For Once, Nothing to Say . . .

The Presbyterian world is all atwitter about the upcoming convocation of the Fellowship of Presbyterians to convene later this week in Orlando, Florida. If it accomplishes nothing else, I hope folks across the church will take seriously the fact that thousands of their kinfolk are grabbing for a life-line before they slide into a murky sea of theological accommodation. The life-line is of two strands, at least: fellowship with like-minded conservatives who can offer the reassurance that they are not going crazy, and an organization that can accommodate a transition out of the PCUSA when and if that becomes necessary.

Alas, I will not be present for the event and therefore will not have anything to say about the convocation itself in real-time. I would have gone if I could have; but when the organizers changed the date from last week to this week, I lost out. My daughter’s long-awaited dream trip to New Zealand, with her mother as companion, takes me out of the country, probably out of Internet range on many hiking days. For this reason, even though I often comment on events from a distance, I will not feel confident that I am getting a firm grip on things until I get back. By then, the dust will have settled and I will be cobbling together from many sources what happened.

For now, I will be comforted by the wisdom of Solomon, who included in his proverbs this one: “Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent” (Prov. 17:28). So I am going to be really intelligent for a couple of weeks. For once, I have nothing to say!

But my prayers are with all the many friends and colleagues who will be going, praying, listening, and deciding. May they, and you, my readers, be attentive to God’s working and obedient to God’s direction.