“You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.”  “A line in the sand.”

Conventional wisdom, to be sure.  But is it Biblical?

Over and over again Jesus seemed to cross lines rather than draw lines.  Casting first stones, eating with unclean and outcasts, welcoming prodigals home against all conventions.  “No one comes to the Father but by me” might be considered a line, but there are many ways to understand those words of Jesus.  Really — there are.  I suppose hating my mother and brothers might also be a line that Jesus suggests.  Cross-bearing seems to be one, too.  Selling possessions, taking only one coat, and not storing up treasures probably qualify too.  Or do we consider those open to interpretation?  Which begs the question, why interpret those lines but not others?

I’m baiting the conversation, of course.  I am suspicious of certitude and those who are willing to claim to know the mind and heart of God.  There are lots of examples of line drawing on God’s part, but most of those lines seem to get blurred — by God.  “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for the day you eat of it you will die.”  They did eat.  They didn’t die.  God blurred that line.  “So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out the human beings I created…’”  But then God had a change of heart (or was it mind?) and remembered Noah.  Noah wasn’t blotted out.  Noah and his family were human beings.  God blurred that line.  I could go on and on, but the point has been made.  God might draw lines, but God also blurs lines.

So when people make absolute claims about what God will do and what God won’t do, I am suspicious of those claims.  I’m not sure that we can draw a line around God like that.

And if Jesus (or any other person of the Trinity) DOES draw a line, I wonder what shape that line is?

I am tired of the name calling by “Evangelicals.”  Many “conservatives” within the Presbyterian Church (USA) claim that we as a denomination are “apostate.”

Reluctantly, and with deep sorrow, we conclude that current renewal efforts within the Presbyterian Church (USA) are not capable of reversing the denomination’s plunge into apostasy.

– Board of Directors, The Presbyterian Lay Committee  July 4, 2006

Apostasy refers to an abandonment of the essentials of Christian faith.  Basically, they are saying that we in the PC(USA) are no longer Christian.  They are saying that I am no longer Christian.  They claim that the Bible is no longer authoritative for us (me) and that Jesus is no longer our (my) Lord and Savior.  They claim that we (I) have abandoned these essentials of our (my) faith.

Interestingly, these claims of “apostasy” always have come in the form of proclamation, publication, blog, or speech in front of an assembly.  Never once has a Presbyterian “Evangelical” said those things to me personally.  I have sat at dinner, at coffee, and even on long road trips with those who make these claims about our denomination, but they have never said it to ME.  Clearly I am a member of the “mainline” in the PCUSA.  I am not “Evangelical” as they use the word.  (I have been putting “Evangelical” in quotes because it is simply not fair that Christian “Conservatives” — whatever that means — have claimed a word that literally means “Gospel.”  I am “evangelical” in that I am saved, transformed, guided, and inspired by the Gospel.  But they don’t mean it that way…  Still, I’m not willing to give them the word, so it is in quotes to designate a particular use of the word as a self-ascribed title for conservative Christians.)  “Evangelicals” won’t tell ME that I am no longer Christian, but they will say that “the PC(USA)” has plunged into apostasy.

The boogie man doesn’t exist, dear “Evangelical” friends.  I AM a Christian.  Jesus IS my Lord and Savior.  I believe that the Bible IS the Word of God.  And you know that.

So stop calling us names.  Stop writing about “the Presbyterian Church (USA)” as apostate.  Stop making assertions about what we in the mainline of the PC(USA) believe when your claims are false.  It hurts not only us as individuals, it hurts the body of Christ.

There are lots of other Christians who do not believe exactly as you believe.  Jack Van Impe, Rod Parsley, Paul & Jan Crouch, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, and most likely the Baptist Preacher down the road.  And yet I have not seen your vitriol directed at them or their beliefs.  You don’t assert that they are “plunging into apostasy” or claim that they have wrong beliefs.  Sure, they’re not part of the “Presbyterian family,” but they ARE part of Christ’s family. 

And yet you somehow claim that I am NOT part of Christ’s family.  Or at least that because I believe that in God’s sovereignty God can call whomever God chooses to call into ministry (even if it’s not someone YOU would call) you assert that I am apostate (which is only a breath away from saying I am not a Christian).  Or that I am “plunging into apostasy” because I believe that Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient for ALL of God’s children and that it is up to God to choose who to welcome into God’s kingdom (even someone that does not profess faith in Jesus if God chooses to do that).

I can believe differently than you and still be part of the body of Christ.  I can believe differently from you and we can still be part of the same Presbyterian family.

