tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55902142011-10-31T17:17:10.479-07:00News, comment, and personal opinion by Presbyterian pastor Jim BerkleyJimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comBlogger1331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1172178585119638632007-02-22T13:06:00.000-08:002007-02-22T13:09:45.133-08:00

The Berkley Blog continues, but at a slightly different address.Go to jimberkley.blogspot.com for the latest postings.Jim Berkley

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1142149691656892682006-03-11T23:36:00.000-08:002006-03-11T23:48:11.666-08:00

Just in case anyone is confused, this blog is purely the ideas and opinion of Jim Berkley. It does not speak for any organization or institution. It is not associated with any group.If you find something good in this blog, thank you. I hope you find it useful.If you dislike what you read, please be sure you dislike what I have actually written rather than what you may assume I've written. Then

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1099375710614319492004-11-01T22:03:00.000-08:002004-11-01T22:08:30.613-08:00

I have received notes of concern that the Berkley Blog has gone stale, without new postings. Appearances can be deceiving! I've changed addresses, but the Berkley Blog lives on. Go to http://jimberkley.blogspot.com for the continuation of the Berkley Blog, now with the ability to add your comments. Sorry to leave you gasping for more since early September! Thanks for checking in. Just add this

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1094711393204936482004-09-08T23:09:00.000-07:002004-09-09T12:36:11.713-07:00

Following what he wrote in the previous posting, I asked CPA William Quinton to help me understand more: Don't we already have some standards other than pure profit for Presbyterian corporate investments (see MRTI website)? We don’t invest in tobacco. We are divested from companies like Boeing and General Dynamics because of their major profits from military hardware. I don't think we'd have

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1094709977097901662004-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:002004-09-13T11:46:07.953-07:00

It is great to learn from people smarter than I am, and I get plenty of opportunity! Today, one of those folks, elder William C. Quinton of Parkway Presbyterian Church in Corpus Christi, Texas, took the time to provide some excellent background information on situations such as our Israel divestment issue. He has given me permission to pass on to you the counsel he gave me, and I do so with

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1094583213120528982004-09-07T11:12:00.000-07:002004-09-08T17:39:09.846-07:00

This year, General Assembly initiated "a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel" for action by the General Assembly Council. Like it or not, this is what commissioners voted to do, and divestment is what is supposed to result from this action. But ever since, wheels have been in motion to soften, frustrate, or ignore the action. I have written

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1093999152287394772004-08-31T16:07:00.000-07:002004-09-01T13:33:23.586-07:00

Some of you are following the storied life of a 1987 provisional study paper that hit the big time through document creep. The paper has been cited repeatedly as if it were policy concerning the controversy about Congregation Avodat Yisrael in suburban Philadelphia. The newest chapter of that exalted life concerns an editorial by interim editor O. Benjamin Sparks of the Presbyterian Outlook.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1093991630848075932004-08-31T14:59:00.000-07:002004-08-31T15:45:26.433-07:00

Well, the time has come to coin another term to accompany "document creep": document slide. If document creep is the phenomenon of heaping on a lesser document the authority of a policy document, document slide is the reverse phenomenon: taking an authoritative document and trying to make it something less. The 216th General Assembly passed a resolution that had this wording in part: "Refers to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1093565507035294152004-08-26T16:18:00.000-07:002004-08-27T01:11:57.563-07:00

That General Assembly resolution that INSTRUCTS the Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) "to initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel"--remember that resolution that has sparked so much controversy? It has now apparently been downgraded to a mere "request." That's right. The backpedaling continues. An action of the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1093467427467603192004-08-25T13:24:00.000-07:002004-08-25T14:08:54.086-07:00

When the heart gets too precariously involved, good thinking sometimes takes a back seat. Vice President Dick Cheney provides a cogent example. Recently he mentioned gay marriage in a speech, and, since his personal opinion apparently contradicts the President's and Republican platform's position, it was big news. Cheney is a father, and he has a daughter who is a lesbian. Here's part of what he

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1092420050825713052004-08-13T10:30:00.000-07:002004-08-14T13:06:08.863-07:00

Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective from someone outside our denomination to make something become crystal clear. Today, for me, that perspective came from an assistant editor for Baltimore's "Jewish Times," Barbara Pash. In one of the clearest and most dispassionate Jewish accounts of the Presbyterian-Israel controversy, Pash writes: "Despite a shrinking membership, the PC (USA) remains one

