Winding down after a long day - going through my notes, it won't be possible to post all of the details of the information that we were given regarding the nuts-and-bolts of the "four tiers" of the Fellowship options (Stay and be missional in place; presbyteries-within-presbyteries; ecclesial "orders"; and a "New Reformed Body" - NRB - that is yet to be named). Those things will be on the Fellowship website, and I will be debriefing with Session and probably preaching some of it this Sunday. I do, though, want to write about the spirit of those present.
Worship has been extraordinary - of course, it's always great to worship God in a "packed house" - but this has been a very sweet time. The praise & worship band from Christ Church in Edina, MN has been leading worship with some great contemporary renditions of traditional hymns - a near-perfect example of "Reformed Contemporary Worship."
There is a special emphasis on communicating in ways that exhibit humility - it is important not to be angry or demonizing. Neither fear nor anger is a trademark of the gospel. Many of the people on both sides of the issues have been friends and colleagues in ministry for years.
The analogy of Abram and Lot was used as a way of using separation as an honorable way of keeping a family together (Gen. 13:8-9) - "If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left" so there will be no strife between us.
Discussion of the decline in the mainline denominations revealed two things about the PCUSA:
1) Neither the Northern church nor the Southern church nor the reunited church has grown since 1969.
2) Two questions that used to have to be answered in narrative form every year by a Presbyterian congregation were: "How have you seen the Spirit at work in your congregation during the past year?" and "How has your church extended itself beyond its bounds? (New church developments, outpost Sunday Schools, mission, etc.)? The last year those questions were asked was 1925. The beginning of decline can be traced to 1925.
More interesting things and memorable comments:
The PCUSA has 11,000 congregations and 4,000 churches without pastors.
"The only promiscuity Calvin ever endorsed was the promiscuity of the gospel!"
Mission statement of one congregation: "Love Jesus. Love people. Prove it."
Sign on the door of a church: "Come in and live!"
With regard to our ethnic brothers and sisters:
10A has resulted in strong push-back from our Korean and Hispanic congregations. The Koreans have the track record of growth, giving and mission that puts the rest of us to shame and are completely unwilling to tolerate a disregard of Scriptural authority. "We are being asked to choose between the Word of God and the denomination" and "For whom do our churches exist?"
The Hispanic congregations are mostly appalled by what they view as a "clear departure from orthodoxy" and because of the way grace has been cheapened - their community suffers mightily from the effects of sin and their church relies on the transformative qualities of the gospel message ("The people in my neighborhood don't need to hear that their sin doesn't matter"). The Presbyterian Church in Mexico has officially disaffiliated with us as a mission partner until we repent, and the Brazilians probably won't be far behind.
"We must move from merely having 'mission projects' to having a 'missionary imagination' and a 'missionary lifestyle.'"
Another encouragement: The organizers of this event have been in dialogue with Louisville for six months now and those talks have been cordial, with both parties expressing a desire to maintain an ongoing relationship in the midst of their differences.
This fall - October-ish - there will be regional gatherings to talk about Essential Tenets of the Faith ("what is your 'line in the sand'"; what 'strong core' can we establish so we don't have to be 'constantly policing the borders'?)
In January 2012 there will be a "Constitutional Convention" in Orlando to formally establish the NRB (whatever it will be named).
Can we see ourselves as part of this new thing God is doing? Can we see ourselves planting a new worshiping community as one of the 250-planned Fellowship new church developments? Could we imagine listening to our neighbors in our neighborhood to see what value our congregation could bring to their lives? Would we submit to the transformation of our congregation by the Spirit? Would we let God give us a new name? (Isaiah 62:2b: "You shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will name.")
The analogy of Abram and Lot was used as a way of using separation as an honorable way of keeping a family together (Gen. 13:8-9) - "If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left" so there will be no strife between us.Discussion of the decline in the mainline denominations revealed two things about the PCUSA:
1) Neither the Northern church nor the Southern church nor the reunited church has grown since 1969.
