iHOPE

What Happened in Orlando- and Why I Wasn't There.

This past week, more than 2,000 Presbyterians met in Orlando for gathering to discuss the future of the Presbyterian Church (USA)- or rather, the lack it. Beginning last year with a letter from a group of (mostly large church) pastors that declared our denomination was "deathly ill", an organization called the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP) was formed and culminated in the unveiling of a new denominational entity called, The Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECOP- their new logo is displayed above). You can read more about it here. While it claims that this split was not simply over the issue of homosexuality and ordination, it is also no secret that this has been the lightning-rod that spurred this movement. At this point, it is a new denomination that allows others to affiliate with it, even if they choose to stay in the PCUSA.

If you click on the links above and read through the materials, you will find some exciting materials about what the Church is called to be- and could be in the future. I love the passion, admire many of the leaders and embrace their stated values.

So why wasn't I part of the launch of this "new reformed body"?  I will answer that question more fully in the week to come, but I'll answer it briefly here with another question:

Pastor's Class: Faithing the Issues

Are you tired of hearing people talk (argue) about the serious issues of life as if there were only two alternatives (right v. left)?

Do you wish you could have a place to discuss and explore the issues in a way that wasn't so confrontational?

Would you like to see how we can apply our faith to the issues of the day- even if we don't all come up with the same answers?

Then this year's Pastor's Class may be for you!

Beginning the first week of October, I will be leading the class, "Faithing the Issues". It will look at how we apply the Bible and our Faith to the some of the toughest questions of our day (Abortion, Euthanasia, Evolution, Homosexuality, Heaven/Hell,- that should be a good start!). We will be using the book, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White:  Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics by Adam Hamilton as a 'source book' (that means we aren't doing a study of his book as much as using his material for our study).  You can pick up a copy at church for $15.

As in the past, the class will be held on Wednesday nights (6:45- 8:00) and Thursday mornings (10:15- 11:30), with the same content presented at each time. Participants are welcome to move between class times as their schedules allow. What will be different from past years is that while the first 5-6 classes will be "content" oriented (with me presenting some basic concepts and principles, a large part of this class will be built on class discussion.

This is a topic that is critically needed in the Church today and I have been wanting to get at this for a long time. Anyone who has been a part of my last classes knows that we will not suffer from 'group-think'!- we always have a wide spectrum of opinion and beliefs that are represented. I'm looking forward to this  class and invite you to participate. Let's "Faith" the Issues!

We'll start on Wednedsday/Thursday (October 5th/6th). We'll meet weekly with a break for Christmas/New Years and conclude about the middle of February (I'm going to do a different class for Lent).

The Hardest Question

  This summer we introduced a "Question & Answer" time at the end of each service. For about 15-20 minutes, I stick around and address questions that people have submitted on their Communication Card or simply ask on the spot.  It is part of the "This Is Us" series about who we are when we find ourselves in the midst of controversy.  It has been a great experience and I may make it a regular time- maybe once or twice a month.

  The questions covered a lot of different topics (everything from Heaven & Hell, to changes in the Book of Order about sexuality and ordination, to what I'm going to teach in my class next Fall). There is one question that always comes up in times like this.  It is the hardest question I ever get. It has several variations, but it comes down to something like,

Ordination Standards and the Presbyterian Church

   If you haven't already, you'll soon be hearing that the Presbyterian Church (USA) has changed its ordination standards for Deacons Elders and Ministers- specifically allowing people in same sex realationships to be ordained. At least, that is what you'll hear.

  Others will say that nothing has really changed and that what was approved is nothing more than de-centralizing the authority over who gets to make decisions about ordination of officers.

  Both of those statements have some truth- and both leave some key pieces out.

Fan Club Fringe

  A particularly memorable bumper sticker proclaims, "I like Jesus, but his Fan Club scares me!'

  I thought about that bumper sticker this week after hearing about the pastor in Florida who declared his congregation's intention to burn the Koran this weekend. People like that scare me, too. I was a little less grieved when I heard that the church only had about 50 members and wasn't part of some large campaign. Don't get me wrong, it is still a bonehead thing to say, but I could probably find 50 people who still advocate for a flat earth. If the press hadn't made this an international story, no one would have paid attention to it- or him.

  Nonetheless, it is an international story and several people have asked me what I thought. Mostly, I think the less we mention it, the better. At the same time,I know that silence is sometimes interpreted as tacit agreement, and that wouldn't be good.

Worship: What's the Question?

 

I LOVE the changes in worship!

I don’t like the changes in worship!

I like some of the changes, but don’t care for …(fill in the blank)

Keep going! We want more

Stop! We don’t like this

I’ve been away for a few weeks. What’s going on?

 

  Do you recognize any of those statements?  I have been hearing them throughout the month of July with regards to our worship services. That’s why I wanted to follow-up on last month’s article on worship.

 

  There have been some significant differences in worship the last few weeks. Most people assume that since Nick Rossi came on as our Interim Director of Worship & Music about the same time,  that he must be the one responsible (aka, ‘the One to Blame’).   Actually, many of the changes in July were in the works before Nick arrived. They came in response to some questions about worship that I wanted to address over the summer.  In order to understand the answers Nick helped us come up with, it might be good to understand the questions that inspired them. Here are a few:

Israel & the PCUSA

  Earlier this week I posted a response to the claims that the Presbyterian Church (USA) had declared ‘war’ on Israel with the as yet released study paper.

