Why Presbyterian?

Bruce Reyes-Chow, the moderator of the last PC(USA) General Assembly asks on his blog: “Why are you Presbyterian?” He’s just written a church wide letter on the topic, and is asking members far and near to chime in as well.

Here is PC(USA) Blogger Adam Copeland's response.

I love Adam's response because I feel like I could have written the same thing about myself, with the exception of the ordination stuff. And the addition of the fact that I feel at home in worship with the rituals and services that have been a part of my faith journey since I was a child. There are times to stretch outside of one's comfort zone, and times to rejoice and feel at home within it.

Why are you Presbyterian?

Ten Posts You May have Missed

Presbyterian Bloggers has some great writers in its ring. Perhaps you haven't had the chance to read some of them. Here's what I consider to be amongst some of the best for this week.

Jan Edmiston over at A Church for Starving Artists has posted a blog about the newly discovered Scottish singer Susan Boyle and her quote that she’s never been kissed. Jan weaves the blog into a clever post about how we’ve all been kissed by Judas.

Encounter with the Gardener is Carl Wilton’s latest post after Easter. In it, Carl writes about John’s depiction of Christ as gardener after the Resurrection and the Genesis story of the Garden of Eden. Carl asks if John the Gospel writer is symbolically telling us something about Christ cultivating our spirits.

Train your body…prepare your soul is this year’s motto of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon that Adam Copeland is training for. Over at his A Wee Blether blog, Adam writes a post called “Jogging My Memory- I May Have Lost It.” In it, he states that he’s hooked on marathon training and how much Adam is looking forward to running in October of this year.

Bill Tammeus’s post, Facing Up To Differences, is about how we each see religious art differently. He writes about his recent visit to a sacred art exhibition and how different people respond individually to the 200 pieces art on display. Some find the works profound and deeply moving, whilst others only give a casual glance. Bill ponders if this is how we similarly respond to the sacred scriptures and holy rituals.

The future of Evangelicals and evangelism is discussed in John Schroeder’s blog, “Blogotional.” He writes about the need for institutionalism to secure evangelism in the years ahead. John’s blog also contains some great artwork and references to comic book heroes.

Rev Kim has an interesting post about John Madden’s retirement. In it, she writes about her admiration and respect for this great American football icon. Kim is an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, but she has loved the hard work, grit and super analysis that Madden has shown in the commentary box. Like many other Americans, she will miss this giant commentator in the history of the game.

Discernment is a rare and hard to handle gift from God. Nancy over at the Conversation in Faith weblog ponders when and where God has given her discernment in her calling. It’s a problem that all called people experience and she writes about how she wrestles with this gift. It’s an important subject that we all should take time to read and reflect upon.

The issued about violence among today’s youth is posed over at Stewart Pollock’s insightful blog, Not So Reserved Pastor. Stewart writes about the recent discussion at his presbytery where the Peacemaking Panel made a presentation on this very serious subject. Stewart challenges all of us and our churches to confront this culture of violence in all of our communities.

Jody Harrington of Quotidian Grace posts a history lesson for the Governor of Texas. The Governor recently stated that secession for the state of Texas could not be ruled out. Jody sets him straight on what the original Joint Resolution of 1845 actually expresses. Don’t mess with Texas Presbyterians, Guvn’r!

I may not agree with him many times, but I certainly wouldn’t ignore him. John Shuck is always interesting to read, no matter what the subject. As usual, he tackles denominational, religious, and political issues every week. His post about the tax protests this week has already stirred up a heated discussion (mea culpa – mea maxima culpa). So, if you like your theological wheetoos mixed up with some spice and broken glass, John’s blog may be your cup of tea.

Church of Scotland Moderator is also a Blogger

It seems as though the Church of Scotland is following Bruce Reyes-Chow's blogging capabilities. David Lunan, the Cof S Moderator, has his own weekly blog. Here's a recent story from the Scotsman newspaper...

Kirk's Moderator goes online

THE Moderator of the General Assembly, the Right Rev David Lunan, is set to break new ground for the Kirk by making his own contribution to the information superhighway.
David, and his wife Maggie, are set to start a "Moderator's blog" where they will keep the world updated as to their latest activities, as well as their thoughts on issues large and small. The blog, which will be updated once a week, went live yesterday. The Moderator's blog is available at http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/.

David's blog is at http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news/newsmodblog.htm Maybe we should add it to our blogroll????

