Full Court Presby

Thank you!

2009-12-01T08:38:00.001-08:00

Dear Readers,
Thank you for following this blog. Within the next twelve months I will be involved in a “project” that is in a country that is VERY unfriendly to Jesus’ followers and any type of evangelism effort is against the law. This “project” is with a previously “unreached” people group. There have been a couple of people who have given their lives to Jesus as a result of this project. So that my presence will not hind this important Kingdom work, I will be deleting the content of any of my church-related blogs. All blog content will be deleted before January 1, 2010.

I pray that you will draw close to Jesus this Advent.

Additionally, please pray for the efforts to reach the wonderful folks of this people group.

God’s blessings upon you!!

Lance

Preparing for Christmas in a “winter-wonderland.”

2008-12-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Parkland Rave, Penhill Watermellon, Pinelands Pixie, and Powder Gull. Check out my dahlia web site (The Dahlia Guy) for the complete set of photos and more dahlia information.

Western Washington is under an unprecedented layer of snow and ice. The airport is filled with people that have had their flight canceled-Christmas hopes and dreams are on hold. Gas stations are running out of the “stuff” that our cars run on. Power has been out.

Our family is experiencing the travel crunch. Our daughter will finally make it home tomorrow (Christmas Eve day) from the mission field in the Sahara Desert after getting caught in the airline “mess” with her connecting flight here in the US. My dad will arrive on Christmas afternoon-another weather casualty. Oh well, everyone is safe and we will have a great celebration of the Savior’s birth.

Flexibility is the name of the game.

Our church is located just off of state highway 161—just before the top of a LARGE hill. The small “street” that leads to our parking lot is steep, steep, steep. This past week, cars with studded tires couldn’t make it up the hill. Those that did make it up (four wheel drive vehicles) had to worry about the descent of the hill and being able to stop before sliding out onto the highway. Events have had to be rescheduled or canceled due to safety concerns.

It is suppose to snow tonight and tomorrow morning—Christmas Eve day. It will turn to rain by mid day and freeze before Christmas Eve worship.

The barn where we hold our late-night service is just a half mile from the church. A four wheel drive vehicle is currently needed to negotiate the road into the barn and the parking area. It is going to be a mess on Christmas Eve.

Mary and Joseph experienced a “mess” on that first Christmas. I cannot even imagine what the trip to Bethlehem would have been like for a pregnant Mary. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to give birth in a barn—away from immediate family and friends. Flexibility was the name of the game.

We will have a great Christmas—even if we have to “alter” our original worship and family plans. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior! Praise be to God! Emmanuel—God with us!!

“Out of the box” thinking needed—part 3.

2008-12-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Narrow’s Tricia, Nanakazi, Oretti Adele and Pam Howden. Check out my dahlia web site (The Dahlia Guy) for the complete set of photos and more dahlia information.

This series of posts is looking at creative ideas for meeting the needs of those in, and around, our congregations and communities during these difficult economic times. The ideas I have suggested to this point are:
• Idea #1: Host a community garden at the church.
• Idea #2: Free lunches for seniors two or three times a week.

The third idea came from an observation from our Thanksgiving dinner delivery team. We work through a local, high need, elementary school. The school sends out a notice that there is assistance available for families in need. Families respond to the school with information on the family: number of people, ages and what the kids would like for Christmas. Our delivery teams noticed a new tendency—families sharing housing during these difficult economic times. Homes where we expected one parent with two kids might have had another parent (a sibling, for example) move in with his, or her, children. This living situation makes it cheaper for both families. This brings me to idea #3.

Idea #3: shared housing.

Lavern and Shirley (fictitious names representing real people) were two elderly women at Evergreen when I was first called to be the pastor of the church. These elderly ladies each lived in mobile homes and had very little in the way of money. Lavern had recently moved into a “new” double-wide mobile home because her son and moved in with her. Finances were still very tight. Shirley began to have some “balance” issues—she fell a couple of times. Things were getting to the point where Shirley could not live alone—she could not afford to move into a retirement home. Lavern and Shirley came up with the idea of shared housing. Shirley helped out with the payment on the mobile home; Lavern helped Shirley with things some things that she could not do on her own. The living situation worked well until Shirley’s health took a serious turn for the worse and she had to move into a nursing home.

Shared housing could be one way of coping with these challenging financial times. Our churches have people that have “empty” rooms in their homes. Maybe, just maybe, these rooms could be opened up to those in the church family that are in need. Many seniors live by themselves in larger houses. Is it possible that they could share their housing with a friend in need?

Just a thought.

“Out of the box” thinking needed—part 2.

2008-12-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Mingus Tony, Miss Rose Fletcher, Ms Kennedy and Nanna’s Kiss. Check out my dahlia web site (The Dahlia Guy) for the complete set of photos and more dahlia information.

After taking some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday---I’m back!

“Lance’s Lectern” is my column in our church’s monthly newsletter. My December column was very different than a “typical” December column. Yes, I did comment on Advent and Christmas. Yet, the bulk of the column was about the current economic crisis in America (and the world). It has been said that “the cream rises to the top.” Now is the time for Christ’s followers (and the church) to step up and make a difference.

What can Christ’s followers and his church be doing to assist the folks in our communities that are hurting. “Out-of-the-box” thinking is encouraged! This is a time for brainstorming—no negative comments about suggestions will be tolerated! (Note: I know that people all around the world need assistance—right now I am just focusing on our neighbors.)

Idea #2—Free lunches for seniors two or three times a week. Children from lower income families receive free or reduced lunches and breakfasts at school. There is no senior center (or any other organization) offering free lunches for seniors. You may ask, “Why free lunches?” or, “Why for seniors?” Many seniors are on fixed incomes. Many others have had their retirement accounts decimated in the past few months. Senior are being faced with buying food or paying for heat. Offering free lunches for seniors will address both of these needs—food and heat!

What are your ideas?

“Out of the box” thinking needed!

2008-12-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Kream Kerkrade, Lilac Time, Markie Re, and Midnight Moon. Check out my dahlia web site (The Dahlia Guy) for the complete set of photos and more dahlia information.

After taking some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday---I’m back!

“Lance’s Lectern” is my column in our church’s monthly newsletter. My December column was very different than a “typical” December column. Yes, I did comment on Advent and Christmas. Yet, the bulk of the column was about the current economic crisis in America (and the world). It has been said that “the cream rises to the top.” Now is the time for Christ’s followers (and the church) to step up and make a difference.

Each region of the country has its own economic challenges. However, there are some things that remain the same. They are:
• Lines at food banks are longer than they have been in years.
• Retirees are going back to work because their retirement funds have been decimated.
• Food bank shelves are very bare—donations are down.
• Ministries and agencies that help people who are behind in paying bills are strained to critical levels.
• Businesses are laying off employees.
• Restaurants are empty.
• The list goes on and on and on.

Evergreen is helping more families than ever for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We get our “families” from a local school. The kids all receive free or reduced breakfasts and lunches due to family income level. For Christmas, we provide at Christmas dinner, presents for everyone in the family and food for breakfasts, lunches and some dinners for the entire school break. It is a HUGE project! It is worth every penny that it costs. Yet, this is not enough—it should be just the beginning.

The time has come for our churches to begin thinking outside of the box. How are we going to meet the ever expanding needs in our community?

There are two fronts that we need to be aware of. These fronts are:
• Front #1: People in our congregation—There are people in our congregations that are struggling financially. We need to provide a safe setting where people can freely talk about their current economic situation. We need to let them know that there is nothing to be embarrassed about. The book of Acts is filled with examples of Christ’s followers selling their possessions to help other believers who are in need. These passages should cause us to ask, “What can I do to help the needy who are in my church?”
• Front #2: People in my community—Each of our communities is filled with people who are struggling financially. Some of these folks have never been in such a position before. These folks need a social safety net at a time when such services are overwhelmed. The Bible is filled with calls to assist those in need. These passages should cause us to ask, “What can I do to help the needy in my community?”

This week I would like this blog to be a place for people to post their “ideas” for how to make a difference. “Out-of-the-box” thinking is encouraged! This is a time for brainstorming—no negative comments about suggestions will be tolerated!

Idea #1 from Evergreen—We are going to host a free community garden this year. A family in our church has a small business (three greenhouses) that sells flowers and vegetable plants. Last spring they sold out of their entire supply of vegetable plants. People who never had a garden were longing to learn how to grow and preserve their own food. Most of these folks were wishing to do this for economic reasons. We are planning on setting aside a portion of our property for the garden. Our local water company is providing the water line and meter (free of charge) so that we will have water for the garden. We will offer classes on gardening and food preservation.

More ideas in the coming days.

What are your ideas?

Presbytery Approves New Discernment Process!

2008-11-21T09:23:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Kelvin Floodlight, Kenora Spirit, Kenora Wow and Kidd’s Climax.

The Presbytery of Olympia approved the following policy document at yesterday’s presbytery meeting. This was the second “reading” of the document. The task force is still looking at writing a fourth section that will deal nets-and-bolts of the process for departure.

Following the document I will briefly comment on some aspects of the meeting.

DISCERNING GOD’S LEADING TOGETHER
Presbytery of Olympia
Discernment and process for Presbytery and Congregations
Considering Withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (USA)
PREAMBLE: As we consider issues of denominational affiliation, we recognize and affirm that our indivisible unity is dependent upon our relationship through the Lordship of Jesus Christ, not the result of voluntary association (see also Book of Order, G-4.0200, the unity of the church).
SECTION ONE --- DISCERNMENT
Consideration by presbyteries and congregations of a church’s withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (USA) (PC(USA)) must begin with agreement upon principles of discernment. Spiritual discernment is a focused effort to sort out the will of God, distinguishing God’s Spirit from other spirits that may be influencing us, such as the spirit of tradition, legalism, anger, loyalty, self-will or control. Discernment of God’s Spirit requires intentional prayer, careful study, and deep listening to God and to each other.

Let us be led by the words of St. Paul: “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-5)

We, the members of the Presbytery of Olympia, will seek to honor Jesus Christ, Scripture, the Book of Confessions, and the Book of Order through respectful process and open dialogue. The premise upon which our process is built is that when we approach discernment together with intentionality, sincerity, openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and through the authority of the Word of God, the will of God will be revealed.
Discerning God’s Leading Together guides congregations and the Presbytery, working in partnership, toward answering the questions, “Is God leading this particular congregation to disaffiliate from the PC(USA)?” And if so, “how can that be accomplished in a way that honors Christ’s mission in the world and that seeks to strengthen both the congregation and the Presbytery”?
The ultimate goal of the Presbytery will be to discern whether God is calling a congregation to reconciliation and continued relationship with the PC(USA), or to withdrawal from the denomination. This discernment will be accomplished in a spirit of pastoral consideration, not by formal confrontation. The following process outlines the principles we will use as a presbytery, and that will be used by our congregations, to respond to situations where our congregations are considering withdrawal from the PC(USA).
We will seek to respect both freedom of conscience and the essentials of Reformed Faith and polity as expressed in The Book of Confessions and the “Form of Government,” subject always to Scripture and the movement of the Spirit. We will work in good faith toward a mutually agreeable solution, but ultimately the decision reached through this process should reflect what would best serve not ourselves, but the cause of Christ.
SECTION TWO --- STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
1. Faithful departures. A congregation discerning that it must leave the PC(USA) may be faithfully following the will of God for that particular church body.
2. Commitment to avoid litigation. In fulfillment of Resolution 04-28, adopted by the 218th General Assembly, we recognize that the exercise of the process to “divide, dismiss, or dissolve churches in consultation with their members” (Book of Order, G-11.0103), if accomplished by litigation, “is deadly to the cause of Christ . . . and our witness to Christ in the world around us.” Therefore we will carefully follow the principles of consistency, pastoral responsibility, accountability, gracious witness, openness and transparency.

3. Open Communication. We affirm the right of Pastors and Elders to discuss options for responding to the actions of the Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly.
4. “Early entry” conversations. Pastors and/or Sessions which begin intentional and sustained discussions about separation from PC(USA) will invite Presbytery participation through the General Presbyter and the Care Team representative, or other Committee on Ministry designee. The General Presbyter would also be expected to make pastoral contact with any congregation that is understood to be struggling with its future in the PC(USA).

5. Congregational Gatherings. Whenever any congregational gatherings involving withdrawal considerations are held, Presbytery representatives will be invited to participate and speak.

6. Presbytery teams. To ensure adequate communication between the particular church and the Presbytery, teams will be formed as needed. These are as follows:

A. For the Discernment Process (Section Three) a Discernment Team will be formed, comprised of balanced representation from the affected congregation and COM appointees [representation detailed in Section Three]. The Discernment Team will assist and support the congregation as it discerns the future of its affiliation with the PC(USA) and will ensure that the Council is apprised of ongoing conversations and discernment. People trained in conflict resolution will be available throughout the process.
B. If the process proceeds to final negotiations over terms of separation, the Presbytery shall elect an Administrative Commission as its representative, with clearly defined responsibilities established by vote of the Presbytery. COM is encouraged to nominate members of the Discernment Team to be considered for the Administrative Commission.

7. Presbytery – congregation contacts. Presbytery has a responsibility to ensure that all active members of a congregation are involved in any discernment process.

8. Commitment to negotiate. If a congregation and its leadership faithfully follow this policy and reach the conclusion that separation from the PC(USA) is the will of God, then the Session and Presbytery will negotiate in good faith to reach a fair, just and reasonable dismissal agreement.

9. Trust clause. All property in the PC(USA) is held in trust for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (Book of Order, G-8.0201). Decisions about property will be made around future ministry and mission concerns for both the congregation seeking dismissal and the PC(USA).

10. Faithfulness to past members’ intentions.

11. Media contacts. Presbytery and the Session will work together to create a media plan, designating who will provide information to the media from the Presbytery and the Session, and committing to work in concert on such contacts in order to maintain a witness to Christ in the world.

12. Case-by-case application of principles. This policy establishes principles for discernment in situations where withdrawal from the PC(USA) is being considered. Each situation will be uniquely addressed on its own merits, using the principles set forth in this policy.

13. Book of Order. This policy is expressly subject to all existing provisions of the Book of Order. No statement herein may be interpreted to contradict any specific provision of the Book of Order. Further, in the event that the principles stated in this policy are not being followed, Presbytery may invoke other Book of Order process as needed.

SECTION THREE --- DISCERNMENT PROCESS

1. Pastor(s) or Session(s) of congregation(s) which are considering the possibility of separation from the PC(USA) are encouraged to pray and openly discuss with one another the issues confronting their individual congregation. When they begin intentional and sustained conversations concerning separation, they shall meet with the General Presbyter and a representative appointed by the Committee on Ministry (COM) to initiate communication between the congregation and the Presbytery.

2. To affirm the connectional nature of our relationships, those who are considering these matters are encouraged to hold shared discussions with other Pastors and Sessions for communal discernment.

3. If further conversation about disaffiliation is desired/appropriate, the Session will invite COM to appoint two representatives to seek resolution and to advise the Session on the implications of considering disaffiliation. The COM appointees will apprise the COM of the ongoing discernment of the Session.

4. The Session, in conjunction with the COM appointees, will arrange one or more congregational gathering(s) to invite the members into a time of discernment, education and prayer.

5. If the Session determines that the congregation desires to continue a process of discernment, the Session and the Presbytery will work together to form a Discernment Team (DT). The team will be comprised of the two COM appointees and two representatives chosen by the Session. The DT will be responsible for recommending a discernment process to the Session. Progress is to be reported regularly to COM.

6. The DT will meet with the Session and its Moderator as ongoing discernment progresses. If desired by either Session or the COM representatives, they will also meet with the congregation in appropriate gatherings. At any time during the discernment phase, a person trained in conflict resolution may be requested by the DT. Possible topics for conversation include the following:

• Reflecting on Scripture together and praying
• Rooting the identified issues in Scripture and our Reformed Tradition, as reflected in the Constitution of the PC(USA).
• The nature of discernment
• Exploration of church polity including implications of the Trust Clause for both the congregation and also the Presbytery and denomination
• Exploration of constitutional ways of influencing the polity of the PC(USA)
• Options and ramifications of options before the congregation
• Strategies for listening to any clearly identified factions within the congregation; in most instances, the decision to withdraw is a personal one, not a corporate one.

7. When the DT has determined that all pertinent issues have been addressed, including identifying the reformed body to which the congregation would be dismissed, and that disaffiliation may be God’s will for that particular congregation, the DT will invite congregation members to gatherings that “afford to all persons to be affected by the decision fair notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matters at issue” (G-9.0505b1).

8. The DT is required to be present at the gatherings and to serve as a resource for the congregation’s questions. They are also tasked with making sure that all members have an opportunity to voice their concerns. The DT will determine how many members wish to be dismissed to the identified reformed body, how many wish to remain part of an ongoing PC(USA) congregation, and how many are undecided at this time. The DT will report to the COM whether an Administrative Commission will need to be appointed to carry the work forward.

***

The meeting was an excellent example of what is happening in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
• Early in the meeting a 90+ year old pastor gave a wonderful account of how the PCUSA welcomed him into the fold when he left the denomination where he was a pastor. He stated that he felt the PCUSA was a loving place and that he would only leave the PCUSA when Christ called him home.
• During our time of dealing with the “proposed” new policy, another pastor gave an eloquent presentation on why he wished we did not spend time on the original policy in May or on the current revision of that policy. He felt that these efforts were keeping us from doing the work of Christ that desperately needs to be done.
• At the end of the meeting (during Miscellaneous Business), a wonderful pastor who had just retired for the second time, stood before the presbytery and said that the denomination which he was ordained into had left him. He instructed the Stated Clerk to remove his name from the rolls of the presbytery.

The depth of the brokenness of the PCUSA weighs heavily upon me.

A critical look at the 17th synod model.

2008-11-19T09:44:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Kasasagi, Keewatin Pioneer, Keith H and Kel Kel.

Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) is proposing that the PCUSA create a 17th synod. This synod would be a non-geographical synod that evangelical churches and presbyteries could join. This synod would have its own set of ordination standards.

The positive side of the PFR proposal:
1. It would provide a “place” in the PCUSA for evangelical congregations who disagree with the current denominational stance on the ordination of LGBTpersons.
2. Congregations/presbyteries would still have access to the millions/billions of dollars in the Presbyterian Foundation.

The negative side of the PFR proposal:
1. The 17th synod model does not address the root cause of the ordination standards debate—the authority and interpretation of scripture. There is no agreement on the person of Jesus: born of a virgin, did miracles, bodily resurrection, etc. There is no agreement that the only way to God is through Jesus—period. There is no agreement on the nature of God. The list of disagreements could go on and on. How can the churches of this 17th synod continue to be a part of a denomination that has moved away from orthodox, biblical Christianity?
2. The 17th synod model sacrifices biblical truths and teachings to the un-biblical position of unity at all costs.
3. The 17th synod model would necessitate a total reworking of the PCUSA’s structure—and thus, will never happen. The General Assembly would have to be modified to create a one headed monster with two bodies. How would the PCUSA create a curriculum that would be used by both branches of the denomination? How would the Washington D.C. office speak effectively for both branches of the denomination? How would mission be accomplished when one branch may want to support mission efforts that the other branch would view as heretical? How would the General Assembly and the General Assembly staff be divided to meet the needs of all PCUSA constituencies? The 17th synod model would necessitate a total reworking of the PCUSA—from top to bottom. It is never going to happen.
4. The 17th synod model would necessitate a reworking of our seminaries. The PCUSA does not “own” a single seminary. There are seminaries that are related to be PCUSA—they are totally independent. Would the seminaries have two sets of faculty—one set from the liberal/progressive camp and one set from the evangelical camp?
5. In the 17th synod model, how would pastors move from the 17th synod to any other synod or from any of the other 16 synods into the 17th synod? There are many churches that are made up of evangelical and progressive membes and not join the 17th synod. How would an evangelical pastor receive a call to such a church from the 17th synod? Would it be possible for a liberal/progressive pastor to become the pastor of an evangelical congregation in the 17th synod?

In summary, I do not understand how a person/pastor/church can believe that the PCUSA is doing “things” that are absolutely forbidden in scripture and still allow people and the denomination who are advocating the unbiblical positions to be in authority over them. Such a position is unbiblical and unacceptable.

Presbyterians for Renewal—Their Plan Forward.

2008-11-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Islander, Jax, Jayleene G and Kari Quill.

Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) has been an important renewal group within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). PFR has been instrumental in reaching out to pastors of smaller congregations through it’s Wee Kirk Conferences. PFR has also been a group that has labored to keep G-6.0106b (the “fidelity and chastity” section) in the Book of Order.

The 218th General Assembly of the PCUSA has caused PFR (as well as most renewal groups in the PCUSA) look at if, and how, the PCUSA can move forward. Historically, PFR has been in the “stay, fight, win” camp. “Stay, fight, win” is the philosophy of staying in the denomination, fighting for biblical faithfulness and standards and eventually winning the battle. News flash—PFR has moved away from it’s “stay, fight, win” position.

Paul Detterman, Executive Director of PFR, was making a swing through the Northwest while holding regional gatherings. He met with a group from the Presbytery of Olympia, on October 28th. Tacoma was not one of his scheduled stops. We had just over an hour to hear what he had to say and to ask him a few questions. Here is a summary of the information he gave us (written and verbally).

PFR has a four step process AND a vision for a restructuring of the PCUSA.

Step One: “preparing hearts and minds to participate in what God is doing in and through us” – Step one is designed to return Christ’s followers to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading scripture, worship and fellowship.

Step Two: “offering faithful witness to God’s transforming power and love in our current context” – PFR is offering resources to be used to educate individuals, congregations and presbyteries on sexual and biblical morals/theology/ethics. They are also providing information on a range of topics (along with talking points) to help frame a biblical witness to presbyteries and congregations.

Step Three: “reshaping the PC(USA) to provide a way for evangelicals to do ministry with integrity” – Concerning the Presbyterian Church and the 218th General Assembly, PFR’s says, “It is clear that the PC(USA)’s confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and commitment to our Reformed confessions has weakened to the point that we can no longer assume a common framework of conversation.” Their document says that PFR is working on how to move forward. (PFR has come up with their way forward and I will discuss it in just a moment.)

Step Four: “moving beyond impasse and political posturing into God’s mission & future” – PFR is calling individuals to “reorder” their lives for the sake of the gospel. PFR is calling congregations to open their arms to welcome all people so that they can experience the transforming power of God’s love: “relationships healed, addictions cured, sins forgiven and hope restored.” PFR is calling upon seminaries to change their vision and purposes. PFR is calling upon presbyteries to change their focus and begin fulfilling the Great Commission.

It would be nice if these four steps were to become a part of the fabric of the PCUSA, it’s members, congregations, presbyteries, synods and General Assembly. These four steps were framed BEFORE PFR came up with their “plan.” So… let’s take a look at the PFR plan forward.

THE SEVENTHEENTH SYNOD MODEL
The PCUSA has around 11,000 congregations that are organized into 173 presbyteries (“district governing bodies”) and 16 synods (“regional governing bodies”). Evergreen Presbyterian Church is a part of the Presbytery of Olympia—it stretches from the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from the King County southern boundary to the north edge of Vancouver, Washington (churches in Vancouver are in the same presbytery as churches in Portland since they are so connected to Portland.). The Presbytery of Olympia is a part of the Synod of Alaska-Northwest. The Synod of Alaska-Northwest covers Alaska, Washington and the upper “panhandle” of Idaho and is composed of the following presbyteries: Alaska, Yukon, North Puget Sound, Seattle, Olympia, Central Washington and Inland Northwest.

