Talk the Talk but fail the Walk.

I seldom let things get under my skin but something has. It has taken me several weeks to mull this over in my mind but it will just not go away. So, permit me to vent.

Several weeks ago, our youngest son who resides in NYC fell down a flight of stairs while at work. He gashed his head, broke an elbow and knee cap, and well as spraining writs ts and ankles. My wife and I could not afford a trip to NYC so we put out a prayer request for our son.

This prayer request was sent to friends as well as posted on our denominational Internet bulletin board. Had many responses for folk all over the country for which we are thankful and appreciative.

The rub comes from the church I pastored for nearly 17 years and to which my wife is a member. Only one couple from that church responded with prayerful support.

Now, this church is just 8 miles from our residence yet none of the ministers on the staff--they have 7 for a 50 member congregation took time to call or visit. None of the members with the exception of the above mentioned couple phoned, email, or sent cards. This is a church that boldly proclaims how much it cares for others and prays for people daily. Well not in this case and both my wife and I feel slighted by this lack of caring. In my opinion, they can talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.

I don't know why it takes 7 ministers to staff a congregation of 50. During my nearly 17 years with them, there was only one minister for a congregation of well over 100. And while I was not a perfect minister, I did sincerely try to visit those who needed it and to pray with them.

I doubt if I'll ever set foot inside that church again. And, when it comes time for my funeral, none of the ministers of that congregation will be asked by my family to officiate at my funeral.

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

Dr. Ron

By Passing the Committee on Ministry

My denomination is a part of the Presbyterian and Reformed branches of Christianity. As such we are guided by a Confession of Faith and a Constitution. The Constitution spells out what each judicatory from the congregation, presbytery, synod, and General Assembly are to do. It has served us well for nearly 200 years [we celebrate our 200th anniversary in 2010].

That is until here lately when a congregation within our presbytery is becoming more and more independent by having a flagrant disregard for the Constitution. For example, it is the Presbytery's right to give oversight to those desiring to be ordained and, in fact is the body which ordains persons to ministry for service within the entire denomination. The Presbytery gives this responsibility to the Committee on Ministry with it reporting the progress of each individual to the Presbytery and recommendation for ordination. The Presbytery then in turn has the right to accept our reports and recommendations or not.

Part of the Committee's duties is to determine the educational needs of the person and to suggest the best course of action for him or her to take as they prepare for ordination. This is spelled out in the denominational Confession of Faith. There is also an alternative option for persons who for some reason [deemed reasonable by the Committee] are not able to attend a seminary.

I have said all of this to say this. The congregation referred to above has taken it upon its own to act as the presbyterial Committee on Ministry. This summer two persons from its congregation were enrolled in the Program of Alternate Studies and told what courses they needed to be ordained. Then the session of the congregation notified the Committee on Ministry that these two persons would present themselves before us at our semi-annual meeting.

One was surprised to learn he needed to go through the process of becoming a Candidate, Licentiate, and then Ordination. He expected to be received by the Committee and approved for ordination at the September meeting of Presbytery.

It is my suspicion the pastor mislead this person into believing this way. The other person is an ordained Korean Presbyterian Minister. Which in itself is an entirely different situation. If things check out then, the Committee might recommend the transfer of his ordination into our denomination. Here again, the pastor told him what courses he needed to take at PAS.

In my book, it is wrong for a pastor and local session to act as the presbyterial Committee on Ministry.

I've stated my views. What's yours?

I Lost It

Saturday, August 8th, I was in a good mood and felt rather good. I was attending a meeting of a committee which give direction and oversight to persons desiring to become ordained ministers within my denomination.

Things were progressing rather well until we met with one young man. When the chairman asked about his theological views he replied that he was orthodox, reformed, and a conservative. He went on to explain his position as being Calvinistic [our denomination is not]. He continued by sharing why he had left a certain denomination to set up his own church. That denomination he told us was too liberal and liberalism was heresy. He expanded this to include another denomination which he claimed was the first to allow homosexuals into the church. He held that church to be heretics as well. He continued his rant for several minutes and that's when I lost my cool.

I told him I was a liberal and did not appreciate being considered a heretic. And that I attended both "liberal" churches of which he spoke. I also told him I did not attend my denominational church because of their like-minded opinions of liberals.

I did of course remind him that I was a Christian with just a little bit of difference in interpretation of Scripture and that I had been nurtured as a fundamentalist. But during my faith journey, God had led me away from fundamentalism to the my current views. But, I reminded him, I still was a born again Christian.

I questioned him about homosexuality. He made the statement that all homosexuals are that way by choice and that there is nothing to the myth that it could be genetic in nature. I asked about the theological position of one who had accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour prior to coming out of the closet. He reply was that they made a choice to violate God's Word when they chose to become gay. I asked about their salvation once again and he implied they were not genuinely saved. I responded that I thought he had a lot to learn about salvation and homosexuals.

While I appreciate the views of others, this young man was so judgmental that I found it hard to believe. He expected us to interview him that day and have him ordained in September when the larger body met. The chairman and others told him that would not happen as there was a process he and others had to go through. That did not seem to rest well with him.

Before he left the room, I apologized for loosing my cool and tried to assure him that I would not hold his views against him as we went through the process.

It has been a very long time since I have given into my "Irish temper."

Ah, Sunday

Nothing in particular to write about today. Just that it is Sunday. Sundays are not the same since I retired from the ministry years ago. I don't have to be at church. I don't have to play the 'church games' that so many ministers do. Do I miss it? Not too much.

However what I do miss is the fellowship or family feeling of a congregation. Now, I am an orphan. Have no church family to speak of. My professional ethics prevent me from attending the church from which I retired. Another reason I do not attend is it has become radically theologically different. It is very radical in its conservative and evangelical approach to the Faith. Thus, my theological views are out of sink with theirs.

Any new congregation I visit would not afford the spiritual family connection as I would always be the 'adopted' family member. At my age, I am too old to be adopted and begin the process of being part of the family.

Ah, Sunday a day of relaxation for me in my retirement years.

Church Websites

I visit many church websites just to keep up on things. Most of them are current and updated on a regular basis. One, however, has not been updated in several months. It still contains the news that it will be moving soon to a new location.

However, that is not the case at all. All of their plans since the inception of relocation have fallen through for one or more reasons. But you would not get that information from its website. It still includes an architect's drawing of a church that will no longer be.

The lastest word is that the church will not relocate but remain in its current location despite some concerns the DNR [department of natural resources] has about the property beneath the current building. The website does not mention anything of this nature.

The pastor's blog has not been update in over a year. The associate pastor's has been updated recently.

All of this causes me to wonder about churches which direct us to their websites only to see outdated information. In this day and age, I think it speaks volumes about the church--perhaps being out-dated itself. I have no personal knowledge of this church only via its website and the things I hear from neigbors in the community.

Oh well, now I said it and I shall retreat to the wonderful world of a church website surfer.

Have a great and wonderful day.

Dr. Ron