There are times

There are times, aren't there, when our words fail us?  When trying to explain to someone about the wonder of a God who loves us so much and who surrounds us with astounding grace...well, how do you speak about the Infinite among and within us when all we have are finite words?  When trying to explain the miracle of childbirth, of watching a brand new human being come into the world, and you are filled with all the hope and the fear of what life will hold for that tiny, fragile individual...how can you put that into words?

And so what words possibly can be sufficient to express all that we are feeling in the light of the murders of the nine individuals last night at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston?  How can we understand such evil and depravity in anyone?  How could that young man have sat through an hour-long study of the Holy Bible, and only then take out his gun and start shooting?  How could the holiness of a sanctuary - a place where God is worshiped - be so horribly and brutally violated?

In pain, anger, dismay, and frustration, we cry out with the psalmists of old: "How long, O Lord? How long?"

The Presbyterian Church's Book of Common Worship contains this prayer, attributed to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

'Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right side or your left side,

not for any selfish reason.

I want to be on your right or your best side,

not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition,

but I just want to be there

in love and in justice and in truth

and in commitment to others,

so we can make of this old world a new world.  Amen."

Most of us, at least every Sunday, join in praying that God's reign would come and that God's will would be done on earth as in heaven.  We long for that day. We pray for that day.  We wait for that day.

In our waiting, let us also work...and pray...and speak out...and love our neighbors...and love even our enemies...and show compassion...and weep with those who weep...and rail against injustice wherever it exists...and join our hands and voices and efforts with those who work for peace and for justice.

Yet there still are no words, at least not right now, at least not within me.  And so I simply grieve.  And I pray.

The Holy Grail - New Church Members

Years ago, several pastoral colleagues and I were talking together about the church, about the congregations we each served, and about future outlooks.  As such conversations inevitably do, the subject came up of the challenge of finding, getting, and keeping new church members.  One of my colleagues there said, "Part of the challenge at my congregation is our attitude about evangelism.  It can be summed up like this:  'Well, we don't mind if you come.'"

How's that for an enthusiastic approach to getting new members into your congregation?  "We don't mind if you come."

We all bemoan the dearth of new members, and the continual - sometimes gradual, sometimes not - dwindling of numbers in our congregations.

Here are some thoughts of mine for your consideration, reflection, conversation, or to "file"...

The "Presbyterian Church" is not losing members!  The General Assembly can neither receive nor dismiss church members.  Neither can the Synod.  Neither can our Presbytery.  Members come and go in our congregations.  Period.  Although "denominational loyalty" used to be the norm in American society, that time long has passed.  People usually don't join a Presbyterian congregation because they've always been Presbyterian.  In other words, people don't join a Presbyterian congregation; they join a local congregation.  People become involved in a congregation that is welcoming, that offers meaningful worship, that invites participation in activities that have an impact in the community and that make a difference in the world, that nurtures their own spiritual life.

How welcoming is your church?  Most studies show that people who visit a church for the first time make up their minds about the church within 30 seconds of walking in the door!  How are they greeted?  Is the entry space filled with papers scattered haphazardly around on tables, or is the paint on the walls cracked, or is the furniture about 80 years old and unsafe to sit on?  Is the worship bulletin self-explanatory?  If Communion is being celebrated, how will they know if they should eat the bread when it's passed or wait until everyone has been served and partake together?  Are they treated as "visitors" or as "guests?"  (Those two are very, very different!)

Studies on church growth consistently show that the vast majority of people who visit a church do so because someone they know invited them!  Should the pastor seek out new people and invite them to church?  Of course!  However, people usually will react to such an invitation by thinking, "Of course she invited me to attend.  It's her job."  If you're a church member, no one will think you're being paid to invite people to your church.  If you're genuine about it, they'll recognize that you're excited about being a part of your worshiping community, that you find it a worthwhile way to spend your time and energy, and that you would love to have them share that experience with you.  So... when was the last time you invited someone to worship or some other event at your church?

