Why Lawrenceville?
Tonight, I go before the session of the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church (NJ) to be received by Reaffirmation of Faith as a new member. There are about 15-20 of us (I think) being received by various methods. To that number you can add 6-10 kids.
A while back, I wrote about my return to the church after an absence of almost 20 years. What I didn’t really put into that post was why I chose this particular church. Apparently, I’m going to be asked that question tonight, so here’s my summary of why (in no particular order).
1. It feels like the church that I grew up in.
That could have been a bad thing (since I had some issues with my original church that were minor contributors to my departure), but I checked on the issues that I had with the church that I grew up in and reportedly they are not a problem here. The way in which Lawrenceville feels like the church that I grew up in are: size (number of members and attendees, size of sanctuary/buildings), service format and content (basically a traditional service with the old standard hymns and a format that I’m used to), music program (wow! can this congregation sing!) and an active youth group.
2. The church has a policy of tolerance for all viewpoints.
A church can either be somewhere along the “conservative” to “liberal” axis, choose to work for tolerance of all viewpoints (within reason), or choose to avoid controversial issues. Based on what I was told (and have seen since), this church shows an unusual tolerance for a wide range of opinion. One story that I was told was about a table at a men’s meeting where a discussion of a controversial issue erupted. Two people staked out the opposite positions, but everybody contributed with opinions all the way across the spectrum on that issue. None of it was heated. That’s what I want – nice respectful academic discussion. Having said that, the church averages out to someplace center to progressive in theology. This is truly a “big tent” within the Presbyterian mold.
3. This church is a thinking church.
There is a big emphasis on adult education and study. Not just “let’s all study the Bible together” but discussions on applying faith to issues.
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4. The church has lots of volunteer opportunities.
There are a lot of things going on. The church wants to have as many people involved as possible – but at the same time doesn’t want to push anybody beyond what they want to do.
5. Church leadership is open and involves lots of people
Unlike other churches that I know (or grew up in), this church rotates a lot of people through it’s leadership roles. At the ordination/installation service that I attended they asked anybody who had ever been an elder or minister to get up and lay hands on the new officers. 1/3 of the congregation got up – a HUGE ratio.
That list was written back in August when I chose this church. Since then, I have also come to realize that there is a warmth to this congregation that might not be apparent to a casual visitor (or a summer visitor, for that matter). Put simply – people care at this church. About each other, about people in the local community, about justice, about evangelism. There is a level of warm commitment – not just words or slogans but actual one-to-one action.
Feels good to me.
Tomorrow, you should be reading a post about tonight’s meeting.
Getting Involved at church
This week I have a homework assignment from New Member Class. I have to check off a list of activities that the church does that interest me. I also need to answer two questions: What do I expect to get out of Lawrenceville Presbyterian, and what do I expect to give to Lawrenceville Presbyterian?
I’m a rather strong introvert. It’s not always easy to detect – I tend to speak of myself as a “loud introvert”, someone who can keep up a facade that makes me appear more outgoing. As you may or may not know, introverts draw their energy from a different type of activity than extroverts (aside from eating and sleeping, of course). Extroverts go into social situations and actually draw energy from the room. Introverts on the other hand need solitude or a small group of close friends to create energy. Introverts can actually feel the energy draining from them in a large social setting like a party. Extroverts may go home charged up – introverts tend to go home exhausted. This is a big generalization, but still true.
So how does this relate to new church members (and me in particular)? I speak from my own experience.
I have to work hard to feel comfortable in a setting like the usual Fellowship Hour after church. I’m fairly comfortable in church – I’m there as part of a mostly anonymous crowd and only interact personally with those sitting around me, and even then only for the passing of the peace. But put me in a room and I’m lost. I end up a single individual wandering around the room without talking to someone, or even standing on the side. I will talk to those that I know, but I’m fairly unlikely to walk up to someone and introduce myself.
On the other hand, in a known group and particularly a small group, I’m fairly comfortable. On a committee, in a small study group, as part of a team – I’m comfortable. I know my place. It’s even more comfortable when I’m part of a group working towards a goal – putting together a special service, running a youth activity, serving on a committee, or even just bean-counting. In fact, that’s the best way for me to meet people – to work with them towards a common goal.