Sunday Devotions: Gone Fishin'

Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. (NIV)

I love to go fishing on the man-made lakes of Tennessee. Sometimes, early in the morning, you’ll find me down at Concord trying to catch a big fish. I’ve seen lots of fishing programs with professional anglers, who make the whole process look easy. They just seem to cast out into the water and effortlessly hook those big fish. I am envious of them and want to emulate that. I want to catch a big bass so badly, so that I can call myself a bass fisherman.

So, I go to the fishing store and buy different lures, crankbait, artificial worms, crickets, spinners, and meps. I read books about tying fancy knots, showing me the right size of hook to put on the line. I gaze at local maps and try to work out where those bass actually are. I come totally prepared and feel as though the fish had better watch out – Stushie, Ace Fisherman is in the area – resistance is futile, bass, when I get you on my hook.

But then reality sets in. I snag the crankbait on a log and lose it. My line fankles around my reel and I have to cut it. I cast my spinners into the trees and they end up looking like Christmas decorations on the branches. The worms are the wrong color and I go home with no fish, half my lures lost, and a painful shoulder. The fish in the lake bubble their laughter at me and I leave disconsolate. Yet, when I’m driving home, all I can think about is getting down on to the water again, in order to catch the big one. I’m hooked on fishing.

I love the fact that Jesus chose fishermen to be His first disciples. They were the perfect guys to build a ministry. They never seem to give up and even in bad times, they put their boat out again and again, looking for that big catch of the season. I guess Jesus thought that if He could encourage them to think that way about God’s Kingdom, they would always go out looking for more converts and disciples, more followers for Christ and servants for God.

He chose the right people because Christ’s ministry, which began with 12 followers, has blossomed all over the earth into 2 billion souls. It’s amazing to see what has been accomplished in 2000 years. Perhaps 2000 years from now, the whole planet will be Christian.

And that’s where we all come in at the PCUSA. We continue this fishing ministry of Christ that Jesus gave to our Presbyterian predecessors 450 years ago. Throughout that time, millions of people have come to Presbyterian churches to know the Lord. We are in the catching business and that kind of work is never over until the Kingdom comes.

So, here’s the challenge. The church year is about to begin in September. Let’s all make an effort of inviting and bringing one other person to worship at our churches this Fall. In doing this, we will all be fulfilling Christ’s ministry and showing Him that we honestly care about the people we love and the community that we live in.

May God bless us as we carry on Christ’s ministry.

Stushie is the writer of the Daily Devotions blog Heaven's Highway

Other Presbybloggers

If you haven't visited Whitney's Glimpses of Grace blog, you should make a cyber call. Whitney's postings are often charming and delightful, meditative and insightful. She takes such beautiful photographs and manages to pair them perfectly with scripture, prayers and her own thoughts.

Each time Whitney posts, she lists three things where she recognizes God’s Grace in her life. Whitney is a Celtic mystic in the real sense of the word. For grumpy, old curmudgeons like me, Whitney's blog is a fresh breath of renewal from the Holy Spirit.

Pre-Ordained Meetings

-The session of my home church approving the decision to call me as a mission worker (technically a "supply pastor") for my work in Northern Ireland. This means that, pending a couple of examinations, I will be able to be ordained before I leave in September! Wow! The way it all happened was also very much a "God thing": I was leading worship at Mo Ranch for their Youth Celebration a couple of weeks ago, and a member of my Presbytery's Committee on Ministry was there and heard me preach. We got to talking about my call situation and my position in Belfast, and he took it upon himself to contact all of the necessary parties at Presbytery to figure out how I might be ordained into this ministry. They even held a special meeting just to discuss my call process, and now it's all happening. I can't believe how it's all seemed to fall into place.

-Hearing my Nana describe seeing her great-granddaughter for the first time: "Her hair is so soft, it's like silk. And she's sooo good. Her eyes are blue, just like your Grandmother's, and your Mother's and Aubrey's. She's starting to get chubby too!"

-Finding a perfect stole for my niece's baptism (and most likely also for my ordination service).

You can visit Whitney's blog at http://glimpses-of-grace.blogspot.com/

Other Presbyterian Bloggers

Jim, aka the Church Geek, has an interesting post today. Check it out at http://www.thechurchgeek.com/

Wednesday Roundup
by Jim ~ July 16th, 2008

1.) I love some of the stuff that new faith communities are doing…they are bold challenges and proclamations to existing congregations. Internet Monk singles out one new congregation that is committed to giving 60% of their budget to mission!!…If they can do it, why can’t we?

2.) As always Jan raises good observations and questions about the nature of staffing in the established church today. I’d love for her to be a colleague in this presbytery, as we need to hear more of her voice…

3.) Tony Campolo presents what seems like a reasonable, faithful response to the problem of abortion in our country.