Let me begin by saying what PFR IS NOT proposing. PFR is not proposing what has been called the “two synod model.” The two synod model was first proposed several years ago. In this model, the PCUSA would be divided into two synods (basically, a progressive/liberal synod and an evangelical/biblically conservative synod. Every congregation would decide which synod it would be a part of. The criticism of this model is that it would cause serious harm to congregations as they decided which synod they would belong to. Ordination battle have been waged in our presbyteries and at the General Assembly levels—not at the local church level. The two synod model is not advocated by PFR.

PFR is recommending that the PCUSA should create a new, non-geographical synod. The new synod would have a different set of ordination standards than the rest of the PCUSA. This new synod would be an “evangelical” synod. Churches (and presbyteries) could choose to become a part of this new synod. The only churches that would have to deal with this issue are the ones that choose to do so.” This new structure would necessitate some major changes in the PCUSA structure: a new Book of Order, new ways to amend the denomination’s constitution, two sets of ordination standards, new ways for the denomination to communicate to the world the stances of the denomination, etc. Many (if not most) of the details of the 17th synod model have yet to be worked out.

Here is the bottom line: PFR is trying to find a way for evangelical congregations to stay in the PCUSA. End of story.

Paul Detterman, and others in PFR’s leadership, are holding regional gatherings and introducing the 17th synod model.

Tomorrow I will give my critique of the 17th synod model.

New Wineskins Convocation V – Final Thoughs.

2008-11-14T09:47:00.001-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Horse Feathers, Hot Number, Hy Debut and Insipic.

The New Wineskins Association of Churches Convocation V is in the history books and I am back at Evergreen Presbyterian Church getting into the daily pastoral grind. I have put off writing this “final thoughts” piece until I have had some time to give it the attention it deserves. So here goes…

Thought #1: The PCUSA made a HUGE mistake by blowing off the New Wineskins Convocation. To the best of my knowledge there was not a single PCUSA dignitary at the convocation. Our General Assembly moderator went to the Presbyterian Coalition meeting. He was even allowed to address the Coalition assembly. Hunter Farrell was at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship meeting. Where were those in leadership of the PCUSA? Fact: The majority of churches that are a part of the New Wineskins Association of Churches are faithful churches with the PCUSA!!!!! These churches do not like the direction that the denomination has been going and they are experiencing a sense of abandonment, betrayal and loss. So, where is their (our) denomination when these/our churches are hurting? I can tell you where they weren’t—they weren’t in Cleveland at the New Wineskins Convocation!! Shame, shame, on the leadership of the PCUSA. It is almost as though the denomination wants these churches to leave the denomination.

Thought #2: Worship was the central component of the Convocation. Worship services were held a various times during the day. The music was inspirational (see my one exception on a previous post). The pray was humbling. The preaching was inspirational.

Thought #3: Every component of the Convocation was surrounded with prayer. A team was praying every moment that the Convocation was in session. Individuals needing prayer could go to this prayer room to have people pray for them, their church, or what ever the prayer need might be. Those desiring to pray by themselves could pray in prayer room or out in the prayer garden. During worship services, people were encouraged to pray while seated, kneeling, laying prostrate before God or any other way that God was leading them. We had time to pray for those regions in the world where Christians are persecuted. We prayed for missionaries. We prayed. We prayed. We prayed.

Thought #4: Where were the news outlets of the PCUSA? Reporters from across the denomination were in Minneapolis for Covenant Network meeting. (New news article here and here) Why did these “news” outlets choose to skip the New Wineskins Convocation?

Thought #5: The New Wineskins Convocation was not a political meeting. Yes, the New Wineskins Presbytery of the EPC did hold their official meeting. However, I hold fast to my belief that the Convocation was not a political meeting. The Convocation was about local churches becoming “outward focused” (missional) in their ministries. There were no speeches about defeating the proposed amendment to the PCUSA constitution to remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order. There were no speeches about leaving the PCUSA. There were no speeches about putting forth amendments to the Book of Order at the next meeting of the General Assembly of the PCUSA. The Convocation was about reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Thought #6: There was a spirit of solidarity that I have only experienced a couple of times in all of my 20+ years of ordained ministry in the PCUSA. Within the PCUSA and within our presbyteries, there are MANY beliefs about sins, salvation, Jesus, God, morals, the interpretation of scripture, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the virgin birth, etc. There is no sense of solidarity within the PCUSA or my presbytery. The sense of solidarity at the Convocation was overwhelming. The only other times that I have felt this way are when I gather with a group of “like-minded” pastors in my presbytery. Over the past few months we have gotten together several times. The sense of solidarity we experience is rejuvenating and inspiring. It was tremendously refreshing to experience this sense of solidarity at the New Wineskins Convocation.

Thought #7: Next year, I will try to take more leaders from my church to the New Wineskins Convocation VI. I have tried to keep my church’s leadership at “arms-length” from the garbage that goes on at the national level of the denomination. The New Wineskins Convocation would be an excellent example of how the church should function locally, nationally and globally.

Thought #8: Get out of your office when writing your sermon!! For almost two years I have been writing my sermons at my favorite coffee shop. I arrive at The Oasis just after it opens and work for a couple of hours before heading to the office—it reminds me that the church needs to get out from behind its walls and be among the people of our community. One of our speakers confessed that he writes his sermons while at the food court of a local mall. He seeks to be among people who don’t know Christ when he is writing his sermons so that he is constantly reminded of those who need Jesus in their lives. It also serves as a reminder to use language that is understandable by everyone—not just church folks.

Well, that’s about it. Next week I will looking at Presbyterians for Renewal’s plan for how the PCUSA should move forward. Have a great weekend!

New Wineskins Convocation V – November 11th

2008-11-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Hamilton Lillian, Helen’s Carl, Hillcrest Fiesta and Hillcrest Liam.

Today was the final day of the New Wineskins Convocation. Today’s most significant learning time for me was the time in the Church Planting seminar. The learning did not end when the seminar concluded. Following the seminar I had an extended conversation with Bill Meyer (Chairman of the Joint Commission of the New Wineskins and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church) on the topic of church planting. (Note: Thanks Bill—and I do have his permission to use his name)

The PCUSA (the denomination of which I am a part) has failed miserably in church planting (known as “new church development” in PCUSA lingo). We fail because we start so few churches. As dollars at the presbytery level shrink so does the church planting. Another reason for the failure has to do with the goal of the project. The goal should never be to “start a church.” As soon as the church has been “started” the goal has been reached. Too often, it is at that point where the focus of the new church turns inward—building a building, paying a huge mortgage, etc. The goal of church planting should be to “reach people for Jesus Christ.” This outward focus must be a part of the DNA of the new ministry that is being started.

Bill suggested that the church planter needs to forget everything they have learned about “being a church.” A church mentality says, “We need a youth program.” or “We need to start a Sunday school.” The small new ministry can not create these programs that can compete with churches that are already doing those things well in your area; besides, it is those who are already “churched” that are looking for these types of programs. Those who do not know Christ are not looking for a Sunday School or youth group program—they are not even on the person’s radar. Bill suggests that most energy and effort needs to be focused on looking outward—encouraging people to spend time with those who do not know Christ. These are the people that the church plant is seeking to reach.

The seminar pointed out that it is important for a church plant to be in a location where the community is growing (this is not to be confused with missions that are established in low income, high crime areas where the needs are so great). This new ministry must be formed with people who are “outward” focused. Most American Christians are not outward focused. One poll asked Christians a question that went something like this: “Should the church’s primary focus be to those who don’t go to church or to you and your family?” Eighty nine percent of the people said that the primary focus should be me and my family. What a tragic answer. It is no wonder that most Christian churches in the US are declining in size.

It is my belief that the PCUSA, the EPC and the New Wineskins Association need to be intentional in starting new churches. It is almost impossible to “turn around” a declining church. The resources and effort should be placed in starting new churches. The best way to form these new ministries is to have larger churches “birth” daughter churches. This process in involves a significant core group going to start the new ministry. They bring with them financial resources and enthusiasm.

Church planting MUST become a priority!

Check back tomorrow for my final thoughts on the Convocation.

New Wineskins Convocation V – November 10th.

2008-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These dahlias are from my 2008 garden. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Gerrie Scott, Ginger Willo, Glenn Valley Cathy and Gloriosa.

Today was the second day of the New Wineskins Convocation V. We heard major presentations by:
• Rev. Marcelo Robles, Pastor, La Mision, Buenos Aires, Agentina.
• Rev. Dr. Eli Morris, Associate Pastor of Urban Ministries, Hope Presbyterian Church, Cordova, TN.
• Caroline Kurtz, Associate Director, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship.

In addition to these presentations there were workshops on the Westminster Confession, Church Property Issues and Developing Missional Leadership in the Local Church.

Key things that I learned about the missional church are:
1. The missional church is a suffering church—it lifts high the cross of Christ and suffers for it, it becomes a suffering church as soon as it focuses on serving Christ, the missional church leaves the place of safety and security and follows where Christ leads.
2. The missional church is a disciple making church—it listens to the Word, accepts it, puts it into practice, is transformed by the Word and then the new disciples share their faith with other people.
3. The missional church is a missional “fellowship” – it reverses the world’s values, empowers the weak and views the poor as its neighbors.

Eli challenged us with three main concepts:
1. The church should be a launching pad and not a landing strip—the landing strip model is where the person goes through the week and ends up just making it to the church on Sunday—the landing strip. In the launching pad model a person comes to worship and is launched into the week by the Holy Spirit.
2. The church should be the first place the mayor calls when he needs help—this can only happen when the church is so involved in the community that the community’s leaders know the church.
3. If your church was to close today, would the community miss the church and why? I was introduced to this challenge at the Purpose Driven Presbyterians meeting this year. It is still just as challenging!!

During the lunch break (it wasn’t really a break) we gathered in regional groups. I was in the group that represented Washington, Oregon and California. The first thing that I noticed was the discontent with the PCUSA that was rampant in the room. Several of the church had recently left the PCUSA and joined the New Wineskins Presbytery of the EPC. I was shocked to learn the Sunset Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon, was just released by their presbytery last week!! Sunset is a very large, evangelical church in Portland. A smaller church in their presbytery was also released at the same time. I became aware of another shocking development on the west coast but will refrain from blogging about it until I get additional details and make sure that that the info is public information. There was not a single church represented in that room that I would consider firmly with the PCUSA!

My biggest criticism of the Convocation has to do with worship. It is quite obvious that the people planning worship are from very liturgical churches. There have been HUGE choirs, small ensemble groups, a harp, and of course, the pipe organ. The couple of times they “dabbled” in contemporary worship were pathetic. Our little church of 100 people has a worship team that truly leads the congregation in worship and could have done a better job. Why they have not tried to present the best of liturgical worship and the best of contemporary worship is beyond me. Their half-hearted attempt at contemporary worship is embarrassing.

All-in-all, day two at the convocation was very good. I look forward to day three.

New Wineskins Convocation V – November 9th

2008-11-09T19:49:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. These are all dahlias that I grew this past summer. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Fuzzy Wuzzy, Formby Gold, Fleurel and Fire Mountain.

The New Wineskins Convocation V began tonight just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Worship and prayer are going to be major components of the convocation. Worship included time to pray for those countries and Christians where oppression is a way of life. My small prayer group was able to pray for my daughter’s ministry to Muslim women in an “undisclosed” Muslim country.

Dean Weaver, one of the founders of New Wineskins, gave a presentation that was designed to bring “newcomers” up to speed on the history of New Wineskins and to set the stage for the next two days. He summed things up by saying, “It’s not about leaving; it’s not about staying; it’s about realigning to reach the world for Christ.”

The New Wineskins Association of Church is composed of 176 congregations. Some of the congregations are in the PCUSA. Some of the congregations are in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). And, it sounds like there are some congregations that are not a part of the two mentioned denominations. The realignment transcends denominational ties. The realignment is about congregations joining with other congregation that hold the same essential tenants (that are actually spelled out—how revolutionary!) and ethical imparities (also spelled out) in ministry and mission.

One may ask, “Why is there a need for realignment?” All one has to do is attend one of these gathering and the answer to that question become apparent. These is something powerful about joining with like minded followers of Christ, worshipping together, praying together, working together, ministering together and holding one another accountable. It is unlike any other Presbyterian gathering that I have been a part of.

Another question you may be asking is, ‘Why is Pastor Lance at the New Wineskins Convocation?” First, the congregation I serve is not a member of the New Wineskins Association of Churches. Evergreen Presbyterian Church would have no problem with the essential tenants or ethical imperatives of New Wineskins. Joining New Wineskins has not been a priority over the past couple of years—we have had more pressing issues to deal with. Second, Evergreen Presbyterian Church did not pay for me to attend this convocation—I am paying for it myself. I was going to take “vacation” for this trip but the session wanted me to use some of my study leave. Third, I do not know how long I will be in the PCUSA. Actions of the 218th General Assembly have serious affected my future with this denomination. One possible option for me is to stay in the PCUSA but to align with a group (such as New Wineskins) for ministry and mission. I want to see how pastors and congregations live this option out. Another possible option would be to stay within the PCUSA “if” the Presbyterians for Renewal can get their new “synod” model passed. I will talk about this in a future post. Another option for me is to leave the PCUSA and join the New Wineskins Presbytery of the EPC. I want to see how pastors and churches have made this transition. Fourth, I want to see how the area networks (the main backbone of New Wineskins) actually work. I want to see what the leadership of New Wineskins has to say about their future dreams and plans.

Check back each day for my impressions of the New Wineskins Association of Churches Convocation V.

Five "sola" statement final post

2008-11-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Fern Ridge Magi, Fascination, Fairway Pilot, and Devon Blaze.

Five statements that have shaped the church came out of the Reformation. These statements have been referred to as “the five solas.” These five statements sum up the major issues of the Protestant Reformation. The five statements are:
• Sola scriptura
• Sola fide
• Sola gratia
• Solus Christus
• Soli Deo gloria

It is my belief that many (if not all) of the former “mainline” denominations are at the beginning stages of a new reformation. The five “sola” statements are central to those reformations. Today, we will continue our examination of these “sola” statements.

Soli Deo gloia is the Latin phrase for “Glory to God alone.” All of life (for the follower of Christ) is to be lived for God’s glory. It would seem as though this would not be an issue within the Presbyterian Church. Well, think again. The Possibilities Task Force of our Presbytery could not even agree on the nature of God. They can’t even agree on God’s nature!!

The PCUSA needs a Reformation for today! We must return to the five “sola” statements of the first Reformation if we are to have a future together.

"Sola" statements -- continued.

2008-11-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Davenport Honey, Dark Prince, Danun Cupid and Cream Kerkrade.

Five statements that have shaped the church came out of the Reformation. These statements have been referred to as “the five solas.” These five statements sum up the major issues of the Protestant Reformation. The five statements are:
• Sola scriptura
• Sola fide
• Sola gratia
• Solus Christus
• Soli Deo gloria

It is my belief that many (if not all) of the former “mainline” denominations are at the beginning stages of a new reformation. The five “sola” statements are central to those reformations. Today, we will continue our examination of these “sola” statements.

Sola gratia means “by grace alone” – salvation by God’s grace. There is nothing that we can do to merit God’s grace. This statement is rooted in the biblical doctrine that says that humans have a sinful nature. Sin permeates each and every human. Period. End of story.

Too many pastors, churches and Christians no long believe that humans have a sinful nature. You many ask, “What is the big deal about believing that humans are by nature good?” If humans are by nature good, then it would be possible to meet God’s righteousness mandate on our own—without God. That moves us away from the doctrine of sola gratia.

Many have said that the PCUSA has reached the “tipping” point. The PCUSA’s view of scripture is one thing that has brought us to the tipping point. The time has come to move back to sola gratia.

The move to solus Christus will demonstrate how far the church has moved since the Reformation. But here is the problem, the words may remain the same, but the definitions have been changed. Let me take a few paragraphs to explain.

What does a person mean when they use the name “Jesus?” People say they “believe in Jesus” – but which Jesus is it?

The Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) “believes” in Jesus. When the Mormon missionaries come to your front door they will talk about their belief in Jesus. They will try to show that they are a part of mainstream Christianity. Are they? The answer is “NO!” The LDS church teaches that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers. Their father, God, was once a person just like you and me. Through his faith and good works he was able to become a God after his death and was given a planet (earth) of which he was to be the God and was to populate with his spirit children. The LDS church believes that God, literally, had sex with Mary. The LDS church ‘believes” in Jesus—it is just a different Jesus.

The Muslim faith believes in Jesus. The Muslim faith teaches that Jesus was a great prophet. The Bible is one of the “holy books” in their faith. And yet, they do not believe that Jesus is God, rose from the dead, died for our sins, and provides the only way for us to be in relationship with God.

The Jehovah’s Witness church believes in Jesus—but not the Jesus of the Bible. The Baha’i Faith believes in Jesus—but not the Jesus of the Bible. The list could go on, and on, and on.

Now, let’s look closer at the PCUSA.

What does a person mean when they say, “I believe in Jesus?” Do they believe in the virgin birth? The bodily resurrection? The miracles? Do they believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Do they believe that we need to be in relationship with Jesus? Do they believe that apart from Jesus a person will “go to hell?”

The number of pastors who have an unbiblical definition of Jesus is astonishing. When a church calls a person to fill a pastoral opening they may be getting a person who has drastically departed from an orthodox view of Jesus—and the church may not know it! It is too bad that we have to dig deep to find out what “definitions” are used for church/Christian terms.

The doctrine of solus Christus is the foundation of the church. Solus Christus means “by Christ alone.” Salvation by Jesus Christ alone—what a concept!! There are pastors in my presbytery that do not believe that salvation is only found in Jesus Christ. There are churches in my presbytery that believe that people can get to God/heaven/eternal life by means other than Jesus Christ. These erroneous views spring from incorrect views about the person of Jesus and the Bible.

Many have said that the PCUSA has reached the “tipping” point. The PCUSA’s view of scripture is one thing that has brought us to the tipping point. The time has come to move back to solus Christus.

Sola series--part 1

2008-11-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog. The dahlias in the order they appear are: Comet, Chilson's Pride, Cheyenne and CG Highlight.

Five statements that have shaped the church came out of the Reformation. These statements have been referred to as “the five solas.” These five statements sum up the major issues of the Protestant Reformation. The five statements are:
• Sola scriptura
• Sola fide
• Solo gratia
• Solus Christus
• Soli Deo gloria

It is my belief that many (if not all) of the former “mainline” denominations are at the beginning stages of a new reformation. The five “sola” statements are central to those reformations.

Sola scriptura means “by scripture alone.” Reformers believed that scripture alone is where God reveals everything people need to know in regards to faith, truth, morals and living. Getting the Bible translated into the common language of the people became very important.

The Roman Catholic Church (at the time of the Reformation) believed that scripture alone was not sufficient in regards to faith, truth, morals and living. The Roman church felt that church tradition, Papal authority and the biblical interpretations of bishops and priests were to be added to scripture when determining faith, truth, etc. The Roman church actively discouraged people from reading scripture—the church thought that it could be dangerous (The Index of Forbidden Books of Pope Pius IV in 1559).

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has moved away from sola scriptura. The 218th General Assembly is an excellent example of this move away from scripture. The Reformers would never have imagined a denomination that openly encouraged celebrating the holy days and festivals of the Muslim faith (or any other religion, for that matter). The Reformers would never have imagined how the denomination openly ignores scripture and what it says about sex outside of marriage (heterosexual and homosexual). The PCUSA seems to believe: scripture + justice issues +culture=> what we need to know in regards to faith, truth, morals and living.

Many have said that the PCUSA has reached the “tipping” point. The PCUSA’s view of scripture is one thing that has brought us to the tipping point. The time has come to move back to sola scriptura.

Sola fide means “by faith alone.” We need to look at the need for “justification” as the starting point for learning about sola fide. Justification is God’s act of declaring a sinner holy. One might ask, “Is there a need for justification?” Human sin is universal. Period. End of discussion. Then there is the truth that God’s judgment is inescapable. Period. End of discussion. Each human is in need of God’s justification!

The Roman church believed: faith+works=>justification. An individual needed to have faith in the Jesus of the Bible—his life, death and resurrection. This faith was not “enough” for justification to occur. Upon confessing one’s sins to a priest or bishop, a person would be given certain “things” to do—for example, saying some “Hail Marys,” lighting candles, etc. Failure to complete the appointed actions would mean that God would not forgive their sin. The Protestant church believed: faith=>justification and works. God gives us the ability to have faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ. Our faith in Jesus Christ is all that is need for God’s justification. Our works flow out of the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

Today’s definition of “faith” is very different than the definition that was used in biblical and Reformation times. Back then, faith was not “subject” centered—it was “object” centered (J.I. Packer). “Subject” centered means that the individual is the focus of faith. “Object” centered means that Jesus Christ in the focus of our faith. To have faith in Jesus Christ is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ that leads and directs our life.

On the surface, it would be easy to say that most all Presbyterians believe in sola fide. Unfortunately, that would be incorrect. I believe (and it is my contention that Presbyterian Panel surveys bear this out) that most “people in the pews” and elders believe in sola fide (as defined in scripture and the Reformation). There are many pastors (and church leaders) who believe that everyone will be in heaven—after all, God is love. There are those who believe that all we have to do is “love” people. There are those who do not believe in the Jesus of the Bible: Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, did miracles during his earthly ministry, died on the cross for our sins, bodily rose from the dead—conquering death, showed himself to his followers following the resurrection, and then ascended into heaven. Too many in the PCUSA DO NOT have faith in this Jesus.

Many have said that the PCUSA has reached the “tipping” point. The PCUSA’s view of faith is one thing that has brought us to the tipping point. The time has come to move back to sola fide.

The PCUSA ordination battles feel like a couple going through a divorce.

2008-10-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

First, a dahlia update before the post. The dahlias in the order they appear: Bristol Stripe, Cafe au Lait, Calamity Shane and Camano Sitka.

Now... on to the post.

Over they years I have known many couples that have had marriage problems. There were many causes of these marriage problems. Money, or lack of money, can cause marriage problems. There were those marriages where one person was a Christian and went to church and the spouse was not a Christian and did not go to church. There was the husband who "forgot" he was married the Monday after the honeymoon and went out drinking with the "guys" after work for hours--totally forgetting that he was married and had a wife waiting for him at home (that marriage lasted less than a year).

There were those marriages that had problems due to marital unfaithfulness. There was the pastor that fell in love with the church pianist and kicked his wife out of the house. There was the wife having an affair and flaunting it in her husband's face (she told him that she liked having sex with the other guy and she was going to keep on doing it, when ever, and where ever she could). There was the man who had had dozens and dozens of affairs. There was the man who wanted a divorce (because of an affair) but didn't want his name to appear in the newspaper as the one filing for divorce so he left a woman's panties in the laundry. The list could go on and on.

Some of the marriages mentioned above were able to survive the challenges--many were not.

Troubled marriages can survive when the couple is "heading in the same direction" -- that is, they hold the same goals and beliefs--they are able to agree on key items of their beliefs. Compromise is a prerequisite.

The PCUSA's ordination wars feel like a marriage that is failing. The "marriage" can be saved if both sides are willing to compromise. But, is compromise possible? One side believes that there is nothing wrong with sex outside the bounds of a marriage of one man and one woman. These folks believe that it is a "justice" issue and thus cannot compromise. The other side believes that such sexual practice goes against God's clear teaching in scripture and is sin and thus cannot compromise. Both sides firmly hold their beliefs. There can be no compromise from these two positions.

The marriage is doomed to fail!

