The Record sent a handful of questions to each nominee for moderator of the 2014 General Assembly. They took some time during the busy Advent season to respond by email. Here are Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris’ responses in full.
Presbyterian Record: First, tell me a little about yourself. How did you end up in the church? How do you think you came to be where you are now?
Stephen Farris: I was born into the church, in a very Presbyterian family indeed. My late father, Allan Farris, was a minister and a longtime and much loved professor and then principal at Knox College [in Toronto]. People who remember my father will readily think of him as an influence on me, and he was indeed, but they tend to forget my mother. Mom was the one who tucked me in, said my prayers with me, read me Bible stories and walked me to church when Dad was off preaching. I always knew I was loved by both my parents, and that has made all the difference. Fairly early in my childhood, however, Dad would take me with him when he was a guest preacher at some St. Andrew’s or Knox celebrating an anniversary Sunday. On the drive home, he would question me about the sermon: “What was the text?” “What were the main points?” I don’t suppose my answers were at all stellar, but at least I learned a sermon grows from a text and that it should have some internal organization. I suppose I was already being prepared for my later work!
I did rebel as a teen, at least internally, declaring myself an atheist. Working at the Scott Mission Camp for what were then called underprivileged children was a huge influence in drawing me into a faith of my own, rather than one that was merely family inheritance. Faced with the challenge of working with those children, I realized I had no resources of my own to offer, and was surprised into faith by the One who provides all that we need. That was a life changing experience.
By the way, I spent my first year of life in Edinburgh, where my father was studying, and my eleventh in Geneva, where he had a sabbatical leave. How Presbyterian is that?
PR: Are you thinking about focusing on a particular theme if you are elected moderator?
SF: I am pretty sure I would indeed choose a theme if elected. I would not do so until actually elected as the official nominee, however. The Holy Spirit might have something to say between now and next June and I would need to listen for that voice! One thing I would do as part of the listening process would be to consider the range of themes selected by previous moderators.
PR: Each of us is called to ministry, and there are many types of ministry and many issues and people that touch our hearts. What would you say is the ministry that is closest to your heart?
SF: In my position, I ending up doing a lot of different jobs, many of which have surprised and stretched me. I have, for example, been involved closely in several major land deals and construction projects, tasks for which I have never been trained. (The key is finding good people to help who do know what they are doing.) I am, among other things, a teacher and a writer, an advisor of and pastor to students, an administrator and various other things. I will retire in God’s good time from all those roles. But I will preach as long as they let me. (Old preachers never die; they just fail to come to a conclusion.) If I may make a distinction: I do those other things but I am a preacher. I suppose those early trips with my father did make a difference.
PR: What would you say is your passion?
SF: The church is changing now and will change in the near future beyond all recognition. We cannot confidently predict the future of the church nor what it will become. But I am quite sure it will need faithful, creative, effective leaders, some of whom will be ministers. Some of them, on the other hand will be elders or other persons in the church. I am convinced we need to rethink and re-imagine the way we prepare all those future leaders for ministry. At St. Andrew’s Hall we are in the unusual position of having the resources to plan for new possibilities rather than having to cope with scarcity. God has been gracious indeed! Those to whom much is given, from them much is required. We want to use what we have been given as effectively as we can. Imagining new possibilities for shaping effective leaders is my calling, whether or not I am elected to this position.
I also have a particular passion for a gentle, respectful and intelligent outreach with the gospel. I live on a very secular campus in a province where only 45 per cent of the population even claims the name Christian. I believe that any Christian institution, including a college, located in that setting must think of itself as an outpost for mission. What is true here is also true of the national church. We need to see ourselves as part of the mission of God to the world. This does not mean that I do not value justice ministries, care for the poor and the hundred other tasks which I have not named here. It is just that these are my particular tasks in this context at this time.
PR: During the past few assemblies, there was a lot of talk about the vision and mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. What would you say is your vision for the church?
SF: Have you got time for a sermon? Well, not now, so I will only say that it is hard to imagine anything less important than my vision for the church. What matters is God’s vision for the church. The church of Jesus Christ doesn’t have a mission. When it is most truly what it is called to be, the church shares in the mission of God. Finding that mission and gaining the courage to join it is our task.
PR: If you had the opportunity to say something to the church, what would you tell them?
SF: I would probably tell a story. Which story would depend on the circumstances, but the story would very likely be about grace. There is nothing as beautiful in all creation as the grace of God, made known in Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. I think the church is very anxious just now, about many things. But there is “just one thing needful.” Perhaps, just for a moment, we could lay aside our anxiety and relax into the grace of God. When that quiet moment is over, we would come back to our many tasks with renewed energy.
PR: Anything else you’d like to add?
SF: There is a wonderful story in 2 Kings 6 in which the servant of Elisha the prophet is overwhelmed with fear when the army of the enemy surrounds them. Elisha says to him, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than there are with them.” Elisha prays that the servant’s eyes may be opened and so they are… and all around are the horses and chariots of fire. Keep your eyes open for the chariots of fire.
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