Bringing the Word to Life

Explaining the Trinity without Getting into Trouble

Leave a Comment / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, PCUSA, Theological Reflection / By /

We are taking a look at The Fellowship Theology Project‘s explanation of the essential tenets of the Reformed faith. You can get a copy of the report developed for The Fellowship of Presbyterians and the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians here. A study guide by Stephen Eyre (Cincinnati, OH) and me has been completed and will be available soon, so watch that website for its release. The last tenet highlighted the fact that while we take the Bible in its various parts as the authoritative Word of God, we also take the Scriptures in their entirety very seriously. This turns […]

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Are You Ready to Read the Bible?

Leave a Comment / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Fellowship of Presbyterians, PCUSA, Teaching / By /

Are you one among many who have made a New Year’s Resolution to read the entire Bible in 2013? If so, and if you actually carry through on the resolve, you are in a very good place to build your faith. For through the Word of God written, the Christian becomes acquainted with God, who turns out to be remarkably open with those who seek him this way. According to The Fellowship Theology Project, the paper giving an exposition of “the essential tenets of the Reformed faith,” the first essential has to do with God’s Word as the authority of

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Are You Ready to Offer Some Hope?

Leave a Comment / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Leadership and Spirituality, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity, Teaching / By /

Yesterday, I suggested that denominational life is likely to become more difficult for evangelicals as we move through 2013. My predictions of trends are discouraging, I know, but today I want to give a word of encouragement. A difficult life, in and of itself, is not a sign that Jesus has left us orphans, nor is it an excuse to give up and give in to the worldly influences surrounding us. Rather, a difficult life calls us to depend on our Savior all the more and to hold fast to what we have been given. We have our testimony of

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Are You Ready for What Can Happen in 2013?

Leave a Comment / Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity / By /

Looking ahead to the coming year, my sense is that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will see an accelerated decline in “the measurables,” and the spiritual gains will be harder and harder to discern. It is customary in some circles to predict the trends of the coming year, so I will take a stab at a list for the PC(USA). By mentioning these things I am not saying I want them to happen, or that I am certain they will, but I feel confident asserting that the trends are a real threat to Presbyterian covenant life. I believe that we will

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BC and AC: A Shock to the System

3 Comments / Leadership and Spirituality, PCUSA, Personal, Theological Reflection / By /

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! After a two-month hiatus from blogging, I am ready for the daily discipline again. I stopped out for three main reasons:  Firstly, a writing/editing project came along and its due date was December 21. Now that it is finished, my readers will be hearing about it in future posts, because it has everything to do with Bringing the Word to Life and the Presbyterian Church. But I’ll keep you in suspense two more days on its themes. Secondly, I found myself speechless. I know this is hard to believe, but I felt “silenced,” not

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Twenty-five Years of Pastoral Ministry

7 Comments / PCUSA, Personal / By /

All Saints Day Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of my ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I have assigned to this day a lot of personal significance and indulged in some reflection about my call in life and ministry. This summer my beloved and I celebrated 37 years of marriage. The question has come up in both contexts—marriage and ministry—whether I have felt the years fly by or not. Joyfully, in regards to our marriage I can honestly say the years have flown by with only a couple rough periods. But in regards

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Larson v Los Ranchos: A Case of Presbydoublespeak

16 Comments / GAPJC Decisions, Marriage Definition, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA / By /

Overnight I have had a chance to read not only the Final Decision and Order of the GAPJC in Larson v. Los Ranchos, but also the briefs submitted by the Complainants/Appellants and the Respondents/Appellees (the Presbytery). My initial summary of this case appeared in yesterday’s blog; today I’d like to share my impressions of what this decision means. Folks who believe a manner of life suitable for ordination in the PCUSA includes fidelity in heterosexual marriage and chastity in singleness are going to find it difficult to apply their reasonable biblical standard in ordination/installation decisions. Here’s what I observe to

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GAPJC Decisions Put the Squeeze on Evangelicals

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The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC)  has issued three Decisions after hearing oral arguments last Friday in Louisville. Each is disappointing to evangelical conservatives in the PCUSA, but taken together they create an odorous outcome for any presbytery trying to uphold a biblical understanding of marriage or congregations desiring a peaceable withdrawal from the denomination. A quick rundown of the case Decisions, which can be read in their entirety on the GAPJC website (scroll down to 221-02, 221-03, and 221-04):  221-02, Newark Presbytery v McNeill:  In 2009, Presbyterian teaching elder Laurie McNeill was married, according to Massachusetts law, to

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Is Our Teaching Method Watering Down Our Doctrine?

3 Comments / Essential Tenets of the Reformed Faith, Fellowship of Presbyterians, It All Started in the Garden, Marriage Curriculum, PCUSA, Personal, Teaching / By /

October has turned out to be an intense month of preparations, and my blog has gotten short shrift as a result. Aside from preaching every Sunday this month (an unusual schedule in my current context), I am giving a series of theological lectures on the topic “It All Started in the Garden: Theological Themes Arising Out of Genesis 1-3” and presenting three talks at the California Wee Kirk Conference next week (a plenary address, a sermon, and a seminar—all on different topics). Behind-the-scenes, I have been working with a colleague on a study guide for ECO’s “Essential Tenets” (ET) paper,

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Good Days and Bad Days

7 Comments / Food, It All Started in the Garden, Leadership and Spirituality, Personal, Theological Reflection / By /

This morning a Facebook friend posted his status: “Today is a good day.” Having just come off a bad day myself, the simplicity of his statement caught my attention and begged for reflection. Sunday for me was the sort of day Judith Viorst described in her class children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Well, I had one. Two events cast their deep shadows on this week’s Sabbath. The first occurred during worship and the second at home late in the day. On this particular week, my participation in worship was musical. The choir director

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