This past General Assembly reminds me of the couple where the man left the panties in the laundry to try and force the woman to file for divorce. Our Book of Order still contains the prohibition of sexual activity outside of the bounds of marriage between one man and one woman for ordained persons. Now enters the new strategy--change the rules by bypassing the Book of Order-- adopt a new "Authoritative Interpretation." To adopt a new Authoritative Interpretation" is like telling the other side--"feel free to leave if you want." They tried (and succeeded?)changing the "rules" without having to get a majority of Presbyteries to agree. Those putting the Authoritative Interpretation forward had to know what the effect would be. They aren't stupid!! They want the Evangelicals to leave the PCUSA so that they can do what they want.

Can the PCUSA be saved? Some say "yes." Some say "no." Only time will tell. All I know is that marriages fail when the partners hold differing opinions about key issues. Do those in the PCUSA have enough "agreement" on key points that they can stay together as one denomination.

The Presbytery of Olympia's General Council has put together a "Possibilities Task Force" to see how, or if, we have a way to go forward into the future together. This group is made up of people from all across the theological spectrum. The group tried to find common ground at one of its meetings. They couldn't agree on anything!! Not even the nature of God! I believe that this task force mirrors the PCUSA. We do not have a bright future if we cannot even agree on the nature of God.

Are we headed for "divorce?"

Sahara Desert sand storm.

2008-10-13T15:11:00.001-07:00

As I have mentioned, our daughter is serving with a mission team in the Sahara Desert. Here is a photo of the sand storm that hit their region last week. Her Muslim friends are use to having sand storms--but nothing like this!!

sorry about not posting...

2008-10-13T15:06:00.001-07:00

Pastoral duties have kept me swamped (funeral, wedding, illness in the congregation, etc.) Will start posting again tomorrow.

Lance

"Jubilee" sources...

2008-10-02T14:45:00.001-07:00

I tried to publish a color-coded version of the "Jubilee" document. Will keep trying...

Jubilee!

2008-09-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog…

Previously, I posted a copy of “Discerning God’s Leading Together: A Process of Working with Congregations Considering Withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). A session of a church within our Presbytery has presented an alternative document for our Presbytery to consider for replacing the previously mentioned document and policy.

Before posting the proposed document, it is important to understand the rational behind the proposed change.
1. When our Presbytery approved its current policy no one envisioned what would happen at the 218th General Assembly. The wholesale trashing of 2000 years of church teaching and tradition regarding sexual activity is unprecedented in church history. (It is over 3000 years when one considers the Torah and Jewish teachings.)
2. Our Presbytery’s current policy does not foster an atmosphere for open, honest communication.
3. Too many churches and Presbyteries are ending up in the civil courts as congregations seek to leave the PCUSA.
4. The 218th General Assembly passed a directive to work pastorally with congregations that are seeking to leave the denomination.

The new document was patterned after the Beaver-Butler Presbytery process for dealing with congregations that are looking at leaving the PCUSA. The General Assembly web site lists the Beaver-Butler process as one of the processes that Presbyteries can use. There were changes to the Beaver-Butler process to reflect our Presbytery’s organizational structure and needs.

God is not glorified when his church ends up in the civil courts. A congregation leaving the denomination feels a lot like a divorce. Some divorces are nasty. Some divorces strive to be fair and just, but they recognize that they can no longer stay together. The new document strives to honor Christ and be a witness to the unchurched as congregations and Presbyteries deal with the difficult issues facing us today. The document keeps the Presbytery and congregation out of the civil courts.

The proposed document is called “Discerning God’s Leading together: The Jubilee Process.”

Here it is…

DISCERNING GOD’S LEADING TOGETHER:
THE JUBILEE PROCESS
Presbytery of Olympia

A Process of Working with Congregations Considering Withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Spiritual discernment is a focused effort to sort out the will of God, distinguishing God’s Spirit from other spirits that may be influencing us, such as the spirit of tradition, legalism, anger, loyalty, self-will or control. Discernment requires intentional prayer, careful study, and deep listening to God and to each other.

Hear the words of St. Paul: “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-5)

We, members of the Presbytery of Olympia, will seek to honor Jesus Christ, Scripture, The Book of Confessions, and the Book of Order through respectful process and open dialogue. The premise upon which our process is built is that when we approach discernment together with openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit and through the authority of the Word of God, the appropriate process to follow the will of God will be revealed.

The Jubilee Process guides congregations and the Presbytery, working in partnership, toward answering the questions, “Is God leading this particular congregation to disaffiliate from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?” And if so, “how can that be accomplished in a way that honors Christ and strengthens both the congregation and the Presbytery?”

The ultimate goal of the Presbytery will be to discern whether reconciliation and continued relationship with a particular congregation is God’s will, or whether withdrawal from the PC(USA) is the path that God desires. If disaffiliation is discerned to be God’s will, then the Presbytery will seek to further discern the appropriate process for separation. The following process outlines the steps we will use as a presbytery and as individual congregations, pastors and Sessions to discern together the will of God for the churches of the Olympia Presbytery.

We will seek to respect both freedom of conscience and the essentials of Reformed Faith and polity as expressed in The Book of Confessions and the “Form of Government”, subject always to Scripture and the movement of the Spirit. We will work in good faith toward a mutually agreeable solution, but ultimately the decision reached through this process should reflect what would best serve not ourselves, but the cause of Christ.

Finally, we will seek to follow the Commissioner’s Resolution (04-28)—On Urging a Gracious, Pastoral Response to Churches Requesting Dismissal from the PC(USA) as passed by the 218th General Assembly of the PC(USA) on June 27, 2008. The Resolution condemns secular litigation as “deadly to the cause of Christ, impacting the local church, other parts of the Body of Christ and ecumenical relationships, and our witness to Christ in the world around us.” (#2 of Resolution 04-28). Therefore the process of the Olympia Presbytery and its congregations will seek to avoid legal action, except as a last resource. This includes actions against property and assets of the individual churches, as well as against the leadership of the churches.

“Synods and councils are to handle or conclude nothing but that which is ecclesiastical; and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary; or by way of advice for satisfaction of conscience, if they be thereunto required by the civil magistrate.” Westminster Confession of Faith, 6.176

The principles of GA Resolution 04-28 are as follows:

Consistency:

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:17-18

The Olympia Presbytery process will be consistent among the churches. We seek to bring the same principles of justice to one another, regardless of the differences in theology, property, leadership, and location.

Pastoral Responsibility:

“He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” Psalm 78:70-72

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:11

“'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” Ezekiel 34:2a

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

From the Questions for Ordination of Ministers, Elders and Deacons: “Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?”

The Jubilee process will “highlight the presbytery’s pastoral responsibility” (GA Resolution 04-28). The Olympia Presbytery will seek to make decisions with integrity of heart, gentleness, careful tending of the flock with a sacrificial spirit of friendship, and will be subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit.

Accountability:

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” 1 Cor. 4:2

”For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:2

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:17-18

“Wherefore the ecclesiastical power of the ministers of the Church is that function whereby they indeed govern the Church of God, but yet so do all things in the Church as the Lord has prescribed in his Word. When those things are done, the faithful esteem them as done by the Lord himself.” 2nd Helvetic Confession, 5:160-.163

“For a governing body, accountability rightly dictates fiduciary and connectional concerns, raising general issues of probperty (G-8.0000) and specific issues of schism within a congregation (G-8.0600). But full accountability also requires preeminent concern with “caring for the flock.” (GA Resolution 04-28)

The Jubilee Process will include steps of accountability of both the Presbytery to itself and its congregations, and also of those congregations to the Presbytery. We recognize that, above all, we are accountable to the Word of God and to the Lord. The Process will seek to discern faithful steps to honor the trust given to the Presbytery for the care of the properties of the member churches, acknowledging that the trust given is a sacred responsibility to further God’s kingdom, not to enable the PC(USA) to indiscriminately separate congregations from their church properties and assets.

Gracious Witness:

“And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.’” Zechariah 7:8-9

“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” Titus 3:9

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

“At all times and in all places the rule is to be observed that everything is to be done for edification, decently and honorably, without oppression and strife. For the apostle testifies that authority in the Church was given to him by the Lord for building up and not for destroying (II Cor. 10:8)” 2nd Helvetic Confession 5:165

“The church thus orders its life as an institution with a constitution, government, officers, finances, and administrative rules. These are instruments of mission, not ends in themselves.” The Confession of 1967, 9.40

“It is our belief that Scripture and the Holy Spirit require a gracious witness from us rather than a harsh legalism.” GA Resolution 04-28

In all steps in the Jubilee Process, as well as in all decisions made concerning specific issues, the Olympia Presbytery will seek to be a gracious witness to the churches and their flocks, as well as to the communities surrounding the churches. As discernment progresses, mercy, compassion, edification, love and encouragement will be priorities over rules and regulations. “Foolish controversies” and “quarrels about the law” will be avoided, as they constitute harsh legalism, not gracious witness. Above all, we will remember that the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its institutions are instruments of mission, “not ends in themselves.”

Openness and Transparency:
“Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness.” Proverbs 8:6-7
“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” Proverbs 27:5
“For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” Mark 4:22
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10
Too often processes involve closed meetings and secretive discussions and decisions. An atmosphere of distrust prevails, leading to a lack of open and honest communication. The Presbytery of Olympia commits to openness and transparency within its own committees and council as well as among the churches. It is further resolved that it shall be the policy of this Presbytery that no Minister of the Word and Sacrament, Elder or Deacon shall be subjected to any form of discipline under the Book of Order for any speech that is not contrary to the Word of God, whether that speech is given to individual congregations or Sessions or to the whole body of the Presbytery. Informing groups of people regarding practices and policies of the institutions of the PC(USA) shall not be considered inappropriate nor subject to discipline. Likewise, informing congregations, Sessions and Presbytery members of options available to congregations who are considering disaffiliation with the PC(USA) and entertaining discussion on such options shall not be abridged nor punished in any way. “Speech” shall include written and oral communications, as well as participation or membership in any group or association of Christians of the Reformed faith. Protecting the rights of speech for Ministers of the Word and Sacrament, Elders, and Deacons will lead to a building of trust, and to the ability to join all parties together for the goal of discerning God’s will for the congregations of the Olympia Presbytery.
Lastly, the mission statement of the Presbytery of Olympia states: “The Presbytery of Olympia exists to serve Christ through supporting and strengthening congregations and clergy and offering its life in worship, service and witness.” The Jubilee Process will enable the Presbytery to honor this statement as it comes alongside congregations who are discerning God’s direction in their relationships with the PC(USA). May Christ be honored as we go forward in this journey.

SECTION ONE – INITIAL DISCERNMENT PROCESS

Colossians 3:12-14: Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Presbyterians affirm that discernment for pastors and congregations involves a tri-fold revelation of God’s will. The Spirit speaks through the pastoral leadership of each church, through the voices of the congregation and its Session, and also through the body of the Presbytery. We affirm that our highest calling is to the mission of the Kingdom of God, not to the maintenance of any particular institution. We sadly recognize that because of matters of conscience, congregations occasionally may find it necessary to separate from the institution with which they have been affiliated in order to accomplish their mission. These situations require prayer, total commitment to following the will of God, and bearing with one another with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

Therefore, in order to distinguish God’s will in the matter of disaffiliation, and to honor Him and each other, the following initial process is adopted:

1. Pastors and Sessions will pray and openly discuss with one another the issues confronting their individual churches. Where appropriate, they are welcome to hold shared discussions with other Pastors and Sessions for communal discernment.
2. If further discernment is necessary, then after prayer and a majority vote in a called or stated meeting, the Session will invite its PCCT representative to give guidance in a possible resolution and/or on the implications of proceeding further with the process. The PCCT representative will inform the COM of the ongoing discernment of the Session.
3. If resolution is not accomplished, the Session will invite the COM to form a Presbytery Discernment Team (PDT). This Team will consist of the PCCT representative, another representative chosen by the COM from its membership, a representative from the Presbytery Council chosen by the Council, and a representative chosen by the Session. Additionally the Team will be chaired by a person specifically trained in conflict resolution by a Presbytery-approved entity (i.e. a Certified Interim Pastor).
4. The PDT will initially meet with the Session and the Moderator separately. While the Moderator is absent from the Session meeting, he/she will appoint a qualified person to moderate the meeting. The purpose of the initial meetings will be to discern whether the Session and its leadership are unified in their discernment, as well as to give opportunity for the raising of concerns by either.
5. The PDT will report the results of these initial meetings to the Presbytery through the COM and the Council.
6. The PDT will continue to meet with the Session and its Moderator as ongoing discernment progresses. Possible topics for conversation include the following:

• the nature of discernment
• rooting the identified issues in Scripture and our Reformed Tradition
• exploration of church polity including implications of the Trust Clause for both the congregation and also the Presbytery and denomination
• exploration of constitutional ways of influencing the polity of the PC(USA)
• options before the congregation
• strategies for listening to any clearly identified factions within the congregation
• reflecting on Scripture together and praying

7. The PDT will not determine the outcome of the discussions, but will work to assure that all issues have been adequately addressed before they are brought before the congregation. In addition the PDT will assure that the Presbytery, through its COM and Council are fully informed as the discussions continue.
8. In the case of lack of resolution of the issues during the time of initial discernment, the Presbytery and the church will enter into negotiations for disaffiliation, using the process outlined below.

SECTION TWO: THE JUBILEE PROCESS

If it becomes necessary to negotiate the church’s separation from the PC(USA), the following steps will be taken. Throughout the process, both the Presbytery and the church agree that:

• The Trust Clause will not be used to shackle churches to the institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) if the congregation has followed the discernment process and truly feels God’s leading to depart.
• It will not be used as a means of taking civil action against a congregation in keeping with 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 over issues of conscience (G-1.0300).
• The Clause is a visible example of the inter-connection between the Presbytery and its congregations, and should be an opportunity to witness unity to the world, not a tool to cause division and disagreement.
• The Trust Clause will not be used by the Presbytery to initiate civil litigation against a congregation faithfully following the Initial Discernment and/or Jubilee Processes.
• The Presbytery recognizes that “the church” is not buildings nor assets, but is the body of believers—the people of each congregation.

1. When a congregation’s Session and Pastors, with the participation of the PDT, have determined that all issues have been addressed, and that disaffiliation appears to be God’s will for that particular church, a special Congregational meeting will be called. The purpose of this initial meeting will be to hear from the membership their own discernment and desire either to disaffiliate or to remain part of the PC(USA). Though a quorum for Congregational meetings is set by the Book of Order at 10%, in order to fairly hear the voice of the church, it is expected that 50% of the active membership will participate in the meeting.
2. At the meeting it is allowable to conduct a non-binding written ballot vote to discern how many members, should the way be clear, would desire dismissal from the PC(USA).
3. If a minimum of 75% of the attending members vote for dismissal, the PDT will begin to negotiate terms of dismissal with the congregation through its Session, Pastors and Finance Committee.
4. During negotiation if an impasse is reached between the Presbytery and the congregation, both agree to submit to binding arbitration. The arbiter will be a practicing Christian and a member of the American Arbitration Association or the Peacemaker Ministries. The arbiter will be agreed upon by both parties, and both agree to submit to his/her decisions without exception. The costs for the arbiter will be divided equally between the Presbytery and the congregation.
5. As negotiations proceed, both parties will be mindful of reaching an honorable and equitable settlement which recognizes the responsibilities towards all involved—the members who wish to leave the PC(USA), those who wish to remain, and the Presbytery of Olympia and its mission. In cases where a financial settlement is part of the dismissal agreement, that settlement will be based on fairly and proportionately meeting those responsibilities.
6. As a primary responsibility, both the congregation and the Presbytery will seek to meet the spiritual needs of those members desiring to stay within the PC(USA).
7. At the conclusion of the negotiations, a Congregational meeting will be called to vote on the possible dismissal and agreement with the negotiated plan. At least fifty percent of the current active membership must attend the meeting. An affirmative vote of at least seventy-five percent will be required to pass the dismissal motion.
8. The final step of the Jubilee Process will be the ratification of the disaffiliation agreement by the Presbytery of Olympia and the voting to grant dismissal. In the case of a negative vote of Presbytery, the process of Binding Arbitration will be followed.

SERVICE OF COMMISSIONING

Should a particular congregation and the Presbytery of Olympia discern together that the best course of action should be that the congregation withdraw from the PC(USA), and once the details of the separation agreement are decided, ratified by the Presbytery and settled, a service of worship will be held to celebrate our common life in Christ and pray for the well-being and effectiveness of both the congregation and the Presbytery. Those departing the PC(USA) will be commissioned by the Presbytery to further their work for the Kingdom as they go forward in ministry. The service will be jointly planned by a planning team comprised of three people appointed by the Council of the Presbytery and three people appointed by the Session of the church. All congregations of the Presbytery of Olympia shall be invited.

A One Post Break—Today is For Our Daughter!

2008-09-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog…

Our daughter (who for security reasons will remain nameless) woke up this morning on the mission field—once again. She has a passion for people groups that have not had the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus. Since graduating from college she has been on the mission field twice before—with the same group. She spent five months in China helping to open a new mission effort to reach an unreached people group on the Tibetan plain of China.

Her true mission passion is for the unreached Muslim groups in North Africa. After China, she spent almost three months in the Sahara Desert in a Muslim refugee camp teaching English. I cannot go into details for “security” reasons. While she and her team mate were in the camp, the very first person from this people group accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord! They baptized this person the day before they left the camp.

Once again, our daughter and her team are back in the camp. Several of the Muslim young ladies are very open to talking about God and Jesus. Please keep them in your prayers. The entire team got sick the last time they were there. The team also experienced loneliness—due to isolation, difficult living conditions and so little contact with people who speak English.

Seeing the mission updates on Presbyweb is great. Presbyterian mission co-workers do good work. Unfortunately, we do not do a good job of reaching unreached people groups! Hopefully, one day the PCUSA will once again try to bring the gospel to people who have never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus. Until then, para-church mission groups will be the front line of this particular type of outreach.

Please keep our daughter and her mission team in your prayers.

Why the Distrust—An Answer to our General Assembly Moderator.

2008-09-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

A few more dahlia pics before getting to the blog…

The Rev. Reyes Chow posted the following comment on my blog:
“Thanks for sharing your thoughts and journey. Surprisingly what caught my eye on your post was this "policy" of your Presbytery that prevented you for sharing earlier. Can you share? Is there a "no-blogging" policy or is it more of a "don't air in-house stuff" kind of understanding? Or something else? Thanks.”

First, I would like to thank the moderator for reading my blog. It is good to know that “someone” in the denomination is concerned with what is happening in the PCUSA. Second, here is my response…

It has been said that “trust is something that is earned.” Over the years I have talked with several couples where one of the partners was unfaithful. Trust had been broken. The offending person wanted their spouse to “trust” them. Trust was hard to come by. In my opinion, trust doesn’t just “happen.”

There is distrust at every level of the PCUSA.

I served on the General Council (GC) of our Presbytery—filling an unexpired term and then a full term. While on GC, there were some members of the GC who were uncomfortable with worship at our Presbytery meetings. One day I show up for a GC meeting and find that a policy for worship at Presbytery meetings had been written. Who wrote in? To this day I can only speculate. After much discussion the policy was adopted (it was not unanimous) and was to be present at the next Presbytery meeting for approval. At the next Presbytery meeting the policy was indeed presented for approval by the Presbytery. Boy, did the you-know-what hit the fan. The Presbytery was so displeased with the proposed worship policy that they sent it back on the GC to have the policy redone. I was shocked at the next GC meeting. One powerful person on GC said that they didn’t care what the Presbytery said and that since it is the General Council’s policy we can do what ever we want. That thinking carried the day and the policy was adopted by the GC.

Trust?

Just yesterday I was in a meeting of some pastors and elders. There were a couple of members of the current GC at the meeting. They were asked, “Who wrote the current policy paper?” (Discerning God’s Leading) Neither member of council knew who wrote the paper!!! A substitute policy paper was to be presented at last week’s Presbytery meeting—coming from the session of one of our churches in the Presbytery. The day before the meeting a “comparison” document was emailed to the Presbytery delegates. The church that wrote the new document that was to be presented inquired as to who wrote the comparison document. Presbytery staff refused to tell them!

Trust?

Distrust at the national level is so rampant that it does not need to be restated. However, since the moderator brought up the issue I will mention one instance that involved the moderator and this past General Assembly.

A marriage between two gay men was conducted at a “dinner” at this past General Assembly meeting. This dinner is hosted at each Assembly meeting by one of the groups that is laboring to change denomination’s policy concerning the ordination of practicing, unrepentant gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. The pastor that performed the marriage said that she could get into trouble for doing the wedding but that she would do it any way. I have questions our Presbytery staff and delegates as to whether anything was said on the floor of the Assembly about the “wedding.” They unanimously said that not one word was said at the Assembly! How is this for trust! Our highest governing body is meeting and a pastor (and an affinity group) openly break denominational policy and not one thing is done about it (or said about it) by the moderator, stated clerk or any other person in authority at the Assembly.

Trust? Mr. Moderator, how can I “trust” you when you do not even try to enforce the rules of the denomination while you are running our national meeting?

Other Presbyteries have tried to deal “pastorally” with congregations and pastors that are seeking to leave the denomination and have ended up in the church courts for their actions.

Trust?

Mr. Moderator, can you see why I have “trust issues” with my Presbytery and General Assembly?

Our Presbytery Policy – The Hammer!

2008-09-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pics of my dahlias…

Here is a copy of our Presbytery’s policy concerning church and pastors that are thinking of leaving the PCUSA…

DISCERNING GOD’S LEADING TOGETHER
Presbytery of Olympia
May 15, 2008

A Process of Working with Congregations Considering Withdrawal from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Spiritual discernment is a focused effort to sort out the will of God, distinguishing God’s Spirit from other spirits that may be influencing us, such as the spirit of tradition, or anger, loyalty, self-will or control. Discernment requires intentional prayer, careful study, and deep listening to God and to each other.

Hear the words of St. Paul: “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-5)

We, members of the Presbytery of Olympia, will seek to honor the Scripture through respectful process and open dialogue. The premise upon which our process is built is that when we approach discernment together with intentionality and sincerity, the will of God and the way of Love will be revealed.

Discerning God’s Leading Together guides congregations and the Presbytery, working in partnership, toward answering the questions, “Is God leading this particular congregation to disaffiliate from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)?” And if so, “how can that be accomplished in a way that honors Christ and strengthens both the congregation and the Presbytery?”

The ultimate goal of the Presbytery will be to discern whether reconciliation and continued relationship are possible. It is clear that in times of great turmoil and disagreement, some may perceive withdrawal as imperative and God’s will for them. The following process outlines the steps we will use as a presbytery to respond to situations where our congregations, or leaders within are considering withdrawal from the PC(U.S.A.).

We will seek to respect both freedom of conscience and the essentials of Reformed Faith and polity as expressed in The Book of Confessions and the “Form of Government”, subject always to Scripture and the movement of the Spirit. We will work in good faith toward a mutually agreeable solution, but ultimately the decision reached through this process should reflect what would best serve not ourselves, but the cause of Christ.

SECTION ONE – RESPONSE TEAM

When the leadership of the presbytery becomes aware, either through formal congregational action or through informal contacts with church leaders or members, that a congregation is in serious disagreement with the governance of the denomination, the General Presbyter, Committee on Ministry Chairperson, and Presbytery Moderator will offer a pastoral visit by a Response Team. It is assumed that before this process begins the General Presbyter will have had conversation with the pastor.

