Ignorance Causes Me to Write Again.

A couple of years of regular blogging and working too many days a week had caused me to take a break from regularly posting on this blog. I had come to wonder, “Does the time and effort put into a blog have any effect on the life of the Presbyterian Church?” My Bloglines aggregator shows that many of the blogs I follow are not being posted to as regularly as in the past. To be completely honest with you, I was enjoying the break from posting five days a week. During our January annual congregational meeting I was asked, “Where do you get the inspiration to read the many books that you have read over the past few years?” Preparing for this blog and for preaching (of course) have been the major driving forces behind choosing books to read. After all, there is nothing worse than a boring preacher or a boring blog! I have been fairly content to work on several major projects (especially getting my dahlia garden up and going). Until… I sat down the other day with the January/February 200 edition of Presbyterians Today.

There are deep divisions in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). To ignore those divisions is unhealthy. And yet, that is what happens every day.

You may be wondering, “What was the article in Presbyterians Today that was to blame for FullCourtPresby to rise from hiatus?” The article was about Purpose Driven Presbyterians. You see, Evergreen Presbyterian Church adopted the Purpose Driven model a few years ago. Sue Washburn (the author) mentions “critics” of the Purpose Driven model of ministry. I wish more of these so-called critics would have had their names mentioned. It is easy to “anonymously” criticize something. The criticisms mentioned in the article show how deeply our denomination is divided. Our denomination should be celebrating with the Purpose Driven Presbyterian Churches that are experiencing God’s blessing; instead there is criticism and ignorance.

“Critics say Purpose-Driven graphics and slogans oversimplify the complexity of a life in Christ.” (Presbyterian Today, January/February 2008, page 21)

Evergreen has members and non-members who have been Presbyterians for 40, 50, 60 years. They have served as Elders and Deacons in the various Presbyterian churches they have attended. Many of these folks do not have even the smallest understandings of the teaching of Jesus, the Bible, the faith, etc. They have faithfully shown up for church for decades and then gone home to live their lives. Evergreen’s move to the Purpose Driven model has brought about major changes to how we go about being a church—from how we organize our committees to what is taught in our classes. There is nothing “simple” about the Purpose Driven model. In fact, many of these life-long Presbyterians are wondering why the other churches they have attended didn’t help them to develop a well-rounded faith.

So, in a nutshell, I am back to stay. I hope that this blog will help people to think about God the Father, Jesus the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. I hope that this blog will challenge our (my) comfortable faith—leading to deeper faith in the one who gave his life for us.