Please, as my brother or sister in Christ, please stop calling me names.  Please stop this abusive plunge into the kind of division of the body that Paul spoke against over and over again… together we are the body of Christ.  As the body we need one another and simply must learn how to behave well with one another.  I don’t agree with your interpretaiton of Scripture, nor you with mine.  But as Christ’s own, we must clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humilty, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another…  (Col. 3:12f).

One of the things I like best about teaching in the local church is the wisdom and insight that comes from the gathered community.

Today’s discussion centered around two texts:

Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds…”

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 – “…I have become all things to all people…”

The focus was the relationship between church and world/culture.  On one hand Paul posits pretty clear distinction from the world, warning the Romans to not conform.  On the other hand, Paul demonstrates that being as a Jew or being as a Gentile, being as one who is weak or one who is strong — it is all good as long as one is “conforming” for the purpose of the gospel.  Of course we had fun poking fun at Paul as the ultimate “flip flopper” who would never make it in today’s political realm.  ”All things to all people…”  Can you imagine?!?

But if Paul’s purpose in being all things to all people is to lead them to conversion to Christian faith, do we make the leap that Paul “poses” as something he is not in order to draw someone into becoming something they are not?  Is it inauthentic?  And isn’t it “conforming,” albeit for a grand purpose?

We then talked about the difficult reality that not all people of Christian faith look like “us” (whatever that is).  Not all Christians are middle/upper-middle class, highly educated, suburban, etc.  And while there is some racial diversity in the group, we are overwhelmingly white.  Do we assume that Christians will be like “us?”  Of course that’s not the case, but often our “default” setting for what a Christian looks like is, well, something oddly like ourselves.

So we recalled that there are lots of different people who claim the “one” thing — Jesus is Lord.  That’s it.  That’s enough.

Really?  What about gay people who affirm “Jesus is Lord?”  What about fundamentalists?  Evangelicals?  Liberals?  Conservatives?  We affirm that women can lead us, but certainly not all Christians would agree.

Then he said it.  One of the most wonderful insights of the morning was Chad’s assertion that “salvation is not limited to a single demographic.”

That is a statement about not only a recognition of the reality of the Church, it is a fantastic affirmation of the sovereignty of God.  God’s gift of grace, gift of salvation is given to any and all that God chooses, not limited by our conceptions of who ought to be “in” and who ought to be “out.”  The limits of God’s grace that we assume or might desire are not God’s limits.  Thanks be to God!

I love the gift of theological reflection as a practice of the church.  Well done, Chad and the class this morning!

My turn to play, eh? This meme was started by Bruce and I was tagged by Kerri. Here goes:

1. What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus?
“Be Thou My Vision” just stirs my Presbyterian heart… “heart of my own heart, whatever befall…” The non-conformist in me is rebelling, and even though this is no doubt a “Presbyterian Anthem” that will be named by many other memes as favorite, I have to tell the truth. It was sung in my wedding and ordination.

2. What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?
When was the last time Kerri preached? THAT was certainly it… <grin>

I was inspired and moved during worship at a recent meeting of the Presbyery of the Western Reserve when Jon Fancher (pastor of Rocky River Presbyterian Church) preached using the story, “A Strange Providence,” from “Good News from North Haven” by Michael Lindvall. It was perfectly appropriate on the day we were voting to dismiss one of our congregations to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

3. If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?
That’s not a fair question. ALL Presbyterians should read ALL of my previous posts for goodness sake! Ok, it’s a toss-up. A three-way, actually, from two of my blogs:

From revjavadude’s cafe:
Consider the Unreasonable Possibilities of God

The Top Seven Biblical Principles for a Constitutional Amendment on Marriage

From WineMinistry.com:
Buying Wine by the Label

4. What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?
reyes-chow :: FAITH
Presbymergent
dressed for dancing (Kerri Peterson-Davis) <earning spouse points!>

5. If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?
“It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World” (1963). Star-studded classic slapstick similar to our “Amazing Race.” A bunch of scheming dimwits trying to figure out who will win the prize — and in the end it’s hard for them to see the forest through the trees…

With the space limitation of 1500 characters (that is LETTERS, not words!) we are supposed to be able to clearly articulate the “key theological issues of our church and society that are reflected in the ministry of your congregation.”  It’s impossible, yet we have to try in order to get our CIF (Church Information Form) posted to Church Leadership Connection (which I think should be called “church harmony dot com” since it’s the PCUSA’s online match-maker service).