The Response Team shall consist of one Council member, one person appointed by the Committee on Ministry (COM), a member-at-large of the Presbytery, and the General Presbyter. The purpose of this team is to engage either the session, or if necessary the congregation, or the congregation as a whole (as circumstances dictate), in a time of prayer and conversation aimed at understanding the “heart of the matter” – meaning the nature of the conflict and what Gospel values are at play -- and to identify possible steps toward reconciliation. Before meeting with the church session for the first time, team members should study “Guidelines for Communal Discernment” by Rev. V. Curtiss. Team members may be added depending on the scope of the effort, e.g., meeting with several small groups will require a bigger team than meeting with the session only.

TOPICS FOR CONVERSATION MAY INCLUDE:
• the nature of discernment
• rooting the identified issues in Scripture and our Reformed Tradition
• exploration of church polity including Book of Order provision that a congregation’s property belongs to the whole church
• exploration of constitutional ways of influencing the polity of the PC(U.S.A.)
• options before the congregation
• strategies for listening to any clearly identified factions within the congregation
• reflecting on Scripture together and praying

If the team determines that progress can be made toward reconciliation through continued dialogue, the team will make recommendations to the Council for conducting such dialogue. The team report and recommendations will be provided to the Council within one month of the initial visit and will outline any planned next steps (such as the above) to be undertaken in partnership with the leadership of the congregation, including an expected time line for the completion of the planned process. The process and time line should not exceed 120 days. If this team effort leads to resolution of the situation, no further action is required and to God be the glory!

In the event that steps toward separation from the denomination appear to be in process, the Response Team shall report its evaluation of the current situation to both the Council and the Committee on Ministry as soon as possible. The Moderator and Vice Moderator of Council, the Stated Clerk, and the Chair of the Committee on Ministry, will meet with the Response Team to determine if a recommendation should be made to Council that an Administrative Commission should be elected by the presbytery, and recommend appropriate action [Ref. Book of Order,]

SECTION TWO -- ADMINISTRATIVE COMMISSION (AC) PROCESS

When any congregation, in partnership with the Presbytery, has not been able to resolve issues using the Response Team phase of Discerning God’s Leading Together, an Administrative Commission (AC) shall be formed by vote of the Presbytery.

If at any time the Response Team determines that the move toward separation/withdrawal is the work of a special interest group and not representative of the congregation, the team, on notice to Council, will immediately request that the Moderator of the presbytery and Stated Clerk nominate an AC as soon as possible.

If the leadership of the congregation refuses an initial Response Team visit an AC will be nominated by the Moderator of the Presbytery and Stated Clerk and elected by the presbytery as soon as possible.

If an AC is to be recommended to Presbytery, this decision will be communicated to the congregation concerned immediately, by letter from the Moderator to every member, and the nominees to the commission will be appointed within 15 days of that notification.

DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES
The AC is guided by the presbytery-approved commission outlining specific duties and authorities for a particular situation. The AC shall keep the presbytery informed of actions taken, and shall make recommendations directly to presbytery for any actions that require presbytery approval.

TRAINING AND COMPOSITION
When an AC is required for this process, the Moderator of the Presbytery, the General Presbyter, the Committee on Ministry chairperson and the Stated Clerk shall nominate seven people to be elected by the presbytery. Members of the AC may include individuals with special skills, training or experience in mediation and negotiation. At least three members of the AC, so nominated and elected, shall be minister-members of the presbytery, and at least three shall be elders from different churches in the presbytery and be representative of the presbytery as a whole; the seventh member of the AC may be either a minister or elder [G-9.0504b (3)] Members of the Response Team may be considered for the AC. After election members of the AC will be trained by a team of the Stated Clerk, General Presbyter, and a representative of the Committee on Ministry.

ELECTION: The proposed membership and commission of this group shall be reported to the presbytery in the form of a written motion for approval and election.

STAFF SUPPORT: The AC shall be staffed by the Stated Clerk of the presbytery.

FINAL REPORT: The presbytery shall receive the final report of the AC, act on any remaining recommendations, and dismiss the AC at the completion of its work.

General Rules: The following general rules apply to the selection and election of an AC:

o An AC elected for this purpose shall not include these persons: The Stated Clerk, General Presbyter, Moderator, Vice Moderator, Moderatorial Intern, Chair of COM, or any member of the Permanent Judicial Commission.
o The presbytery may delegate to Council the authority to add, remove or replace members of an AC when it is apparent that some members(s) need relief or in order to bring in persons with new skills or gifts to the process. Such a replacement shall be reported to the presbytery. The presbytery may delegate to Council authority to grant permission to an AC to contact outside authorities for temporary consultation with the AC on specific matters.
o Quorum of AC shall be a majority of its elected and appointed members, unless the presbytery fixes a quorum at a higher number.
o The AC will have full authority of the presbytery to execute the limited powers granted by the presbytery (G-9.0502).

Initially the AC should study “Guidelines for Communal Discernment” authored by Rev. Victoria G. Curtiss. Using this tool, and studying the situation in the congregation, its task will be to gather facts, seek discernment in partnership with the congregation, and recommend appropriate action to Council and/or the Presbytery. It may be given certain constitutional authority such as:

1. to request records of the session (G-12.0102n, G-12.0304, G.13.0103k,n) (G-9.0408) “If a higher governing body learns at any time of any irregularity or delinquency by a lower governing body, it may require the governing body to produce any records and take appropriate action;”
2. to look at whatever records may be relevant (i.e., how money is held, title to property, insurance documents, mortgages or other loan documents, corporate officers, corporate articles, bylaws, charters – especially changes in any of these). The AC will be careful to look for recent changes or modifications to articles of incorporation, bylaws, or deeds. The presbytery is entitled to see such changes in legal documents (G-9.0408);
3. to determine, after reviewing the proceedings of the lower governing body or from any other information as may come to its attention, whether,
a.. the proceedings have been faithful to the mission of the whole church (G-9.0409a);
b. the lawful injunctions of a higher governing body have been obeyed (G-9.0409a);
4. to give directives (G-9.0410) on behalf of the presbytery;
a. “It is ordinarily sufficient for the higher governing body to record in its own proceedings, and in those under review, its approval, disapproval, or correction. If necessary, the higher governing body may direct the lower governing body to reconsider and correct an irregularity or cure a delinquency” (G.9.0410);
b. The type of directive will depend on the issues (examples: refrain from calling a congregational meeting, transferring assets, encumbering property, elect new officers, etc.);
5. to recommend whether the AC should return to Presbytery for authorization of additional powers;
6. to determine whether a schism exists within the congregation;
7. to determine which members represent the continuing church;
8. to make recommendations to the presbytery to dissolve pastoral relationships, or when requisite authority given by the presbytery, to dissolve pastoral relationships;
9. to assume original jurisdiction in any case it determines the session is unable or unwilling to manage wisely the affairs of its church;
10. to freeze the assets of the church (real and liquid);
11. to determine if and when a meeting of the congregation is appropriate for the purpose of voting to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.);
12. to call that congregational meeting, and provide the moderator and clerk for that meeting;
13. to report results of congregational vote to Council;
14. to authorize oversight of the church, its ministry and its property to a viable faction of the congregation that has been identified as the continuing church within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); or, if no “viable faction” will be continuing, to assist current and former members of the congregation who wish to remain members of the PC(U.S.A.) with membership transfer to another congregation or New Church Development; and
15. to propose to the presbytery the recommendation for the disposition of the property held by or for the church, and the assumption of the liabilities of the church, in the event there is no viable faction of the congregation that has been identified as the continuing church within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This will be done in ways that honor Jesus Christ, the PCUA and the newly constituted congregation.

A. COMMUNICATION: The AC shall keep all concerned parties informed.
1. Send a letter to session outlining task and process (wording should be measured and clear).
2. Send a letter to all members of the congregation outlining the task and process (measured, non-threatening, explanatory).
3. The team shall have “one-on-one” conversation(s) with the pastor.
4. Communicate often with the Council through the Council Moderator.

B. DURATION OF WORK: It is expected that the AC will ordinarily complete its work within one year, making reports to the Council and the Committee on Ministry, and ultimately to the Presbytery for vote. If the congregation has been determined to be of one mind (no significant conflict of factions within the church), the AC may allow a congregational vote and negotiate mutually agreed upon terms of withdrawal. Final disposition shall not be ratified before six months has elapsed from the start of the Response Team process. If the AC determines there is significant conflict within the congregation, they should assume original jurisdiction.

REACHING AGREEMENT
Questions to ask once a TENTATIVE agreement has been reached include:
Is there a new sense of hope and vision?
Is there consolation or desolation in the decision?
Is there resonance with God’s Spirit?

If these questions produce further concern the decision is revisited.

Terms of the agreement would be presented for vote to the Presbytery at either a stated or specially called meeting.

WORSHIP
Should a particular congregation and the Presbytery of Olympia discern together that the best course of action should be that the congregation withdraw from the PC(U.S.A.), and once the details of the separation agreement are decided, ratified by the Presbytery and settled, a service of worship will be held to celebrate our common life in Christ and pray for the well-being and effectiveness of both the congregation and the Presbytery. The service will be jointly planned by a planning team comprised of three people appointed by the Council of the Presbytery and three people appointed by the Session of the church. All congregations of the Presbytery of Olympia shall be invited.

* * * *

There are some major flaws with this policy! Today I will focus on “We, members of the Presbytery of Olympia, will seek to honor the Scripture through respectful process and open dialogue.”

There can be no open discussions about the topics facing our congregations and denomination by sessions or pastors when the policy document explicitly states that a “Response Team” will pay a visit to a church or pastor if the leadership of the presbytery becomes aware that congregation or pastor has serious disagreement with the governance of the denomination. How is that for openness!

Our Presbytery is having a special presbytery meeting to talk about the proposed amendments to the Book of Order. The purpose of this meeting is to talk and listen—no vote will be taken. How can I openly discuss the ramifications of the amendments when there is the threat of a Response Team paying me a visit! One church session requested that the Presbytery be set aside the policy so that open conversations could take place. General Council knew that this proposal was going to be presented to the presbytery at the meeting this past week. As soon as the motion was made to set aside the policy a motion was immediately made to take up the motion at the next Presbytery meeting! That motion was made so quickly that one second could not have elapsed! Boy did the you-know-what hit the fan!!!! For almost 40 minutes there were motions, substitute motions, friendly amendments to the motions and so on. Commissioners were frustrated beyond belief. In the end, it was decided to “stay” the enforcement of the policy until the next regular presbytery meeting. As soon as it passed, another pastor turned to me and said, “I am sure that when the stay of enforcement is over that they will forget everything you said at the special meeting!” How convenient! The presbytery will not enforce the policy until after I have an opportunity to air my frustrations with the PCUSA and then I am to “trust” that they will forget everything that I just said. I am supposed to trust that I won’t have a Response Team breathing down my neck. So much for open dialogue!!

Full Court Presby Returns… Sort Of!

2008-09-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from my dahlia garden. June was a bad month for the PCUSA and for my dahlias. Fortunately, the warm August and September have caused the dahlia’s to bloom like crazy.

Now on to the blog…

My self-imposed break from blogging is coming to an end. To recap, this past General Assembly and the Stated Clerk’s release on the “authoritative interpretation” regarding the ordination of practicing, non-repentant gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender persons has made it VERY difficult for me to stay in the PCUSA. I would have preferred to use this blog to help me work through the feelings, theology and polity decisions that I will have to make; but alas, my Presbytery has a “policy” that makes it very unwise for me to do this in a public forum. I still have not made up my mind as to what my future is with the PCUSA. However, things are happening in my Presbytery that have caused me to return to blogging before I complete my time of study, prayer and reflection.

The Presbytery of Olympia held its September meeting in Onalaska, Washington, at Community Presbyterian Church. The meeting was to go from 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., with a 45 minute break for dinner. During dinner I was seated by an elder that was not from my church. This elder had been at one of our Presbytery’s debriefing sessions following GA and remembered my extreme displeasure about the Assembly. During the dinner he turned to me and asked, “When is someone going to do something about what is happening in the PCUSA?” He was clearly EXTREMELY frustrated with the PCUSA and this past GA meeting. I felt his frustration and anger.

Olympia Presbytery (the Presbytery where my church is located) has around 10,000 members and the vast majority of churches are evangelical. There are some very liberal/progressive churches in our Presbytery. However, a vast majority of the “power” positions in our Presbytery are filled with folks who are from the liberal/progressive wing of the church. (Does that sound like your Presbytery?) Our General Council of the Presbytery is very concerned about the future of our Presbytery and the denomination. The General Council has formed a possibilities task force to look how, or if, we can move forward as a Presbytery in the future. The General Presbyter talks about how the discussions have been lively and good. People I know on the task force have told me that they cannot agree on anything—even the nature of God!

It is my belief that some Presbyteries need to step forward to help the PCUSA move beyond this mess we have been in since 1978. Some people may end up being sacrificial lambs in the effort. I am unwilling to keep fighting this same battle for the rest of my years in ministry.

Guess what? It is not just evangelical Presbyterians that are tired of this fight. A few weeks ago I sat down with one of the more progressive pastors in my Presbytery. He, too, is tired of this endless battle. He cannot do ministry that he would like to do. We agree that no matter which side “wins” at a given General Assembly meeting the other “side” is going to work non-stop to “win” at the next General Assembly meeting. Those of us in the PCUSA have to be insane to live and minister like this. My colleague and I are looking at ways that we might encourage our Presbytery to take the lead and end this fight. If it means that the denomination splits—so be it.

Presbyterian Global Fellowship (PGF) and Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) want the PCUSA to stay together—just not totally together. The champion the concept that to split the church is not right. First, the PCUSA is a denomination, not the church. If we are truly concerned about splitting the church then those groups would work hard to unite the Methodists, Assemblies of God, Church of the Nazarene, Evangelical Lutheran Church of American, and all the rest. Second, if our beliefs are such that we have to have “special” Presbyteries and with different “rules” then I would challenge the PGF and PFR stances for keeping the PCUSA together.

Enough for now. Tomorrow I will talk more about what is happening in our Presbytery.

Options for Moving Forward – The Wise Words of Mark Roberts and Signing Off for Now.

2008-07-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

It is strange and bizarre to think that the pastor of a church can have an impact on the larger church by using the internet. What a ministry tool! Early in my blogging “career” I ran across a blog by Mark Roberts. (Mark’s blog can be found here.) At the time, Mark was the senior pastor at Irvine Presbyterian Church, Irvine, California. I was drawn to Mark’s blog because he wrote about a wide range of topics that face the church. Mark was (and is) faithful to the biblical text. Mark’s blog is fantastic.

Following the 2008 General Assembly, Mark wrote a series on the future of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) titled, “Can We, Can We All Get Along?” Please read his four posts:

These posts are an accurate reflection of the ordination battles that PCUSA has been experiencing for 30+ years. I firmly believe that those who want to ordain sexually active LGBT persons believe that the issue is a “justice issue” and that they are doing what God is calling them to do. I firmly believe that those who do not want to ordain sexually active LGBT persons (or persons who are sexually active outside of the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman) believe that it is a matter of holiness and biblical faithfulness. These folks firmly believe that they are doing the will of God. These are the two main groups driving the ordination debate.

Proponents of the ordination of practicing LGBT persons do not define the parameters for the ordination of such persons. Do they believe:

That only LGBT persons who are living in fidelity in a civil union should be ordained?
That LGBT persons who practice consensual sexual intercourse should be ordained? If so, what about the heterosexual married person who has consensual sexual intercourse with a person they are not married to?
That the church should affirm marriage for LGBT persons and then only those LGBT persons who are married should be ordained?
That bisexual persons who are seeking to fulfill their desire for sexual gratification from males and females can be ordained?

The actions of the past General Assembly have caused me to take a serious look at my life, calling and ministry.

Where to from here?

This will be my last “official” post on FullCourtPresby for several months (I cannot envision this process taking less than three or four months). I will be spending my “normal” blogging time (research and writing time) in prayer, Bible study, meditation, fasting and personal reflection—allowing the Holy Spirit to move and speak.

For those from Evergreen that read my blog, fear not! I am not planning on leaving Evergreen or the PCUSA. The Session and I will continue our efforts to move into the church into the preferred future that God has for our church. The Deacons and I will continue to minister and care for our church family (the needs will be great due to the large number of folks who are in the twilight years of their time on earth.).

In my opinion, one of the biggest problems in the PCUSA is that we have pastors who are in the pastoral ministry who have no business being there. Every few years I ask the Lord if it is time for me to leave the ministry and seek a different vocation. God’s call on our life can change! Unfortunately, it is too easy to keep on doing the same old, same old thing.

So… my break from blogging begins tomorrow. I have already begun this discernment journey—and it has been refreshing, and challenging. I look forward to discovering where God is leading me. I am keeping a journal (and I HATE journaling!) of this process. When the time is right I may share a summary of my journal through this blog.

Until then, I will be posting photos of my dahlias beginning the week of August 4^th.

God’s blessings on you all!

Options for Moving Forward – The Other Side.

2008-07-21T16:05:00.001-07:00

I have spent quite a bit of time looking at how the groups advocating for the ordination of sexually active LGBT persons are planning on moving forward. The only thing that I find is the desire to get the votes to remove G-6.0106b removed from the Book of Order.

Options for Moving Forward – Presbyterian Global Fellowship (PGF), Presbyterian Renewal Ministries International and the Presbyterian Coalition.

2008-07-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

The PCUSA is in a mess! How are we to move forward? Various groups within the PCUSA have spoken on this topic. Many faithful Presbyterians do not have the time or desire to find out what the various groups are saying. It is my intention to give a “best effort” to accurately present the “way forward” presented by the various groups with in the PCUSA. The last post looked at Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR).

Before moving forward I have to poke fun at us Presbyterians. Have you ever noticed how many acronyms float around the PCUSA (there’s one!)? Last weekend I received a text from one of our church’s high school students. A group of students was headed for Graham Jam to work in our church’s booth. There were a couple of abbreviations that I did not recognize—I still don’t know one of them! It got me to thinking… I had better make sure that everyone knows the main acronyms:

· PCUSA – Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

· PC(USA)—see PCUSA above.

· EPC—Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

· PCA—Presbyterian Church in America.

· GA—General Assembly.

· Amendment B—Book of Order, Form of Government section G-6.0106b; additionally referred to as the “Fidelity and Chastity Amendment” even though it has been in the Book of Order for years.

· PFR—Presbyterians for Renewal, an evangelical renewal group in the PCUSA.

· LGBT—Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons who are sexually active.

· GLBT—Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons who are sexually active, this is the “original” form of LGBT but was changed because it was politically incorrect in that it started with a “male” word.

· MLP—More Light Presbyterians, a liberal/progressive group within the PCUSA that seeks full inclusion of LGBT persons in every aspect of the PCUSA (including ordained positions).

· PGF—Presbyterian Global Fellowship, an evangelical renewal group in the PCUSA.

· PRMI—Presbyterian Reformed Ministries International, an evangelical renewal group in the denomination, headed by Brad Long, that leans heavily toward the Charismatic movement (formerly called PRRM—Presbyterian Reformed and Renewal Movement).

Please feel free to add to the list!!!

Now, on to Presbyterian Global Fellowship.

To date, PGF does not have an “official” response to the 2008 General Assembly. Their web site does not list any such response. On their official blog (PGF Outbox), Vic Pentz (Pastor Peach Tree Presbyterian Church) has a post dated July 1, 2008, titled “Do You Know the Way from San Jose?” I assume that he is speaking with “authority” as to PGF’s response to the Assembly.

Pentz makes the following observations:

“…the PC(USA) rejected unequivocally what has long been considered—and still is in the global church-- the biblical standards for sexual practice.”
“The battle is lost for evangelical renewal groups within the system. The old “stay-fight-win” strategy is history.”
“The options now remaining seem to be: 1) to live with the new ascendant ideology; 2) to enter into the legal complexities of trying to get permission for one’s congregation to be dismissed to another denomination; or 3) to find a way to be ‘in the denomination but not of the denomination.’ This third option is the one Presbyterian Global Fellowship affirms.
“The Presbyterian Global Fellowship seeks to be a parallel society living a new vision for the church within the PC(USA).”

PGF plans to stay in the PCUSA as a parallel society. But, what does that actually mean? What does it mean to be “in the denomination but not of the denomination?” Will PGF churches pay presbytery, synod and GA per capita? Will PGF churches be active participants at presbytery meetings? Will PGF churches give mission $$$ to GA mission causes?

I use to coach 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grade basketball teams. Coaching 4^th graders was fun, but extremely challenging. Everyone wanted to shoot from the top of the key like their favorite professional basketball player. Each player wanted to dribble the ball ALL AROUND THE COURT. Players acted like “I own the ball and I will do whatever I want to with it.” I had a player that I will call “GP” (after Gary Payton, formerly of the Sonic). GP refused to run lines like the rest of his teammates. GP shot the ball from the top of the key every time he touched the ball (even though he had a difficult time even getting the ball to the rim from that distance). GP refused to be a team player. One day I sat GP down and told him I had had enough of his behavior. I told him what I expected from him and that if he disobeyed one more time that he would not be allowed back on the court until I talked with his mom and dad. His attitude changed immediately! I coached GP for three years. I periodically see GP or his dad at the grocery store. They still call me “Coach.” GP is gone on to a success stint in the military. GP learned what it means to be part of a team.

The PGF direction reminds of coaching my 4^th grade team. PGF is going to “keep their ball” within the confines of the PCUSA, ignoring the rest of their team, unless it suits their fancy.

Presbyterian Renewal Ministries International

The PRMI web site does not list an official response to the Assembly actions. Brad Long, Executive Director of PRMI was a signer of on open letter on The Presbyterian Forum web site called, “Presbyterian Renewal Network Joint Statement.” The open letter says, “We invite Presbyterians to join us in seeking God’s help to turn back this effort to lead the Church to a place where it is in danger of becoming no Church. None of the damage done by this Assembly is final or irreversible.” Other than this letter I have been unable to find any public statement by PRMI on the Assembly actions.

From the “Joint Statement” one could conclude that PRMI believes in the “stay, fight, win” camp.

Presbyterian Coalition

The Presbyterian Coalition (“Coalition” from here on) is a loose knit group of Presbyterians and renewal groups that are in the conservative and/or evangelical camps. I attended a Coalition meeting in Orlando with several pastor friends. Additionally, a colleague of mine has served on the Board of the Coalition in the past.

I have been unable to find a direct response to the Assembly actions by the Coalition. In 2007, the Coalition created a document that outlined their strategy for bringing about renewal in the PCUSA called, “Let Us Rise Up and Build.” I assume that this strategy is still in place today. For that reason, I believe that the Coalition is in the “stay, fight, win” camp.

One person observation—the Coalition reminds me of “herding cats.” The meeting I attended as like a gripe session—every one didn’t like the direction that the PCUSA was heading but there was no consensus as to what to do about it.

Broken Heart…

2008-07-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today’s post is a brief departure from my series of posts on options for moving forward in light of the 2008 General Assembly.

Last night the Presbytery of Olympia had a special gathering to hear from our delegates to General Assembly. This was the second such gathering in our Presbytery.

I had not planned on making the actions of the General Assembly an issue at Evergreen. Evergreen Presbyterian Church is a great church but we are faced with many very important issues as we look at the next five years. My plan was to focus on our local needs until the voting on the amendments to the constitution were tallied. That plan was thrown out the window when Constitutional Service issued Opinion #22.

