Teach me not to duck...

The entries of the past two days have been a report on an event connected with a movement that might be a historical moment for the Presbyterian church.  I have not hidden who I am and have tried to be transparent in reflecting on the events of each day for those who were unable to be present - the only place my speech is constrained is the pulpit, where I am bound to preach the Word of God to particular people in a particular place as the Spirit inspires, and as the Spirit translates to the hearer.  The rest is the observation and opinion of a fellow believer struggling to be faithful.


Pastors have responsibilities for the congregations entrusted to them by God.  We are supposed to keep an eye out for where the Spirit is at work and inform God's people.  We are charged with encouraging our congregations to pray and discern God's will for these people in this place.  We are expected to lead, instruct, direct, challenge and admonish, but not to push or drive.  We are not to intentionally - or negligently - mislead them, neglect them or abandon them.  We are not to be afraid and we are to help our congregations to conquer their fear.

I came to this Gathering because I take this responsibility so seriously that I didn't want anyone else to interpret it for me, to cherry-pick what was reported or to filter it through the lens of their own context, which is not the context of the congregation I shepherd.


The people with whom I shared table discussions were across-the-board in their congregational contexts and needs, but everyone was primarily interested in whether or not God was creating some new thing or if God and their community would be best served by the way and in the place where they were presently serving.


I had good, frank and open conversations with other moderators and executive presbyters, pastors, elders and leaders from congregations large and small, urban and rural on both sides of the issues involved.  We were addressed by a seminary president and respected scholars and pastors.  There were people present from 800 congregations in all 50 states.


There are many good things about who we are.  Reform theology is unique and life-changing.  But we cannot continue to pretend that everything is well with the PCUSA -  the GA Moderator and Stated Clerk were both present and engaged in the conversation and agreed that the PCUSA needs to be "reconstructed."   I am unwilling to  "guess" at what God's will might be - I have to pray, investigate, learn and discern - but I have not taken a stand with anyone but Jesus.


Nevertheless, the previous post is the charge of every congregation - we shouldn't be afraid of honest self-assessment and taking risks to become better people than we presently are.  Every congregation - Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Nazarene, Baptist, Reformed and non-denominational should ask themselves:  What would our ministry look like if we were listening to neighbors?  Should we consider planting a daughter church?  In a post-denominational world, does our congregation's name communicate; to 21st century people who we are when people who have no clue what a "Presbyterian" is, except perhaps that it is for "rich" and educated  people?  None of those questions requires a denominational change - but they do require an open mind and a willingness to change for the sake of others.


One of the last prayers of the Gathering went like this:  Lord, help me today to see the world through your eyes.  May my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God, and may my heart dance with the things that make His heart dance.  And when the Holy Spirit puts something in front of me, teach me not to duck.

Lead On O King Eternal

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.")

Thinking of my airborne friends...

In my meditation this morning, I was thinking of the my traveling seatmates that I mentioned yesterday...the "understanding" that they exhibited about the things of faith - things to which they were adamantly committed and even "evangelistic" - were things that they had created for themselves, a sort of "paste-up" God and view of how the world operates.  They had drawn from atheism (there is no God), philosophy (God is an uncaring gamesman), ancient paganism (we are at the mercy of a capricious God), humanism (what you call God is really your "inner self"), Hinduism (karma - what goes around comes around, and reincarnation) and simple arrogance (the Bible is a completely human construction, a collection of made-up myths).

When I first realized I was called to pastor, I prayed that God would give me a pastor's heart.  What a painful prayer that has turned out to be - it's like having a new set of eyes that sees people more as God sees them (and us).  It brings dimension to the teachings of Scripture about the condition of humanity and human rebellion; how blinding and enslaving sin is; how selfish and self-centered the unregenerate human is; how desperate they are to want to believe they are in control; how angry they are at injustice, even as their arguments promote that they only want justice for others (but mercy for themselves).  But even as offensive as the unregenerate human can be in their expressions of their desires, their condition is heart-rending and pathetic, compelling those of us who love God to reach out - to keep trying.