The song is true, that "they'll know we are Christians by our love."  If we are not living in ways that are consistent with the things we say we believe, people will pick that up in a heartbeat.  However, people also need to hear us talk about our faith.  The Lord knows that we don't need more "Bible-beaters" in our society!  But we DO need people whose faith is deep, sincere, and dear, and who find natural opportunities to talk about the things they believe.  The old joke asks, "What do you get when you cross a Jehovah's Witness and a Presbyterian?  Someone who knocks on every door, but then has nothing to say when the door is opened."  We need to get comfortable with natural expressions of faith shared with people around us.

The days are gone when we can once again expect our sanctuaries to be bursting at the seams.  But the needs of people to be involved in faith communities that are vibrant and genuine are as great - or greater - than ever.  What can you do to encourage people to be a part of your faith community, to join you on your spiritual journey?

PCUSA 1001 Investigations and Issues

Thoughts about the 1001 investigations and issues

What happened (from June 1, 2015 article by Leslie Scanlon in The Presbyterian Outlook)

“In December 2013, an unauthorized corporation called the Presbyterian Centers for New Church Development Inc. was set up in California, and later $100,000 of PC(USA) grant money was sent to that corporation. All of the money was later returned, and Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, has said none of those involved were acting for personal gain.

“(Marilyn) Gamm (chair of the PMA Board) did say that the four employees were not given severance packages and that the amount paid since they were put on administrative leave on Nov. 15, 2014 was about $242,000.

“She also said that, to date, the PC(USA) has spent about $850,000 in legal fees to pay for the investigation – and that doesn’t include all the fees owed to John Sheller, a Louisville lawyer who’s represented the board in trying to resolve employment matters with the four men.”

According to a statement by teaching elder Craig Williams, one of the four individuals:  “On Monday June 1st, I, along with 3 colleagues, learned through the Presbyterian News Service, that we were no longer ‘with’ the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the PCUSA.” (from June 4, 2015 article by Leslie Scanlon in The Presbyterian Outlook)

What could have happened

What if, instead of treating these four people as “employees” of a “corporation,” we recognized that they were servants of the Church?

What if, instead of using a corporate business model of dealing with “subordinates” who made unauthorized decisions, the processes of Church discipline were engaged by the presbyteries in which these individuals’ memberships resided - either by the raising of allegations or by receiving a request for vindication?

In such a situation, each presbytery would have appointed an Investigating Committee, interviewed people, gathered data and information, and discerned a way forward.  In any cases where a committee found no basis for ecclesiastical charges to be filed, then the individuals involved could properly announce that their presbytery had investigated the matter, and that no disciplinary charges were being filed and/or that they were vindicated.  In any cases where a committee decided to file charges, then a fair and open trial would be held by a Permanent Judicial Commission, the issues(s) would be decided by that PJC, and the results would be publicly announced and then published in the presbytery’s minutes for all to see.

The purpose of Church discipline is expressed at the very beginning of the Rules of Discipline of the Book of Order:

“Church discipline is the church’s exercise of authority given by Christ, both in the direction of guidance, control, and nurture of its members and in the direction of constructive criticism of offenders. The church’s disciplinary process exists not as a substitute for the secular judicial system, but to do what the secular judicial system cannot do. The purpose of discipline is to honor God by making clear the significance of membership in the body of Christ; to preserve the purity of the church by nourishing the individual within the life of the believing community; to achieve justice and compassion for all participants involved; to correct or restrain wrongdoing in order to bring members to repentance and restoration; to uphold the dignity of those who have been harmed by disciplinary offenses; to restore the unity of the church by removing the causes of discord and division; and to secure the just, speedy, and economical determination of proceedings.” (D-1.0101)

I find it sad that some Church leaders immediately went into “corporate” mode to deal with “personnel” matters confidentially.  Wouldn’t it have been better, fairer to everyone concerned, and more transparent if the long-established procedures of Church discipline, which were put in place precisely for these kinds of situations, had been used?  Wouldn’t the Church have been better served?  Wouldn’t our public witness be stronger?  And, needless to say, the national Church, which already had to recall mission workers around the world because of lack of funding, would not have had to spend $850,000 (and counting) in legal fees.

