Theology. History. Culture.
As a Presbyterian passionately committed to the central insights of the Protestant Reformation, it feels a little awkward to say this: we should appreciate the recent statement on the church approved by the Vatican, and we should not embrace the highly publicized Protestant over-reactions to it.
Continue reading " Responding to Rome: Presbyterians Should Embrace Honest Ecumenism "
A few months ago I had the privilege of participating in an interview on “Trinitarian Spirituality” with a PC(USA) publication called “Hungryhearts.” Excerpts from that interview were published in the Spring edition of that magazine, and I just discovered that it’s available online. You can download a PDF copy of it here. The interview starts […]
I know I appear to have been a slacker as of late, not having posted recently. The truth is, I have been a slacker. But I have also been posting a few things over on “The Outbox,” the missional resource blog of the Presbyterian Global Fellowship. Here are links to a few of […]
After attending the recent meetings of the PC(USA)’s “Form of Government Task Force,” I’ve been thinking about how to “place” the efforts to develop a new “missional polity” for mainline churches. That is, how to place it in the more comprehensive effort of working for the missional transformation of our congregations and ultimately the larger church structures and denomination as a whole.
Continue reading " Missional Polity: Will it really help the church? "
Of the several important decisions made by the PC(USA)’s 217th General Assembly (2006) that have yet to receive much attention, the formation of the “Form of Government Task Force” (F.O.G.) is at the top of the list. This new Task Force has been charged with proposing a re-written Form of Government (the “G” section in the PCUSA’s Book of Order) to the 218th General Assembly (2008).
Continue reading " In Search of a Missional Polity for Presbyterians "
If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the new blog site from
the Presbyterian Global Fellowship…a team of bloggers is posting
resources, ideas and exhortations. It’s updated daily, so there’s new content all the time. Click here to go there.
This is a guest post from Alec Flynt, a student at Princeton Seminary who is preparing for ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). As part of the ordination process, most presbyteries require participation in a program called “Clinical Pastoral Education.” This program varies from place to place, but it usually involves being […]
In addition to this letter below, please also see the announcement from the PFR Board of Directors.
Continue reading " Resigning As Director of PFR, Focusing on Family and Academic Life "
Today I’ve been thinking about “identity issues,” our assumptions about who we are and why our churches exist, which in turn inform why we choose to do the various activities, programs, etc. that busy our calendars. One of the most important and difficult challenges facing our congregations is their need to develop a new missional identity. For most of us, becoming missional will require a deep re-orientation of personal life and a challenging transformation of the leadership style, foci, and even structures of our congregations.
Continue reading " Missional Identity: Some Initial Reflections "
A couple weeks ago I promised to continue a series of reflections on the theme of “Yearning for Unity and Purity” in the PC(USA), commenting on the state of the church, looking at Ephesians and then a few books on the topic of church unity. This post looks at Ephesians. I’ll pick up on the […]