2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh)

What Sort of “New” Is Acceptable in the PC(USA)?

10 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), 221st General Assembly (2014), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Spiritual Disciplines, Teaching, The Missional Church / By /

One of the first things a counselor (of any type) will tell you is that if you want to change a behavior, the best place to start is by monitoring what your current behavior is. If you want to change your eating habits, for instance, you would keep a food log for a couple weeks to observe what you are actually putting in your mouth. Then when it is time to start the behavioral change project, you know where your points of vulnerability are, you know how much of a change is required, and you get a pretty good idea […]

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The Misdirection of Worship: A Case in Point

8 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), 221st General Assembly (2014), Leadership and Spirituality, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity, Personal / By /

Lest one thinks that idolatrous worship was a problem only eons ago, as illustrated in yesterday’s post, even today within the PC(USA) it is possible to find events promoted as worship experiences that are anything but. A case in point: the after-dinner “worship” on the agenda of San Francisco Presbytery’s regular meeting of September 9. The “Order of Worship” handed out to us as we entered the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Oakland consisted of the following elements: a call to worship, opening song, Scripture exploration, Communion & Community Prayer, Announcements, Closing Song, and Benediction. The experience unfolded in

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The Down-side of Playing It by the Numbers

Leave a Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, PCUSA, Personal, The Property Clause, Theological Reflection / By /

I have had my diagnosis of lung cancer for just one week now, though I was strongly suspicious for a week or two prior to that: enough time to start getting my head and heart around the possibilities. In those weeks, my cough and an antibiotic were making it hard for me to sleep, so there were so many hours and such a big world-wide-web to awaken my curiosity. Bad idea. I saw just one number (the average 5-year survival rate for lung cancer) and made a decision right then and there: I’m not going to do this by the

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What Makes It Difficult to Buck Societal Trends

Leave a Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), 221st General Assembly (2014), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Moral Authority, Naegeli's Laws, PCUSA, Teaching, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

Yesterday’s blog post gave rise to some interesting comments on Facebook (not here, regrettably), suggesting that a nerve was hit on this question of just what the church is supposed to be and do in relation to “the culture.” I am aware that many books have been written on the subject of the church and culture (or Christ and Culture by Niebuhr and D. A. Carson’s Christ & Culture Revisited). I closed my reflection yesterday with the statement that, despite the fact we possess true freedom and righteousness in Christ, believing and acting on this truth is a sticking point

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Reflections on Kenya & Uganda: Above the Canopy

Leave a Comment / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Kenya & Uganda, PCUSA, Personal, Sermon Illustrations, Theological Reflection / By /

Next stop on our great Africa adventure itinerary was Kakamega, Kenya. Two features drew us to this city in the west:  the Kakamega Forest Nature Reserve, home to many unique birds, and the Kenya office of Village Enterprise. I will cover VE tomorrow, but for this Sabbath, let me share some thoughts evoked by the experience of walking through a rainforest before dawn. The Kakamega Forest is an equatorial, tropical rainforest of about 250 square kilometers. It used to be the eastern end of a vast forest that stretched uninterrupted all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. But over time,

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The Women’s Question and The Confessions

15 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, GAPJC Decisions, PCUSA / By /

The issues have been confused for years and I’m ready to stop out for a couple of days from the marriage curriculum and address a question that keeps coming up. The second form of the question popped out in the one-minute speech of a GA commissioner, who said, basically, that if it were up to the Book of Confessions, she would never have been ordained. The first form of the question, around for years, asks: “The Bible requires silence of women in the church, yet we ordain women. Why can we not ordain committed homosexuals despite the prohibition of homosexual

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Teach Your Children Well . . .

2 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

The charge given to the PCUSA by the General Assembly is to “enter into a season of serious study and discernment concerning its meaning of Christian marriage.” Implicit in this assignment is the exploration of Christian marriage, which gets its definition from Scripture and the history of Scripture’s application within the church. Discernment is necessary when a particular teaching requires a particular doing. Since as Presbyterians we hold fast to the principle that learning is pursued so that we can behave rightly (“truth unto goodness”), the process must aid us in making decisions about what we do regarding marriage. So

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Marriage Curriculum: Learning Indicators

25 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Step Three in the process of developing a curriculum on marriage is to identify learning indicators in each of the four domains (knowing, feeling, doing, and becoming). If we haven’t already encountered a sticky wicket, this step gives pause to many. The development of learning indicators is predicated on the following givens: 1. There is something to learn; there is knowledge to be discovered and applied to everyday life. Yes, Virginia, there is truth and you can know it because God has revealed it in his Word. 2. Feelings are going to come out, if we do our job right

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Learning Goals for a Course on Marriage

4 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

The second major step in developing a curriculum on marriage for congregations in the PCUSA is to unpack the overall goal, which was stated yesterday: “The purpose of this course is to arrive at an understanding of marriage that can be affirmed and practiced, with joyful confidence and a clear conscience, in the church.” A careful examination of this guiding statement points to sub-goals in four areas: what do we want the learners to know (information), to feel (emotional impact), to do (together in class activity as well as in application elsewhere), and to become (transformation). In other words, we

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Steps Toward Developing a Marriage Curriculum—Part II

12 Comments / 2012th General Assembly (Pittsburgh), Marriage Definition, PCUSA, Teaching, Uncategorized / By /

To give you an idea of where I am headed in the next few posts, let me outline the general plan for how to develop a curriculum on any topic. The foundational work of such a plan is important, because it sets the direction for the whole project. It reveals the starting point for discussion, and offers the measure for success at the end. As you read through this outline, think about its application for a course on marriage in your church. 1. Set the overall learning goal for the course. This is the “big picture” statement of what one

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