The Missional Church

Thinking Outside the Chemo Cubicle

Leave a Comment / Lung Cancer, Personal, Romans 8, The Missional Church, The Pastoral Call / By /

Yesterday was my first day of the full-treatment protocol: radiation at 8:40 a.m. and a lengthy chemotherapy infusion starting at 9:15 a.m. All in all, it was a very good day, surprising even, and you can read the medical details on my log if you’d like. I promised I wouldn’t bore my blog readers with the techie stuff here, and I won’t. However, they will appreciate more what I share here if they understand the backdrop of consulting nurses, fiddling with devices, observing possible side effects, measuring renal output, and learning how to operate that cool recliner. When I arrived […]

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The Supportive Community

Leave a Comment / ECO (Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians), Lung Cancer, PCUSA, Peace Unity & Purity, Personal, The Missional Church / By /

The days getting ready for my cancer treatments have been amazingly busy. Because I will be undergoing both radiation and chemotherapy, I am engaged in two tracks of testing and preparation. Today, for instance, I will go in for a dress rehearsal of my custom-designed radiation treatment. During this procedure the technicians, the physicist, and the doctor all sign off on the mapping of high-energy x-rays that will converge on the Beast. Yesterday it was a bone-marrow biopsy to set a baseline for measuring side effects of chemotherapy. Another kind of preparation is happening at home. Because the disease itself

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Still Waiting? Try “Waiting on the Lord”

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Yesterday I suggested that “waiting for” sets the church up for spiritual temptation, either to divert from The Main Thing or to give up altogether. I suppose congregations that are in an interim period between pastors face these temptations, and that is why it is a good thing to be led by a skilled interim pastor during such a phase. But churches waiting for the wheels of Presbytery Process to grind are also challenged to keep going in the meantime, but how? We often ask the question, “What are we waiting for?” but perhaps the better query would be “What

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Assigned to the Waiting Room

Leave a Comment / ECO (Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians), PCUSA, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

A Personal Note: Today is All Saints’ Day, and the 26th anniversary of my ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA). Woo-hoo!! At its September meeting, San Francisco Presbytery authorized the congregation of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church to meet this Sunday, November 3, to discern its readiness for dismissal. However, last week, the Presbytery Engagement Team (PET) called off the congregational meeting while issues related to the terms of dismissal are re-opened and resolved. The congregation must wait for something else to develop before they can move on in their process of dismissal to ECO. I

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How Much Money Is Enough for Fruitful Ministry?

Leave a Comment / Kenya & Uganda, PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection, Uncategorized / By /

 In our American economy and within our church tradition, money in support of Christ’s mission is typically disbursed for personnel, facilities, program, and mission. A new church plant starts commonly with a designated pastor whose financial support is provided to give him or her time to invest in gathering people. There is usually some investment in facilities, a place the church can call home (although this is changing out here in the West, where many church plants rent commercial or educational space and keep their “stuff” in trailers during the week). Program costs typically start with what happens on Sunday

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Following and Leading

Leave a Comment / 221st General Assembly (2014), Leadership and Spirituality, Marriage Definition, New Form of Government (nFOG), PCUSA, Sermon on the Mount, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

San Francisco Presbytery passed two of three overtures related to Israel/Palestine last night. Its decisions (by fairly close margins) reflected a particular view of the PCUSA’s place in the world and the realms in which it is called to lead. That whole Middle East issue is incendiary and difficult and not my area of expertise, so I defer to friends Viola Larson and Alan Wisdom for any detailed discussion. But the question of whether the PCUSA has standing to insert its political solutions into the international mix is a real one, and germane to my current topic: the church and

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The Church and Culture

Leave a Comment / Moral Authority, PCUSA, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

The question of whether the PCUSA is leading our culture or following it with regards to views on same-sex marriage needs some careful consideration. How the church is to relate to the culture (“the world” in contrast to God’s Kingdom) is best addressed by some biblical data collection: The culture is characterized by what people want, what they prefer, what they invest in, and what they think makes them happy. Eve’s little speech in Genesis 3 outlines the worldly point of view completely. The Kingdom of God is characterized by what God wants and how we invest our lives in

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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: Neighbors

Leave a Comment / Kenya & Uganda, People, Personal, The Missional Church, Theological Reflection / By /

As I contemplate our next, briefer, visit with a local Kenyan family, Mr. Rogers’ theme song “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” comes to mind: It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine?  Could you be mine?… It’s a neighborly day in this beauty wood, A neighborly day for a beauty. Would you be mine?  Could you be mine?… I’ve always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you. So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day. Since we’re together we

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Sermon Illustration #3—THE KINGDOM OF GOD MAKES AN IMPACT: Church Buys Porno Theatre

Leave a Comment / Moral Authority, PCUSA, Sermon Illustrations, The Lord's Prayer, The Missional Church / By /

Topic: The Now and the Not-Yet of the Kingdom of GodScripture: Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heavenSource: Kent Richardson, “A History of First Presbyterian Church, Concord, California,” revised by David Stearns, FPCC website (scroll down to “Service”). Fourteen years before my arrival as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Concord (California), the congregation had been dealing with a vexing problem. Situated just one block from Concord’s central square, the church had a rear property line in common with the Showcase Theatre. The art deco building faced the city square, and in its heyday was

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