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1092334264384915492004-08-12T10:34:00.000-07:002004-08-12T11:11:04.383-07:00

The Presbyterian Church (USA) isn't the only organization making "Möbius decisions"--one-sided calls without adequate input from other viewpoints. A group I sometimes think some folks want the PCUSA to become--the American Psychological Association (APA)--is equally capable of lapsing into the Möbius decision-making mode. Christian psychologist Warren Throckmorton, PhD, writes about the decision

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1092158137345933772004-08-10T09:35:00.000-07:002004-08-11T11:54:22.573-07:00

A while back I wrote about "document creep," where a document handled by General Assembly for one purpose is later held up as if it were approved for another purpose. One example from 1987 was "a provisional statement for study and comment" titled “Toward a Theological Understanding of the Relationship between Christians and Jews.” That provisional, tentative, unofficial study guide seems to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091859882731787132004-08-06T23:18:00.000-07:002004-08-06T23:24:42.733-07:00

DALLAS – The Theological Task Force talked polity in the morning and alternative means of decision making in the afternoon. In between they worked in committees. It was an anticlimactic day in Dallas, as none of the discussion sparked the passion the previous day’s subject matter had. Joe Coalter (see member bios) had a couple of amusing things to say about Presbyterian polity, as he introduced

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091854216764909612004-08-06T21:30:00.000-07:002004-08-07T01:59:04.416-07:00

I’ve been doing some more thinking about Theological Task Force member Stacy Johnson’s fundamental framing of the question before the Presbyterian Church. He posed it this way: “Where does a gay or lesbian person, whose sexual orientation is firmly established, who is a baptized member in good standing of a congregation, and who desires to enter into an exclusive, committed, permanent same-sex

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091782171549182342004-08-06T01:44:00.000-07:002004-08-06T01:49:31.550-07:00

DALLAS - Despite another closed session on Thursday afternoon (2.5 hours this time) that I couldn’t attend, the Theological Task Force (TTF) did actually step out of its closed-mouth mode today in a couple of public sessions. The context was Bible study in the first session and “getting inside the head of proponents of the various positions on homosexuality” in the second, and both gave

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091716809958296312004-08-05T07:28:00.000-07:002004-08-05T11:58:20.386-07:00

DALLAS - The Theological Task Force (TTF) reworked their schedule first thing on Thursday morning. While the original agenda provided no further time for work on ordination standards, the TTF obviously had unfinished business from their extended closed session on Wednesday. Thus, they will reenter the black box of closed session again Thursday afternoon at 1:30 for an indeterminate period that

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091684588495527382004-08-04T22:34:00.000-07:002004-08-05T07:18:35.073-07:00

DALLAS – I am observing the meeting of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (TTF), convening this week (August 3–6) near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. High on its agenda is discussion of our ordination standards. But just exactly what they’re thinking and saying is frustratingly hidden away in a black box of their own making. The TTF voted (17 for, 1 against, 2

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091668247713282952004-08-04T18:03:00.000-07:002004-08-04T22:34:06.620-07:00

The PCUSA decision to enter into a process for phased, selective divestment from multinational corporations doing business with Israel has produced a firestorm of reaction worldwide. There are a lot of people mad at Presbyterians and decrying our General Assembly's poorly thought-out decision. PCUSA staff members are scrambling to answer angry messages, clarify what was decided, and defend the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1091513818123197542004-08-02T23:08:00.000-07:002004-08-17T15:55:32.080-07:00

The Presbyterian Church is being poorly served by what might be called “Möbius decisions.” If you’ve never heard of a Möbius decision before, don’t worry. This is the inaugural usage of the term. In mathematics, a Möbius Loop is a strange figure that has only one surface. Picture a foot-long length of wide Christmas ribbon lying flat on the table. Take one end and twist it 180 degrees, and then

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1090977260930965812004-07-27T17:49:00.000-07:002004-07-28T21:50:13.450-07:00

In a previous Berkley Blog, I wrote about the PCUSA Washington Office being out of control. In response to that, Curtis Kearns replied to me personally and also publicly on Presbyweb. Kearns, Director of the National Ministries Division, supervises Elenora Giddings Ivory. This is my response to Mr. Kearns, which was previously e-mailed to him personally. Dear Curtis, Thank you for considering

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1090624359695023452004-07-23T15:07:00.000-07:002004-08-17T15:58:04.720-07:00

