Re July/August issue
It was my privilege to be a first – time commissioner at General Assembly, so I was not jaded by much of what has gone before. I have been a Presbyterian for 90 per cent of my 80 years and have felt that the theology of our church reflects a good interpretation of scripture. We take time in the courts of our denomination to discern the will of God. It is a good system of courts. When, as a denomination, we are looking for leadership surely it is there for us. James 1:5—If any of you lack wisdom, ask God; James. 3:17—The wisdom from above is pure.
It would appear that we have been awash in statistics for three generations. Have we humbly asked for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the future of our denomination? Have we invoked the Holy Spirit as we present the gospel of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection in the personal lives of our people? Have we failed to see our inability to go it alone without God’s guidance in the grassroots of our congregations and the personal lives of God’s needy people? Have our sessions truly prayed for that guidance? Are they vessels through which God’s love can flow? Size may not matter but will be influenced by following God’s guidance and seeing the Holy Spirit work God’s grace in the lives of our people. Then we will have leadership! I affirm A Watershed Moment by Dianne Ollerenshaw, especially the last paragraph. This issue of the Record is excellent.
Barbara Draffin, Scarborough, Ont.
May I suggest that sometimes apparent inaction is actually action. Within our Christian community there is great wisdom. Therefore, I wish to suggest that what some might consider a “mad dash” to action overlooks the great wisdom that resides within community. May I therefore remind you to recognize our scriptural imperative: “Be still and know that I am God.”(Psalm 46:10) And: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”(Psalm 46:11)
Rev. Robert Flindall, Woodstock, Ont.
We’re dying. We’re closing churches. We have no vision.
Me thinks our underwear is too tight. Since when did we think we had a lock on survival? Just look at the facts.
We don’t have Presbyterians immigrating to Canada; we don’t keep our young; and we don’t evangelize. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. Plus “Presbyterian” has entered popular culture, meaning: boring, stodgy, dull, stick – in – the – mud. Several years ago my brother said to his children: “Don’t go Presbyterian on me,” meaning, don’t be a spoiled sport.
In response, turn Presbyterian around and make it work for us. Since people know our name, let’s have fun.
I tell people I’m totally insane, completely incompetent and bone – lazy; so, if God can use me, there’s hope for them. In 29 years of ministry in small, struggling congregations I’ve never closed a church. One of them was a summer congregation with half a dozen people. Their building was falling down and they didn’t have money. I challenged them: Do you believe in God? Do you believe in yourselves? Do you have hope? They said yes to all three questions. So I said: Go for it. And they did. Last I heard they were holding special services at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter as well as throughout the summer.
It all comes down to attitude.
Last year your columnist Andrew Faiz attended several conferences on the future of the church and the bottom line was: Get on with it—keep on keeping on! Outside of my window on Lake of the Woods there are sailboats going to windward by tacking to the breeze. So should we. Tack into the winds to reach our goals. Adapt our sails accordingly. Believe in who we are. And we will get there.
I’m a reader of A. A. Milne’s The World of Pooh, and in the chapter “In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Exposition to the North Pole,” there is a poem written by Winnie – the – Pooh where if we substitute “vision” for “pole” indicates a light – hearted approach to our challenge:
“They all went off to discover the Pole,
Owl and Piglet and Rabbit and all;
It’s a Thing you Discover, as I’ve been tole
By Owl and Piglet and Rabbit and all.
Eeyore, Christopher Robin and Pooh
And Rabbit’s relations all went too –
And where the Pole was none of them knew….
Sing Hey! For Owl and Rabbit and all!”
Rev. Rod Lamb, Kenora, Ont.
