Constitution and the only thing that the Stated Clerk can do is threaten, and possibly bring charges through the church courts. It would have been refreshing to see the Stated Clerk actually file charges against Presbyteries that flaunt our ordination standards.

I believe that Kirkpatrick has done as good of a job as any person could have done. Still, it is time for a change. But will the PCUSA take this opportunity to move into a better future? I doubt it!

Here are some of my thoughts and fears concerning the next Stated Clerk of the PCUSA. The thoughts listed are intertwined and really cannot be separated. So here goes:

· The next Stated Clerk will be a person who is intensely vested in the current system. The nominating committee will be looking at “known” folks. They will look at persons who have been active at the Presbytery, Synod and GA levels. They will look for someone that is known to the GA staff. They will look for someone that will keep the status quo. The committee will not be looking for someone who will rock the boat.

· The next Stated Clerk will have gray hair, no hair or die his/her hair. Please don’t get angry with me! This is just a flippant way of saying that our next Stated Clerk will be at least 50 years old. Just so that you don’t think that I am “down” on people 50 and older be aware that I am 50!!

· The next Stated Clerk will not be a pastor from a church that has experienced an annual worship attendance growth of 5% a year. Why would a pastor of a growing church seek to be the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA? They would either have to be insane or they must be hearing the call of God!

· The next Stated Clerk will not be a successful business CEO who has led the turn around of a major corporation. This type of person would be too threatening—he/she might actually insist that changes be made in how we go about being the church. The current head of World Vision is just such a person. He took a HUGE pay cut to come to World Vision. He brought vision, excitement and skill. Could the PCUSA survive such a person?

· The next Stated Clerk will not be an innovator. He/she will be an “inside the box” type of thinker. “Outside the box” thinkers make us uncomfortable. We sure wouldn’t want to be made uncomfortable.

In many ways the PCUSA is like an alcoholic. An alcoholic will only seek change when he/she has hit rock bottom. The alcoholic may “want” to change but will keep hanging out with friends that drink, keep going to parties where there is alcohol and keep fooling themselves in thinking that there is nothing wrong and they can quit at any time.

Has the PCUSA hit rock bottom? Are we to the point where the Presbyterians in the pews will stand up and demand that changes be made to the PCUSA? The answer to both of those questions is “no.” People may dislike (or even hate) the fighting that has gone on in the denomination for 30+ years… People may dislike the catastrophic membership loses of the past 30+ years… People may say that they want younger people involved beyond the local church… but, nothing will change. Those who are vested in our current system will not allow radical changes to be made. They will fight to keep things the same. The PCUSA is like a familiar old shirt—it is comfortable and filled with memories.

So Long, Clif—Part 4.

Dahlia of the day: Ringo.

Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will not be seeking another term as Stated Clerk. Today is the fourth day of critiquing Kirkpatrick’s self assessment of his time as Stated Clerk.

In looking back at his service as Stated Clerk, Kirkpatrick said:

“Serving as Stated Clerk has offered me a platform I would never have dreamed possible—to serve the church I love and to give expression to my passions, my sense of call, and my gifts for the things that really matter. It has been a tremendous privilege to give voice to the witness of our church to the gospel and to justice and peace in the world, to be a leader in the ecumenical movement, to guide the church (even in our contentions) toward unity in diversity, to uphold our Constitution, and to pioneer in new ways to express old truth as we seek to discern the mind of Christ and develop a polity and a church for the 21st century.”

“…to guide the church (even in our contentions) toward unity in diversity…”

This is an impossible task for the PCUSA!!! The PCUSA is so theologically diverse that the beliefs are mutually exclusive. The issue of ordination standards is an excellent example. One wing of the church feels that it is wrong to exclude people from ordination based on their sexual preferences and practices. Another wing of the church feels that it is wrong to ordain anyone who is sexually active outside the bounds of marriage between one man and one woman. There can be no unity between those two positions. My heart goes out to Kirkpatrick. He tries to bring about unity in an impossible situation. He has done an acceptable job of making sure that there is more theological diversity at the national level. Still, there is a lot more that needs to be done.

“…to uphold the constitution…”

This is one area where many people feel that that State Clerk has not done a good job. Hold onto your hats but I believe that he has done a good job. It is not his fault that the Constitution does not give him the ability to discipline Presbyteries, Synods, churches or pastor. He has done a good job of telling Presbyteries that they must uphold the constitution. There are times when I wish that he acted a little quicker. There are times when I have disagreed with his interpretation of the constitution. Still, he upheld the constitution as best he could.

“…pioneer new ways to express old truth…”

This is not the job of the Stated Clerk! The Stated Clerk does not have the platform or the Constitutional authority to do this. Kirkpatrick may have done work in this area; however, I have not seen or experienced any of this work. The Louisville staff has done a poor job in this area. Take worship for example. The national staff seems to be oblivious to contemporary worship. My guess is that more than half of the churches in my Presbytery have some type of contemporary or blended worship service. Yet, we get absolutely no assistance in this area at the national or Presbytery levels. Has Kirkpatrick been an advocate in pioneering “new ways to express old truth?” Not that I can tell.

“…develop a polity and church for the 21^st century…”

He must be joking! The PCUSA barely made it into the 20^th century before the 21^st century became a reality. The last General Assembly meeting was refreshingly high tech. I was able to keep u\up on the Assembly happenings from Graham, Washington. Good job, Cliff! On the other hand, our Presbytery recently had to have a “special meeting” to cover a couple of “issues” – to appoint an Administrative Commission and to transfer a pastor or two. The meeting lasted less than 15 minutes!!! It takes me 30 minutes to drive to the Presbytery office in good traffic from my house (45 minutes from the church). Then there is the return trip. What a waste of time!!! We could have had this meeting using 20^th century technology if our polity would allow it! With 21^st century technology we could have watched the meeting from a high speed internet connection!

Kirkpatrick has moved our denomination into the 20^th century in some areas--that in itself has been a major feat. Our “polity” is rooted in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. It is a shame that change happens so slowly.