I'd like to coin a new phrase: "document creep." It is like "mission creep," when an agency is given one task and manages to inflate it into an entire enterprise, or you stop at the store to get skim milk, and come home with ice cream, a case of Coke, and a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. "Document creep" is when a document is produced for one minor purpose, and then it is referenced and utilized

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1090108786626784512004-07-17T15:53:00.000-07:002004-07-19T09:25:21.086-07:00

The Washington Office of the PCUSA appears to be determined to do what IT wants to do, rather than what the General Assembly expects and even demands that it do. There are numerous instances every year, but even in the last two weeks we find two more outrageous examples:   1) The General Assembly this year did something previously almost unknown: it specifically directed all PCUSA entities (

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1090029539558743522004-07-16T18:49:00.000-07:002004-07-16T18:58:59.556-07:00

Eugene TeSelle frequently comments on Presbyterian events for the Witherspoon Society. As I read his comments, I nearly always marvel at what a mirror image his viewpoints and those of the Witherspoon Society are, compared to mine and those of Presbyterians For Renewal. Typically, what they promote, we’re against; what we praise, they bemoan. PFR could almost say, “Read the Witherspoon page, and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1089958916308758922004-07-15T22:52:00.000-07:002004-07-16T19:10:23.753-07:00

There is a favorite political term being tossed around so often recently in such an inconsiderate way that it is becoming noxious: wedge issue. The term is used to belittle an opponent's deeply held belief, demeaning it to the point of considering it only an expedient political tool to be employed for an ulterior motive.   Let me give you two examples:   Example #1, from a Boston Globe

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1089758174961235102004-07-13T14:09:00.000-07:002004-07-13T15:58:55.823-07:00

A little over a week ago, Field Organizer Michael Adee of More Light Presbyterians wrapped up a disappointing General Assembly for the advocates of the ordination of practicing homosexual persons. Covenant Network had bet their marbles on removing the Authoritative Interpretation this year. More Light Presbyterians, That All May Freely Serve, and other homosexual activists wanted no less than the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1089339997519334702004-07-08T19:15:00.000-07:002004-11-18T10:46:45.526-08:00

Now that the dust has settled from the 216th General Assembly and the 4-vote majority has properly retained the Authoritative Interpretation (A.I.) as the basis for our ordination standards, a painful word needs to be said about tactics employed by those arguing to remove the A.I. Quite simply, the tactics evidenced coordinated preparation that was either unconscionably sloppy or intentionally

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1088575300612802112004-06-29T22:50:00.000-07:002004-06-29T23:09:49.070-07:00

It is sometimes disconcerting to watch the progress of a particular issue as it wends its way through successive General Assemblies. A case in point is the need to provide Christian resources for women who have undergone an abortion. In 2002, General Assembly addressed the issue of providing resources. There was a desire to be pastoral and caring for women and men who experience the tragedy of a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1088385603954453162004-06-27T18:12:00.000-07:002004-06-27T18:20:03.953-07:00

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly began on Saturday, June 26, in Richmond, Virginia. This is a combination church-family reunion, worship experience, and legislative session for the Presbyterian denomination. Much good or ill can come from a General Assembly (G.A.). I'll not be blogging often, because I'll be doing most of my writing and commentary on the Presbyterians For

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1087534918630820492004-06-17T20:58:00.000-07:002004-06-18T09:59:46.843-07:00

Let's pretend you are a Covenant Network leader, trying to hold your group together. Let yourself get into this experience. Your whole existence in the Covenant Network is wrapped around reversing our ordination standards. But you haven't been able to pull that off. What are you to do? You first organized your group to defeat G-6.0106b, back when it was Amendment B in 1996-97. You lost that

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1087451249810538802004-06-16T21:49:00.000-07:002004-06-16T23:53:32.856-07:00

The Summer 2004 "Covenant Connection" is in mailboxes these days, and mine brings to my desk mountains of misinformation about the Authoritative Interpretation. For instance: Part of the message from the Covenant Network co-moderators reads "This year the church has a chance to make our polity significantly clearer and our lives together less contentious." How do they intend to do that, you may

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1087354170830110912004-06-15T18:48:00.000-07:002004-06-16T01:24:29.693-07:00

