The Beginning of an End

It was with a heavy heart that Session and I broke the news to the congregation that my last worship service here at Mulberry will be our Christmas Eve Services. It's been a strenuous past few months as we have considered this possibility, hoping to find a way to stay but knowing that God has different plans. Fortunately, by moving to part time status and ending the full time installed position, the congregation is freed to create a search committee and begin their search for a part time pastor immediately. By moving to part time status the financial situation of the church becomes strengthened. By moving to part time status, it also makes the inevitability of leaving that much more real.

For 6 1/2 years I have loved serving this church. With all the ups and downs we've had, it is full of good people with faithful hearts doing their best to follow God's will. It is also hard to leave a situation where so much fruit is evident from these years of mission focus: new members, new visitors, new staff, new intern, new outreach programs, etc.

But like Paul says in I Corinthians 3:6-7, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." I have planted the seeds God has given me. Apollos will come along in January and water the efforts that have been invested. But neither of us deserve any credit, because only God will give growth to those seeds.

These next three months will be one of preparing for a transition, for all of us. I prepare as I pack a house but don't where yet where I will be going. They prepare as they interview and search for a new pastor. Neither of us know quite what to expect or what will happen. It's the beginning of an end, and yet another beginning for all of us is just around the corner. To God be the glory!

Would You Be a Christian if There Were No Afterlife?

It's a strange question, I know. For some it may be offensive. Others may find it simply ridiculous and dismiss the question altogether. But I have found this to be an enlightening spiritual exercise: Would I be a Christian if there were no afterlife? If there were no heaven to strive for or hell to fear?

First of all, let me clarify I do believe in an afterlife and that Jesus paved the way for humanity to experience eternal life. But does Christianity, does Jesus himself, have anything else to offer than just a golden ticket through the pearly gates?

Twice now this issue has been brought to my attention in one capacity or another. The 14 year old young man I am co-preaching with this Sunday has chosen the topic of Salvation. He has experienced a Christian school setting that preached fear of hell and he has other thoughts on reasons to turn to Jesus and live accordingly. Others have asked me if I "believe in a literal heaven or hell"? Many Christians have used heaven and hell as motivation for accepting Jesus as their personal Savior, and preaching that to others.

But what if? What if there were no heaven or hell? Would there still be a reason to be Christian? Would Christians still evangelize and share the good news of Jesus with others? How would they share that good news if there was no fear of hell or reward of heaven?

An unhealthy focus on heaven and hell blinds us to so many other motivations to give our lives to Christ. Here are just a few that come to mind:

1. Gratitude: When we realize that God became a human being, lived an exemplary life in relation with God's triune self, died to forgive our sins, and rose again to prove to humanity it was all true, we respond out of gratitude. We respond in loving God because we have first experienced that love in Jesus. We choose to follow Jesus and live a counter cultural life because we are thankful, appreciative of all God has done for us. We follow Jesus not out of fear of hell, but out of gratitude for the love and forgiveness that's been shown to us.
2. Experiencing Unconditional Love and Forgiveness: Who else can forgive our sins: the mistakes, the failures, the bad decisions? Who else can truly give us unconditional love? We cannot find those two things on this earth. Forgiveness frees us from a past we cannot change. Unconditional love means we don't have to earn, or be worthy, or perform in order to experience acceptance. The only way to experience unconditional love and forgiveness is its purest form is through God in Jesus Christ.
3. A Peace (and Joy) that Passes Understanding: Giving our lives to Christ means we experience a peace that passes understanding and a joy that defies logic. I am reminded of one Christian man who walked into an Arby's and the cashier said, "Why are you so happy?" Believing in Christ means that we can have a peace even in turbulent times, a joy in the midst of difficulties. Our peace and joy do not come from a bank account balance or the stock market or the amount of electronics we have or a prestigious job or our paycheck or house or car or relationships or...you get the picture. It comes from being in relationship with a God who knows us, loves us, and wants to give us abundant life here and now.
4. A Meaningful and Purpose filled Life: When you give your life to Christ, your life suddenly has new meaning. We live counter culturally instead of simply for our own benefit and welfare. We give and help and love those in need, even when we can hardly afford to. We may put ourselves in harm's way to save another life. We may be content with a lower paying job because it gives us time to volunteer more at church or be home more with our families. We are freed from the rat race and the "me mentality" so apparent in our culture.