So we’ve tried to come up with something terse yet significant, proufound yet not so much so that it frightens away prospective candidates for our Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministries position.

I’ll post our attempt here.  It reflects some musings that make sense to our congregation in suburban NE Ohio.  I wonder what YOU might identify as the key theological issues in your context of ministry.  Ok, and to be fair, think of this in terms of 1500 characters written for a CIF — that’s part of the context!

What are the key theological issues of our church and society that are reflected in the ministry of your congregation/organization?

What does it mean to be a follower of Christ in our cultural context?
Our Christian faith makes deliberate and specific claims on our lives. At the same time, the world in which we live competes for our allegiance and asserts its own claim on us. Living as faithful disciples of Jesus in the midst of these sometimes opposing influences can be difficult. Pioneer seeks to be a church in which we are aware of the multiplicity of forces calling to us, and provide a community in which living as faithful disciples is nurtured.

What does it mean to be Presbyterian in our denominational context?
In 1951 Pioneer Memorial Presbyterian Church was formed out of two non-Presbyterian congregations that united and chose to become Presbyterian. Since that time Pioneer has been active in participation and leadership in the PC(USA). With the current divisions in the denomination, Pioneer is firmly grounded in the PC(USA) and the Reformed tradition. Pioneer has learned well how to be a congregation that values differences of opinion while remaining in covenant fellowship with each other, and we value our connections with our sister congregations in the PC(USA).

What does it mean to be the Church in our world?
The Church has a unique witness in and to the world. Peace, justice, healing, reconciliation, and compassion are words taken from the lexicon of Christian faith and which, when enacted, become the foundation for the Church’s place in the world. The life and ministry of Jesus demonstrated for us how to care for those most in need. The call of Christ moves us into the world to be the incarnation of God’s love to neighbors near and far. From hands-on local mission projects to working for peace and justice in the world, Pioneer seeks to be a congregation making a difference in the world.

I have been praying off and on most of today, feeling the weight of the conflicts in our Presbyterian denomination.  But my prayers are not just despair, there is much hope in my thoughts and utterances.  I am confident that in all of this God is much larger than any of us, and that Christ’s Church will survive even our most difficult disputes.

There is further reason for hope.  Our Presbytery, under the leadership of our Moderator and our Executive Presbyter, has set out to build bridges with the leadership and congregation of the Bay Presbyterian Church.  Part of the bridge building is providing a response to the inaccuracies of the church’s documents (see today’s earlier post).  But the biggest part of this effort is to have conversation and time together — leaders of the Presbytery with leaders of Bay.  In my mood this morning I failed to hold up this wonderful effort.  Regardless of the outcome, both Bay and the Presbytery have committed to work with one another in the process of Bay’s discernment.

So my prayers continue.  I pray that Christ would be at the center of it all — the center of Bay Presbyterian Church as they discern their future, the center of the Presbytery as we care for and work with one of our sister congregations, the center of us all that we would be faithful, compassionate, and Christ-like in all we do.  I pray for the leaders of Bay Church, and for the leaders of our Presbytery.  They are fine people — all of them.  And I confess my own impatience, my own frustration, my own complicity.

I still feel strongly that our relationships as congregations and Presbytery simply must be relationships of love, trust, integrity, and authenticity.  We must be Christ-centered and Christ-like as best we can, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

May the peace of Christ be with us all…

I’m in a foul mood.  I’m disheartened and I’m angry.  My spouse even brought me coffee this morning, but that didn’t salve my troubled soul. 

Presbytery meetings.  As a pastor, I am not a member of a local congregation but of the “Presbytery” — the regional grouping of Presbyterian churches and the “governing body” for the churches within its membership.  To be honest, most of these bi-monthly meetings are pretty-much snoozers.  Mostly administrative.  Mostly reports of the various ministries and missions of the Presbytery.  And the coffee is always bad.  We did get to meet Rev. Vilma Yanez-Ogaza, moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Colombia (South America).  That was cool.  And the best line of the evening:  (in Spanish) “I’m from Colombia — we grow the best coffee in the world!”  I’m sipping a nice Colombian blend right now.  Cheers to you, Vilma!  The best part of these meetings is always the connections — seeing people who serve and are members of other congregations in the area.  We don’t get together enough to kindle the friendships and professional relationships between pastors and churches.  But at least we can count on seeing each other every-other month at these 4-6 hour gatherings.  And I usually leave tired from the tedium, but energized by the fellowship.  But not last night.  I was frustrated and disheartened.