Dirty pool! I just read the June 4, 2004 letter from Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options (PARO) to General Assembly commissioners and advisory delegates. Talk about yellow journalism! It was scare tactics and overblown hyperbole dressed up as friendly advice. PARO co-moderators Bruce Cameron and Ann Hayman first wrote about PARO: "We are part of the denomination structure. Specifically

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1086829087532259092004-06-09T15:57:00.000-07:002004-06-09T18:20:44.476-07:00

Paul said that he was "not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew..." (Rom 1:16). But we have people today in the PCUSA whose statement would more likely be: "We are so EMBARRASSED by the gospel, because it excludes anyone who doesn't believe. We'd NEVER take it to the Jew." Jesus, himself, gave the Great Commission: "

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1086636772984722662004-06-07T10:37:00.000-07:002004-06-07T15:37:29.390-07:00

Have you ever heard the plea: "We need to be inclusive. We need to listen to ALL the voices"? Those who call themselves liberal or progressive speak these words often. That's why their continual bent to SUPPRESS a particular set of voices truly astounds me, both in its vigor and personal cruelty. Who gets so stifled and shut out? Ex-gays, persons who once lived and practiced the homosexual

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1086228873414956562004-06-02T18:15:00.000-07:002004-06-02T20:30:54.123-07:00

Last year at General Assembly, a group of commissioners was practically vilified. These commissioners in the National Issues Committee had worked together with energy, intelligence, imagination, love, and a rare measure of insight and cooperation. Some of them had begun consulting together prior to Denver, once they knew their committee assignment and had studied up on the issues before their

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1085783905054955272004-05-28T12:53:00.000-07:002004-05-29T13:59:21.766-07:00

I love the humor in what's actually a very dangerous situation for David in 1 Samuel 21. David plays a madman before King Achish of Gath, who utters the memorable line: "Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence?" (v. 21) I often wonder the same thing about speakers brought to certain Presbyterian events, or writers chosen to place their work in

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1085634689342786762004-05-26T21:27:00.000-07:002004-05-27T20:22:25.240-07:00

I got my "The Covenant Connection" spring 2004 newsletter in the mail a while back, courtesy of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. An article by Rev. L. William Countryman (page 2 and page 3) caught my attention and then elicited a deep sigh. Countryman gives a lesson on how to discard those parts of Scripture that one doesn't like because they don't pass a prior hermeneutical principle

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1085436721013431262004-05-24T13:28:00.000-07:002004-05-29T13:26:50.456-07:00

Perhaps Susan Andrews is getting tired from the road, and thus a little sloppy with her thinking and theology. Or maybe she was misquoted or poorly quoted by the reporter. Or maybe, just maybe the article in the Toledo newspaper actually renders a clear picture of a logically challenged thought process about moral law and the role of a church. If so, I am disappointed but not surprised. Susan

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1084989800884604182004-05-19T10:03:00.000-07:002004-05-21T11:32:53.063-07:00

The Stephen Van Kuiken case in Cincinnati takes yet one more turn. You will remember that Van Kuiken was considered by the Presbytery of Cincinnati to have renounced jurisdiction (removed himself from Presbyterian ministry) by his direct and self-publicized defiance of an order to obey our Constitution. Then the synod Permanent Judicial Commission inexplicably reversed the action (scroll down to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1084215368835806872004-05-10T10:40:00.000-07:002004-05-10T11:56:08.836-07:00

Many of the letters in the May 10 Presbyweb give me a sense of what an honorably diverse PCUSA might look like. Richard Mouw makes a good point about evangelism, for example, and Casey Jones gets us thinking about prophecy. They are well worth reading. But what really struck me was the integrity of Daniel Saperstein and the clarity of Ed Koster. Saperstein writes, "I am personally sympathetic

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1083829943958037882004-05-06T02:16:00.000-07:002004-05-06T02:16:51.436-07:00

For every action, there is an opposite and equal ... spin. That's what I thought as I read the More Light Presbyterians' May 4 media release about the Van Kuiken serial tragicomedy being played out in slow motion in our Presbyterian Permanent Judicial Commissions (see May 3 blog below). Seizing upon a particularly bizarre and indefensible decision that is nonetheless in their political favor,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1083636832270781282004-05-03T19:13:00.000-07:002004-05-03T21:44:17.780-07:00

I guess we can forget meaning and intent now when we interpret words. Who cares what the originators of the text meant, or what all reasonable people have been led to believe by the obvious wording of the text. If weasels are determined to find loopholes, they can and they will engineer a way to make the text say something else, something THEY want it to say. Meaning? What meaning? That's what