4.) How many of the 100 NEA Recommended books of fiction have you read? I’ve read book #6, but I’m not really sure why it’s considered a “work of fiction.”

5.) Today I’ve decided to point to a few of my recent favorite photos from my flickr contacts. I particularly love the lighting in this one and the depth of field in this one.

Read the rest of Jim's innovative posts at www.thechurchgeek.com

Get into the Boat

(This is the first response to the invitation to other Presby bloggers to write to me with their articles. Saralynn sent this from her team blogsite Presbyterian Blogging. It was written by Paul Boal)

"Get into the boat. Go across the lake. There will be a storm. You will not die."

--The Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
June 28, 2008

When I read this letter discussing the recent decisions regarding PC(USA) ordination standards, Rev. Parsons' quote struck me as both inspirational and pragmatic. As Presbyterians, we seek discernment; we consider; we send out to committee for assessment; we pray and ponder. Eventually, we make decisions that formally express to others how we see the Word brought to life in the world around us. When we decide is when I'm most energized, but in the consideration and discernment, I'm most proud.

I hope that Rev. Parsons will forgive me for parsing his quote, but here is my application of that message to the situation we are in:

Get into the boat...
There's a good chance that some individual churches might consider this a crucial time to consider the future of the continuity of the denomination or specifically their own membership in the denomination. No matter how much many of us wish this were the end of the discussion, the exact opposite is true. The point at which decisions are made is a time for renewed dialogue rather than a time to end open relationships. We're all in this boat together.

Go across the lake...
This is a time for us to go on a journey together and arrive at the destination together. We may disagree on the destination, what path to take, who should row and who should steer; but in the end, it is in being together in right relationships with each other (rather than contentious or confrontational ones) that we're able to experience hesed. We must journey together as one.

There will be a storm...
I believe that we can only truly know ourselves after experiencing turmoil and questioning what we think we know? Life is alive because of the storms that we experience: internal strife debating what is right to do, external factors forcing us to make hasty decisions, confrontation with others after intended or unintended offenses, disagreements on which direction is most correct or least wrong. As the narrow margin of the vote indicates (54 / 46), we as a denomination are not of one single mind on the issue. People with many different perspectives will come together, clash, and settle... and change. Come together, clash, and settle... and change.

You will not die...
Change happens only through a journey. And the end of each journey is merely the beginning of another. This action of the GA is about going on a journey together. One that changes the way we discuss ordination and the ways in which God calls us together. If we don't change the way in which we discuss the issues that our current societies must address, then our discussion cannot be effective. The only situation in which we "die" is when when fail to change, when we choose to stop journeying together.


Some churches have begun posting information about their push to intentionally and methodically divide the denomination, creating relationships between our churches that are explicitly more separate. I hope that, instead, we can continue the dialogue together: as a denomination, as individual churches that will be inevitably divided in opinion; as a nation; as communities; and as humans. Times of contention are times for coming together to build relationships that will make us stronger and more able to survive the inherent turmoil in our current situation and the other storms that we are sure to encounter in the future.

As a denomination and through our representatives and leaders, we have discerned and studied and voted and changed. We are at one ending... and another beginning. In spite of our differences on whether the changes are consistent with teachings or not, I would expect us to agree that we are taught to build relationships that bring us closer together rather than further apart (especially in situations that naturally divide us).

Blessings!

(If you want to send articles for this site, write to me at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. Put Presbybloggers in the subject line of your email.)

Me and My bright Ideas

Okay, Fellow Presbyteers, here’s the skinny.

Somehow we can’t get people signed up to be contributors anymore to the site. However, there is another option. If you will send me your relevant Presbyterian articles, giving links to your blog page, I will post them unedited (except for spelling mistakes) and put a link to your page at the bottom of the posting.

I signed up for this gig about 18 months ago and I’m the only one who has been contributing on a regular basis. That kinda skewers the whole debate process, which I think wasn’t the intention of this website.

So, starting next week, if you send me your articles to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org and mark the subject line: “Presbybloggers” I’ll start posting them. I’ll also add an image to your posting.

I’m also going to go around the Presbybloggers listed and try to highlight a different Presbyterian blogger each day. That means I’ll lift your article straight from your blog and post it with the relevant linkages.

I hope that this will satisfy everyone and enable us to really discuss issues that face the Denom. I’ll still be the bumptious, grumpy, conservative curmudgeon I have always been, though.

Any questions or further suggestions????