Back to last night…

Last night I attended the informational meeting at the Presbytery office with a couple of elders and a retired pastor who is an important part of our church family. The commissioners shared their impressions of the Assembly—all spoke favorably of the worship services. The meeting finally turned to the 500 pound gorilla in the room—the troubling actions of the Assembly. There was a time for questions that were directed to the commissioners, our General Presbyter and Stated Clerk (the GP and Stated Clerk attend all General Assembly meetings). During that time a question was directed to the Stated Clerk that went something like this: “If Evergreen Presbyterian Church (I asked the question) found a candidate for the office of elder or deacon and that person was a practicing, non-repentant gay or lesbian person, and if after meeting with the session the session determined that the person was qualified to serve as an elder or deacon and that the session would accept the scrupling of the G-6.0106b, could that person be ordained as an elder or deacon if elected by the congregation?” The Stated Clerk answered, “Yes.” Follow up questions were very specific and asked if “local option” concerning ordination was now the rule of the day in the PCUSA and again the Stated Clerk answered, “Yes.” The Stated Clerk based her answers on the new Authoritative Interpretation that was passed by the General Assembly AND Opinion #22 issued by Constitution Services of the PCUSA.

The path forward for this pastor and blog are now as clear as mud. I will resume tomorrow (July 17^th) with my series on options for moving forward that are being put forward by various groups within the PCUSA. The series will conclude on or before Wednesday, July 23^rd. I will then be taking a couple of days of planned vacation before leaving on a mission trip with our youth group. The blog will be “silent” for a period of time while I prayer and fast while seeking the Lords direction for my life, ministry, future with the PCUSA, etc.

I have been studying and preaching from Nehemiah for the past two months. When Nehemiah was confronted with the abysmal state of Jerusalem and its walls he spent four months in prayer and fasting.

There are some similarities between Nehemiah’s time and today:

Like the Israelites of old, the PCUSA had moved away from following God’s commands for holiness. This call for holiness is found in the Old and New Testaments.
Nehemiah referred to the Israelites as “stiff necked” and “disobedient” people—it appears as though the PCUSA is a “stiff necked” and “disobedient” people.
The greatness and grandeur of the PCUSA is long gone—like Jerusalem of old.

There are some major differences between Nehemiah’s time and today:

· There was only one temple—located in Jerusalem.

· The people of God were in captivity in a foreign land due to their unfaithfulness to God.

· Jesus had yet to come to earth to provide redemption for our sins through his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.

· The PCUSA IS NOT the Church—it is a single denomination, and a rather small one at that.

During this time of prayer and fasting I will be seeking God’s direction for my life, ministry and church. I have no idea of how long this process will take. I have no idea of what God is going to call me to. God may call me to stay within the PCUSA to keep up the fight for biblical faithfulness. God may call me to say within the PCUSA as a part of a “faithful remnant.” God may call me to stay in the PCUSA but not as a pastor. God may call me to leave the PCUSA and the pastoral ministry. God may call me to leave the PCUSA and remain in the pastoral ministry within another denomination. God may call me to leave the PCUSA and remain in the pastoral ministry in a non-denominational church. God may call me to a new and different type of ministry that is not in a local congregation.

On the lighter side, last August and September, I had a photo of one of my dahlias each day on my blog. Yes, I confess that I am a dahlia nut. I have approximately 750 dahlia plants in my garden (135 different varieties and 185 new seedlings for trying to develop new varieties of dahlia). When I return from the mission trip to Alaska I will post a photo of a different dahlia or two each day (Monday-Friday) to brighten your day (and mine).

Why the silence? Our Presbytery, at its last meeting, approved a process to deal with churches and/or pastors that are thinking about leaving the PCUSA. This document has a nice “pastoral” flavor but it also has some significant punitive possibilities in it. At this time, I am not planning on leaving the PCUSA! I have been warned (by a colleague in a significant position in the Presbytery) to make sure that I (or my church) do, or say, nothing that would cause the new policy to be put into motion. It could be possible for me to unintentionally write something at would trigger the new policy to be put in effect if I were to blog during this time of discernment. For the sake of my ministry, my family and my church, it is a risk that I cannot, and must not take.

So…

I will be back tomorrow and continue to look at options for moving forward in light of the 2008 General Assembly. Tomorrow’s post will look at Presbyterian Global Fellowship and their plan for moving forward.

Options for Moving Forward – Presbyterians for Renewal.

2008-07-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

The PCUSA is in a mess! How are we to move forward? Various groups within the PCUSA have spoken on this topic. Many faithful Presbyterians do not have the time or desire to find out what the various groups are saying. It is my intention to give a “best effort” to accurately present the “way forward” presented by the various groups with in the PCUSA. We will begin this process by looking at Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR).

PFR is a renewal group that has its roots in the Covenant Fellowship of Presbyterians—an evangelical renewal group in the former Southern church. PFR’s strategy prior to 2008 has been characterized as “stay, fight, win.” PFR has been great at organizing folks at the Presbytery level to defeat (or pass) amendments to the constitution. PFR was also very active in trying to organize General Assembly commissioners for biblical causes.

PFR’s plan for moving forward is two pronged:

A call to biblical faithfulness.
A restructuring of the denomination.

The call to biblical faithfulness is a rallying call to Presbyterians to VOTE AGAINST the amendment that would remove G-6.0106b from the constitution. The call would also include an effort to defeat the proposed changes to the Heidelberg Confession. There is also a strong “repentance” component to this section. The repentance recognizes that we have all sinned in dealing with this issue.

The restructuring of the denomination would change the way in which churches are formed into presbyteries and synods. This restructuring would be based on non-geographic presbyteries and synods (called the “two synod” model). The two synod model would have the two main branches in the PCUSA be divided into two synods: one holding at traditional, high view of scripture and biblical interpretation and holding to the church’s historic stance on ordination as summed up by G-6.0106b, and, one synod holding a progressive view of scripture and its interpretation and holding a view on ordination standards that would allow practicing, non-repentant gay, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons to be ordained as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament, Elders and Deacons. Congregations would affiliate with like-minded presbyteries within one of the synods.

PFR will only advocate the restructuring of the denomination if such restructuring can be accomplished with theologically sound reasoning and that such a move would be practical. Over the coming month, PFR will be studying to see if the above requirement can be met.

My Assessment of the PFR response to GA:

The first prong of PFR’s response is the stay, fight, win strategy. We have been following this strategy for 30+ years. Eventually, enough biblically faithful Presbyterians will leave the denomination to make this strategy fail. I believe that the Presbyteries will defeat the proposed amendment to remove G-6.0106b from the constitution. In future years I am not so confident that the votes will be there to defeat such proposed changes. I am confident that the proposed changes to the Heidelberg Confession will be defeated because it takes 2/3 of the Presbyteries to vote in favor of a change to the Book of Confessions.

The second prong of PFR’s response is the two synod model. I believe that the two synod model is based on faulty theology. How can one group believe that homosexual intercourse is a sin and yet stay within a denomination that has a major portion of the denomination that actively affirms and teaches that homosexual intercourse is a gift from God? The two synod model is a worldly solution for churches that are afraid to stand up for biblical authority. Such a model cannot be defended using scripture.

Nehemiah 9 and the PCUSA.

2008-07-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

The Old Testament is filled with examples of God’s people turning away from God. The Old Testament is filled with examples of God disciplining his people for turning away from him. The judgment of God was not something trivial or easy. The punishment for not going into the Holy Land as instructed was 40 years of wandering in the desert until every adult that voted against going into the Holy Land died. In Numbers 21 we read the account of God’s people speaking against God and Moses—so God set venomous snakes to the people and many people died. The northern and southern kingdoms did things that displeased God so God brought judgment on the two kingdoms. The northern kingdom fell, its inhabitants we taken into captivity and dispersed throughout the victor’s kingdom and were never heard from again (the lost ten tribes of Israel). The southern kingdom was conquered, its inhabitants taken into captivity in Babylon.

What would lead a person to think that God will not bring judgment upon the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for its actions? Or, maybe that is what God has been doing for the past 30+ years. Think for a moment, those denominations that have been moving away from the Bible and seeking to ordain practicing, non-repentant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons have been experiencing catastrophic membership losses for 30+ years. God’s judgment? The denominations moving in this direction are in Europe, the United States and Canada. Most churches in Europe sit empty. God’s judgment? The Episcopal Church in the United States is being ostracized by most of the world wide Anglican Communion. God’s judgment?

Nehemiah 9 is a brief record of the disobedience of God’s people. Here are some of the ways the Israelites are described:

Stiff-necked: Has the PCUSA been stiff-necked. For thirty years God has been keeping the denomination from ordaining LGBT persons; yet, at every General Assembly meeting the issue comes up again. Stiff-necked people?
Do not obey your commands: God has given very specific commands concerning worshipping other God and about homosexuality (both male and female versions). A gay wedding was done at the More Light Presbyterians official dinner at during the Assembly by a Presbyterian pastor. Do not obey your commands?
Rebelled against you: (see the two bullet points above)
They put your law behind their backs: Picture this—a child comes into the kitchen and grabs a cookie from the cookie jar even though his mother has told him not to. Mom walks into the kitchen. The child immediately places the cookie behind his back and pretends that nothing has happened. That is what this past General Assembly has done with God’s word and law—it pretended that they don’t exist or have meaning.

That section of Nehemiah concludes with these words:

“But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” (Nehemiah 9:36-37)

Nehemiah’s words ring true today—we are in great distress!

General Assembly Final Thoughts

2008-07-12T22:28:00.000-07:00

My last post ended with “The PCUSA as we know it is dead.”

Reasons for this statement:

The constitution (Book of Order and Book of Confessions) is what holds us together as a denomination.
More Light Presbyterians openly disobey the constitution. Other progressive Presbyterian groups, pastors and churches openly disobey the constitution.
Pastors openly disobey the constitution and perform same sex marriages.
The General Assembly openly disregarded that GA Permanent Judicial Commission’s Bush ruling—openly trying to circumvent the constitutional requirement of G-6.0106b.
The recent Advisory paper by the Stated Clerk’s office states that local option for ordination is now the rule of the day—even before the Presbyteries have voted on the proposed amendments to the constitution.

I find it fascinating that while the PCUSA does not function by its own rules it is quick to condemn the Evangelical Presbyterian Church for accepting congregations who can no long, in good conscience, stay in the PCUSA. How dare our denomination condemn another denomination when our denomination plays fast and easy with its own rules. Additionally, I find it comical that the Assembly voted to build a war chest of millions of dollars to fight congregations who want to join the EPC; and then, at the Assembly said that congregations looking to the leave the PCUSA should be treated with grace. I take this final action as the progressive Assembly saying to evangelical/orthodox Presbyterians “Don’t let the door hit you in the rear as you leave.”

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part ???)

2008-07-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

More Light Presbyterians headline: “Kikuchi and Wiesner Wed at GA Dinner.” The article goes on to say that the two were married at the conclusion of the More Light Presbyterians Dinner at General Assembly on June 21. The marriage was legal in the State of California. Here are the problems:

More Light Presbyterians ARE PRESBYTERIANS and are suppose to live by denominational rules.
The PCUSA defines “marriage” as between one man and one woman—not between two people of the same gender.
The marriage was conducted by a Presbyterian pastor—who knew that she could be charged with an offence by the denomination.
The General Assembly meeting was just beginning—no action had been taken on Amendment B, on the attempt to redefine “marriage” or any new Authoritative Interpretation.

This marriage was an IN YOUR FACE to every Presbyterian. This marriage was an IN YOUR FACE to the delegates who had traveled from across the nation to debate issues. This marriage was an IN YOUR FACE to every Presbyterian who tries to do things by the rules.

So what was the result of this marriage? I can find no reference to the Assembly condemning this action—there is only silence.

The PCUSA as we know it is dead.

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part 5)

2008-07-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

Hold the presses!! A pronouncement from Constitutional Services of the PCUSA puts a new twist on yesterday’s post. Constitutional Service said:

The 218th General Assembly also adopted (Item 05-12) a new Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108:

…the requirements of G-6.0108 … apply equally to all ordination standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Section G-6.0108 requires examining bodies to give prayerful and careful consideration, on an individual, case-by-case basis, to any departure from an ordination standard in matters of belief or practice that a candidate may declare during examination. However, the examining body is not required to accept a departure from standards and cannot excuse a candidate’s inability to perform the constitutional functions unique to his or her office (such as administration of the sacraments).

We believe this modifies the 2008 GAPJC decision of Bush v. Presbytery of Pittsburgh, in that the scrupling of either belief or practice is now allowed. The effect of this action is to remind ordaining bodies that they bear the responsibility for determining whether any particular standard (including those described in G-6.0106b) will be a bar to that particular candidate’s ordination/installation. This Authoritative Interpretation preserves the historic right of sessions and presbyteries to determine their membership; all these decisions, however, continue to be subject to review by a higher governing body.

This changes everything!! Constitutional Services had in effect declared that local option is now in the rule of the day!

Heaven help the PCUSA…

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part 4)

2008-07-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

The recent General Assembly of the PCUSA made some troubling decisions. Today I will move on to the horrible move by the Assembly.

Error #3.

The General Assembly tried to do an “end run” around the recent General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) Bush decision by adopting a new Authoritative Interpretation on G-6.0108. A little history is needed to understand what the Assembly did or didn’t do.

Since 1978 Definitive Guidance the PCUSA has held that “homosexuality is a sin” and is not God’s “wish for humanity.” Assemblies in 1980 and 1993 affirmed this stance on homosexuality. G-6.0106b was added to the constitution through the amendment process to help clarify the issue. In 2006 the General Assembly tried to change the Authoritative Interpretation but adopting the Peace, Unity and Purity (PUP) report. That report gave Presbyteries the right to determine whether a candidate was qualified to be ordained as a Minster of the Word and Sacrament. A person could “scruple” something that they did not agree with within the PCUSA—including G-0106b (the section on fidelity and chastity). This action caused wide-spread anger in the denomination. The action was viewed as doing away with Amendment b without the action going out to the Presbyteries for their approval. The issued ended up going through the church courts. The GAPJC Bush decision ruled that Amendment b COULD NOT be scrupled because it is a requirement that is in the constitution.

“The 218^th General Assembly (2008) affirms the authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108 approved by the 217^th General Assembly (2006). Further, the 218^th General Assembly (2008), pursuant to G-13.0112, interprets the requirements of G-6.0108 [to] apply equally to all ordination standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Section G-6.0108 requires examining bodies to give prayerful and careful consideration, on an individual, case-by-case basis, to any departure from an ordination standard in matters of belief or practice that a candidate may declare during examination. However, the examining body is not required to accept a departure from standards, and cannot excuse a candidate’s inability to perform the constitutional functions unique to his or her office (such as administration of the sacraments).”

-218^th General Assembly

Problem #1: This decision is a slap in the face of Permanent Judicial Commission. The commission had recently ruled that requirements that are specifically in the constitution CANNOT be waved. Period. End of story. The moderator or the stated clerk should have ruled that this was out of order. The church courts had just ruled on the issue.

Problem #2: This decision ushers in a time of confusion for the denomination. Those in favor of LGBT ordination are saying that Presbyteries and Session can now set aside, on and individual basis, any area where a candidate for ordination departs from the constitutional requirement for ordination. The church courts have already ruled that such actions are illegal. Once again the denomination will be in a state of confusion until a case works its way through the church courts (it will take about two years for this to happen).

Problem #3: This decision will have a cost to time and money for our denomination and Presbyteries. Lawyers will be hired. People will travel to attend court. This is a needless expenditure of limited resources.

Problem #4: This decision does not overturn the Bush decision. Yet, churches, Sessions and Presbyteries will act is though it does.

Several months ago my step-mother was admitted to the hospital. She was one sick lady. The doctors found that she had pneumonia, a MRSA infection in her lungs and a MRSA infection in her blood. She could have survived any one of these health issues. The combination of these three health problems was more than her body could handle and my step-mother died after almost two months in intensive care.

The new authoritative interpretation adopted by this past General Assembly will not kill the church—by itself. What it did was to give an already troubled denomination one more extremely divisive and unnecessary issue to deal with.

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part 3)

2008-07-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

The recent General Assembly of the PCUSA made some troubling decisions. In previous posts on this topic I introduced the meaning of “jumping the shark” and I looked at the most serious error of the Assembly. Today we will look at the second error.

Error #2.

The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) contains the following section:

“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.” (G-6.0106b)

The section of the Book of Order quoted above has been referred to as the “fidelity and chastity amendment” or “amendment b.” The removal of this section from the Book of Order is a serious error.

Readers of this blog who are not Presbyterian need to understand what the Assembly actually did with G-6.0106b. A General Assembly CANNOT remove a section (larger or small) from the Book of Order. An Assembly can vote to removed (or add a section) and then that action goes out to the Presbyteries to be ratified (over 50% of the Presbyteries must vote in favor of the change). The recent General Assembly voted to remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order, replacing it with 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.”

I recently heard someone ask, “Why has the Presbyterian Church been so concerned about the ordination of homosexuals for the past thirty years and not before that?” An aunt who is not a Christian recently told me, “There is not a single place in the Bible that calls homosexuality a sin.” Both of these people show how little knowledge there is about the Bible, sexuality and church history.

It is true that the PCUSA has been fighting over the ordination of practicing, non-repentant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (from now on referred to as “LGBT”) persons since 1978—that was the year that the denomination tried to for the first time to ordain LGBT persons. The Presbyteries defeated the proposed change and have done so every time it has come up since then. What changed in the 60s and 70s? What changed is the sexual revolution! Sexual promiscuity had always been a part of American culture but for the first time it was become “mainstream.” The climate for change was ushered in when the church moved away from a high view of scripture AND much of society embraced a more open view of sex, marriage and sexual orientation. The church did not fight over the ordination of LGBT persons prior to 1978 because the church and society would never have stood for the ordination of LGBT persons.

Since coming to Evergreen Presbyterian Church twelve years ago, the General Assembly has tried on several occasions to remove Amendment b from the constitution. On the first occasion I taught a class of the Bible and Sexuality. I was shocked and amazed at how many long-time Presbyterians had no idea of what the Bible actually says about sex (homosexual or heterosexual). These fine people had formed strong opinions based on human experience. I was further amazed at how many were willing to disregard what scripture had to say of the topic—based totally on human experience.

It is easy to see why my aunt was misinformed about what the Bible says about homosexuality. How can a person who never goes to church or Bible study be expected to know what the Bible says about sexuality when those within the church don’t know what it says or are willing to blatantly ignore what it says?

The Bible has a lot to say about sex. The book of Song of Songs (a.k.a. – Song of Solomon or Canticles) sits on the borderline between erotic and X rated. The Bible is filled with instances of lust, love and rape. The Bible condones certain sexual practices and condemns other sexual practices.

Two chapters that focus on sexual practices that are condemned are Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20. Leviticus 18: 20 says, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Leviticus 20 says, “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

The New Testament continues the prohibition of same sex intercourse. Romans 1:26-27 says, “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

The same theme is present in all of these texts—same gender sexual intercourse is wrong in the eyes of God. “Detestable” (in the Leviticus 18 passage) means that the practice is so horrible that God will not even look upon it. “Detestable” is an extremely harsh word in biblical Hebrew—this cannot be ignored.

I see the 1 Corinthians passage is a passage of hope—forgiveness. There are times when we are “greedy” or “slanderers” or anything else on that list. When we confess our sin we receive forgiveness. This is what G-6.0106b is all about. It is not just about gay sex—it is about confession of sin and forgiveness. The problem is that those who believe that same gender sexual intercourse is acceptable to God do not see that type of sexual expression as a sin, or that forgiveness is needed.

Those who believe that same gender sexual intercourse is acceptable to God are faced with two possible ways to justify their beliefs: discredit (explain away) the biblical texts or ignore the texts. For years and years those who are in favor of LGBT ordination tried to explain away the prohibition texts. That battle strategy has proven to be ineffective on all but a very few people. The newer tactic is to ignore the texts. You might have heard the argument of “we ordain people who are divorced” or “we ordain women” or “we selectively enforce the things that are prohibited in scripture.” It is s beyond the scope of this post to cover these additional topics. Let me just say that divorced person who do not repent should not be ordained. As for the ordination of women, God appointed Deborah to be a judge. Enough said.

The main issue is repentance and forgiveness!

So, why is removing G-6.0106b such a big deal? First, that section was placed in the constitution because many years ago the GAPJC said that the Authoritative Interpretation of 1978 was not enough—it needed to be in the constitution. So, various Presbyteries submitted the text of Amendment b, it was passed by the General Assembly and ratified by the Presbyteries. Second, when a Presbytery or Session ordains a person they do so for the entire church. There are Sessions and Presbyteries that do not believe that sexual intercourse outside of the bounds of one man and one woman who are married is a sin. Third, sex is a BIG DEAL! The sex drive is one of the strongest drives a person has. In many ways, sex impacts most areas of our lives. There is so much “worldly” confusion about sex that the church needs to be clear about what it teaches and believes. Fourth, the Bible is clear on its prohibition of same gender sexual intercourse. Fifth, Amendment b goes way beyond same gender sexual intercourse—it deals with all sin and forgiveness. Amendment b helps the church deal with pastors, elders and deacons who have “affairs.” Amendment b helps us to deal with candidates for the ministry who are “sleeping around.” Amendment b helps us to deal with pastors who are practicing alcoholics or thieves. Amendment b deals with sin, confession and forgiveness.

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy? (Part 2)

2008-07-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

Error #1.

Yesterday, I started looking at the errors made by the recent General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The most significant error was in what the Assembly did regarding our interfaith relationship with those who practice the religion of Islam. Before going any further, I must admit that I am not an expert in this area; however, I am more familiar with this area than probably 90%-95% of Presbyterians. My study of the world’s religions began at Sheldon Jackson College as a student, it continued at Washington State University. At those institutions I studied under professors who were well versed in the world’s religions. One of the professors was a Christian and one had left the Christian faith and believed that all religions lead to God or high consciousness. My assumptions about religion, faith, Christianity, salvation, God, etc, were profoundly challenged. My study of the world’s religions continued throughout my life. As a faculty member at Sheldon Jackson College I taught the class on the World’s Religions every semester for five years. Adherents of many of the religions we covered took the class. I sought to be unbiased in my presentation of each religion and was commended by those who practiced religions other than Christianity for teaching the doctrines of their faith in a fair and unbiased way.

If anything is going to bring the wrath of God upon the PCUSA it will be this past General Assembly’s actions on interfaith relations with Muslims. As a Christian and a Presbyterian pastor I call on all Presbyterians to repent of the sin which our General Assembly is leading us into.

At the end of yesterday’s posting, I asked my readers to look at the following scripture passages:

2 Kings 17:37-38
Jeremiah 13:10
Jeremiah 44
Numbers 25:1-4
Judges 2:12
2 Kings 17:38

Scripture is very clear about the worship of God. We ARE NOT to bow down and worship other gods—PERIOD!!

All religions do not worship the same God. If a person believes that all religions worship the same God then he/she is not a Christian—that person may be a “Presbyterian.” The god that the Muslims worship is not the God that Christians worship. Do your homework! Read the Bible! Read the Koran. Read the teachings of Muhammad. The two faiths are mutually exclusive.

“though we hold differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, the PC(USA) affirms that, as children of this loving God, we share the commandments of love for God and neighbor, the requirement to care for the poor." (2008 General Assembly of the PCUSA)

The statement passed by the Assembly is heresy! The statement begins by inferring (if not explicitly stating) that God (Yahweh) has revealed God’s self to Christians and Muslims—we just understand it differently. “This loving God” again implies that we worship the same God. Heresy, once again. Our different faiths may indeed call us to love the god of our faith—but Christians are called to love Yahweh and Muslims are called to love a different God (Allah). Our faiths may call us to care for the poor. However, there are different gods calling us to these actions. There is only one true God—Yahweh!