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1083198905110364322004-04-28T17:35:00.000-07:002004-04-28T17:39:40.826-07:00

Guest blogger and Fuller Theological Seminary senior Karen Sloan writes: As a young, postmodern, evangelical, soon-to-be-Minister of Word & Sacrament* (whatever those labels all mean), experiencing the reality of our split denomination can be a real downer. Having joyfully lived nearly all my life as an evangelical minority among the socially and politically liberal environments of the San

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1082587658246209302004-04-21T15:47:00.000-07:002004-04-21T15:56:03.310-07:00

"Look, if a sexual relationship is genuine, loving, non-exploitive, and balanced concerning power, why not permit it? In fact, why not celebrate it? Doesn't the world need more love?" That argument is asserted all the time for homosexual relationships. That's NOT a good argument, however, since it fails to take into account God's desire that sexual relationships also require exclusivity,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1082348416547596522004-04-18T21:20:00.000-07:002004-04-18T21:46:44.623-07:00

My wife's parents live in the mountains of central Oregon. Last week they experienced a mid-afternoon hail storm that was so intense, it pounded on their roof and turned the ground white, as if it had snowed. Hail piled up and lingered. That's not particularly unusual, but what WAS unusual was that the storm was confined to an area with a radius of about 200 yards from their house. Within that

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1082137001907869202004-04-16T10:36:00.000-07:002004-04-17T12:54:30.653-07:00

Look at what one finds in today's news: It's apparently okay to align with Roman Catholics to disagree with our President. But when it came to aligning with Catholics to affirm the Christian Declaration on Marriage, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy removed that section of their "Transforming Families" draft because they didn't want to associate with Catholics and Southern Baptists

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1082086351956561602004-04-15T20:32:00.000-07:002004-04-15T20:41:25.733-07:00

A friend writes about the issue of defying the meaning of our PC(USA) Constitution: "Are we prepared to subject our individual opinions to the considered judgment of the majority, or, are we each the pope of a one-person 'catholic' church?" He's got something there. We live in a time when people expect to have total liberty to do whatever they jolly well please. No person, no state, no

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1081900746374220362004-04-13T16:59:00.000-07:002004-04-13T17:05:53.670-07:00

When the vote is taken at General Assembly for who will be our Stated Clerk for the next four years, will the winner out of the field of four nominees need a plurality (more votes than any other nominee) or a majority (more than half of all the votes)? The question has been talked about a lot recently, since three nominees are challenging the incumbent. If the Stated Clerk is elected by only a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1081715209408487992004-04-11T13:26:00.000-07:002004-04-11T13:29:37.530-07:00

Easter: The glorious day when we celebrate Jesus' followers' experience of expecting something, finding nothing, and concluding that it means everything. Perhaps there's an analogy for us, when a test for cancer comes back negative, which is positive, because there's nothing. That maybe can give us a hint of what it might have felt like to go to a tomb, expecting to find death as stark as a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1081552523897693222004-04-09T16:15:00.000-07:002004-04-09T16:18:10.296-07:00

Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. With three simple words, Luke tells us what happened: “They crucified Jesus.” Luke doesn’t dwell on the horror of rough spikes piercing tender hands, the terrible torture and pain, the cruelest of inhumanities. Luke, instead, gives us Jesus’ response, so characteristic of his unparalleled life: “Father, forgive them…”

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1081443656716409612004-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:002004-04-08T10:04:12.420-07:00

Back in December, I had some rather disparaging words for the National Council of Churches' Christmas message (see December 20). Now, to be fair, I need to commend their Easter message. I particularly liked two parts of the statement: 1) "In the words of the Orthodox Paschal hymn, 'Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and bestowing life upon those in the tomb.' Our

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1080365449997884402004-03-26T21:30:00.000-08:002004-03-26T21:37:49.216-08:00

The Presbyterian Publishing Corporation is turning over a new leaf. Not letting volumes of dust cover their discontinued mission statement, they have authored an abridged version, whose contents I would thus edit to give it more spine (edits offset in brackets): "[Without needlessly] building on [but rather staying faithfully within] the Reformed Tradition, the Presbyterian Publishing

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1080355640904114942004-03-26T18:47:00.000-08:002004-04-08T10:14:59.186-07:00