All in all, seemingly everything done in this whole situation showed a lack of regard for, understanding of, appreciation of, and wisdom and healing to be gained by properly exercising the resources of our Church’s processes of discipline.  The people in this situation seem to have forgotten, or simply chose not to acknowledge, one of our key “Foundations of Presbyterian Polity:”

“Where Christ is, there is the true Church. Since the earliest days of the Reformation, Reformed Christians have marked the presence of the true Church wherever… ecclesiastical discipline is uprightly ministered.” (F-1.0303)

We believe this for good reasons.  Leaders of the Church who are in one of the ordered ministries of the Church have publicly pledged and vowed that they would “be governed by our Church’s polity, and... abide by its discipline” (W-4.4003e).  Those who cannot or will not live in accordance with this should graciously withdraw from leadership.

A Statement of Faith

In our tradition, most presbyteries require a candidate standing for ordination to submit a one-page statement of their personal faith.  When I have chaired Committees on Preparation for Ministry, I encouraged committee members to engage in the same reflection and discipline.  No one ever did - alas.  Nevertheless, I found it an insightful process of discerning and distilling the essence of what I believe.  And so I share here my own Statement of Faith...

I believe in the Triune God.  Traditionally, this is a reference to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  However, these are metaphors; it is the only way we can try to comprehend an infinite God using finite language.  The Scripture is full of rich metaphors that describe the different ways we experience the God who encounters us.  God is a father, a mother, the Creator, the Sovereign.  Jesus is our Savior, our Lord, our brother, our high priest.  The Holy Spirit is our guide, our companion, an advocate, the one who empowers us.  The wonder of the Christian Faith is that we are not left to our own devices to find God.  God has taken the initiative to come to us, and will be with us always.

I believe that we live enmeshed in broken relationships:  with God, with others, within ourselves, and with our world itself.  The result is fear, alienation, war, abuse of each other and of our planet, and despair.  The Good News of the Gospel is that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are given the gift of new and abundant life, both here and hereafter.  As we pattern our lives after that of Jesus, we see that reconciliation is possible, peace and justice are our calling, love is shared, and hope is attainable.

I believe that the Bible is the inspired Book without equal for us, the sourcebook of our faith and our life.  A gift that our Reformed tradition offers the larger Church is not so much what we believe about the Bible, but how we understand inspiration.  We believe that God was active in inspiring the authors of the biblical books.  God inspired rabbis and bishops gathered together in the early centuries of the Common Era as they determined, respectively, the canonical books of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures.  The Spirit inspires translators who wrestle with meanings of ancient words and the selection of texts from which to draw those words.  The Spirit continues to inspire us as we study and discuss, drawing on our best scholarship and our most faithful spiritual practices in discerning what God is saying to us through the scriptures today.  I believe that inspiration is an ongoing, dynamic action of God in the Church and in our lives.

I believe that the Church is the body of Christ in our world today; we carry Jesus with us wherever we go, whatever we do, and however we interact with others.  We are called to follow and serve him within particular communities of faith.  True to our heritage, Presbyterians believe that the Church should be about the tasks of making the proclamation and hearing of the Word of God primary in our worship, celebrating the Sacraments as Christ’s claiming and nurturing gifts of grace to us, and living out the belief that good order better serves our communal life and witness than does chaos.

I believe that God is especially present with us when we celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism and Communion.  These sacred acts are, as Augustine described and the Reformers affirmed, “outward, visible signs of inward, invisible grace.”  Through our celebrations of the Sacraments our worship is enriched, our faith is encouraged, our service is empowered, and God is glorified.

I believe in what the Book of Order calls “the great ends of the Church” – the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.  As we focus our energies and resources in how best to live these out in our rapidly changing world, I believe we will be faithful disciples and servants of Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.

The Essence

Over the last several issues of Presbytery Matters, I have been highlighting some different models for being the Church in our day.  These came from a sabbatical study I undertook in 2010.  I hope that those articles will continue to engage us in prayerful and thoughtful conversations...some of which already have begun to take place.