"Practices might include participation in sacred and holy observances in each other’s traditions." (2008 General Assembly)

The Assembly calls upon us to take part in each other’s “practices.” Taking part in the sacred practices of a god other than Yahweh is totally forbidden in scripture. God is a jealous God and is swift in his punishment of the worshipping of other gods. (Note: a Muslim that takes his/her faith seriously would never worship a god other than Allah, as revealed in the Koran.) The General Assembly is actually encouraging Presbyterians to bow down and worship a different god. The Assembly did not say to “go and observe” Muslims as they practice their sacred events. The Assembly used the word “participation.” To “participate” is to “take part in.” A person that participates in a Muslim sacred (worship) event may say, “I am not really worshipping Allah.” That person is only fooling themselves—they are not fooling God. Look at scripture and see what God did to those who worship other gods.

“encourage congregations of these faiths to celebrate religious holidays together, setting aside days of worship during which there can be congregational suppers, and dialogue groups. (2008 General Assembly)

Does this General Assembly expect me to celebrate the birth of Muhammad—someone who leads people away from Jesus and eternal life? Does this Assembly expect me to celebrate Ramadan? Does this Assembly expect a Muslim to come and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the birth of Christ, Pentecost, etc?

It would be nice to sit down and eat with Muslims but most Christians do not follow the Muslim dietary restrictions. We could do it, though. We should sit down and dialogue—talk. We can work together to fight hunger, gang violence, terrorism, racism, discrimination, etc. It would be good to dialogue, but it should be done with the realization that we are of two distinct, separate faiths.

What will happen to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) if we follow through on what this past General Assembly has called us to do? I don’t pretend to know what God will do. But, I do know this—it won’t be pretty! God’s judgment is harsh. Read your Bible. See for yourself. Fall on your knees and pray for the PCUSA.

Has the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “jumped the shark?” Or, to put it another way, Was this past General Assembly the Assembly of Heresy?

2008-07-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

Those who are familiar with popular culture will be familiar with the phrase “jump the shark.” Urbandictionary.com’s first definition of “jump the shark” says, “Origin of this phrase comes from a Happy Days episode where the Fonz jumped a shark on waterskis. Thus was labeled the lowest point of the show.” The second definition says, “The precise moment when you know a program, band, actor, politician, or other public figure has taken a turn for the worse, gone downhill, become irreversibly bad, is unredeemable, etc.; the moment you realize decay has set in.”

The phrase “jumping the shark” has been applied in many areas. Krispy Kreme donuts had a good thing going. Their stock had shot up through the roof. Their stores were few and far between. People would drive hundreds of miles to stand in line for Krispy Kreme donuts. Several years ago a group from our church to the only Krispy Kreme donuts store in Washington State. Going to Krispy Kreme was an “event.” The night we visited Krispy Kreme there were several groups of high school students in their prom dresses, tuxes and limousines at Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme had a good thing going with not-for-profit organizations. These organization would order dozens and dozens of donuts to sell out along side the highways and byways of Washington State. Most people’s first experience of a Krispy Kreme donut was of a cold donut that was cooked at 3:00 a.m.! Krispy Kreme jumped the shark when it opened so many stores. There are currently two Krispy Kreme stores within fifteen minutes of my house. The Krispy Kreme stores sit virtually empty. The stock value plummeted.

The Anglican Church jumped the shark when the Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated a non-celibate gay bishop. This one event has caused irreparable damage to the Anglican Communion. Conservative Anglicans just wrapped up the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, said there must be “unavoidable realignment in the communion to rescue the communion from where we are.” He went on to say, "A sizeable part of the Communion are in error and not a few are apostate; is the Communion correctable from within or must it be from without?" A major shift in the Anglican Communion is taking place.

Was this past General Assembly meeting the “jump the shark” event in the life of the PCUSA? Was this the Assembly meeting that will forever change the denomination?

What is heresy? The Oxford English Dictionary defines heresy as a “theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox.” Several actions by this past General Assembly are very troubling. Do any of these actions rise to the point of being called “heresy?”

The Internet is ablaze with postings on this past General Assembly. The folks at “higher headquarters” (a.k.a. – Louisville) are in full damage control mode. Yesterday I received a call from our General Presbyter – the first one in twelve years. The GP is concerned about how pastors and churches are going to respond to the actions of the Assembly. The you-know-what has hit the fan.

The Book of Order says that “all synods and councils may err…” (G-1.0307) Christ’s followers are human—forgiven, but still human. General Assemblies have erred in the past and will undoubtedly err in the future. One safe guard against such error is that changes to the constitution have to be ratified by a majority of the presbyteries. Such a balance of power helps to prevent the Assemblies from error. One very troubling aspect of this past Assembly is the way in which it bypassed the requirement to send things to the presbyteries to be ratified.

Enough of the preamble—on to the analysis.

Error #1.

The recent General Assembly dealt with issues regarding the interfaith relationship between Presbyterians and Muslims. It is important that we build appropriate relationships with those who are outside of the Christian faith. Those relationships would include being respectful of the other religion while holding fast to the belief that salvation is found in Christ alone. I would expect that any Muslim that truly believes the doctrines of his/her faith would hold fast to the teaching of Muhammad and the Koran. It is possible to build a trusting relationship with those of a different religion without compromising the tenants of our faith.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a report that says, “though we hold differing understandings of how God has been revealed to humankind, the PC(USA) affirms that, as children of this loving God, we share the commandments of love for God and neighbor, the requirement to care for the poor." and, "Practices might include participation in sacred and holy observances in each other’s traditions." and, “encourage congregations of these faiths to celebrate religious holidays together, setting aside days of worship during which there can be congregational suppers, and dialogue groups.”

To be fair to the Assembly, the most heretical sentence was removed from the report by the committee. However, the troubles with the report are of historic proportions.

Before I comment further, please take the time to read the following biblical texts:

I will comment further tomorrow after you have had an opportunity to read the listed biblical texts.

Update…

2008-07-01T14:26:00.001-07:00

Regular followers of this blog know that pastoral responsibilities have taken their toll over the past several months—this postings have been few and far between.

Last week I took the entire week off. We traveled to the in-laws for their 50^th anniversary party (Saturday), to attend a huge family reunion (Sunday) and for the memorial service for my wife’s sister’s father-in-law. My time away was wonderful—even the memorial service. Many relative on the wife’s side of the family have accepted Christ in the past few years. It is humbling to see how God has moved in this family. I met Holly—soon to be my sister-in-law by marriage. She and her two teenage kids are great.

Guess what—no internet connection while I was gone. J

I turned on my computer yesterday and wanted to weep. So many people have written on the assembly. I will begin writing tomorrow – Wednesday. My spiritual “nerves” are still to raw to comment today.

Will I offer any new thoughts? Will my “2 cents” add to the debate? I will strive to honor your time. Time is too valuable to waste.

See you tomorrow…

General Assembly Top 10 Issues--cont.

2008-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA copies David Letterman? Each night Letterman goes through his top ten list--at times the list is funny, other times it is dumb. other times it is just plain stupid. Before each meeting of the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly meeting the Stated Clerk offers his/her top ten list—the top ten issues coming before the Assembly. The PCUSA web site offers the list—in no particular order. Look at it here.

Perhaps the most controversial proposal to come before the Assembly will be the new Form of Government (nFOG). The Form of Government could be called the “rules” section of the Book of Order.

There is a desire to make the denomination more “missional” and to be more able to react quickly to changing ministry situations. Others have written extensively on the nFOG and I will not try to duplicate their work—I could never do as good of a job as they have done.

I am frustrated with the use of the catch-word of “missional.” One could ask, “What does it mean for a church or denomination to be missional?” I do not find that the nFOG makes the PCUSA more missional.

The nFOG is based on trust. We will be asked to “trust” that other churches are faithful to scripture. We will be asked to “trust” that denominational staff and leaders are doing what they should be doing. Trust. Trust? Does the denomination trust our churches? There are synods that are “going after” presbyteries because the presbyteries released congregations to the EPC. No trust there! Congregations are seeking to leave the denomination and presbyteries are fighting them. No trust there! Ministers openly violate the Book of Order where it comes to ordaining practicing GLBT persons. They have violated their ordination oaths and destroyed any possibility of trust! A GA committee puts out a position statement on Israel and then a week later puts in changes that basically go directly contrary to the first paper. Bate and switch. No trust there!

A few weeks ago a person from my church was schedule to have a pacemaker implanted into their body to help the heart beat as it should. In getting ready for that surgery, test found a “growth” on the adrenal gland on the left kidney. They took out the adrenal gland but postponed the pacemaker surgery until she was stronger. She has now had that surgery.

The PCUSA was substantially weakened at the last Assembly and the two years that have followed. I do not believe that the PCUSA is healthy enough to survive the drastic surgery of the nFOG. Don't get me wrong, I PCUSA is not going to die if the nFOG passes. More churches will leave. What will I do if the nFOG passes? I'm not sure. I guest that my response will be based on what happens as the nFOG is implemented.

General Assembly Top 10 Issues--Part 2.

2008-06-11T09:30:00.001-07:00

Another of the top ten issues deals with “PC(USA) ecumenical stance and covenants.” The Stated Clerk said,

“The 218th General Assembly will take action on a number of ecumenical items, including a proposed new policy on the ecumenical stance of the PC(USA) and covenant agreements with four different churches: the Korean Presbyterian Church in America, the Episcopal Church, the Catholic Church and the Moravian Church.”

As a “denomination” these may be important issues. In the local church these are not an issue. We work cooperatively with these denomination—and others. It is crazy that we have to take “official” action to affirm that these groups are Christian churches we are willing to work with.

What the State Clerk does not say is that the General Assembly will seek to slap the wrist of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (overtures on the EPC are listed under the topic of ecumenical and interfaith relations).

I have struggles in the ecumenical interfaith area facing the Assembly. The world-wide Anglican community is in the process of disciplining the Episcopal Church in the United States. Why is the PCUSA trying to affirm the actions of the Episcopal Church at a time when members of the Anglican Communion are distancing themselves from the Episcopal Church? And yet, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has not been sanctioned by any Reformed oversight “body” and yet the PCUSA is trying to punish the EPC. I don’t get it? If the PCUSA seeks to discipline the EPC then the PCUSA should affirm the discipline that the Anglican Communion is dishing out to the Episcopal Church.

I guess that what we are saying is: “A denomination can believe and do what ever it wants as long as PCUSA congregations do not seek join that other denomination.” Pretty self serving.

General Assembly Top 10 Issues.

2008-06-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

Did you know that The Belhar Confession is one of the most important issues coming before the Assembly? What??? You must be joking!! Has the Stated Clerk lost his mind? Praise God that our Stated Clerk isn’t running for another term of office.

For the unenlightened (of which I was one), The Belhar Confession was written in the 1980s in South Africa as a response to Apartheid. It is now being pushed to combat racial separatism in any setting.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am against racial separatism. If we adopt this then I hope we “enforce” it equally. I am confident that this will be one more weapon in the arsenal to degrade Israel while building up the Palestinians. But before we do that, let’s remember scripture and take the plank from our own eye before we begin to operate on someone else’s eye.

A friend of mine lives in an Alaskan Yup’ik village. He has been married to a Yup’ik Eskimo woman for around thirty years. They have lived in the village for their entire married life, except when the wife went to college to get her teaching degree. They speak Yup’ik in their home. They live a subsistence lifestyle. My friend has learned and adopted their culture. He is one of the two best hunters and trappers in the village. Yet, he is, and always be, a second class citizen in his village. The village IS NOT a “reservation” (Study the Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act to understand those particular issues). He will never be allowed to have a say in the community government. The PCUSA should speak out about against this injustice if it adopts The Belhar Confession.

Here in Washington, a new Native American casino is about to open. Several members of that tribe (they have been on the council) have been removed from the tribe in a power play dispute. These ostracized people are losing out on mega-dollars, as well as their health care. They are having to “document” that their dead relatives really were a part of the tribe (up until now their family membership has never been in doubt). The PCUSA should speak out about against this injustice if it adopts The Belhar Confession.

I know a young native boy (who isn’t so young any more). The young man is Tlingit and born in Sitka, Alaska. His mother (a full blood Tlingit) is from a family that has been active in the Presbyterian Church in Sitka for generations. This lady was unable to care for her baby and put her baby up for adoption. A couple (the wife is Caucasian and the husband is Native American—not of the Tlingit tribe) that I know adopted the child. The birth mother (and family) of this child have refused to “register” him as a Tlingit—this means that the child (now a young man) is not recognized by the tribe or the U.S. government as a Tlingit and he misses out on all of the benefits that go with that recognition (membership in the Native Corporation, financial assistance, health benefits, etc.). The PCUSA should speak out about against this injustice if it adopts The Belhar Confession—especially, since the birth family is Presbyterian!

The Belhar Confession looks good on paper. The Belhar Confession speaks part of the gospel message. We should be involved in speaking out about racial injustice. However, The Confession of 1967 does just that!! Check out The Confession of 1967 here and look at section 9.44a:

“God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, God overcomes the barriers between sisters and brothers and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all peoples to receive and uphold one another as persons is all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights. Therefore, the church labors for the abolition of all racial discrimination and ministers to those injured by it. Congregations, individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or patronize others, however subtly, resist the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they profess.”

The PCUSA is facing huge issues! The Belhar Confession is not one of them!

I'm still here... honest :-)

2008-06-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Once again, pastoral duties have occupied all of my time. As the saying goes, “When it rains, it pours.” In the past few weeks I have had:

Two memorial services.
One person with cancer that died this week (folks from the church and I have been providing a lot of care for the person and the family. Am currently working on the memorial service.
Two persons in the hospital with strokes. One is recovering quite well and the other (who has Alzheimer’s) has been placed in a care facility that specializes with Alzheimer’s. The recent health difficulties sped up his memory troubles.
One person diagnosed with a reoccurrence cancer—lung cancer has come back in the Adrenal gland. She had surgery to remove the Adrenal gland and then had to have surgery to put in a heart pace maker. Chemo begins next week.
An elderly woman who is very weak due to being sick.

All of these ministry items are public knowledge.

There are many important issues facing the PCUSA and the upcoming meeting of the General Assembly. Hopefully, I will be able to get back to posting next week.

Pastor Lance

Pentecost Transformation (Part 3)

2008-05-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

(click on the "photo" for a larger version)

God is doing great things around the globe. The gospel is spreading like wildfire—driven by the Holy Spirit. This fantastic growth is happening almost everywhere; that is, except North America and Western Europe (“NA/WE”). Oh sure, there are places where God is drawing people to himself, there are pockets here and there, churches here and there. Any honest examination of the church world-wide will cause a person to see the sad facts concerning the church in North America and Western Europe.

The first post looked at how the NA/WE church is out of touch with the supernatural. The second post looked at how we do not want the Holy Spirit to change us. Today we look at another reason why the NA/WE church is missing out on the global movement of God’s Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is binds us together as Christ’s people like the Torah bound the Israelites together as God’s people:

It was an awkward moment. Jesus was stand on top of a mountain with his disciples--Jesus knew that he was about to ascent into heaven, the disciples had were clueless about what was about to happen. Jesus told them to go to every ethnos (ethnic or people group, not nation). He then told them to go to stay in Jerusalem until God gave them the gift (Holy Spirit) that had been promised to them. They had to wait on God’s timing.

As the disciples waited in Jerusalem the city began to come to life—filled to the brim with people. Jews from across the Mediterranean region traveled to Jerusalem for the festival of Shavuot. Shavuot is the festival where the Israelites celebrated God giving the Torah to Moses and the people receiving the Torah—becoming the people of God. Shavuot marked the end of the grain harvest. This was the first day that people could bring the Bikkurim to the temple. “What is the bikkurim?” you may ask. There were seven harvests where a family would save the first fruits of the harvest. These offerings would be placed in a special basket. The basket of first fruit offerings (bikkurim) would be taken to the temple as an offering to God. People had journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the Torah, being the people of God and to bring the bikkurim as an offering to God.

Then God did something amazing!! The Holy Spirit! Tongues of fire! The Holy Spirit came upon all of Jesus’ disciples! Peter preached about the life, death and resurrection Jesus. Peter called people to repentance and to follow Jesus. Thousands were converted that day. The revival had begun.

All of this happened on the day when the Jews had gathered together to celebrate the Torah and being the people of God. All of this took place on the day of bringing the first fruits offering to God. This is did not happen by coincidence!

The Holy Spirit bound these thousands of believers together as one church—even though they spoke different languages and lived in different countries. They followed one Lord and Savior—Jesus Christ! The thousands who received Christ that day were truly the “first fruit” of this new time.

God weeps when he looks at the divisions in his body today. I am appalled when the leadership of the Presbyterian Church says that people are splitting Christ’s church when congregations leave the denomination. The PCUSA is already split—it is fractured like broken window that is held together with masking tape (look at the chart at the top of this post). Our leadership “talks with” groups that aren’t even Christian and some “Christian” churches that have drifted so far from the gospel that they may no longer be “Christian,” and seems to totally ignore other Christian groups.

I have served as an ordained pastor in four communities. In every instance there were churches that wanted to work together for the Kingdom of God in our town. These churches were: Southern Baptist, Conservative Baptist, Assembly of God, Independent, and Evangelical Covenant. The churches that very seldom want to work together were the “liberal” churches. In one town the Methodists would work together on some projects.

Why can’t the “church” be united? Why can’t the Holy Spirit bind us together as one church?

I believe that it goes back to Shavuot. It was the Torah that held the Israelites together. They had God’s word. They knew what God expected of them. They knew about sin and redemption through sacrifices. They were held together by the same belief system. In the Presbyterian Church it is our property that holds us together—it is our beliefs that divide us. We have pastors, churches and denominational leaders that do not believe that Jesus bodily rose from the dead, is the only way to God, that “sin” is sin, etc. The Holy Spirit cannot join those who are heading in different directions, following different masters. Denominations ARE NOT the “body of Christ.” Churches, and the people who are a part of them, that follow the risen Lord are the body of Christ.

We are working on a joint project with the local Baptist Church and an Independent Church—Graham Jam 2008. The project is the brain-child of the Baptist Church. They are footing practically all of the bills—they are by far the biggest of the churches. They invited churches that they knew served the risen Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit binds us together in ways that denomination never can.

I am thankful that the denominational age is coming to an end. Denominations have not, and cannot, bind us together. )Just look at the chart at the beginning of this post.) The chart shows the splits and mergers in the Presbyterian “family.” We need to be transformed by the Holy Spirit—then and only then can be united as THE CHURCH by the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Transformation (Part 2)

2008-05-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

(Note: Sorry for the time between posts—I have had to focus on pastoral “stuff” the past couple of weeks; after all, I am a pastor first and foremost.)

The last post looked at how the NA/WE church is out of touch with the supernatural. Today we look at another reason why the NA/WE church is missing out on the global movement of God’s Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God’s power to change us--but we don’t want to change:

“I don’t want to…” is a favorite saying of most two-year olds. The typical two-year old wants what they want, when they want it. The typical adult in NA/WE is just like the two-year old child—totally self focused. When was there ever such a self-absorbed society?

Change? I don’t want to change! You can’t make me change! God made me the way that I am—therefore, I must be alright.

Peter was hand picked by Jesus to be one of his disciples. Peter wasn’t perfect—far from it, in fact. Peter didn’t see any need to change until he experienced brokenness before Jesus along the sea shore following the resurrection. The Pentecost transformation of Peter was astounding. The one who denied Jesus was now openly preaching about the crucified and risen Jesus. He needed to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in order to be used by God.

Paul was happy with his life. He was serving God and the temple. He was all for keeping the “church” just the way it had always been. He loved the Torah. He was passionately devoted to the church. The problem—he was serving the church and not serving Jesus or God. The Holy Spirit totally transformed his life. He had to give up a lot of what he held dear. The gospel spread throughout the Gentile world because Paul was transformed by the Holy Spirit.

We (I) don’t want to change!!

The gay man wants to keep fulfilling his desire for sexual gratification with another man. The man that commits adultery wants to keep seeing that woman that has brought a new sense of excitement into his life. The meth user looks forward to the next fix. The person who habitually runs red lights sees no reason to stop at a meaningless traffic light. The computer hacker sees no reason to give up the joy getting through a new firewall. The CEO who accepts a $2 million bonus sees no reason to reject it even though thousands of people are being laid off by his company. The person sitting outside of the hospital (in their hospital gown) with an IV machine hooked up to them sees no reason to give up the cigarette they are sucking on. Politicians see no reason to quit making promises that they cannot keep.

Do you see a pattern?

Every one of us needs to experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. We are all for it as long as we don’t have to change! And, that is the problem with the NA/WE church. The NA/WE church is filled with people who do not want to change. We are afraid that God will tell us that what we are doing is wrong and that we are to stop doing it. We are afraid that God will have us do something that we don’t want to do.

I remember a Methodist pastor who was serving a “united” church (a Presbyterian church and a Methodist church had joined to become one church) in my Presbytery. He had been perfectly happy with his life as a pastor. The his prior church expected him to preach on Sunday, officiate at weddings and funerals and very little else. He had been a very liberal pastor for over ten years. Then something happened—he met Jesus and the Holy Spirit. His life was transformed. He said, “I became a born again liberal!” His Methodist pastor colleagues thought he had lost his senses. He still had a passion for the poor and homeless. He read the Bible in a new way—sin became sin, the Bible became God’s word. The Holy Spirit did a transforming work in his life.

Most NA/WE Christians do not want to experience any kind of transformation. We run from the Holy Spirit because we are afraid of what God might do to us. We don’t want to change and that is the problem!

Pentecost Transformation

2008-05-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

God is the same—at all times and all places. Jesus Christ is the same—at all times and all places. The Holy Spirit is the same—at all times and all places. “So what is different?” you might be asking. Well… it’s the people!

For the next couple of days I am going to think “out loud” about what I think some of the issues are. You can feel free to add additional ideas later in the series—and to comment on the current issue.

Out of touch with and fear of the supernatural:

Satan’s biggest accomplishment in NA/WE is convincing the church that the supernatural isn’t real. I mean REALLY REAL! Oh sure, we give lip service to the spirit world but we really don’t believe it. We don’t want to have anything to do with it. Can you imagine a football team going out onto the field to play their game blindfolded? The team is pretending that the opponent isn’t there. The team is going to run the plays that were drawn up in the locker room. They have done those plays so many times that they can do them with their eyes covered. That is what the NA/WE church seems to be doing.

You say that you believe in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and the spirit world? Prove it! When was the last time you (or your church) had to deal the demons and the demonic? When was the last time someone spoke in tongues during worship? When was the last time someone was supernaturally healed during one of your worship services? Evergreen Presbyterian Church is just as guilty as most churches in NA/WE—well, sort of. We have had to deal with demons and demonic activity. We have had a “word of knowledge” during a special worship service. However, most of our church would be VERY uncomfortable with these issues.

How many Presbyterian pastors do not believe in the person of Satan? It is a fairly large number. How many Methodist pastors do not believe in the person of Satan? It is an even larger number than in the Presbyterian Church. How many Episcopal, UCC, Congregational, ELCA and American Baptist pastors do not believe in the person of Satan? The answer is “far too many.”

The Apostle Paul writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) How can we win a battle against a foe that we do not believe exists?