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So the hard part is getting that bootstrap job in an organization. I feel like I need to be invited to participate in that first activity, and if it’s not joining an organized group but is more like an open activity I need to be dragged along. Once I’ve done something with people, I will know them and be more open to fully voluntary participation in the next thing. It’s just getting into that first thing that’s so hard.
The one exception to this rule is Camp Johnsonburg. This camp is the one place on the planet (no hyperbole here) where I have felt totally accepted for being authentically ME outside of my marriage. Camp Johnsonburg works hard to create that acceptance and even celebration of each of us – it’s probably the 2nd or 3rd core value of the camp. I go there, smell the unique combination of plants in the air, and feel at home immediately. The tension in my body drops dramatically nearly instantly. I am ME, and people like me for being me. There’s nothing more powerful than hearing “We’re glad that you came” and knowing that they really meant it. That they didn’t mean “We’re glad that you brought your money” or “We’re glad that you brought your skills” or even “We’re glad that you added one to the headcount”. We’re glad that you came – that you are who you are and that you are sharing it with us. That’s powerful. That’s a core of my theology – that all people are good to God to some degree or in some way unique to them.
As I re-read what I wrote above, I realize that camp isn’t really the only such time. There have been a few more. Serving as a YAD to Synod was like that. More recently, meeting with Jill, Nolan and Rick about Lawrenceville Presbyterian was like that – I felt at ease in the first few minutes. It might not have been on my checklist, but it was a huge factor in choosing a church.
So what does this mean when joining a church? I need to be pulled in. Please pull me in. You won’t be disappointed. I know that I have skills that can be put to good use, and I’ll give you a list on that piece of paper you asked me to fill out. I just need a little tug to get out of my shell.
New Member Class – Day 3 (Last Day)
Today was the last day of new member class.
Carolyn and I just barely made it on time due to Carolyn’s mammogram (routine – as far as we know all is well). She made it home, and after some bending of the speed limit laws we made it to class just on time. We had expected Carolyn to join us late, so this was better than we thought.
This week, we had a few new faces. One friend of a participant visiting from out of town, and a new person (another seminary student) who is being run through “remedial New Member Class” to catch up. Most if not all of the missing folks from last week were there today.
We started with another sharing session – this time talking about why we believe that Lawrenceville Presbyterian is right for us. This is one of the questions that the session will ask us in a week and a half, so I believe that this was planned to let us gather our thoughts. This took about 1/2 hour (and we got started 10 minutes late – everybody was running late today).
Next, we did a Lectio Divina session on Genesis 2:4-9. We did a breathing exercise to calm us, and then the passage was read twice by two different people. We meditated on it for a few minutes, and then each of us gave our thoughts. I concentrated on the trees. I had two thoughts – one was that I liked the diversity of the trees, all different and yet all good for food. I believe that God sees people like that – all good (to some degree) and good for each other (to some degree). The passage also brought to mind the fact that I’m now old enough that I can see the growth of trees. I’m thinking primarily of the trees around our house – which over the 10 years that we’ve been here have grown from saplings to substantial trees.
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At the end, Jill asked me to speak about the Reconnecting with Faith retreat coming up in January. I spoke extemporaneously for a few minutes on the retreat and I hope that a few people found it intriguing. This group isn’t really the target audience – they are already in a church – but perhaps they know of someone else.
After the formal class, a few deacons arrived and laid out a brunch for any of us who could stay. They had bagels, fruit salad, and two casseroles (the ham and egg one was good!) and drinks and such. We all sat around and talked and ate. It was nice.
I have a homework assignment – I have to fill out a worksheet for Jill identifying the areas of church life that I would be interested in participating in and there are a few questions on the back about what we expect to get from the church and what we plan to give to the church (not just money, time and resources).
We meet with the session on November 15th. They take us into membership formally at that time, and then we are introduced at church the following Sunday.
Your Mouth or Your Ears – Only One Works At A Time
First, a disclaimer. I’m just as guilty as everybody else of what I’m about to write. I’m also getting older, and as a result my wind wanders more than it used to.
