wonders and reflections in God's presence

It’s simple. We are not being obedient to the Gospel of Christ. That’s what Paul Borden (author of “Direct Hit” and “Hit the Bullseye”) told the General Council at its retreat in January. How many non-believers have we nurtured into faith this past year? How many adult baptisms has your congregation celebrated this past year? When we don’t place making new followers of Jesus Christ as the primary mission of the church, then we are disobedient of Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all peoples.Anyone who has met Borden or read one of his books knows that he doesn’t mince words. He is direct; and he left most of us feeling appropriately uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable. It’s not that no one had ever accused me of being disobedient to the Gospel before – but, let’s face it, usually they were on the other side of an argument or theological divide, and, frankly, I didn’t agree with them. What disturbed me about Borden’s comment was that he was right. Even I, the Associate General Presbyter for Evangelism …, couldn’t name one new believer that I nurtured into faith in the past year.

Evangelism is at the core of what it means to be Christian. “The proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind” is the first great end of the church. (G-1.0200). Our congregations will continue to decline in membership as long as we consider making new disciples a peripheral activity of the church, or a duty reserved for the pastor.

Our confessions confirm that the witness of Christ to all peoples is the responsibility of every Christian, not a select few. Whatever we do, wherever we find ourselves, it is our joy and responsibility to not only act in love and serve compassionately, but to teach, share, and witness to the truth in Jesus Christ.

Many of us, though, don’t know where to start. We haven’t been taught how to nurture a non-believer into faithful relationship with Christ. And, on top of that, most of us have been conditioned NOT to talk about our faith, at least not in public; religion, we’ve been taught, is a private matter. But, the reality is that nothing is more public than the visible expression of Christ alive in each of us, nothing is more vital to the lives of our neighbors than the Good News of Jesus Christ, nothing is more necessary for peace in the world than the way of Jesus. And there are ways of sharing our faith and knowledge of Christ that are non-confrontational, compassionate, respectful, and life-giving.

And now a plug from your AGP … the presbytery can help your congregation learn ways of sharing faith. We can recommend resources, lead workshops (check out the Chip Arn event in May at First Westminster in Baytown), and even teach courses at your church. But none of these will be fruitful until each one of us decides to pray and nurture someone into faith.

Disobedience calls for repentance; and repentance means doing something different. When we begin living in a way that takes faith-sharing seriously, we will feel awkward and we’ll make some mistakes, but we’ll also be the witness to Christ visibly changing lives.

Originally published in the March 2007 edition of Connections, a publication by the Presbytery of New Covenant

This week’s Friday Five at RevGalBlogPals has to do with change. Since I consider myself both an agent of change and somewhat of an expert in change … I thought I’d go for it.

Change is a given in life, yet it’s not easy for any of us. So strap on your seat belts and let’s talk about it:

1. Share, if you wish, the biggest change you experienced this past year.

Where do I start? The biggest change for me, of course, was sending my one and only child off to college. Last year, and four of the five years before it, we hosted exchange students. In addition, we lost our beloved collie the day after we dropped of our daughter, after losing our other collie less than a year before. So, we went from a family of four with three dogs to a couple with one little Bichon. All in all, we’re adjusting quite well

2. Talk about a time you changed your mind about something, important or not.

Oh, I change my mind about little things all the time. Today I drove Dwayne crazy because I changed my mind a couple of times over whether I wanted the placemats or the table cloth on the table. Big issues, however … hmmm … I can be pretty stubborn about things like that.

3. Bishop John Shelby Spong wrote a controversial book called “Why Christianity Must Change or Die.” Setting aside his ideas–what kind of changes would you like to see in the Church?

I live for this kind of change in the church. In a nutshell, I want to see the church reexamine 1) what it really means to follow in the way of Christ, and 2) what kingdom impact the body of Christ can truly have on the world. We have inherited many beliefs about what it means to be “Christian” which, I believe, are more cultural than Christ like. As a culture, we’ve reduced a wonderful, life-giving faith to a set of moral values and worship practices and not much more. I want the church to get back in touch with the live-giving, impact-ridden faith that will make a radical difference in our lives and in the world. Is that too much to ask?

4. Have you changed your hairstyle/hair color in the last five years? If so, how many times?

Uh … I guess so … a little shorter, a little longer, a little browner, a little redder … I’m never happy with it …

5. What WERE they thinking with that New Coke thing?

The New Coke tasted more like Pepsi … hmm … seems that Coke buyers didn’t want their soda to taste like Pepsi. Tells me that even if you’re not as popular, you should get better at being what you are and not try to be something you’re not. OK … that’s taking a trivial matter way to far!

My mom sent me this email earlier in the week, and she named me as one of the ones most likely to reply.  Well, I don’t do those chain emails … sorry mom.  But I decided to answer here, so as not to disappoint her … and anyone who wants to play along can list their “four things”

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. at my family’s business selling sweaters — yup, grandma paid me, not much, but is was real cash nonetheless
2. summer job filing health insurance forms
3. teaching piano and violin at a preschool
4. pastor

Four movies I have watched over and over:

1. Fiddler on the Roof
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Chocolat
4. Yentl

Four
places I have lived:

1. Long Island and then Jamestown, NY
2. Louisville, KY
3. Canton, OH
4. Detroit, MI (well, actually Allen Park and Redford)

Four TV shows I love[ed] to watch: (I’m sticking to present tense)

1. My absolute favorite now is Studio 60
2. I am addicted to HGTV
3. I’m getting hooked on Grey’s Anatomy
4. I can always watch another Law & Order

Four places I have been on vacation: (do mission/study trips count? … they’re more intersting)

1. Europe (England, France, Germany, Austria)
2. China (Beijing, Nanjing, Xian, Shanghai)
3. Guatemala
4. Cozumel is Dwayne’s and my favorite vacation place, though

Four of your favorite foods:

1. Pinwheel cookies (or just about anything chocolate)
2. Steak and baked potato
3. Lasagna
4. Fetticini Alfredo

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Nowhere really, I love my house … though I wish Katie were home or my parents were visiting … but, if I have to say something …
2. I already said that Cozumel is our favorite vacation spot … romantic
3. the beach … I love to take long walks on the beach
4. visiting someplace brand new … maybe … Brazil?  I hear it’s nice and I haven’t been to South America yet.

Four people who will respond:

1. Uhhh … you know who you are …

If you want to play, just answer in your blog and leave a comment here linking to it …