A weak, cerebral Christian church in NA/WE has caused people to look elsewhere for a supernatural religious experience. People long for something greater than themselves. People long for a tangible experience with the supernatural. The NA/WE gives them liturgy and form—other “religions” give them supernatural experiences. A person can drive a few miles from Graham, Washington, to see/experience J.Z Knight “channel” Ramtha (and pay thousands of $$$ for the experience). People dabble in religions where they can receive power from crystals, where they can cast spells, where they can consult mediums to learn about the future.

Mean while, the NA/WE church fights about the ordination of practicing, non-repentant, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender persons. We ordain people who do not believe that Jesus bodily rose from the dead. We are losing the battle because it is a spiritual battle—and we don’t even like to recognize that the supernatural really exists.

I attended Fuller Theological Seminary back in the ‘80s. John Wimber and Peter Wagner taught a class in the School of World Missions on the Holy Spirit (move down the linked article to the section on the class). This class recognized that missionaries were going to be confronted with supernatural powers. Defeating these supernatural entities would be an important step in taking the gospel around the world. The class exposed the students to many of the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit. The class was the most difficult class on campus to get into—students in the School of World Missions had first choice and then the rest of the students based on how close they were to graduating. The School of Theology professors HATED the class. The said that you can’t teach and demonstrate those kinds of spiritual gifts. I am positive that the professors “believed” that those gifts and the supernatural” battle were real—the class just didn’t fit in with their idea of scripture, seminary and the church. The School of Theology professors demanded that the class be ended. Sure enough, they were able to kill the class.

The NA/WE church is out of touch with the Holy Spirit and the supernatural. Our seminaries (denominational and non-denominational) do not help the situation. We try to fight against a foe we do not understand and without the supernatural tools that God has provided us.

God weeps.

Preparation for Pentecost

2008-05-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

The church calendar shows that this coming Sunday (May 11) is Pentecost Sunday. Some churches have people dress in “red” for Pentecost (“Red Hat” ladies, this should be your favorite Sunday). Evergreen has special Pentecost banners. The red paraments need to come off the shelf and be placed on the communion table and pulpit. At Evergreen, we sing our own rendition of Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky (we only had to change a few words—it is one of the few Sunday’s where I will play the electric guitar in church). Pentecost is almost here.

There is a wonderful linkage between the Old Testament feasts and Jesus. It is too bad that so many people are practically illiterate when it comes to the Old Testament. Our faith is rooted and grounded in the Old Testament. Our preparations for Pentecost will be enhanced when we look at the link between the Old and New Testaments (or, Hebrew and Apostolic Scriptures, in the words of my messianic pastor friend).

God’s people were to celebrate the Passover (also called the Festival of Unleavened Bread) every year. The 10^th plague that was coming upon Pharaoh and the Egyptian people was the killing of the first born son. The Hebrew people were to sacrifice a lamb and place some of the blood on the door posts of their homes. The angel of death would see the mark and “pass over” that household.

Jesus was crucified on the Passover. His death is THE Passover sacrifice, once for all. Those who are marked with the blood of Christ do not have to fear death—they have eternal life!

The Counting of the Omer comes on the heels of the Passover. The Omer is the 49 day period between Passover and Pentecost. It is a time of denying yourself in preparation for the celebration on Pentecost.

In the New Testament tradition we have the 40 days between Easter and Christ’s ascension AND the ten days where the disciples were waiting in Jerusalem as per Jesus’ instructions. This 50 day period is to prepare us for the Pentecost experience.

Shavuoth (Pentecost) is the Old Testament holy day related to Moses and the Torah. The Hebrew people believe that God gave the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai on Shavuoth. The Torah is what bound the people of God into a nation. The Torah is where God revealed his will and statutes to his people. Shavuoth was also the first day when people would bring bikkurim to the temple. The bikkurim ( on this link, be sure to scroll down to Chapter 5) was made of the seven crops that were so important to the Hebrew people: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. The “first fruits” from these harvests were placed in woven baskets of gold and silver and brought to the Lord.

For Christians, Pentecost is when we celebrate God’s giving of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is the one who empowers us to serve God, shows us God’s will and gifts us for service in the Kingdom of God. On the first Christian Pentecost there was a tremendous “first harvest”—thousands of people gave their lives to Christ! The harvest continues today!

The Hebrew people so valued the Torah that they spent 49 days preparing to celebrate the receiving of the Torah. It would be great if Christians spent 49 days preparing to celebrate Pentecost! We could spend 49 days praying for God to gift us for service. We could spend 49 days preparing to be a part of God’s “harvest” team.

Well, we don’t have 49 days until Pentecost—we have today (Wednesday), Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We had best get at it if we are going to be “prepared” for Pentecost!

Breaking Out of the Box

2008-05-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon was spent up at the church instead of taking my normal post-sermon nap. My “Sunday’ begins with worship team practice and worship on Saturday and then slides into “Sunday” with another worship team practice, teaching a class and then leading worship. This past Sunday was different. Immediately following worship the front of the sanctuary had to be dismantled for the benefit concert we were hosting that evening. The sanctuary lighting had already been changed on Saturday morning. New risers and portable sound system were set up. I sat in my office as car after car arrived with our “guests.”

Breath of Aire, a sixty-voice choir, sang at Evergreen on Sunday night. You are really missing out if you live in western Washington and haven’t heard this choir. Many of their members are church choir directors and musicians. Their members come from across the state of Washington, with their pianist coming up from Portland, Oregon. Their web site states: “Breath of Aire is commited to helping our community by singing for Benefit Concerts. BOA performs a wide range of music from Patriotic, Americana, Country, and Showtunes to Classical, Gospel, Contemporary Inspirational, and Spirituals. BOA’s signature sound is a highlight as the choir sings moving acappella songs around the audience.”

Love, Inc (Love In the Name of Christ) is a Christian referral agency we use for assisting those in need. They “check out” the story and situation of those calling for assistance and make appropriate referrals to agencies or churches. Evergreen’s Deacons limited our assistance to $50 - $75 prior to working with Love, Inc. (unless we knew the people and situation). We live in an area where some people make their “living” off of churches. One man told me, “I don’t work because I don’t have too.” Now, with Love, Inc’s clearance, we regularly assist in the $200 - $300 amount. We know the money is going to be a “hand up” and not a “hand out.” Love, Inc. is able to keep their doors open because of donations--they don’t “charge” anyone for their services. They were running out of money last year and didn’t know how they were going to pay the rent—their next fundraiser was a month away. We found out and met the need, after all, they assist us all the time. That is where the idea for this benefit concert came from.

Evergreen is a small church. We have a weekend worship attendance of around 100 people. How would we be able to host a meaningful fundraising concert? There was a very real possibility that there would be more in the choir than in audience. Breath of Aire didn’t blink an eye. One of their members said, “If there are only 50 people there then those are the people God wanted there.”

The 2.5 hour concert was out of this world! We had 131 people show up for the concert. Several Breath of Aire members said that this was one of the best audiences they had ever had.

The sanctuary will get “put back” to normal over the next few days; the impact of the concert will last for a long time. Many who attended were deeply touched by God. One woman who attends church in a neighboring town said, “This was the most spiritual experience I have ever had.” Several people in attendance had never been in our church before. We were able to raise $1,200 for Love, Inc.

I have spent so much time on this concert to make a point—small churches don’t have to “think” small or settle for being small. Two weeks ago we cancelled our regular worship services to work out in the community (Faith in Act!on). This week we hosted a fabulous concert. In July we will be a co-sponsor of Graham Jam 2008. Evergreen is intentionally looking “outside” of the walls of our church. The people of our church have been tremendously touched by these events. It has taken a small army of folks to staff these events. Every single person would do it again tomorrow! Then, there is the impact we are having on the community of Graham—we are touching one person at a time.

Your church can make a difference!! Break out of the “normal” church box. Look and see where the Holy Spirit is leading your church. It may surprise you!

Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry Conference Intersects With The Present Future—Part 2.

2008-05-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

How do you get Presbyterians to begin thinking outside of the “normal” Presbyterian box? The PCUSA, as a denomination, has done a good job of trying to be involved in “justice” issues—although, I am perplexed by why they only tackle projects on one side of the political isle. Do we need to help the poor? Yes, we do. Do we need to work toward better race relations? Yes, we do. Do we need to try to lead people to Christ so that they can experience eternal life? Yes, we do. Do we need to encourage people to live moral, biblical lives? Yes, we do. Do we need to encourage Christians to grow in their faith, yielding more and more of their lives to Christ? Yes, we do. Do we need to encourage people to store God’s Word in their hearts (Psalm 119)? Yes, we do.

I have come to the conclusion (and I don’t like the conclusion) that denominations will have little impact on assisting local congregations to carry out these tasks. It seems (at least by their actions) that most denominations care more about the survival of the “denomination” than they do about the Kingdom of God. I cannot think of anything that the PCUSA has done to aid my congregation in its ministry in the past ten years. The closest is the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s camps in the New Orleans area and our Presbytery’s work in the flooded areas of southwest Washington. Still, as important as these two things are, they have had very little impact on the ministry of Evergreen Presbyterian Church.

The world has changed and “higher headquarters” is doing nothing to assist our churches face this new landscape. Oh, they say that the proposed revisions to the Book of Order will help us. Bull!! I have read the proposed changes—several times—and there is nothing that will help Evergreen face the changing religious landscape of today. I read the stuff coming out of Louisville and wonder, “Do these people even recognize that the world is changing?” All I see is more of the same old stuff.

So, what is a pastor or a church to do?

The other day I was watching an episode of The Deadliest Catch. Captain Phil, captain of the Cornelia Marie, wall pulling up empty pots. He would set his pots and they would come up empty. At wits end, he got on the radio and called some of his sister ships. He called—they didn’t answer. They were on the crabs and did not want the entire fleet to know about it. Plus, some felt that all Phil did was follow other boats and set his crab pots where other boats were setting pots. Phil felt all alone—responsible for the financial success of the boat and its crew.

Pastors in the Presbyterian Church (and most other denominations) are a lot like Captain Phil. The denomination is not equipped (I would hate to think that they are unwilling) to help the local congregation fulfill its ministry. So what are we to do?

Here are a few things I have come up with:

Spend a LOT of time in prayer and fasting. God has to show us what he wants us to do. We have to connect to his will because he is not going to connect to our will.
Wait on the Lord. Most of us do not like to wait on anything. In the past two days I have watched three cars just blow through red traffic signals—the drivers couldn’t be bothered with having to stop and wait.
Learn all we can about the changing religious/spiritual climate of the United States and the rest of the world. It is the same God who is active around this world. God is doing great things in many parts of the world; we need to see what he is doing and catch the movement of God’s Spirit.
Learn from the past. “Learning from the past” does not mean “repeating” the past. I have been teaching a church history class for the past 14 weeks—only two or three more weeks to go. The class has been anything but boring. We have seen how God has moved in powerful ways. We have seen how the Presbyterian Church missed out on several of those powerful movements because of “fear,” being uncomfortable with the supernatural expressions of the Holy Spirit and just plain old institutional stubbornness.
Keep putting down your pots. Crab pots that are on the deck of a ship are guaranteed to not catch any crab.
Target your ministries. A crab boat targets male king (you can only keep the males) crabs during king crab season. Male king crabs hang out with male king crabs, and they are located in different areas than Opelio crabs. During Opelio crab season you target male Opelio crabs. Failing to target our ministries will yield poor results.
Learn from those who are reaching people with the gospel—even if they aren’t Presbyterian.
Don’t be afraid of failure.
Be prepared for those steeped in the denomination to be resistant and even upset with you and your church. The loudest critics of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels and Joel Osteen are Christians—there are very few critics from outside the church.

Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry Conference Intersects With The Present Future.

2008-04-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

Reggie McNeal’s The Present Future intersects nicely with the Purpose Driven Presbyterians model for ministry. The similarities are:

The world has changed—whether we like it or not.
Individual churches are not reaching the potential that God has for them.
Christ calls us to be missional—working to lead people to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The message of the gospel stays the same but the way that it is delivered to those disconnected from Jesus must change.
Spiritual formation will be a key component of a living, vital church.
God’s people need to be trained, equipped and released for ministry.

The easiest thing that a church can do is to continue doing exactly what it has been doing; unfortunately, what we have been doing may not be pleasing to God. As a Presbyterian pastor, I stand (actually, I am sitting at The Oasis) convicted. For too many years I was not willing to tackle some of our church’s dysfunctional habits. I have seen too many pastors (and church leaders) demonized by their churches (some of them deserved it). Change is always difficult; change in a church is exponentially more difficult than most other settings for change.

Christ never said that following him was going to be easy. The original disciples were beaten, tortured, arrested, ostracized and even killed for their faith. And yet, they gave everything they had to help spread the gospel. That is where the North American church runs into problems.

We have it easy: freedom to worship any god that we choose, a democratic society where we actually have voice in how the government runs and more money than just about any culture since the beginning of time. It is difficult for North American Christians (especially me) to be totally sold out to Jesus. He told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had—his things got in the way of him being sold out to God. Christ calls us to give up our will, our desire to get our way. Jesus calls us to follow all of the commandments—all of them, not just the ones we like. Jesus wants us to learn how to “submit” to him—yes, SUBMIT. We conveniently forget that Jesus said that few will take the narrow path that leads to heaven.

The past few weeks have been very unsettling. God has been challenging me. Am I willing to be sold out for Christ? Am I willing to help lead a church to become sold out for Christ?

And then a miracle happened and God opened my eyes…

Our youth group is hitting on all cylinders. The vast majority of the students do not come from families with a church background. These young men and women are EXCITED about Jesus. Every Sunday the back of the church is filled with these students. While our church canceled worship last weekend to work out in the community our high school students were right there—even with many of them doing a 30-hour famine to raise money for World Visions hunger programs at the same time. These young people didn’t just do the one job they signed up for—when they completed that task they went down to where the others were working and helped complete other projects. They cooked and served breakfast to the entire Graham Fired Department (even though they had not eaten since breakfast the prior day). They shoveled and raked dirt and gravel. They scraped and painted picnic tables. SOLD OUT FOR CHRIST!

Evergreen Presbyterian Church has turned the corner. We are beginning to learn what it means to be sold out for Christ. We have a long way to go. Call it Purpose Driven. Call it moving into The Present Future. Call it anything you want. I call it—pleasing God!

Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry Conference – Post #3.

2008-04-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

Why did Jesus come to the earth?

Seeking that which is lost is a major theme of Jesus’ parables. Jesus talked about lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son. These parables showed how important saving the “lost” is to Jesus.

Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save that what was lost.” Jesus was about salvation.

What did Jesus think about the “church people” of his day? Reading through the gospels it is easy to come to the conclusion that Jesus had a very low opinion of “church people” – especially the leaders. The “church people” cared about themselves—not those who were “lost.” The “church people” didn’t give a rip about the “sinners.”

Let’s fast-forward 2000 years…

Would most churches be able to prove with a preponderance of the evidence that they care about sinners—those apart from Jesus? Would I be able to prove it? Would Presbyterian churches be able to prove it?

Jesus spent so much time with “sinners” that the church leaders accused him of being a drunkard. Jesus went to the parties. Jesus went where there were prostitutes. Jesus was with people when they were drunk. Jesus was with the “crack-dealers” of his day – the tax collectors. The “sinners” found that Jesus cared about them. The sinners flocked to Jesus. Jesus had good news for them. Jesus gave them hope. Jesus would give them life!

Now comes the hard part… if you don’t want to be convicted you better stop reading now. You have been warned! Since I am a Presbyterian pastor I will be picking on Presbyterians but the criticisms apply to most every church and denomination.

The time has come to cut through all the crap.

How many new conversions have there been at your/my church is the past two months? How many of the new members have truly come into membership through a profession of faith? How many of our new members (or people at worship) have simply migrated from another church? Honestly, HOW MANY!!!

In the Presbyterian Church we have three ways to become a member of the church: profession of faith, reaffirmation of faith and letter of transfer. At Evergreen, we regularly have people come to the church from churches that do not “transfer” members. We are stuck with a dilemma—they don’t fit any of the categories. There isn’t a letter of transfer so we cannot “officially’ call them a transfer member. They have continually worshipped God so they really haven’t come in by profession of faith or reaffirmation of faith. At Evergreen, we record that they come in through a reaffirmation of faith. Thus, our “numbers” are not exactly correct.

An in-depth look at most churchs would find that we gain new people from other churches. We pat ourselves on the back for our annual membership gains. When the truth is that we just swap people back and forth. All the while, the “lost” are still lost. It would seem as though the Presbyterian Church doesn’t care about the lost—even Evergreen! But things are changing (at least at Evergreen).

The secret to being a healthy congregation is to have BALANCE between worship, fellowship/connecting, discipleship, ministry and mission/evangelism. Christian Schwartz, of Natural Church Development, says that a church can only grow to the level of its weakest area. Presbyterian churches do not grow because we do not do evangelism (or what ever you want to call it). Evangelism makes us uncomfortable. Evangelism implies that some people won’t make it to heaven (and we have many pastors who don’t believe this). We are more concerned about those inside the walls of the church than we are about those outside the church. We are out of balance.

Several years ago Evergreen Presbyterian Church did the Natural Church Development survey. We found that our lowest area was “fellowship” – it was even lower that evangelism! We put a lot of effort into building relationship. We have made great strides in this area—we still have a long way to go. If Evergreen Presbyterian Church was to take the survey today we would find that our lowest area is evangelism/mission—we are too inwardly focused. The Faith in Act!on campaign was implemented to help change from an inward focus to an outward focus. We have made baby steps—but we are started in the right direction!

When I hear a church (or church leader, pastor or person sitting in the pews) say that we can’t have a “seeker” sensitive worship service I want to cry. They are saying that they don’t care about the very people Jesus came to save. The arrogance! The pride! God’s judgment?

I have yet to find a church that says, “Sinners not welcome here.” Yet, most things that our churches do communicate that very message.

On the first day of the Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry conference we were challenged to “collect information” about the people in our community. Part of this process includes going to those people who don’t go to church and asking them questions like (there are many more questions that could be asked):

What are your greatest needs? What are the needs of your family?
Describe the type (not denomination) of church you would go to if you were to go to church?
What do you like to do for fun?
What is your favorite radio station?
What makes you maddest about the church?

Another part of this information gathering process involves hanging out with some folks who don’t go to church. Jesus did it all the time. I have found that the longer a person is a Christian the less time they spend with unbelievers. We lose touch with the very people Jesus came to save.

Coming away from this year’s Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry conference I felt the Holy Spirit challenging me to spend more time looking outside the walls of the church. I need to spend time with people who don’t go to church. I need to spend time with people who aren’t Christians.

What would happen if every church REQUIRED their pastor(s) to take one Sunday each month and not go to church? No, they would get to just sit at home and watch the ball game. The purpose of “missing” church would be to spend the day with a non-believer. The pastor would be REQUIRED to report back to the Elders concerning that day. Imagine doing that EVERY month. I believe it would change the church. Before long, the entire church would close its doors one Sunday a month so that those who love Jesus would be able to spend quality, and quantity, time with the “lost.” Imagine…

Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry Conference – Post #2.

2008-04-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

God is moving mightily all around the world; God’s people (and church) are hindering that movement in North America and Western Europe.

Dan Southerland (our main speaker) identified the four major movements of God in the world today. Some churches focus on one or two of these areas, smart churches stand where these mighty streams converge.

The cell church movement: Call them small groups. Call them life groups. Call them house churches. Call them anything you like, the point is that people will not stay in a church where they have not formed close relationships—others of said that “you must grow smaller in order to grow bigger.”
The contemporary worship movement: For the first time in the history of the church there is a single style of music that unites Christians around the globe. Hillsong comes out with a new worship cd and within a month those songs are being sung on six continents in thousands upon thousands of churches.
The seeker movement: Dan shared a concept called “disconnected” – people are disconnected from God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The seeker movement recognizes that people are disconnected from God and intentionally tries to connect people to God. The purpose of Dan’s church is helping disconnected people move to the next level in their relationship with Jesus.
The church planting movement: Denominations do a CRAPPY (my word, not Dan’s) job of planting churches. I have had many conversations with a former denominational staffer person concerning church planting and redevelopment. Very, very few of the PCUSA’s new church developments have succeeded in growing to an average of 200 people in worship each week. The PCUSA plants very few churches. If we want to grow (in terms of numbers) then we must plant new churches. There are at least three or four areas in my part of the Presbytery that should have a Presbyterian church. Our Presbytery doesn’t have the $$$--the new church development $$$ were spent on remodeling the Presbytery Office (they are being repaid to the new church development account at the rate of $10,000/year and it will take about 12 years to repay the money). Local churches need to birth new churches. That is the only way it is going to work. Dan’s church was formed in 2005 with about five people. They now worship well over a thousand AND have planted five or six churches (I can’t remember whether it is five or six—I am getting too old).

Traditional denominations/churches don’t like these four movements of God. Traditional denominations/churches hope and pray for the days of old. Traditional denominations/churches are uncomfortable with these movements of God—the movements don’t fit their worldview.

How do these four movements of God fit into the Purpose Driven model? The Purpose Driven model identifies its five purposes from the Great Commandment and the Great Commission: worship, fellowship (connecting), discipleship, ministry & mission/evangelism. The first three rivers of God’s action (cell church, contemporary music, seeker sensitive) fit nicely within the local congregation in the Purpose Driven model of ministry. Church planting should be the next step for Purpose Driven church in their effort to reach the disconnected.

Dan defined “maturity” as, “the ability to choose purpose over preference.” Dan prefers traditional hymns, music and worship. So do the older folks at his church (Next Level Church). However, they intentionally set aside personal preferences in worship style so that they can reach people who are disconnected from God. His older folk want their grandchildren to know Christ—and that traditional worship styles do not connect with their grandchildren.

SO… how does all of this apply to Evergreen Presbyterian Church and your church, too, for that matter?

We have just completed our four week Faith in Act!on campaign. We average just over 100 people is worship each week. We had about 85% of our church is small groups for the past four weeks! The people in those small groups (and in worship) were encouraged to look outside the walls of our church to see people who are disconnected from Christ and people who are in need. Each week the participants reported back to their groups the ways in which the Holy Spirit directed them to help people (that is being seeker driven). We cancelled our regular worship services this past weekend so that we could go out and serve our community and the world. We had about 83% of congregation show up to serve our community and world yesterday. The people that we served were absolutely BLOWN AWAY with what we were doing!! A reporter from a local paper was so amazed at what was going on that he was with our group for almost 2.5 hours! He visited every work site and interviewed our workers. He thought that we must have 500+ people at our church in order to have that many people out working in the community. He could not believe the actual size of our church. Looking outward—not looking inward, it’s called seeker sensitive. Our worship is already leaning heavily in the contemporary direction, so there as no major change here—well, that isn’t quite true. During the month we used DVDs for many of our “Moments for Mission” spots. We also switched to our new software for controlling our graphic projections during worship—it is way cool!

For the last month Evergreen Presbyterian Church has truly lived as a Purpose Driven Presbyterian congregation. We were living out most of the four major streams of God’s action in today’s world. WAY COOL!

Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry Conference – Post #1.

2008-04-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

(The Present Future series will conclude next week)

The annual “Presbyterians Seeking Purpose Driven Ministry” conference is going on in Satellite Beach, Florida. Once again, Presbyterians from across the nation have descended upon Trinity Presbyterian Church to learn about Purpose Driven ministry and to share ideas on how to make the transition to this ministry model. In many ways, it is a continuous process—a church never “arrives,” there are always changes that will need to be made.