2) Two questions that used to have to be answered in narrative form every year by a Presbyterian congregation were: "How have you seen the Spirit at work in your congregation during the past year?" and "How has your church extended itself beyond its bounds? (New church developments, outpost Sunday Schools, mission, etc.)? The last year those questions were asked was 1925. The beginning of decline can be traced to 1925.
More interesting things and memorable comments:
"The only promiscuity Calvin ever endorsed was the promiscuity of the gospel!"
Mission statement of one congregation: "Love Jesus. Love people. Prove it."
Sign on the door of a church: "Come in and live!"
With regard to our ethnic brothers and sisters:
10A has resulted in strong push-back from our Korean and Hispanic congregations. The Koreans have the track record of growth, giving and mission that puts the rest of us to shame and are completely unwilling to tolerate a disregard of Scriptural authority. "We are being asked to choose between the Word of God and the denomination" and "For whom do our churches exist?"
The Hispanic congregations are mostly appalled by what they view as a "clear departure from orthodoxy" and because of the way grace has been cheapened - their community suffers mightily from the effects of sin and their church relies on the transformative qualities of the gospel message ("The people in my neighborhood don't need to hear that their sin doesn't matter"). The Presbyterian Church in Mexico has officially disaffiliated with us as a mission partner until we repent, and the Brazilians probably won't be far behind.
"We must move from merely having 'mission projects' to having a 'missionary imagination' and a 'missionary lifestyle.'"
Another encouragement: The organizers of this event have been in dialogue with Louisville for six months now and those talks have been cordial, with both parties expressing a desire to maintain an ongoing relationship in the midst of their differences.
This fall - October-ish - there will be regional gatherings to talk about Essential Tenets of the Faith ("what is your 'line in the sand'"; what 'strong core' can we establish so we don't have to be 'constantly policing the borders'?)
In January 2012 there will be a "Constitutional Convention" in Orlando to formally establish the NRB (whatever it will be named).
Can we see ourselves as part of this new thing God is doing? Can we see ourselves planting a new worshiping community as one of the 250-planned Fellowship new church developments? Could we imagine listening to our neighbors in our neighborhood to see what value our congregation could bring to their lives? Would we submit to the transformation of our congregation by the Spirit? Would we let God give us a new name? (Isaiah 62:2b: "You shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will name.")
Deborah, there seems to be a great deel of worship and wisdom in this group, is it all coming from your side because you certainly sound like you have chosen sides and drawn you line in the sand. I for one am not willing to split our church off from the Presbyterian Church USA. If Mexico and Brazil say we are too sinful to be missionaries in their countries, I say there is plenty of work to do at home, I hope you haven't bought those airline tickets yet. Most of us are busy doing that work in our every day lives. If anyone wants a project, we can get them envolved in the many needed mentoring projects at the schools, we can increase our giving to Loaves and Fishes, and we can help clean and strenghten houses in our own community. I have enjoyed being a member of an including church, for the last 36 years. I find that the denomination keeps us focused a common goal and guides our decision making. It keeps us from becoming provisional and selfish in our thinking. You remember I quoted from "Our God is Too Small" at the last session meeting. Lets not make our God so small that people are shunned from our services, lets not let threats to "pull out" be the deciding force in our thinking. Becky Jett
ReplyDeleteDear Becky, thank you for your comments - I have not taken a stand with anyone but Jesus. I'm here because as a pastor I don't want to rely on second hand information. Our church is isolated in the Panhandle and the elders and the congregation is largely uninformed about the movement of the larger church. It is not my church, it is God's, but I have a responsibility, as do all of the elders. You take your responsibility seriously, but many do not. God placed me in the PCUSA and called me to Guymon and I haven't discerned a change in that call. You are right that there are many, many projects that we could do locally, and we should and I hope we will. I value you and your views and the Holy Spirit who lives in you - and you are right about our God being too small. I'm sorry that you were away at the previous session meeting when I made an impassioned speech about our need to be inclusive and welcoming and my concern that I might be misunderstood. I said the same in last Sunday's sermon, and my plan is to say it again this Sunday. There is no threat and no reason for concern beyond our Session's and our congregation's need to be discerning of God's will in everything we do. I will be home Saturday and we can talk in more depth. In Christ, Deborah
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