Niemoller’s sermon was preached in Berlin in 1934, amidst the rise of Hitler. His words are no doubt partly autobiographical. He expounds on the danger of saying “yes” to the Lordship of Christ without then obeying him. Niemoller and others were forming the Confessing Church Movement, which rejected Nazism. Yet his sermon struck me not because he places himself and the resistance movement on the side of those who truly obey, but because he puts them in the place of those who have said “Yes” to the Lordship of Christ, those who now are in danger of honoring Christ with their lips but not with their lives.

Continue reading " Obedience or Empty Quarrel "

Let me suggest something that may sound a bit dangerous: there is a certain freedom in our present circumstance, a freedom out of which God might end up bringing some good. In some ways the Assembly’s decision on ordination finally admits in theory where we have been in practice for quite some time. And staring reality in the face can be a revelatory experience.

Continue reading " Free To Be Faithful: Covenant Community After the 217th General Assembly "

While sitting down to write my next post on “Yearning for Unity and Purity,” it seemed better to me to write out my prayer. I’ll get to the regular post later today, Lord willing. Perhaps we can pray this together.

Continue reading " A Prayer for Unity and Purity "

I would like to begin a series of regular reflections that arise out of my yearning for unity and purity in the church. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is in crisis.
We have been in crisis for quite some time, though our Assembly’s recent decision to no longer require our officers to live according to biblical standards […]

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We would do well to heed this exhortation. Many at the Assembly felt like its decision on the PUP Report changes everything. And in one sense there’s some truth to this. But in light God’s enduring faithfulness and the victory promised to us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, very little has changed at all. We are called to press on, assured of the hope of glory which no Assembly can render a non-essential.

Continue reading " What Do We Say To Our Congregations on Sunday?”: Responding to the G.A.’s Action on Ordination "

When we emerge from the waters of baptism, we renounce the prerogative, in moments of weakness, to avoid the offense that all too often comes from the fallen human discomfort that arises at the mere mention of the Father of an oppressed and crucified peasant Jew whom we confess and worship as Christ and Lord of all.

Continue reading " God-generic?: Can God be Called Father During the PC(USA) General Assembly Worship? "

In a recent post regarding correspondence with one of the developers of the Abrahamic Heritage overture being considered by the General Assembly, I promised to offer what I thought would be a better alternative, something other than a simple “no” vote by the Assembly.  Having now read the advice from the PC(USA)’s Congregational Ministries Division, […]

Continue reading " Abrahamic Heritage: A Good Option for the Assembly "

This post is a letter I wrote to Bob Donaldson, one of the developers of the Abrahamic Heritage overture headed to the PC(USA) General Assembly. The conversation started on the basis of PFR’s Advice on that overture. This post could be understood in itself, but it picks up the correspondence in the previous post.  Feel […]

Continue reading " “Unity and Harmony” with Islam?: Correspondence on the Abrahamic Heritage Overture (Part II) "

Below is some of my initial written correspondence with Bob Donaldson, a PC(USA) elder who helped develop the Abrahamic Heritage overture coming to the 217th General Assembly of the PC(USA). That overture is an attempt to establish a basis for dialogue between Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

Continue reading " “Unity and Harmony” with Islam?: Correspondence on the Abrahamic Heritage Overture (Part I) "

Throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and within the evangelical movement, anxiety levels are high and a cloud of uncertainty looms as we approach the 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, Alabama, from June 15 to 22. Is all the anxiety justified?

Continue reading " To Birmingham and Beyond "