December 2011

A Skewed Bell Curve

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This week I am articulating six reasons for my sense of urgency about equipping individual presbyters for stand-alone discipleship. Yesterday I suggested—as I have been demonstrating for weeks—that there are increasing challenges to orthodox faith and practice in PCUSA circles. The second reason has to do with the political impact of congregational departures. A few weeks back I used an asymptote graph to illustrate my point. (A reader has since corrected my equation for that post. It would have been more elegant to define the function as f(x) = 1/x2). Today I will draw a bell curve to show what […]

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Equipped to Stand Alone

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This week, I would like to describe a ministry vision that reflects my passion for ministry and a sense of urgency because of emerging realities. The basic idea behind “Bringing the Word to Life” is to enlighten, encourage, and equip presbyters for engagement in faith issues locally. It is apparent to me that the need for stand-alone Christians is more acute than ever. By “standing alone” I do not mean obstinately refusing to work with others for a common purpose, nor living in isolation from other presbyters. Stand-alone in my usage refers to the type of Christian who does not

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Another Model of Theological Reflection

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Ministry in general is fraught with interesting situations that beg for theological reflection. Add to that the intricacies and confusions accompanying Presbyterian ministry these days, and an elder must give priority to thoughtful engagement with the issues in order to decide what to do. Yesterday I shared an educational tool for interpreting and applying content one has come across. Today I share a model specifically for theological reflection on case studies (or events as they unfold). The hope is that with these tools, presbyters can define the issues, categorize them, expand their awareness of options, and then narrow the choices

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One Method of Theological Reflection

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This post is my 100th for “Bringing the Word to Life.” I was not sure when I started this project in late July that it would be a discipline I could sustain. It has turned out to be a discipline that has sustained me, and I am grateful to have had the time and venue for writing. Today I would like to reflect on how such a discipline can make a person a better Presbyterian and more thoughtful Christian. Whether the mode is blogging or journaling or jotting notes in one’s calendar, the act of reflecting on a daily basis

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Bad Acoustics and Singing Off the Same Page

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Yesterday afternoon was the first opportunity for our 20-voice chorus to perform this season, and the occasion was the lighting of the Christmas tree in the big new lobby of John Muir Medical Center. We sang several pieces for an appreciative crowd, wearing our black outfits and Christmas red scarves for the occasion. But for us singers, it was a less than satisfactory experience because we could not hear each other. The acoustics of the room were dead. I for one felt like I was singing alone and could barely hear the piano, much less the altos. There were a

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