In the PC(USA), we’re fighting. It’s over gay ordination, it’s over Biblical inerrancy, it’s over the fundamental question of whether or not the Bible is a rulebook. For this post, it doesn’t matter why we’re fighting. Today we’re gonna talk about HOW we’re fighting.
Each side is alternating name-calling of the other side and arguments meant to convince the other side that they need to change their thinking. I can’t do much here about the former – either you see those with whom you disagree as worthy of respect or you don’t. But the latter CAN be fixed.
It’s a simple idea taught to youth, but forgotten with adults:
When your mouth is open, your ears are closed.
When you are speaking to someone, you are not listening. Pretty simple, eh? The implications go deeper than this.
When you are formulating a response to the other person’s argument in your head, your ears are closed.
We’ve all experienced this. You sit in a meeting at work and somebody says something that you disagree with. You immediately start working on making your rebuttal convincing, waiting for a break in the conversation to get your words in. You’ve STOPPED listening – your brain is someplace else.
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You’ve been there too. You have something to say. You aren’t really listening, you’re like a tiger waiting to pounce at the right moment. You aren’t hearing what the other person is saying, you’re just listening for the silence that you can fit your speech into.
How do we combat this?
More silence. Respect the other person by listening to their argument. Use the silence to allow the ideas to settle in. Formulate your response when you don’t need to be open to what’s going on.
Don’t just speak to fill space. Make your speech meaningful. Have you ever been in a meeting where one person sits quietly in the corner, saying little? When they do speak, does the whole room say “Ahhh. Now I get it”? That person has learned to make a lot of impact with few words. In the future, that person’s utterances will be taken just that little bit more seriously – “He doesn’t say much, but what he does say is worth waiting.” Have you ever been that person? How much more satisfying was it than being the center of attention?
And last – you are NOT going to convince anybody if you call them names. Or use terms that amount to calling them names – that hurt them with something important to them. These are terms like “apostate”, “homophobic”, “Biblically unsound”, “uncaring”. Once you’re angered the other party, you have completely lost the ability to change their minds. Their ears are closed whether they are speaking or not.
Once we stop talking past each other and AT each other, we can talk TO each other. We can learn FROM each other. Then we have a chance at building a better world.
“Because I said so” is rarely convincing.
New Member Class – Day 2
Today, we all struggled out of bed into the driving rain and heavy winds to reach Lawrenceville Presbyterian and the 2nd day of new member class. At one point on Route 206 the road was partially flooded due to leaves blocking the storm drain.
This time, we started with each person telling a story of their experience with church. Most (if not all) were positive stories of their experiences in church during a previous life. A few were non-church stories involving church camp or even a special Christian performance. A surprising number of people indicated a fondness for the formal ritual of church, but this isn’t surprising as many of the group had experience in a Roman Catholic or Byzantine Rite church (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc) church.
After that we took a tour of the church buildings. Normally this would end the second session, but Temple Micah (a Jewish temple sharing the church building on Fridays and Saturdays) had a Bat Mitzvah (congratulations, Rachel!) scheduled for the morning so we had to get our tour in early. We heard about the history of the church and saw most of the church rooms.
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Next week will be on stewardship and we will do Lectio Divina. Pastor Jeff will be in Israel and Palestine with a presbytery group, and won’t be able to attend. Joan Semenuk will be joining us.
There were a few faces missing this week. I’m hoping that they were unable to make the class rather than deciding not to join. We were also blessed with whole families this week because the terrible weather cancelled soccer games.
New Member Class – Day 1
Yesterday was also the first day of New Member Classes at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, NJ. Classes are 9am to 10:30am and will continue on October 28 and November 4. These classes are run about 3 times a year.
The classes are actually intended to explore membership and prepare you should you choose to join. It looks like most of the group is headed towards joining.
There are about 20 people in this group. Yesterday, 14 of them were there (several spouses were off handling soccer duty). This was a very diverse group in terms of age and some other factors, though not racially.