[This is a "guest blog" by Bruce Williams, the prolific Presbyterian sage of San Francisco, in response to the March 22 blog below.} [Tragically, four days after this guest blog was posted, our Christian brother Bruce died suddenly of a heart attack while jogging in San Francisco. The church militant lost an insightfull and articulate voice of faith and reason; the church triumphant welcomed

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1080007351335759222004-03-22T18:02:00.000-08:002004-03-22T18:33:10.246-08:00

Mobs pay no attention to the law. They’re sure they know better than the law, and so they become an emotional law unto themselves, acting as they want to act, not as the law says they must act. A deceptively orderly mob—passing as a United Methodist jury, but nevertheless a mob—mugged Methodist law last week near Seattle, leaving a host of victims in the Karen Dammann trial. A sorry, sad victim

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1079941873477791082004-03-21T23:51:00.000-08:002004-03-22T10:34:09.310-08:00

An Epic Poem about the Virtues of United Methodist Justice (Inspired by the Karen Dammann case.) by James D. Berkley The rule of law? Ha! The End

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1079644034373916732004-03-18T13:07:00.000-08:002004-03-18T13:09:39.890-08:00

"The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves." --Plato

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1079554857336110862004-03-17T12:20:00.000-08:002004-03-17T14:07:11.610-08:00

As of late afternoon March 16, the vote tally for Constitutional amendments indicated that every remaining presbytery that had not yet voted on the amendments coming out of the 2003 General Assembly had to vote for Amendment 03-G (see page 28) for it to carry. That did not happen. The evening of March 16, Seattle Presbytery voted to disapprove Amendment 03-G, and it will not become part of our

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1078804356539049422004-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:002004-03-15T15:35:04.686-08:00

"What can be the harm of it?" we hear almost incessantly these days about permitting homosexual pairs to marry. "Why not just let them decide whom they will love?" It sounds somewhat reasonable at first blush. There's a lot of love to go around. Two other people deciding they love each other isn't going to break up my marriage. So what's the harm? Plenty. First, it begins with God. God is

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077929931808559082004-02-27T16:58:00.000-08:002004-02-27T17:22:59.903-08:00

I am incensed. Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, president of Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, began a press release today with these incendiary words: "The "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" (H.R. 1997), passed today by the U.S. House of Representatives, is morally offensive to the millions of Americans who take their religious beliefs seriously. On their behalf, the Religious Coalition

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077758500384673962004-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:002004-02-25T17:27:06.390-08:00

As a pastor, when I took part in Ash Wednesday services, I found imposing the ashes a tremendously moving experience. These foreheads—each one different! Old, bony, thin-skinned foreheads of saints so soon to become dust themselves. Pious, faithful foreheads of people wanting to express their commitment to Christ. Well-made-up foreheads, perfect with foundation and powder, assaulted by ugly,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077737560953655972004-02-25T11:32:00.000-08:002004-02-25T11:34:42.936-08:00

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) today in a meeting by conference call finally approved the final form of the draft policy statement "Transforming Families." This draft has met the 120-day deadline for items to be submitted to the June 2004 General Assembly and will be part of G.A. business again this summer. This is about the 19th version of a paper that has been in

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077645380049244972004-02-24T09:56:00.000-08:002004-02-24T10:06:43.950-08:00

Tomorrow Mel Gibson's "The Passion" opens in theaters. Already the secular press is abuzz about the movie, and lots of people will be going to see it and asking questions about it. In addition, the novel "The Da Vinci Code" is spreading all kinds of misinformation about the Gospels, but it has people talking. This just may be a tremendous window of opportunity for personal witness. Are you

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077340259152115272004-02-20T21:10:00.000-08:002004-02-20T21:12:56.890-08:00

DALLAS – The Theological Task Force moved today—and seconded and passed—its first two motions in its existence. It moved and approved a preliminary report for General Assembly in June, and it moved and approved a recommendation for G.A. to approve: “That every presbytery be encouraged to create intentional gatherings of Presbyterians of varied theological views to covenant together to discuss the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1077249725442260022004-02-19T20:02:00.000-08:002004-02-19T20:09:14.826-08:00

DALLAS -- Susan Andrews, Moderator of the General Assembly, spoke to the Theological Task Force this evening. It was a clear and heartfelt talk, obviously not just a one-size-fits-all stump speech. She began: "Even though the church out there may not agree with me, the future of our church is not up to you" [the Theological Task Force members]. She was preaching to the choir on this, and they