  The report, which is set to be presented to our General Assembly in the summer, is being released in three parts. The first part came out today.  You can read it here.   I’ll be doing the same with the other two parts which are set to be released next week.

  If this past week is any indication, there will be lots of different opinions about the paper and its recommendations. I think the best approach is to let people read it on their own. I’m looking forward to doing that myself and having some good conversations about this very difficult situation.

Presbyterians Declaring War on Israel?

  I've received a couple emails on this one.  Has the Presbyterian Church (USA) drifted from its longstanding support of the nation of Israel? The Presbyterian Outlook reported on this story. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization, posted an alert to supporters on Feb. 22, with the headline: “Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Ready to Declare War Against Israel: Take Action Now.”

The alert, regarding a report that’s not completed yet from a General Assembly Middle East study group, states that “adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters.”

  Well, that will certainly get people's attention- which is evidently what it was supposed to do. 

  Gradye Parsons, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church issued a response.    In part, it reads,

The Middle East Study Team’s report, which will be released by Friday, March 5, 2010, contains a letter to the American Jewish community. The study team begins the letter by saying:

We want to be sure to say to you in no uncertain terms: We support the existence of Israel as a sovereign nation within secure and recognized borders. No “but,” no “let’s get this out of the way so we can say what we really want to say.” We support Israel’s existence as granted by the U.N. General Assembly. We support Israel’s existence as a home for the Jewish people. We have said this before, and we say this again. We say it because we believe it; we say it because we want it to continue to be true.

  The Presbyterian Church has always suppoprted the nation of Israel. Later in his response, Parson's cites the litany of some of the declarations made by the church in the past:

Which God Are We Talking About?

  Is Haiti cursed because its ancestors made a pact with the devil? 

  Wow.

  Where to start?

  Televangelist Pat Robertson raised the issue yesterday on the CBN 700 Club broadcast. According to Robertson, Haitian slaves made a pact to serve the devil in exchange for victory over their French oppressors. Because of that, asserted Robertson, the nation is cursed and has suffered one tragic event after another. While he did not draw a direct line from this curse to the earthquake on Tuesday, the implication was pretty clear.

  I suppose some historical correction would be important.  The myth that the slaves made a pact with the devil was propagated by the French at the time to explain the success of the Slave Rebellion. Hardly a historical 'fact'.  For more on the historical analysis, check out this article from the Christian Science Monitor: Robertson Comments on Haiti

  My concern is more theological. I think God is getting a bad rap.  The Church isn't doing too well, either. Normally I would just ignore this kind of thing but when a prominent minister says something goofy in public, many non-church folks think it is representative of what all Christians think. While trying to figure out how to respond, a friend linked me to this post by Don Miller.  I have quoted from his book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years) a few times lately and I think his response pretty well sums it up. Its worth the read. Don Miller's Blog

 

A Date With Easter: Part. 2

  Yesterday, I  gave some information about how the date of Easter is determined.  I also mentioned that this information was only accurate for the Western Church (Catholic and Protestant).  The Eastern Orthodox churches have a different way to calculate Easter and some years (like this one), the dates are dramatically different (5 weeks!).

  The official time to celebrate Easter was determined at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. It is from this Council that we also received the Nicene Creed. Everything was fine for awhile because everyone used the same calendar (instituted by Julius Caesar and called, the Julian Calendar). About 1000 AD there was a split between the Eastern and Western churches. The Western Church centered in Rome and the Eastern Church centered in Constantinople. They didn't agree to much of anything after that.

  The Julian Calendar was not very accurate and kept falling behind the annual rotation of the earth around the sun (of course everyone thought the sun revolved around the earth back then).  A new calendar was needed and in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII instituted one. Appropriately, it was called, the Gregorian Calendar. Since Gregory was not recognized as 'Pope' in the Eastern Church, they called it, 'nonsense'.  From that time on, the two churches have used different calendars to determine the date of Easter.  If you would like to know more about how Easter is calculated, you can get some good information here: US Naval Observatory .  Those of you who have been in the Navy will appreciate the irony of referring you to their site to clear up something that doesn't make any sense.  All I can say is that it is a good thing that Jesus is omniscient, otherwise he would never be able to keep all this straight.

  Here are a few more facts about Easter (on the Western calendar):

• Even though it is possible to have Easter as early as March 22, it hasn't been that early since at least 1875 nor will it occur on that date until after 2124.
• In that same 250 year period, Easter has only been celebrated as early as March 23 twice: 1913 and this year. That means it will be more than 115 years before Easter is celebrated as early as it is this year. 
• The next  earliest Easter celebration will occur on March 25, in 2035.
• Three years later (2038), Easter will be celebrated on the latest possible date: April 25.
• Next year, Easter will be celebrated on the much more respectable date of April 12.

If this is too confusing, all you need to know is that Easter is celebrated at New Hope this Sunday at 6:00, 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00.