The format was remarkably similar to the Johnsonburg Reconnecting with Faith retreat. We all sat in a bit circle (well, oval – it was a big group) with the pastor and the Interim Associate for Pastoral Ministry (in this case Jill Cifelli) mixed in the group. Each of us were asked to introduce ourselves and talk about what we do during the day. Jill started, and because her daytime work is church-related we ended up with each person describing briefly their church search as well as their day job. Carolyn came with me and explained that she is a practicing Catholic (seems she’d get good at it at some point!) and was there to support me.
After that, we watched the video Who Are We Presbyterians?. This is a 20-minute video that does a good job of presenting the high points of Presbyterian faith and organization, though it does tend to concentrate a little too hard on diversity.
Then we were asked to talk about what we saw in the video. A few people who are new to Presbyterianism stated that they really liked Salvation by Grace as compared to their prior church. A few group members brought up the liberal/conservative divide (it wasn’t me, honest!) and we batted that around for a while. The jist of that discussion is that this church favors the open discussion of issues while staunchly defending freedom of conscience. The phrase used was “generous orthodoxy”. In short – we have people all over the spectrum and we LIKE that, and encourage people to speak their mind. Rigid control of belief within narrow confines is not required. Having said that, the church averages out to someplace between the middle and liberal end of the spectrum. Not quite far enough to be a More Light church, but certainly not at the conservative end.
The one thing that people said over and over is that this church cares more for each person as a PERSON than they do about their particular ideology. People are not representatives of a theological or political position – they are PEOPLE who happen to have a personal theology and political opinion. At least 1/2 of the group said that this was an important factor in their choice of Lawrenceville as a church home (and I’m in that list).
One last similarity to the Johnsonburg retreat appeared. Carolyn put it best on the way home – “There are some hurt and angry people here.” This makes complete sense to me. You come to a church as a new adult member for one or more of a short list of reasons:
- You left the church at some point because you were not spiritually at home, unhappy or even hurt by the church.
- You drifted away from the church because of disinterest.
- You have children, and need to find a church home for baptism, sunday school, etc. Or maybe you want to get married in a church.
- You’ve recently moved and need to find a new church.
- You’ve never been involved in a church, but you’ve found the redeeming power of Christ.
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Based on the stories that were told, the latter reason may have been a part of one or two people’s reasons out of 14. The rest of the reasons covered everybody.
I was amazed at the distances that people travel to join this church. One new member is driving from upper Bucks County, PA. A few others are coming from Princeton. I’m coming from Hamilton. We had one couple where one of the two people cited “it’s the closest church” as the reason for joining. These folks either came back to the church that they grew up in or had a deliberate search path (not as regimented as mine, but just as comprehensive). (Side note – just by listening I’ve learned a lot to incorporate in the next retreat.)
At the end of the session, we had a moment to fill out some paperwork. We have to write a brief biography that will be published in the church bulletin and newsletter after we join – I’m still working on that. We also had our pictures taken to be put in the bulletin and newsletter.
Next week we have a session on stewardship. At some point, we’re going to participate in a session of Lectio Divina but I’m not sure which week. In mid-November on a Wednesday we meet with the session, and then are introduced (and in some cases baptized?) on November 19.
I’ll write up the remaining classes as well. Keep watching this blog!
The Interim Associate for Pastoral Ministry is my co-pilot; God is in the back seat
Yesterday afternoon, I went flying with Nolan Huizenga, the Interim Associate for Pastoral Ministry at Lawrenceville Presbyterian. Nolan and another person are sharing the duties of the Associate Pastor at the church while the church undergoes a search for a new Associate Pastor. (and I’m pretty sure he’s a Candidate for a call – he’ll make somebody a great pastor someday)
Nolan is a little ahead of me in flying – he has his Private license and his Instrument rating while I’m just finishing the work for my Instrument rating. However, he doesn’t get to fly much (I imagine that a church paycheck will do that). When he learned that I am an active pilot, he made his interest in accompanying me known (we pilots call that “begging” with the same cool demeanor expected of us).