Granted, not all Christians live this way all the time, myself included. But these are also compelling reasons to follow Jesus. It shouldn't be about fear. We are afraid of what will happen if we don't follow Jesus. Becoming Christian should be more about love, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, joy, meaning, and purpose.

When we give our lives and hearts to Jesus, we begin a process of living a transformed, counter cultural, sacrificial, loving-beyond-our-means kind of life. There is a peace and joy this world cannot take away. Our lives have purpose and meaning we did not have before. We are filled with love, knowing that we are loved and sharing that love with all we meet. Overall, we experience a difference here and now in our lives, not just in the "sweet bye and bye." And we give thanks and praise to the One who gave his life for us that we might have abundant life on earth in the present as well as the future.

Yes, there are many reasons to follow Jesus. I have found the most compelling to be more about how it changes my life today, how it makes a difference in who I am now, how I am encouraged to lead a transformed life on this earth. True, I believe I "may not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) But for me, that's just icing on the cake.

Jonah, Humility, and Unexpected Endings

Since I am working with the children on a Jonah play for this Sunday, I have spent some time in those four chapters recently. There is so much in that story: disobedience, second chances, anger, reluctantly following God's will. But this time around I am struck by the ending.

The book ends with Jonah pouting under a withered tree because things didn’t turn out the way he wanted them to, the way he hoped they would, the way he thought they would. After he was finally faithful to what God was calling him to do, the final result was not what he had anticipated. Life didn’t turn out the way he wanted it to.

Does it ever? Throughout our personal lives, our family lives, and our church lives, there are twists and turns we never expect. Unexpected outcomes. Surprising results that weren’t on the horizon when we started. We may be completely faithful in following God and what God wants us to do and end up in a completely different place than we thought we would be.

Why? Because God’s ways are not our ways. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. God has a plan that we know very little about. God sees the big picture while we only see the immediate “here and now.” Humility is an essential ingredient in our spiritual lives. While we may want something to end a certain way or like to see a certain result, it may not always turn out like that. We must be humble enough to submit to God’s will, to admit we don’t see the big picture, to accept what is and what will be even if we don’t understand.

We don’t know what the future holds for our own lives, for the people we love, for our church, for our world. It may be completely different than what we want or expect. But God IS good all the time, even when we are thrown those curve balls.

Jonah is a wonderful story with a powerful message. The last message is the most powerful of all. How do you respond when life doesn’t go your way, when God’s will is not your will? The hope, the prayer is that Jonah didn’t pout for too long under that sapling. Before too long, perhaps he came to his senses and realized that God’s plans are much greater than anything we could ask or imagine. Whether we understand it at the time or not, may we each have a sense of humility as we travel down life’s road and accept God’s will whatever it may be. Alleluia. Amen.        

GA Day 7 - Last Day but Not Least

Today was the last full day of the General Assembly. Tomorrow (Saturday) we take a few hours for appreciation and closing worship before everyone goes home. But today we HAVE to get all our business done, even if it takes all night. Fortunately, we only went to midnight after starting at 8:30 am and having an hour and a half for lunch and dinner.  Needless to say, it was an exhausting day.

We had a lot of business before us. We voted to limit the number of synods from 16 to 10-12 and referred this to a process for doing it in a responsible way. We dissolved the Korean Presbytery of Hanmi so they could join the presbyteries that are in their geographic area.

After much discussion the General Assembly voted to refer to the the Mission Responsibility Through Investment the request to divest from fossil fuel companies. MRTI will make a report to the next GA. We condemned the use of drones in war to facilitate targeting and killing of suspects. We asked the US government to lift travel restrictions to Cuba and to take off Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

We also passed several  policies for our church governance. If a pastor leaves the denomination while in a church court proceeding, they cannot be work in a PC(USA) church again until they go through the court process. We strongly urged all presbyteries and churches to do background checks before hiring. And finally, several suggestion on how to educate, train, and evaluate those who want to be ministers, including allowing a 3/4 vote to waive ordination requirement for special circumstances.

Yes, there was a lot of work needed to be done.  But all of this paled in comparison to the most controversial issue of the day, and for that matter the week. There is a special committee designated for the Middle East, specifically Israel/Palestine, because of all the resolutions that are sent to the GA about this issue. Three resolutions in particular stood out.