For me, that's why these meetings in Minneapolis are necessary and why the "10A issues" are sourced in false teaching and the authority of Scripture.  For the church to come to people like my seatmates bereft and empty-handed of a gospel that frees and transforms is the worst kind of hypocrisy.

Going to Minneapolis

It's 10 pm and I thought I should post a bit about my experiences in Minneapolis with the Fellowship Gathering of Presbyterians...

There are nearly 2,000 Presbyterian pastors and elders present, including 68 executive presbyters and 30 GA staffers from Louisville.

My day started with a flight from Dallas to Minneapolis via St. Louis.  God set to work right away:  I was seated in the middle between a woman about my age, an agnostic who was into karma and New Age and a man about 35-ish who was (I thought) sleeping.  The woman asked why I was going to MN and I told her and then the questions about spirituality started.  The man woke up and started asking questions, too - he was a physicist who was an atheist.  The conversation was complicated, but in the end, I learned these things that they believed:

The concept of sin is offensive to them because they are "good" people.  They believe they do not act on their bad impulses.  They don't hate anyone.  They are in  control of their lives and are managing well.  The Bible is made up and meaningless, as is the concept of God. From what they know of God, they think we're pieces being moved around on a game board.  Their source is themselves and their faith is in their own abilities.  Personal testimony made little impression on them because they viewed it as the Christian "mis-labeling" as God's intervention what was really coincidence or just finally getting one's act together.

They like the idea of karma because it is "fair" to make people "pay" for their mistakes - but disliked the Bible's concept of people having  to "pay" for their own sins (not fair), or Jesus "paying" for their own sins (unnecessary, because they don't sin) - and failed to see the incongruity.  The discussion was circular, illogical, shallow and sad.  I was surprised how vigorous their opposition to the gospel was and how strong their self-confidence was.  I believe we were all seated there for God's reasons - they, who would likely never be in church, got to question a believer for 2 hours; and I got an opportunity to experience interaction with people truly opposed to the things of God.  We all get the opportunity pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to strive with these people and to increase our love for them.

This evening in Minneapolis was a precious reunion with dear friends I hadn't seen since seminary as well as some pleasant surprises to see others I hadn't known would be here.

Some congregations have sent their whole Session at great expense.  There is a great sense of expectation and hopefulness that this event could spark renewal and reform in the church.

There was an hour and a half of very special worship - Worship focused on the Great Ends of the Church:  The Proclamation of the Gospel for the Salvation of Humankind (Col. 1:15-23); The Shelter, Nurture and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God (Eph. 3:14-19); The Maintenance of Divine Worship (Romans 11:33-12:2); the Preservation of the Truth (Matt. 7:24-29); the Promotion of Social Righteousness (James 2:14-24); and the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World (Rev. 21:1-7).

There were some very gifted musicians who played cello, guitar and keyboard, and who led us in singing some of the great hymns of the church as well as others like "In Christ Alone" - that brought everyone to their feet.  Praising God with 2,000 pastors and elders was an extraordinary experience. 


No one knows what the result of this gathering will be - Some have come to find out how to be "faithful in place"; others to explore "Presbyteries Within Presbyteries"; still others to discuss the possibility of a "New Reformed Body."  Tomorrow afternoon we will hear from Cindy Bolbach, the GA Moderator; tomorrow evening, our worship will be led by Dr. Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary.  On Friday, my friend Rev. James Kim will be part of a panel asking, "What is your vision of the Church Jesus wants us to be?"

Please pray for our time together, that we will be humble and restrained in our conversations; that the Holy Spirit would enlighten our understanding of what the way forward should be; for the pastors and elders from congregations struggling to be faithful; that the church would be spared from division.

Christian Virtue is a Team Sport - What is it about Sex?