In the paper I wrote as a result of my sabbatical, I also spent some time examining an overarching look at the nature of the Church.  Specifically, I identified several things that I believe have been Biblical hallmarks of what the Church is to be about. I also reflected on what our Book of Order lists as the "notes of the true Kirk" (distilled from the Scots Confession in our Book of Confessions.)

If an integral part of being a Reformed Christian is taking the written Word seriously, then what does the Bible, and particularly the New Testament, say about what makes a church the Church?  In other words, what are at least some of the biblical marks of the true Church?

There are many words used to describe the Church in the New Testament, of course, but at least these five seem to me to come up often enough that one could argue that they are the key descriptive words for what the Church is and how the Church ought to live in community and in witness.  These words are kerygma, didache, diakonia, koinonia, and agape. These words can have various translations.  As I studied these words, it seemed to me that these five words make up what might be the New Testament "marks" of the Church.  I would translate them as:  proclamation, learning, service, hospitality, and love.

Adopted in 2011, the newest section of the Presbyterian Church's Book of Order affirms these "notes of the true Kirk," as the Scots put it.

"Where Christ is, there is the true Church.  Since the earliest days of the Reformation, Reformed Christians have marked the presence of the true Church wherever:

·      the Word of God is truly preached and heard,

·      the Sacraments are rightly administered, and

·      ecclesiastical discipline is uprightly administered." (F-1.0303)

The Form of Government of the Book of Order continues to emphasize these notes of the Church in its description of the work and witness of all of the various councils of the Church, focusing each one's specific responsibilities and ministries around these three notes.  (See G-3.01 in its general descriptions of councils, and then G-3.0201 concerning the session, G-3.03031 concerning presbyteries, G-3.0401 concerning synods, and G-3.0501 concerning the General Assembly.)

So, true to our heritage, Presbyterians believe that the Church should be about the tasks of making the proclamation and hearing of the Word of God primary in our worship, celebrating the Sacraments as Christ's claiming and nurturing gifts of grace to us, and living out the belief that good order better serves our communal life and witness than does chaos.

My question then was, and continues to be, this... What would it look like if a  congregation (and/or a presbytery), after a period of prayer and reflection and discussion, decided upon what "marks" it would identify as being crucial to its nature, mission, and ministry, and focused solely and exclusively on those things only...that everything - everything - else would be cast aside in order to focus on those key elements?

I pray that this might be worth some further conversations together.

What's Next?

Right now several Presbyterians (and undoubtedly some others) from across the country are meeting at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago for something called the Next Church Conference.  "Next Church" first met in Indianapolis, Indiana a few years ago.  I attended that initial gathering.  The purpose of these gatherings is to discuss, share, dream, pray, discern about where God might be leading the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the future... to help discern what's next.  This is from the group's website:

"NEXT Church is a network of leaders across the Presbyterian Church (USA) who believe the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful and more agile. We provide hopeful space for robust conversations about the theology, culture, and the practice of ministry, to serve as a catalyst for new mission callings, and to support strong leadership in a time of adaptive change. We are fostering a conversation about how to follow Christ in our particular day and age. We are a movement seeking to change the culture of connection in the PC(USA) so that we continue to share faithfully the good news of the gospel in ways that bear fruit in a fractured world."

As I've been following the Twitter comments from folks at this year's gathering (#nextchurch2015), people are sharing some of the insights, thoughts, and questions that are arising.  This comment I found particularly insightful:  "Why does your church exist?  Hint: 'Because we have an historic building' is not the answer."  When he was Stated Clerk of the General Assembly years ago, Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick asked the question a little differently:  "If your church were to close tomorrow, what would your community miss, if anything?"

In 2010, I took a three-month sabbatical from the congregation and presbytery I was serving at the time.  I tried to find, and then write about, different ways in which people were trying to be the Church in our culture.  I don't know that the paper I wrote from that study came up with anything particularly groundbreaking or unique, but I did identify several different models that people have been exploring about how to be the church in this very new and very different time.