One wanted to call Israel an apartheid state. According to the definition of apartheid, many feel that Israel meets every single requirement. The committee narrowly defeated this motion 33-32 and so did the assembly. Also, we defeated making a distinction between the ancient nation of Israel in scripture and the country of Israel today. We did not feel this distinction was necessary.

Finally we voted on whether or not to divest our money from three American companies (Motorola Solutions, Hewlett Packard, and Caterpillar) doing significant business with Israel and profiting/contributing to the violence going on in that region. PLEASE NOTE: This was not a motion to divest from Israel. This was not against Judaism or the Jewish people. This was not a means to use our finances to cripple companies and get our way. In fact, this will have little or no financial impact on those multi-million dollar corporations. This was a symbolic statement saying what is going on in Israel/Palestine is wrong and so is profiting from the violence. There was passionate debate. This was not so much against Israel as it was against war in general.  In the end, the motion did pass 310-303. It was our closest and most controversial vote. A moment of silence was held for those who would be hurt by this decision. It was an extremely difficult and heart wrenching vote for the GA.

Since I've been home, many have asked how GA was. I often respond with two words: exhausting and exhilarating. It was a lot of meetings, a lot of work, a lot of everything. But the atmosphere was one of mutual respect and understanding. We knew we were doing important, significant, Godly work and took our responsibility seriously. But we also had a little fun, a few laughs, and yes, even a few drinks along the way. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Presbytery of Charlotte and the greater church in this way. It was an experience I will never forget. And through it all, after it all, I can say with more confidence than ever, "I am proud to be a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA)."

GA Day 6 - Difficult Marriage Issues

The General Assembly voted on several matters Thursday. 

We approved that Presbyterians have an interreligous stance with other religions meaning we will seek opportunities for respectful dialogue and mutual relationships with other religious traditions.

We approved advocate measures to prevent gun violence, opposed "stand your ground" laws, asked churches to declare their properties "gun-free zones," raise the age of gun ownership to 21, ban semi automatic  assault weapons, and create advocacy support for state and federal legislation.

We DISapproved a special committee to review PC(USA) abotion policy and a proposal to make a distinction between the ancient state of Israel and the current country of Israel.

We approved a lengthy statement on tax justice offering recommendations seeking a fairer tax system. We approved asking for a moratorium on the death penalty. We approved encouraging all churches to adopt a minimum 6 week parental leave with 100% of salary. We approved a study on end of life issues. 

Yes, we voted on a lot of motions Thursday, but most won't hear about these. Rather, the focus on this day was two fold: should pastors have the ability to perform same gender marriages where it is legal and should the definition of marriage be changed from "a man and a woman" to "two people."

Debate was respectful and civil. We first voted on pastoral discretion for same gender marriages. Should Presbyterian pastors have the choice to marry a same gender couple in a state where it is legal? The committee that debated this issue recommended to the Assembly that we vote yes. The Assembly in fact did vote yes, 61% - 39%. This was an "authoritative interpretation" which means it does not go to presbyteries for approval and is effective Saturday, June 21 at noon. 

Then the wording to redefine marriage was up for a vote. The original motion, again recommended for approval by the small committee, was to define marriage between "two people" instead of a man and a woman. An amendment was proposed which offered a middle ground. Marriage would be defined "between two people, traditionally between a man and a woman." This amendnent passed 85% - 15%. Then we voted on the main motion which passed 71% - 29%. While the motion passed to redefine marriage THAT DOES NOT MEAN MARRIAGE IS REDEFINED. The proposal then goes to the 172 presbyteries for their vote. A majority of the presbyteries must vote in favor for the change to go in effect. This vote will take place in 2015 at the presbytery level.

PLEASE NOTE: We also passed a motion to ask the Office of the General Assembly to develop resources and make personal visits to all presbyteries in an effort of reconciliation. There was a conscious effort made to care for our brothers and sisters who will grieve the decisions that were made today.

After a busy, stressful, and tiresome day, we ended celebrating the 248 churches that have started under the 1001 new initiatives. 248 red beach balls were released and hit around while the song "Happy" was played. It was a great release to the end of a difficult day. 

Prayers are with those whose hopes and dreams have been answered today. Prayers are with those who feel the Presbyterian church is going against the Bible and God's will. Lord, hear our prayers...