So, yesterday we went up. I needed 2.5 hours of cross-country time. We flew from South Jersey Regional Airport (VAY) in Mount Holly to Cape May airport (WWD) flying essentially due south across the lower 1/2 of the state. On the way home, we headed up the coast past Atlantic City most of the way to Barnegat, then turned inland, over Lakehurst, and up to Robbinsville. We then headed to Lawrenceville and after contacting the Trenton tower, we took pictures of the church from the air. Then we headed south to Hamilton and I showed Nolan the aerial view of the solar panels on my house. We headed south back to Mount Holly (with a few zigzags to make sure we had the required hours) and landed.
Tadalafil overnight shipping of cialis is the active ingredient of this pill and go immediately to your doctor. You can get the best amount of antioxidants from the natural foods if you pay attention to generic levitra good nutritional support and get enough physical activity. This shall be outdated since you will have a thorough idea of the traffic rules and regulations and some suggested facts which should be followed to get the effective results in bed. cialis cheap uk It is also advised with the http://greyandgrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Grey-Grey-PI-Brochure.pdf cheap viagra sales affected men to get the stiff state of male reproductive organ. We had a good time. The weather was pretty good for pictures – a bit overcast and a little windy but not too bad. He will let me know when the pictures are uploaded and I will point you there as well.
Update – the pictures are uploaded at Nolan’s Site. Here is a picture of the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church.
A Motorcycle Jump from the Point of View of the Motorcycle
There has been a controversy down in Texas. The St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX is a rather liberal Presbyterian church. For example, they advocate for gay and lesbian causes, they have held events around politics and the church with a liberal bent, shoot – they showed Monty Python’s Life of Brian in the church as part of their movie series on Christianity in the movies. Their pastor Jim Rigby has been brought up on charges for performing same-sex unions.
A professor from the University of Texas at Austin named Robert Jensen approached the church because of events in his life. He had been a committed atheist for years and years, and was beginning to question that. So, he approached the church. St. Andrews in the person of their Session allowed him to join the church, making some small but important modifications in the membership questions that allowed him to answer in the affirmative. From his writings, it’s clear that he doesn’t quite qualify for membership under the common PCUSA standards.
He then wrote an article in which he qualified his Christian beliefs and explained that his reasons for joining were mostly to open a dialogue with the church. To his detriment (and somewhat contrary to his later writings) he spoke of how he did not “convert in a theological sense but joined a moral and political community”. He wasn’t in the church to meet the church’s primary purpose, but rather joined to open lines of communication.
The response was quick. St. Andrews is part of Mission Presbytery. A committee was appointed to talk to the church and Dr. Jensen and see what exactly they were thinking. The report of that committee recommended that Dr. Jensen’s membership be declared voided, that he be placed on the “baptized” roll (an irregular action, since he had been a member of another church in his youth), and that the Committee on Ministry work with the session of the church to develop a “constitutionally appropriate process” for receiving members. The presbytery voted 156-114 to implement these actions. Later in the meeting, the presbytery voted to stay these actions pending an appeal by St. Andrews to the Synod of the Sun judicial commission.
Robert Jensen has written a new article (“The Struggle Over What It Means to be a Christian Today Finding My Way Back to Church … and Getting Kicked Out“) in which he details the whole story, including his past as a member of a Presbyterian church in another state, the joining process and more depth into what in his life caused him to do so, the presbytery meeting where he was kicked out, and where he goes from here.
It’s a bit of a scary story. I have no doubt in my mind that the church made a mistake in accepting him into membership – he clearly doesn’t have all of the required beliefs. However, he was treated as cattle in the rest of the Presbyterian process. In the presbytery meeting, he was not allowed to speak. That’s right – the main witness for a remedial case was in the room but was not heard from. In fact, the presbytery told pastor Rigby before the meeting that Dr. Jensen would not be allowed to speak. He did write a statement (included in his 2nd article) about his faith that was circulated to some members of presbytery.