There is a church in our Presbytery, Bay Presbyterian Church, that is in the final stages of their plans to leave our denomination, the PC(USA).  Yada yada.  One more church that has become disillusioned by the theology and polity of our denomination.  It’s boring news these days, and makes us Christians seeem even more irrelevant to the world around us.  I can’t blame people for not wanting to become part of an “institutional church” if all they know about us is that we can’t get along.  Bay Presbyterian is one more church in a string of congregations in our denomination that is packing up their marbles and leaving.  It might be the first congregation in this Presbytery (Presbytery of the Western Reserve) to leave, but they are just one of a few dozen churches across the country who can’t stand how “liberal” the Presbtyerian Church has become.  So they want to figure out where to go — to the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America), or a new collaboration of like-minded conservatives within the PC(USA) who have arranged with the EPC to allow them in AND to allow them to keep ordaining women — the New Wineskins Association of Churches.

If Bay Presbyterian Church decides to leave the denomination it will be a sad thing, one more demonstration that we truly have yet to figure out how to live in the wide embrace of God’s grace.

On the other hand, if they don’t think they can faithfully serve Christ from within the PC(USA), then I bid them a heart-felt farewell.  Better for them to be able to focus their attention and resources on ministry rather than on being contentious with the rest of us.  And while it is less of a demonstration of the unity of the church, it will frankly be easier for the rest of us, too — we can get on with being the Church rather than fussing with each other all the time.  I don’t like divorce at all, but when the inevitable comes it is best to get on with it…

HOWEVER.

Using the divorce metaphor might be helpful.  While there is no “good” divorce, the WORST breakups are when one of the partners viciously attacks the other with false accusations, untruths, and other distortions — ususally to justify their actions to the kids and the neighbors.  Unsuspecting children and friends can be deceived by the accusations, particularly when the other partner does not attack back.  The one-sided vitriol makes the situation not only ugly, but pitiful.  Well, the leadership of Bay Presbyterian Church has become that unsavory, unenviable bitter spouse who seeks to discredit the other at all cost.  This document was given to us last evening by the group that is attempting to provide some last-ditch-effort marital counseling.  It is a document that was distributed by the leaders of Bay Church to its members:

   click on the thumbnail to read the document

It is a chart provided by the leaders of Bay Church to its members.  My hand-written note at the top of the page is my simple evaluation of the content of the document:  “Propaganda doesn’t have to be true.”  I could go line-by-line through the chart and offer a counter-point to virtually each of the questions raised and distorted answers given, but I won’t.  But I must address two points and the overall tenor of the document:

Question:  Who Is Jesus?

According to this document, the NWAC (New Wineskins), EPC, and PCA denominations answer the question:  “God/”The” Way” (which, actually, is heresy… but that is another matter).  The PC(USA) answer to the question?  “Debatable” is what the document posits.

Question:  Authority of Scripture

NWAC and EPC:  Inspired/Infallible, PCA: Inerrant, Inspired/Infallible.  The PC(USA) answer?  “Debatable.”

Give me a break.  We in the PC(USA) have 11 (eleven) Confessions that are part of our CONSTITUTION.  These are foundational confessions, creeds, and statements that express who we are as Presbyterians and how we understand and interpret Scripture.  All of us who are leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) — including the pastors and elders of Bay Presbyterian Church, I might point out — take vows at our ordination including the following (the first three vows):

• Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

(<start sarcasm> that’s pretty ambiguous now, isn’t it?  <end>)

• Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?

(such ambiguity again!)

• Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?

(and a third time…)

If by “debatable” the leaders of Bay Church intend to be educating their congregation in the long history of the Reformed Tradition to be “Reformed and always being reformed,” then I commend them.  We DO have healthy debates about Jesus, Scripture, issues facing the church, etc.  If we didn’t engage in these conversations, we would not have ELEVEN confessions of faith.  Each of these magnificent expressions grew out of confidence that who God is and what God is about is bigger that we can imagine or capture in words.  Each of the confessions are the result of faithful discernment.  So in this sense, “debatable” is a cornerstone value of the PC(USA).

But that’s not what they mean.  They are falsely accusing the PC(USA) of not having a Christology or an understanding of Scripture’s authority.  Hogwash.  And shame on those leaders for lying to their congregation and distorting the truth about the PC(USA).

To the leaders of Bay Presbyterian Church:  shame on you.  You are engaging in behavior that violates your ordination vows.  You are being like the divorcing spouse who makes up lies and false accusations to demonize your partner.  Please don’t treat the “kids” and our “neighbors” this way, even if we are divorcing.

