Faith
About this blog
Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
Charles Wiley
Barry Ensign-George
David Gambrell
Christine Hong
Karen Russell
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Going Forward
“You are such a P”. That is what my daughter says—my Meyers-Briggs obsessed daughter—when I revise my opinion and change my mind. You see those who are perceiving in the Meyers Briggs taxonomy aren’t people who stick with their decisions no matter what. They re-evaluate and re-access depending on the situations. This of course, is a strength in some situations and weakness in others .
This morning as I sat in worship I started to rethink and revise one of my opinions. You see for some time now I have been on a kick of thinking about how the Presbyterian Church (USA) needs to change drastically in order to be faithful for the next generation. I am intrigued with the missional conversation, that the church is a fundamentally sent body, recognizing that our churches often exist for our own sake. I have lamented that many congregations are indeed not sent as an apostolic witness to what Christ is doing in the world. I continue to think that is a valuable conversation.
At the same time, one of the realities of this conversation is that the PC(USA) is a denomination of thousands of small churches. And many of these small churches are going to need to be closed down in favor of churches that are more “successful.”
On a sweltering day in August, I found myself in a church where my wife grew up a church and her parents were charter members over fifty years ago. This is a congregation whose fortunes have risen and fallen as the local paper mill first grew quickly for decades, but then recently moved out of town.
As I sat with these fifty souls on this sweltering (did I mention that it was hot?) August morning I heard a very thoughtful sermon about Luke 12 that moved toward the table as a place where those in want and those in plenty can come together to share the Lord’s feast and to share food and drink with those in need. I heard stories of mission, the neighborhood, and community. I heard of a new group organized by an elder that practices Lectio Divino as they tried to explore the scriptures, as they try to immerse themselves in God’s word. I saw a worship service that was put together with care and faithfulness.
I can’t imagine that if anyone is looking for a video piece on the missional church that they will end up in this small church. I can’t imagine that when the highlights of the churches in the PC (USA) are put together for next year the list of congregations will include this small congregation in this small town. Nonetheless, what I saw in the pastor and elder, what I heard in the congregation, and what I experienced was a spark of vitality and life—a kind of faithfulness of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
How do we move forward toward a faithful future in a denomination of many small, struggling congregations in time of limited financial resources? I don’t know, but we have got to figure it out. And we have to do so in a way that recognizes what God is doing in the most unlikely of places.
- Posted at 3:51 p.m.
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