November 2011

Check Your Pitch with This Hearing Test

2 Comments / New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA / By /

In your sound-proof room, with earphones on, listen to these tones and tell me what you hear: “ . . . mindful of its commitment to tend to the unity of the denomination. . . the [Covenant Network] Board has decided not to support or encourage overtures to the 2012 General Assembly to change the constitutional language regarding marriage.  The Covenant Network will, however, encourage overtures seeking Authoritative Interpretation to protect pastoral discretion to celebrate same-gender marriages where they are sanctioned by the civil authorities,” (from the Board’s letter of October 28). Evangelical ears pick up some good news here: […]

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Ear Training

Leave a Comment / PCUSA, People / By /

Yesterday, I strongly suggested that Presbyterians desiring to stay on pitch spiritually and ecclesially should keep their ears attune to God’s Word. This obviously involves study and contemplation of the Scriptures, so that one is familiar both with the tone and harmony of the gospel through the Old and New Testaments. In musical terms, we call this “ear training,” when one is exercised to discern the subtle shifts of pitch, music intervals, and chords. One of my favorite choral teachers put his chorale students through an exhausting exercise during a rehearsal I will never forget. We started with a pitch,

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When Not to Listen

4 Comments / PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

For the first time in decades, my husband and I are singing in the same choir, he in the bass section, me with the sopranos. It’s a small group, twenty in number, comprising staff and volunteers of the local hospital. This week we begin a series of thirty-minute concerts for the hospital’s seasonal events, corporate dinners, and convalescent facilities. Our director is getting very picky now, which is to be expected, demanding blend. The challenge is particularly acute for the sopranos, who make up almost half of the whole chorus. The exhortation is to “listen to one another and stay

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Priorities

7 Comments / Uncategorized / By /

Friends, sermon writing must take priority today—which is going to be tricky even without getting up at 4 to write for you. Jacob has me wrestling with the Genesis 32 text . . . and because of travel to be with family for the holiday and an inconsistent internet connection, I’ve decided to take a week off from blogging and return to you Monday, November 28. In the meantime, consider the life-giving priorities the apostle Paul put before Christ-followers:  gratitude and glory to God, from Romans 1:21. Is this not the season to ponder anew the blessings God has heaped

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Wrestling and Parting Ways

4 Comments / PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

When one writes a daily blog, one participates in an aerobic rhythm of listening and speaking, pondering and reflecting, thinking and writing. This essay takes me at least an hour, sometimes two a day. That time is spent struggling with a Scripture, understanding its original context, and then bringing it to life for today. My main question is, Does this Word have anything to say to me as a Presbyterian clergywoman or to the Presbyterian elder somewhere struggling with the way things are in our denomination?  Sometimes a blog is sparked by an event that begs for a biblical response.

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Love My Enemies?

2 Comments / PCUSA, Sermon on the Mount / By /

Completely unique among world religions, Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-48). I’m pretty sure I have my share of those who, as Dallas Willard says, “would not be sorry to learn [I] have died” (Divine Conspiracy, p. 181). I have found the following prayer to be an earnest and challenging expression of humility and gratitude for enemies. It was written by St. Nikolai Velimirovic (1881-1956), a Serbian Orthodox bishop of the last century, who is well-known to American orthodox people for his

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What Forms Does Opposition Take?

1 Comment / Nehemiah 1-6, PCUSA / By /

Nehemiah suffered the opposition of men who did not want to see the Jews succeed in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. From the first six chapters of the book of Nehemiah, we find opposition in the following forms, some of which are evident today within the PCUSA: 1. The destruction of the Jerusalem wall, and the burning of its gates (Neh. 1:3).             Evangelical/conservative Presbyterians see this happen in the PCUSA in the form of deconstruction of our doctrinal foundation, redefinition of faithfulness, acceptance of sinful practice as normative. 2. Accusations of disloyalty to worldly authorities (Neh. 2:19)             “You’re

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Back Tomorrow

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It was one of those days where “life happened.” Some serious pastoral care emergencies came up yesterday, putting me behind schedule; and a long evening meeting last night took my last writing period away. So I’ll pick up where I left off in a day.  Meanwhile, I continue to be encouraged/energized by your comments, including a verbal one that my posts are getting a little long!  So I’ll try to go back to my “between 600 and 800 words” rule . . . Blessings on your ministries. Stay faithful and true to our Lord, and serve with gladness, to God’s

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Courage Amidst Opposition (Nehemiah 1-6)

1 Comment / Nehemiah 1-6, PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

The weekend retreat gathered forty-five women, many of them new in the faith, to a lovely site on the Pacific Ocean. The speaker’s topic was “Courage,” which would seem to have obvious application for women today; but the choice of Nehemiah 1 through 6 as the text was fascinating to me. God moved quite strongly among and in the women, and for that we were all very grateful! While listening to our speaker, the geek in me “traveled” to the former time and place and what the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall meant to God’s people, to their opponents, and, yes,

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What Would Jesus Do with the PCUSA?

6 Comments / PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

This of course is the harder question to answer: what would Jesus do with the PCUSA, and how would he advise congregations about their relationship with the denomination? To be honest, we have to start out by saying, “We really don’t know,” because there were no denominations in the first century. And what Jesus had in his mind’s eye for the church was a united body (John 17). We lost that distinction centuries ago, even before the Protestant Reformation. In recent posts I have commented on a few cornerstone assumptions going into this discussion: 1. No one denomination can claim

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