I wish you would not leave the PC(USA).  But if you do, I wish you all of God’s grace and peace.  But I also wish that you would not distort who I am and who WE are in the Presbyterian Church (USA) simply to make the divorce feel better for you.  We are sisters and brothers in Christ.  That’s not debatable.

I love coffee.  Nothing new about that.  This morning I pulled a nice double espresso that I clutched in my hands as I took my daughter to the bus stop.  I get Peet’s shipped to me fresh every month.  I’ve got fast pay cards at Caribou and $buck$.  Of course I grind my own beans (burr grinder, obviously).  I own and use several different French presses.  Yep, I love coffee.

One of my best friends in the world, though, puts my coffee consumption to shame.  He’s a Java Junkie.  He is a self-professed “coffee connoisseur” and “Dalai Lama of Latte.”  His blood runs brown.  His name is David.  david m. bailey actually (the lower case letters are his choice).  He’s a folk singer.  Check him out here:  davidmbailey.com  He drinks obscene amounts of coffee.

He was in town this week doing some concerts in the Cleveland area.  We had the chance to go to an Indians game together.  Thanks to Francis for making this happen!  Jacob’s field was packed for the game against the Detroit Tigers (and the Indians WON!!!).  Check out this photo from my phone’s camera — it’s reminescent of Ansel Adam’s “Moonrise Over Half Dome.”  I call it “Moonrise Over the Jake.”

This is me and David.  He has brown eyes.  I think they used to be blue.  He’s had too much coffee.

You might think I’m exaggerating.  David has recorded 17 cds.  This is one from a few years ago.  It’s called “Coffee with the Angels.”  Before this album I never imagined the pristine celestial beings throwing back a mug of Joe.

(click on the album to see more of David’s music)

One of the tracks on this album is called “Java Junkie.”  You can listen here:

 Java Junkie

He has very few diva-like requirements for his concerts.  In his booking kit he asks for appropriate sound system, a stool to sit on, and a THERMOS OF STARBUCKS COFFEE.

All joking aside, David is an amazing gift in my life.  He lives his faith, and has done the unimaginable (at least for most of us in this culture) — he has followed his dream.  So he’s a husband, dad, and full-time hippie folk singer.  He’s been through a lot in his life and it has formed in him a unique perspective with which he sees life, faith, and the world.  His music gives a glimpse into his life and his way of seeing things.

It was a gift to have time with David on Tuesday.  We talked more than we watched the game.  We ate a couple of hot dogs (it was $1 hotdog night at the Jake!) and drank terrible beer.  And it was as though the year-or-so since we’ve seen each other was but a day.  There are too few friendships in our lives that are like that.

Once again I am grateful for this body of people we call the Church.  It is a strange Presbyterian path that brought our lives together.  These kinds of intersections of lives are such a gift, and it is the church that has provided the opportunity to create and nurture these friendships.

So as I sip my espresso this morning I raise my mug.  Here’s to David.  Here’s to surviving all that life throws at us.  Here’s to friendship.  Here’s to the Java Junkie.

Today’s Category:
The top seven reasons to join the church choir

7. The auditions are far less embarrassing than trying out for American Idol.

6. You’ve just been selected for jury duty and want to get used to sitting with a group of your peers.

5. The collection plate is never passed to the choir.

4. Special vibrating massage pews in the choir loft.

3. You’re running out of clean clothes and the choir robes save on laundry.

2. Pants optional.  Need I say more?

And the number one reason for joining the church choir is:

1. Choir robes are flattering for every body type.  And the colors are smashing!

Today’s Category:
The top seven reasons to keep the “Single Sock” when its match has been lost

7.  Wear it with a different “Single Sock” – the mismatched pair will go particularly well with your tie-dye t-shirt, cut-off jeans, and birkenstocks.

6.  You just went through the heartache of losing one sock, why make it harder on yourself?

5.  You’re promoting diversity over conformism. Free the oppressed and unmatched socks!

4.  They make good sacrifices to the dryer gods who are always hungry for more socks.

3.  They make great Christmas gifts for Crazy Uncle Louie.

2.  Keep them in the dryer as bait for the gnomes that stole them. Gnomes are worth a fortune on e-bay these days.

And the number one reason to keep your ”Single Socks:”

1.  As the Apostle Paul said, “The blue sock cannot say to the black sock, ‘I have no need of you.’  Indeed, we are the sock drawer of Christ and individually members of it.