Tom Wright laments that when groups of Christians are faced with outside opposition, our tendency is to turn on one another with factional fighting.  In wondering about why moral discussions in the church center on "a few favored issues, especially sex:.." he offers that this discussion might be "a 'displacement activity' when we can't cope with the question of how, why and when a whole family of Christians should (but can't) come together in mutual love and support.  That doesn't mean that sexual ethics are unimportant.  On the contrary, they are symptomatic of the health or unhealth of the wider community."


"Personal morality is enormously important, but over-concentration on it can function as a displacement activity when we don't want to address the larger, equally important issues."


          What these "larger, equally important issues" involve are:  when the "rule" against embezzlement is broken, the "larger issue" is that trust is destroyed.  When the "rule" against adultery is broken, the "larger issue" is that the entire faith community "suffers a kind of moral electric shock" that undermines the moral fabric of their world.


          So (me here) the ongoing struggle within our denomination over sexual ethics - including both the insertion and deletion of the "fidelity and chastity" standard for church officers - is a distraction (a displacement activity) from the larger issues of our lack of unity on a myriad of other matters.  (Insert your list here).

Christian Virtue is a Team Sport - Rumble Strips

Tom Wright again:

There is an old saying: Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach someone to fish and you feed them for life.  Paul's normal practice is the latter:...Give people a command for a particular situation and you help them to live appropriately for a day; teach them to think Christianly about behavior, and they will be able to navigate by themselves into areas where you hadn't given any specific instructions....(199)

Paul gives initial guidelines that only look like the "old rules" to keep people on track while they are learning new habits of the heart.   The illustration that sold me on this interpretation is "rumble strips":   When roads are built, they are built for long distances, with the intent that people should drive in full control of their cars..."ideally, nobody will ever stray from their side of the road into the path of traffic coming in the other direction."  But because of distractions, loss of concentration and mechanical failures, "the wise highway builders construct a central barrier, so that any car drifting toward oncoming traffic will be stopped in its tracks...likewise they build a 'rumble strip' at the outer edge of the highway, short of the ditch."  

          "Those responsible for building roads are not saying, 'There you are, there's a nice crash barrier [for you to bounce off of...they're saying], 'You're supposed to drive down the road without touching the barriers. But if something goes wrong you may  need to know the barrier is there."


          The barriers are still there - they are real and necessary for the unity of the church, for the integrity of the disciple and for moving toward life in the realized Kingdom of God.  But it's better to concentrate on our driving skills than on the quality of our bumpers.

Christian Virtue is a Team Sport

Sometimes I think I don't have an original idea (does anybody?) because I "process" so much of what I'm reading in this blog.   But few people have the luxury of reading as much as pastors do.

I've returned to an interrupted reading of N.T. Wright's After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters.  The best thing about this book (so far) is his rehabilitation of Paul from our black-and-white understanding of him: 

"A large number of Christians have assumed that the foundation of Paul's thinking goes like this: He spent the first part of his life trying to keep the rules of his religion, and then discovered not only that he couldn't but that the rules weren't the point.  God didn't want rule-keeping, he wanted 'spontenaeity.' God had forgiven him all his rule breaking, in and through Jesus Christ, and was now giving him his Spirit, who would produce the "fruit without all that horrible moral striving." (191)

          The correction he offers is that Paul believed that when the church's focus on the meeting of personal moral standards results in "huge fights" within the church (in Galatia), it is a "sign that something has gone wrong" within the community of faith because "Christian virtue is a team sport." 

          When Paul lists the behaviors he associates with "the flesh" in the vice list in  Galatians 5.19-21: 

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God

          he is giving examples of  "what happens when humankind turns in on itself and away from God...the roads which do not lead in the direction [of the coming kingdom]...the ways people on earth keep the life of heaven at bay...and so declare by their behavior that they want to keep earth just the way it is, in its present corrupt and decaying form."

     He goes on to point out that the fruit of the Spirit does not grow automatically, as though we sit back and wait for the fruit to arrive:  "If self-control was automatic, why would self-control be needed?" (196)  You have to choose to live in the Spirit.