GA Day 5 - O Canada! And a Final Decision on Belhar

With the only free morning of the entire week, my room mate, Nancy Wilson, and I decided to leave the country. Fortunately, from Detroit that involved a 30 minute ride on a $4.50 bus ride. We walked around Windsor, Canada for a few hours.

Now in all honesty, Windsor is not all that different from other American cities. But it was nice to see Detroit from across the river...

as opposed to seeing Windsor, Canada from across the river.

It was a breath of fresh air to get away from the United States and walk around the great town of Windsor, have lunch on the river, and get a couple of Canadian souvenirs for the kids.

Then it was time to get down to work...well kind of. There were many presentations and non-business items that took up our time.  My favorite was this video called the Spirit of GA: part 5.  http://vimeo.com/98572797   It was a way to laugh at ourselves about what we find humorous about the General Assembly. There are other Spirit of GAs that are also very interesting.

But seriously, the most important item of business was whether or not to approve the Belhar Confession and send it on to the presbyteries for a 2/3 vote to include it into our Book of Confessions. I was so passionate about this topic that I was one of three people who spoke in favor before we voted on it. While a small contribution to the discussion, I was happy to be a positive part of the next step in including this in our Book of Confessions.  It passed 86%-14%. For all you Presbyterians, it will go before your presbytery next year. Please be an advocate for it.  It's a wonderful confession and prophetic word we need for our country today.

Finally, if you want a more official reporting of what goes on at GA, please see the Presbyterian Outlook page which writes several articles a day on the latest news.  You can find them at http://pres-outlook.org.

Tomorrow we talk about marriage equality issues: whether or not redefine marriage and to allow pastors to do same gender weddings where it is legal. Stay tuned!  More to come!!

GA Day 4 - Get to Know the Belhar Confession

After our perfunctory approval of the minutes and a brief disussion to disapprove designating a Sunday for Presbyterians celebrating the gift of evolution, the rest of our time together 9:30-5:00, was spent on learning about and debating the Belhar Confession.

The Belhar Confession was written in South Africa in 1982 and adopted into the church in Belhar, South Africa in 1986. In the context of apartheid and racism, this confession boldly stood up to discrimination and spoke about unity, reconciliation, and justice. It talks about the sin of segregation, prejudism, and hatred. You can read it and find out more about it at pcusa.org/belhar.

The question before us was whether or not this confession belongs in our Book of Confessions. Now that's a BIG DEAL. The last time a confession was added was in the mid 1980's. Before then it was in the late 1960's. Before then it was the time in Nazi Germany in the 1940's and before then it was the Westminster Confession in the 1600's. All that is to say, adding something to the book of Confessions is a once in a generation, if not lifetime, opportunity.

Clifton Kirkpatrick led our discussion. So what makes a confession worthy of inclusion? We ask questions like, does it speak to our time? Is it a prophetic or needed word to include to our historical documents? The overwhelming answer is YES. Racism still exists in our country. The church hour is still the most segregated hour of the week. The church needs to speak up against this injustice where people are still judged by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character. 

Christians in South Africa stood up against their racial injustice. We are asked to the same in our country. Of almost 60 people on our committee, only 1 person was against the Belhar. Now it goes to the entire General Assembly and if it passes it goes to Presbyteries throughout the next year to get a 2/3 majority vote. We will see what happens.

After our business, I engaged in another important part of GA: socializing and networking. First the entire Presbytery of Charlotte went out to dinner. It was a time to share our experiences, check in with each other, and talk with people we might not see too often. As you can see, we all had a great time led by our positive and uplifting Transitional Presbytery Executive Rev. Betty Meadows. 

Princeton Theological Seminary had a reunion and it was good to meet new people and catch up with long time friends. I met the former moderator Neal Presa who did such a great job representing our denomination the past two years.

I also had the chance to meet the current Vice Moderator Larissa Kwong Abazia, pastor of a thriving multi-cultural church in New York. So glad she will help represent our denomination in the next two years. Here she is with my room mate for the week, Nancy Wilson.

Finally, I ran into the former chaplain at Princeton Theological Seminary with whom I worked as the chapel assistant. Michael Livingston is one of the saints of the church and I was glad to see him again.

While we come here to do ministry, we also strengthen our connections around the denomination as we get to know new people and reconnect with past friends. Tuesday was a great day. We finished our business and strengthened our connections with those in the church.