This is what I meant by my title. I believe that admitting Dr. Jensen into membership in a Presbyterian church given his views constitutes a stunt on the part of St. Andrews and the session. It’s like a motorcycle jump – you jump and see whether or not you land safely. However, in this case the motorcycle itself is sentient and has feelings. Dr. Jensen, while a willing participant, has clearly been treated as an object – at least by the presbytery. He was not allowed to speak as a witness in a remedial complaint. He does not write of any loving words from any presbytery members other than those from his own congregation (perhaps there were some, but it didn’t make enough of an impression to cause him to write about it).
Further, he writes of anger and fear in the room. He very clearly felt anger from some members of the presbytery (remember, folks – the presbytery is made up of ministers and elders {lay leaders} – exactly the kind of people who should AVOID anger in dealing with a lost sheep).
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THIS IS A PERSON THAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. A person deserving of love. Correction – perhaps. Guidance – certainly. Discipline – No, he has not done or said anything that requires discipline except perhaps for lying during his confirmation at age 13, for which he clearly shows remorse. He came to the church as a person in need of spiritual growth, and he got used as the prop in a stunt, and then treated as an exhibit in a court case rather than a human witness.
I have a similar story to his. I grew up in a Presbyterian church as a youth. I’m not entirely sure that I meant what I said and wrote in the confirmation process, when I was just 13. I left the church for a long time, and I am just now looking to return. I never lost my faith – instead I put the concept of Christian Community on the shelf.
And I fear the same treatment that he received. Coming back to a church is scary. Something caused you to leave long ago – will it happen again? Will you be subjected to judgment by others for not being holy enough, or not sticking with it for all of those years? Is your relationship with God what it should be? What changes in your life (not to mention the lives of your family) should you expect?
We who are “formerly churched” need a lot of love and encouragement to stick with the transition. We need to be seen as we are – the whole of what we are (or at least as much as we are willing to share). That includes our flaws, which must be handled as gently as a child’s. We’re fragile.
I don’t see any reason that what happened to Robert Jensen will happen to me. I’m much less controversial. However, I know one thing to be true – if what happened to him happens to me I suspect that it will end my church career permanently. In that I believe that he is stronger than I am.
And shame on some of the members of Mission Presbytery for the way that they treated this fragile soul. A person should never be treated like an inanimate object.
(A hat tip to Toby Brown of A Classical Presbyterian for pointing me in this direction. Toby is a member of Mission Presbytery.)
Theological Issues I’m Having Trouble With
I’m having trouble with a few theological issues.
First of all – my theological background. I was once a fairly involved member of a Presbyterian PC(USA) congregation. I was also a religion minor at Rutgers University, and I took several classes on Christianity and the Bible. I have not gotten any farther than that as far as formal theological education.
Biblical Inerrancy
One thing that conservative Christians (often calling themselves evangelical) list as one of their core beliefs is the idea that the Bible contains no errors. This is explained by stating that the authors of the various books of the Bible were inspired by God, and therefore there could be no errors. This leads to the logical conclusion that we must follow every instruction in the Bible.
There are some problems with that. In some places the Bible directly contradicts itself. (For one glaring example, take a look at the different accounts of creation in the first two books of Genesis. For an entire list, look HERE). Other times, the Bible prohibits things that we clearly allow today (check your clothing – is it made of mixed fibers?).
It gets worse when people start interpreting the words. I had a very conservative on-campus Christian group tell me once that 2 Corinthians 6:14 (“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do
righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can
light have with darkness?”) meant that I should not be friends with Jews unless I was actively trying to convert them. Others believe that this passage says that Christians should not marry non-Christians, or even form business partnerships with non-Christians.
Almost all forms of Christianity today pick and choose different instructions that are supposedly from the Bible. I have yet to find a church that preaches that eating shellfish is sinful. However, some admit it and others do not. The PC(USA) is officially a Confessional church – meaning that there are documents called Confessions that the PC(USA) has adopted as official interpretations of Scripture. Most of these are historical and go back decades at a minimum, and centuries in many cases. These contradict each other as well. Presbyterians are exhorted to study the Bible and the confessions and so gain both the tools to make their own interpretations of scripture and the decisions that have been made through the consensus polity of the church.
The problem comes when Person A’s interpretation differs from Person B on an issue that either person considers Very Important. This could be divorce. Or homosexuality. Or how often to celebrate Eucharist/Communion. Or whether or not the altar is behind the choir or in front of the choir.