I entitled the paper, "A New Church - A New Day: Models for Being the Church in New and Challenging Times."  This was my thesis statement:

"We need a new Reformation.  By that, I mean something different than transformational thinking, emergent worship, or missional focus.  For more and more congregations, the day is rapidly drawing to a close when each can have its own building, run its own programs, support its own mission causes, and call and hire its own staff.  Resources are too limited.  Our continued insistence on doing things by ourselves results in fewer members, an inability to support staff or buildings, and closing church doors.  It has seemed to me that, just as the Scriptures affirm that the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation, giving birth to new life on the earth (Genesis 1:2), so the Spirit seems to be hovering over the Church, in the process of giving birth to a new way of life in the community of Christ's Body."

Over the next few issues of Presbytery Matters, I thought it might be helpful and timely for me to share some of the different models I identified.  A few of these we already are doing, but there may well be something in these that will ignite a spark within you as you consider your congregation and where God might be leading your church.

In the meantime, I do think that the questions above are worth pondering a bit, don't you?

·      Why does your church exist?

·      If your church were to close tomorrow, what would your community miss, if anything?

These questions, of course, are just as applicable to presbyteries... and synods... and denominations as well.

May our explorations and discernment bear fruit, by God's grace.

Take up our cross

My first year of seminary I took a January class on the works of German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Other than the fact that we had to read seven of his books during the span of four weeks - yes, seven books, by a German theologian, in four weeks! - it was an amazing class.  Much of my own theological reflections, especially on the nature of the Church as the community of faith united in and by the Risen Christ, come from my readings of Bonhoeffer, especially The Cost of Discipleship.

Over the years I have continued to read things by and about Bonhoeffer.  Currently I am reading an insightful biography about him - Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, by Charles Marsh.  It's well written and enlightening, chronicling the life of this influential Christian thinker who wrestled with how one can be faithful to Christ while living in a country that demanded ultimate obedience from its citizens: Germany under the Nazis.

Among other things, Bonhoeffer was well-traveled.  In 1930 he came to the United States for a year of post-graduate studies and a teaching fellowship at Union Seminary in New York.  There he met, among others,  Frank Fisher, a Black fellow seminarian who introduced him to Abyssinian Baptist Church and the African American church experience. Bonhoeffer heard Adam Clayton Powell preach the Gospel of Social Justice there and he formed a life-long love for Black Gospel music.  This was a profoundly formative experience for a young Bonhoeffer.

In June 1939 he returned a second time to the United States, but realized almost immediately that it was a mistake.  He believed that he needed to be in Germany and to walk with his fellow citizens during the increasing insanity and barbarity of Hitler and the National Socialists.  However, during his few weeks here that summer, Bonhoeffer drew observations about the American Church.  Here is part of what Marsh wrote in his biography of Bonhoeffer:

"The American churches had surely produced thrifty churchmen, earnest theologians, and revivalist preachers, but they had failed as yet to reckon seriously with the'scandal of the Cross.' Some of (Bonhoeffer's) criticisms bore sharp resemblance to ones he had leveled against the German Christians. According to Bonhoeffer, the American Christian had never learned to trust God fully, or to know what it means to stand under the judgment of the Word, for he (sic) had never had to learn the lesson."  (Marsh, Charles (2014-04-29). Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (p. 283). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

In our nation, Christians in general have not had to endure suffering and persecution for our faith.  In other parts of the world, discipleship is incredibly "costly," to use Bonhoeffer's expression.  Especially in areas where the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups have taken control, Christians are increasingly being targeted for arrest, torture, and death.  Other than being shocked by the idea of Christians bearing the cross of Jesus, sometimes even to death, how can we possibly know how to respond?

We are still at the beginning of our journey through Lent.  During this time each year we are given the opportunity to consider the cross, to ponder sacrifice and suffering, to walk with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, to Gethsemane, to Golgotha. Other Christians have had to take that same road; some are walking that path as you read these words.  What does it mean for us to "take up our cross" and follow Jesus?