The largest expansion of the Christian faith (in terms of numbers of conversions) is currently going on on planet earth. God is doing amazing things in Central and South America, China, India, the Philippines, Africa and Australia. The only two regions of the world that are not experiencing this revival are Western Europe and North America! God is not the problem—God is the same all around the world. The problem is the church and the Christians in North America and Europe.

Yesterday I had two interesting experiences that I would like to share.

The first happened as I was walking to dinner. The good folks at Trinity provided dinner for us last night. The food was wonderful! Walking to the dinner line the two people in front of me were criticizing the content of the afternoon’s speaker. They didn’t think that the content was “Presbyterian” enough. They didn’t think that it “fit” within our Presbyterian system of government. They were so stuck in their small “Presbyterian” world that they missed many points that fit nicely into the Presbyterian system.

The second happened at the beginning of the evening worship service. I heard a comment that went something like this: “Doesn’t this church have any traditional music? The kingdom of God is open to all people!” Once again, a major point was being missed. Trinity has three different worship services: traditional, blended and contemporary. Many Presbyterian churches do absolutely no contemporary music. Trinity wants participants to experience blended and contemporary worship—we are already steeped in traditional worship!

I have tendonitis is my right arm. Doing some things is quite painful. If my arm is to heal then I must do some things differently (clapping is a no no—it inflames the tendon).

The Presbyterian Church has memberitis—we are losing 40,000+ members year in and year out (not counting the recent members that have left for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church). Presbyterian churches need to do things a little differently if they/we are ever going to reverse this trend.

The Present Future—New Reality #5—The Shift from Planning to Preparation.

2008-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

While on a trip to Hawaii I encountered the surfing culture. Surfers pretty well view everything else in life as paying rent just to get to surf. They get up before God rises and hit the water. They surf before they go to work and toss the board in the back of the truck or in the backseat (hanging out the window or sticking out through the sunroof) so they can be back in the water during lunch and after work. In the weeks I observed surfers I never saw one surfer plan a single wave, but I did see them prepare to ride the waves when they came.

God is making waves all around the North American church. Some churches are going to get to ride them.

-McNeal, “The Present Future,” page. 92.

God does the planning; we do the preparing.

-McNeal, page 95.

The five elements of a spiritual preparation architecture are vision, values, results, strengths, and learnings.

-McNeal, page 94.

I cannot surf!

We have been to Hawaii several times. On one of our earlier trips our kids wanted to try surfing. We lined up lessons for them. Our daughter was a hard-working student at school. She gave the surfing her all. She was able to listen to the instructor and eventually get up on the board. Our son, on the other hand, was a VERY GOOD skateboarder. He spent all of his free time on his skateboard. He went to skate church twice a week – once as a worker and once as a participant. He could do tricks that most skateboarders only dream of doing. For him, the surf board was a no brainer. He could jump up, look around and ride the wave without even trying. I was smart enough to not even try surfing—I had had a bad experience many years earlier.

A few years ago we went to Hawaii to visit our daughter (she was attending the University of Hawaii). She wanted to try surfing again. Our son didn’t make the trip so I was selected to join her. The videos that my wife took are beyond embarrassing. She and Alyssa laughed and laughed and laughed.

I cannot surf! L

I can sail! J J

I can look at the waves and tell you how fast the wind is blowing. I can look at a sail and tell you if it is set for maximum efficiency. The lines (there are no “ropes” on a boat) are always ready for the next maneuver. All safety equipment is functional and ready to be used. My sailing bag has twice as much “stuff” in it than what most sailors take. Most never gets used—but I am always prepared. It has been said that whenever two sailboats are on the water they are racing. Absolutely true! This past summer I chartered a 38’ Lagoon catamaran sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. Twice there were larger (that means potentially fast—due to physics) boats in front of us, heading for the same destination. Each time we tried to catch them. Both times we gain on the “competition.” We tried to do quicker, more efficient turns. I constantly adjusted the sails. Our wives thought we were nuts! (Note: we probably were!) We had a great time.

I can sail!

Sailing is like surfing—you prepare, you can’t plan. You may have a destination but the wind direction, speed, current, type of boat, status of the sails, etc., all impact how and when you will arrive at your destination.

McNeal challenges churches to be in the preparation business, not in the planning business. He asserts that God is the one who plans; we have to be prepared to get on board with his plan.

This morning I drove to a church site in a part of the state unfamiliar to me. The church had no sign on the road or even on the church property. The only clue I had that I was at the right place was a church van in the parking lot with the church’s name on it. Before I got out of my car I knew the congregation was not expecting any nonclub members to show up. Sure enough, what I discovered inside was a group of people content to grow older and fewer in number as long as they could enjoy their religious club meetings and keep members services paid for (including the chaplain “pastor” they hired to look after them). The pastor told me that new people to the area didn’t feel welcome there. I never would have known!

-McNeal, “The Present Future,” pages 97-98.

How does a church (or an individual Christian) prepare to catch the “wave” of God? This will not be an easy thing to do. The next several postings will look at McNeal’s five elements of preparation: vision, values, results, strengths and learnings.

The Present Future—New Reality #4—The Return to Spiritual Formation.

2008-04-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

Christians (evangelicals especially) emphasize that our connectivity to God is through a relationship with Jesus. We talk about giving him our hearts or inviting him into our hearts. We use love language to talk about committing our lives to him. Then, as soon as the deal is done, we switch the language and go to head stuff. We pull out the notebooks. We go over what we believe, information about the church, and so on.

I have learned a few things about Cathy in our two-plus decades of marriage. I have discovered what she likes and doesn’t like. I have learned about her family. I don’t know about her. I know her!

-McNeal, “The Present Future,” page. 70.

A person who claims to be a follower of Jesus claims to have a relationship with him. This means they know him, not just about him (this was Paul’s claim in Philippians 3:10). Yet we have turned our churches into groups of people who are studying God as though they were taking a course at school or attending a business seminar. We aim at the head. We don’t deal in relationship. And we wonder why there is no passion for Jesus and his mission? [bold in original]

-McNeal, page 70.

Instead of dumping a packet of church club membership stuff on them, why not interview them about what they would like to see happen in their lives in terms of their spiritual development and personal growth? [bold in original]

-McNeal, page 76.

I stand (actually I am seated) convicted.

Evergreen Presbyterian Church’s next “new member” class is in a few weeks. It is really a very good seminar. We make no assumptions about a person’s spiritual development or knowledge. We are in the “unchurched” northwest. People have taken “ideas” from various religious paths that seem to appeal to them and try to synthesize them into a worldview, a belief system. Our seminar seeks to introduce people to Jesus, faith, and yes, the Presbyterian Church. We stress that faith is a journey and that we are making commitments to them and that we expect certain things from them (we DO NOT give them a pledge card) -- we expect spiritual growth.

A lot of what we seek to do is to help the newcomer build a lasting relationship with Jesus. At least that is the theory. The problem is that much of this happens in the follow-up seminar and too many people don’t take that seminar. After all, they have received their membership certificate. They are now a part of the club. They have arrived. They are “in.”

McNeal strongly advocates life coaching for spiritual growth. This approach to spiritual growth is tailored to the individual. Coaching requires commitment, close contact between the coach and the individual and accountability.

I join the local YMCA in January 2007. LOTS of people join the Y as a part of their New Year’s resolutions. 2007 was a typical year for that type of thing. I heard many regulars lament the crowded weight rooms. They knew that in just a few months the new crowds would disappear. In an effort to assist these hordes of new comers our Y has an offer that is too good to pass up. I met with Dana, a trainer. Dana helped me design a work out to meet my goals. She helped me find my range of motion for each machine. I worked out in a special room where all of the machines are linked to a computerize system. Dana knew what I was doing and when. Dana would check in on my progress every couple of weeks. I was sick for a couple of weeks and unable to work out. I received an e-mail from Dana to see why I wasn’t working out. Some time later, I pulled a muscle in my leg—it severely limited what I could do at the Y. Again, Dana contacted me. She held me accountable to my health and exercise goals.

What would happen if every newcomer to a congregation was expected to meet with a coach? The coach and newcomer would design an individualized spiritual development plan. There would be accountability. I suspect that spiritual growth would occur. We would also be communicating that we are interested in the newcomer as an individual.

Implementing this type of approach would be challenging. People who are vested in a church culture could be hesitant to accept such a change. Accountability?!? Can’t I just come and sit in the pew (or chair, in Evergreen’s case)?

It is easy for me to say that I stand convicted. The difficult thing is doing something about it. I am going to be praying about how I can adapt the coaching element into our next new member class. A small start. A step in the right direction?

The Present Future—New Reality #3—The New Reformation: Releasing God’s People.

2008-04-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

This new reality has to go hand-in-hand with new reality #2 (Kingdom thinking). If we are going to shift our emphasis from building the church to building the kingdom then we must deploy our people in a different way. We will keep offering things for “club” members to do if we want to build up the club. We will have to send people away from the church building if we insist of building up the Kingdom of God.

Doing things away from the “church” building if a fabulous idea—and terrifying! Almost every day I spend time at a local coffee shop doing some of my “work.” I connect with lots of people even though I generally have music playing though my ear buds. There is one accountability group from our church that meets at the same coffee shop. However, almost everything else for the church happens in the “church” building. L There are a few things that happen in private homes. Every Wednesday our “Lunch bunch” meets at the church for lunch, Bible study and fellowship. The Saturday morning Men’s study meets in the church kitchen. The deacons meet in the church library. The Women’s Association meets at the church. The Session meets in the homes of the Elders—just to make sure that they get out of the church building!

Yesterday I mentioned Alive Covenant Church (Poulsbo, Washington). The people of Alive spend most of their “church” time away from the typical church building. They are out in the community. I am hoping to meet with the pastor of Alive in the next week or two.

What would happen if Evergreen moved most of its “stuff’ away from our church building? Here are some possibilities:

Move the Presbyterian Women’s (PW) meeting to the Azalea Gardens clubhouse and change its name—Azalea Gardens is a large “retirement” community in the Graham area. Most (if not all) of the ladies involved in PW are the age of the ladies that live in Azalea Gardens. I am confident that that PW group would double in size in just a short period of time. PW would be taking Jesus into the world.
Move the Lunch Bunch to a retirement community—The Lunch Bunch has about 25 seniors that meet each week. They could double in size if they were to move to a location where seniors gather, or live.
For the men’s group I am still stumped! I am writing this at The Oasis and just asked some of the “regulars” to help me identify where older men in this area go to hang out with other men. We could not identify a single place. We could not identify a single place where the older men could go that would be a draw for other older men. To be honest, the couple I talked to would rather do things as a couple than apart! Interesting!
I just found out that one church’s youth group meets at a coffee shop (not The Oasis) on Friday evenings and the coffee shop owner shows appropriate movies.
There are two shooting (gun) clubs in the area. We have people from our church that are involved in both of the gun clubs. What would happen if some group from our church would meet at one of the gun clubs on a Saturday morning?
Evergreen sponsors a Boy Scout troop. This troop is VERY active. They are gone on an outing every two or three weeks. In the summer they go on at least one 50 mile hike. What would happen if one or two of our men would become the “pastors” of the Scout Troop? These guys would go on all of the trips with the Scouts and lead worship, Bible studies and discussions on all of these trips. They could have a profound impact of the lives of young men!
The list could go on and on.

“Until we start making heroes of people who decide to be and act like missionaries, we will fail to turn club members into missionaries. Until we bless people who ‘go out’ from us to reach people who may not come to us, we will continue to have a kingdom vision that is shrink-wrapped to church programs and church real estate. Until we start adopting schools and hosting community food banks and teaching parenting seminars and hold financial planning seminars for the people who come to us for food, we will keep fostering club member mentality.

I had just spoken to a group of church leaders in a small town. Representatives of three different churches were present. I pleaded with them to consider doing less church stuff and doing more ministry aimed at the pre-Christian culture. When I finished speaking, a man approached me and introduced himself to me as a deacon in his church. He said, ‘From now on, when some idea comes up for something new to do at our church, I am going to ask the question, Who is this for?’

Who is this for? may be a good way for you to begin your own journey from member to missionary.”

-McNeal, The Present Future, pages 67-68.

Our congregation does a great job of supporting missionaries. Our congregation (including me) does a horrible job of having every person at our church BE a missionary. Churches that make this shift will thrive and make a difference in the world. Churches that fail to make this shift will continue to be “holy huddles,” basically ignoring the masses of people around us who do not know Christ Jesus.

The Present Future—New Reality #2—The Shift from Church Growth to Kingdom Growth.

2008-04-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

This new reality has the wrong title. McNeal makes the strong case for moving the focus of the church’s activity away from the church building and taking it to the streets. I believe that the title should be, “Taking it to the Streets.”

Taking the gospel to the streets would means:

Going to where the people already are gathering.
Earning the right to be heard.
Getting dirty for God.
Being able to articulate why we are doing what we are doing in a way that is clearly Christ focused.

“…church leaders didn’t know how to deal with a church that moved from a privileged position to a church in exile in an increasingly alien culture.”

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 21.

“It’s amazing what we don’t see when we aren’t looking… Religious people don’t see people, they see causes, behaviors, stereotypes, people ‘other’ than them.”

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 28.

I was talking with an Evangelical Covenant Church pastor the other day. As a part of our conversation he told me about the Covenant Church in Poulsbo, WA, Alive Covenant Church. Alive Covenant lives McNeal’s new reality #2. Alive meets together for worship once a month (called 4:56pm)—the first Sunday of the month. The gathering begins with a featured artist performing from 4:30pm – 4:56pm. Worship goes from 4:56pm – 6:00pm. One Sunday a month the entire congregation meets in house churches. One Sunday a month each house church does a service project (called 1 Step) in the community. One Sunday a month is Celebration—a time for church folks to gather together to build relationships and enjoy each other’s company (see the link for house churches).

Moving from church growth to kingdom growth is difficult! North American Christians have been conditioned to huddle together every Sunday. We have been conditioned to have a Sunday School, a VBS and an organ. We have been conditioned to being keepers of the truth instead of being workers of the kingdom.

Making the shift will be difficult for liberal/progressive churches and for conservative/evangelical churches. We are all vested in the current system. We fight for our causes. We believe that we are keepers of the truth. All the while, we are irrelevant to the surrounding culture. Both types of churches spend most of their time hiding inside of church walls.

I have a crazy idea… it is too crazy to even put in print at this time.

Personal notes:

Glenn, let’s set to a time to talk and begin praying about this crazy idea.
Kyle: Your wife told me that you liked the photos of my dahlias last summer and fall. I have some dahlia tubers and plants that I am going to give you guys as a “baby present.”

The Present Future—New Reality #1—The Collapse of the Church Culture. (continued)

2008-04-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

North American Christians think in terms of its institutional expression, the church, as opposed to thinking about Christianity in terms of a movement. This shift in thinking is so profound that it resembles a deconversion, a deprogramming that we typically associate with helping people escape the clutches of a cult. Deconversion will require a disentangling, and intentional self-differentiation from church in order to gain perspective, a willingness to abandon church club member mentality for the sake of following Jesus.

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 11.

[Note: The next quote is referring to the 2002 mine collapse in Pennsylvania and the rescue efforts to save the minors.]

The church in North America far too often resembles these miners. Feeling trapped in the collapse of the church culture, club members are huddling together in the dark and praying for God to rescue them from the mess they are in. This is the refuge mentality that pervades the mentality of many congregations and church leaders. Instead, the church needs to adopt the role of the rescue workers on the surface. They refused to quit, worked 24/7, and were willing to go to plan B or whatever it took to effect a rescue.

That’s the church’s mission: to join God in his redemptive efforts to save the world. People all around us are in darkness. They are going to die unless someone finds a way to save them. Trouble is, the church is sleeping on the job. Too many of us have forgotten why we showed up for work.

Even worse, many of us never have known.

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 19.

There will be a membership class at Evergreen on May 18^th. People are going to join the club—I mean the church. Many of those headed for the class have been worshipping with us for a year or more. They are an integral part of our congregation—but they aren’t “members.”

Next week I will be writing letters to 25 people who are “members” of Evergreen Presbyterian Church--ome of which haven’t been in worship for years. They are on the active membership roll because of “family members.” “We could lose ____________ if we move their kids to the inactive roll” has been heard in many-a-church session meeting.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) resembles most of the local service clubs in our communities. The only difference that I can see is that the local service clubs REQUIRE their members to be at the meetings on a consistent basis!

McNeal’s idea of “deconversion” carries a bite that hurts—it hurts a lot! I see a need for local churches. We NEED to worship with other believers. We NEED to stand together in spiritual warfare (see Ephesians 6 and notice that the back is left unprotected). Too many of our churches are like a club. Too many of those in our churches cannot articulate a saving experience with Jesus. Too many of those in our churches do absolutely nothing to reach those who are apart from Jesus. The North American Church does need to under go a deconversion experience.

McNeal’s example of huddling together like the miners is powerful. Last week I was at a Presbytery meeting. One person tried to guilt us into taking a special offering for a particular project. One report talked about those churches that had failed to pay their per capita (our membership tax) for 2007. We had the first reading of a policy paper on how to deal with congregations that may want to leave our little club. We had a “talking circle” so that we can get to know each other better. I felt like I was sitting in a Graham Business Association meeting! The meeting was filled with people with gray hair, no hair and died hair. There was no discussion on how to reach the 1000s of people who have moved into the bounds of our Presbytery. There was no discussion on how to reach the two generations that are missing from our churches. To the Presbytery’s credit we did talk about the continued efforts to assist the flood victims of the devastating 2007 floods in our state. For the most part it felt like we were huddling together, hoping that the world would change.

McNeal’s reality # 1 is that the church culture is no more. There are lots of reasons why this has happened. Blame can be spread all around. However, here is the key point—what are we going to do about the new reality? Wanting things to change is not the right answer—it is living in denial.

The Present Future—New Reality #1—The Collapse of the Church Culture.

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The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order. The plug will be pulled either when the money runs out (80 percent of money given to congregations comes from people aged fifty-five and older) or when the remaining three-fourths of a generation who are institutional loyalists die off or both. [bold text and parenthetical phrase are in the book]

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 1.

A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith. They contend that the church no longer contributes to their spiritual development. In fact, they say, quite the opposite is true. [bold text is in the book]

-McNeal, The Present Future, page 4.

Help!?! I am caught between two worlds.

I live, work and serve God in an institutional church of a previous world order. Evergreen Presbyterian Church is a great church. We have been able to make significant changes at the church over the past seven or eight years. But one thing has remained the same—we still look, feel and act like an “institutional” church.

For the past fifteen (or so) years I have seen the “institutional” church in a death spiral. I have witnessed denominational and presbytery leaders fight with all their might to try and keep the institutional beast alive. They have reorganized, reshaped, re-thissed, and re thatted (how is that for a new word). Nothing has worked. The PCUSA and most denominations should call the denominational hospice folks to find a way to die with dignity.

It is amazing that this morning I took part in one of the surveys of the Presbyterian Panel. There were lots of questions concerning my health. It wanted to know whether I thought that I am healthy and what I was going to do about my health. I was horrified that the survey didn’t ask me about my weight or % body fat. The survey wanted to know if I thought that I considered myself young, middle-aged, old or very old. As if it matters if I “think” that I am middle-aged or not. I am 51! I am middle-aged whether I think that I am or not! The father of a person at our church is 85+ years old and in a care facility. He hates being there with all of those “old” people. His daughter had to point out that he WAS one of those old people. Our perception may be our reality but it does not change REALITY.

McNeal does go on to say that the church of Jesus Christ is not going to die! I firmly believe this. The institution of a previous reality is going to die.

Evergreen Presbyterian Church in many ways reflects what the institutional church is facing. We have a HUGE population of wonderful, old people (late 70s and older). If we keep doing things the same way we have always done them we will be in peril within a few years. The leadership of our church is already beginning to tackle this problem. We are going to deal with issues that will make some people feel uncomfortable.

Just the other day I was at a Presbytery meeting. It was “church” as usual. Nothing of substance was dealt with. There was nothing there that would cause me to ask one of our “employed” elders to miss their work. The worship was wonderful—but I worship every week at Evergreen and in my daily life. I saw a bunch of people who are vested in the “church” of a prior time trying to hold on for all their worth. One report was given and the presenter tried to guilt us into taking a special offering for a particular “mission” effort of the Presbytery. This mission became a part of the Presbytery because of the interest of two or three people, our General Presbyter and on church. No one asked Evergreen what we thought about this mission. We support a mission effort in Chile, a village in Alaska, and other short term mission efforts around the world. We are not going to be “guilted” by the institutional church (Presbytery) to support a pet project of a few people.

The Presbytery isn’t my “church,” even though that is where I am FORCED to have my membership. I view myself as a member of Evergreen even if the denomination says that I am not a member there. This is the thinking of a prior church existence.

So I am torn. I live and work in the institutional church. I lead a congregation that is seeking to face the new reality of an unchurched culture and the later stages of the life of the institutional church. My kids are a part of a generation that moves and lives apart from denominations.

Will the Presbyterian Church be so rooted to the past that we will once again be the losers (like in the 1^st and 2^nd Great Awakenings)? Individual churches will thrive. Individual churches will die. Denomination will come and go. The church of Jesus Christ will thrive—with us or without us.

The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church.

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Once again I have stumbled across a book that has caused me to think (yes, there are actually times when I sit and think!). The book is by Reggie McNeal and is called The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. I will be looking at this challenging book over the next few days.

Ministry and the church have been my world. But it is a world that I increasingly find difficult to feel at home in because it lacks spiritual purpose and missional vitality.

I’m talking about the church world in North America. A world that has largely forsaken its missional covenant with God to be a part of kingdom expansion. It has, instead, substituted its own charter of church as a clubhouse where religious people hang out with other people who think, dress, behave, vote, and believe like them.

-McNeal, The Present Future, pages xv-xvi.

This morning I spoke with a young pastor who has hopes for the future of the church but is currently captive to club members in the congregation he serves. “I wonder why I am still doing this,” he sighed. He’s only thirty years old! Some of us are asking this question after many more years of investment. If you are, I am writing to give legitimization to your concerns and doubts about the church culture, but also to give you hope. I want to help you by giving you ways of starting conversations that might lead you out of church captivity and into the adventure you anticipated. (Note: bold text is in the book)

-McNeal, The Present Future, page xvi.

The “church” is in trouble!

A couple of years ago my wife and I chartered a narrow boat and spent a wonderful week on the canals of England. We had the pleasure of seeing the countryside at 4 knots (a little over 3 mph for those land lubbers out there). We stopped and walked into every village we came to. Every town/village had a church. Most churches have very few people that attend services. My heart wept as I had glimpse of what might be the future for the North American church. I know that there are churches that are alive and well in England. The problem is that they are few and far between. The “church” in England has moved well beyond the point of being in trouble!

I have been teaching a class on church history. As a Purpose Driven Presbyterian Church Evergreen is striving to produce well-rounded disciples of Christ. Most Christians have no concept of church history. We need to understand the past in order to move into a preferred future. We have just looked at the 1^st and 2^nd Great Awakenings in the United States. The Presbyterian Church was one of the “big losers” during those times of God’s pouring out of his Spirit. The Presbyterian Church missed the wave because it was so vested in doing things the way they had always been done.

The “church” is in trouble!

Too many churches have become a country club. Too many churches have become a political action committee. Too many churches have become so inward focused that they can’t see past the walls of the church. Too many churches have become so interested in changing social structures that that they have forgotten that people are going to go to hell because they have not been “born again” (Jesus’ words, not mine). Too many churches have lost spiritual purpose and a missional calling.

The “church” is in trouble!

The Present Future is going to challenge us—it has sure been challenging me! Let’s journey together in looking at the present future of the church.