Once upon a time, these differences erupted into actual violent conflict – complete with armies (both of which were the Army of the Lord). Today, it’s fought with words and fought with money. It’s fought with words like apostasy and intolerance.
canadian levitra online According to a recent survey in US most of divorce cases are filed by females who are unsatisfied with their relation as their partners fail to give pleasure in bed. It means that the couple suffers from bad sex and the buy viagra in canada decline in sexual satisfaction often leads to extramarital flings. In some of the cases, arthritis patients are highly reduced after they got daily doses of Wisconsin ginseng for a couple of months. order cialis robertrobb.com They improve the functioning of the male sex hormone, testosterone which helps the viagra online uk man perform better. For the record, I do not believe in Biblical Inerrancy. I believe that the authors of the Bible were divinely inspired but that this does NOT mean that their product is perfect. Further, we do not have an original of each book of the Bible. We have translations of copies. Each translator or scribe may have made subtle or not so subtle changes to the text. Some were accidental and some were intentional. I do believe that there is such as thing as The Word, but our version of the Bible isn’t it. The Holy Spirit can act through each of us to aid us in our interpretation of the Bible, the closest thing to The Word that we have, and through that we can approach the original intent.
Diversity of Belief vs. Purity of Belief
With the late unpleasantness in many Protestant denominations many people are concluding that “I can’t stand being in a church that doesn’t believe X”. Some are using a different form, saying “I can’t stand being in a church that doesn’t accept me as I am”. I can understand the latter – it goes to personal identity and staying in a place where you are clearly unwanted (or part of you is unwanted) is a bad idea all the way around. So I’ll concentrate on the former.
Personally, I believe that our beliefs should be challenged. We must be exposed to different ideas in order to continue to grow spiritually. Some of those ideas will be tested and rejected. Some of those ideas will be interesting but “not for me”. Others will be accepted and become part of our spiritual makeup.
A church where homogeneity is mandated, where the Bible is made into a rulebook rather than a message, in that church the challenge is not there. Everyone who chooses to be part of that church may be comfortable, but nothing is changing. Beliefs are the same, year in and year out. There is no new light.
I would much rather be part of a church where people who hold opposing views are not just tolerated, but encouraged. Where people can debate the various ideas that they have, and learn from each other. Chemical reactions happen when atoms build and break bonds, moving from one form to another. That is my picture of how faith is built – through constant interaction with new and different ideas.
There is a point where it can go too far. There is a place for a core set of beliefs and behaviors that are tolerated. But even then, there is room for those who disagree to be present and part of the community.
Put more simply – how can you learn and grow in faith if you aren’t exposed to other beliefs? How can you spread your message if you don’t associate with those with whom you disagree?
I would much rather belong to a church that chooses to include a few people who don’t check off all of the church’s belief-system check boxes than one that chooses to exclude them. If I (and others) don’t agree with their beliefs, my faith is strengthened by understanding and rejecting their ideas.
Or maybe I am the person without all of the checks on the list. Who has 100% of the checks?
Exploring Membership classes
I got a letter from the church last night about Exploring Membership classes.
It was a form letter (minus 1/2 point) apparently sent to folks who are new and attending but not members yet. It invites us to come to these 3 meetings (1.5 hours each on Saturday morning at 9am) to learn about the church’s beliefs, the meaning of membership and what’s going on at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. (Or something like that – I’m writing from memory.)
There was one nice touch in the letter. My wife is Catholic and planning to stay that way. She has been a little nervous about my “new church” experience as it impacts her. She’s worried that we scary Presbyterians will try to convert her, or look down on her because of her Catholicism. She was worried about the camp retreat last January – and pleasantly surprised to find them completely accepting of her choice. In this case, the pastor wrote a note on the bottom of the form letter asking me to convey his invitation to her to attend the Exploring Membership classes with me if she wanted to. (Plus 1 whole point)
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I’m pretty sure I’m already signed up, so I just have to let them know if Carolyn will attend.
I will be writing about these classes after they happen – check back in late October.
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