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076781525434783282004-02-14T09:58:00.000-08:002004-02-14T21:53:00.076-08:00

LOUSIVILLE The General Assembly Council plenary room was decimated today on this final morning of meeting. No, there wasn’t some disaster, but early departures had thinned the ranks by a tenth or so (the true meaning of “decimated” for you lexicographers). But spirits were high, and business proceeded apace. Here are the remaining bits and pieces I collected, with no attempt at exhaustively

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076733655418816522004-02-13T20:40:00.000-08:002004-02-13T20:42:46.250-08:00

Today the GAC slogged through a day full of activity in mostly cheerful community, with a single testy turn toward the end. While everyone was waiting for a vote count for vice moderator, one GAC member began to entertain the group by telling an amusing story. As he launched into the story, another member stopped him short with the pronouncement that if he was going with the story where it

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076648117134434312004-02-12T20:44:00.000-08:002004-02-12T21:08:23.780-08:00

Today in Louisville, General Assembly Council began its work in separate division meetings and then flowed back into plenary after lunch. It was a reasonably quiet day without a lot of news, but here are some scraps I picked up: • When we were led in singing by GAC member Rob Elder and Chair Vernon Carroll, the entire room was relieved that there was no wardrobe malfunction. • The 2006 General

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076550257525616832004-02-11T17:44:00.000-08:002004-02-11T23:59:35.483-08:00

The General Assembly Council (GAC) meeting in Louisville began the day in plenary and then moved into break-out meetings by divisions (Worldwide, National, Congregational, Mission Support Services). Here are a few more items I came across today: • The GAC is working on a labored process to put together the “2005–2006 Mission Work Plan.” What, you ask, is this? Kathy Lueckert, Deputy Executive

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076608602646191142004-02-11T09:54:00.000-08:002004-02-12T09:58:32.013-08:00

Berkley Blog reader John L. Speight wrote to supply some other instances of sage advice for ministry candidates about to be examined on the floor of presbytery (scroll below to the end of “Little GAC Newsbits” from February 10 for the previous posting): 1. “Don't turn out any foxes that you are not willing to chase”—advice to his polity students at Union Seminary by Ben Rose. 2. “

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076473371523207852004-02-10T20:22:00.000-08:002004-02-10T20:33:47.310-08:00

From observing the Executive Committee of the General Assembly Council (GAC) and the combined meeting of the GAC and the Committee on the Office of General Assembly (COGA) in Louisville today, here are some of the items in process that you may find of interest: • John Detterick, Executive Director of the General Assembly Council, will be receiving a 2% pay increase this year, which appears to be

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1076472225560837582004-02-10T20:03:00.000-08:002004-02-10T20:10:46.890-08:00

Why is it that whenever the new Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson opens his mouth, the word "shameless" comes to mind? This time it's not even about his homosexual practice. It's about dishonoring the Lord God. Not content, I suppose, to violate only ONE of the Ten Commandments with relish, Robinson has obviously decided that another is superfluous, the one about not taking God's name in vain.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1075792652699878352004-02-02T23:17:00.000-08:002004-02-02T23:19:12.280-08:00

There are those who for political reasons want the church to be confused about the meaning of “chastity” in our Constitution, as in “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness” (G-6.0106b). I contend that that is ridiculous, because everyone on either side of the gay-ordination question knew exactly what “chastity” meant when they chose up sides

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1075674930476890402004-02-01T14:35:00.000-08:002004-02-01T19:41:06.983-08:00

The more I think about the actions of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (scroll down to the two previous postings), the more I realize that guilt management plays a key role in their decisions to cut out solid language and add in permissive and ambiguous language. There are two basic ways to try to get rid of guilt: 1) Make nothing really wrong, when you get right down to it, so

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1075532338770808832004-01-30T22:58:00.000-08:002004-01-30T23:43:24.093-08:00

A week ago, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy took another whack or two at the slurry of barely congealed paragraphs compiled into the umpteenth draft of the “Transforming Families” paper. This, you will remember, is the “Families in Transition” paper sent back to the ACSWP factory from the 2003 General Assembly for some major theological and ethical retrofitting. A truly diverse

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1075504372481604142004-01-30T15:12:00.000-08:002004-01-30T15:21:57.733-08:00

The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy is a group talking to themselves. And they all agree. With each other. In nearly every instance. ACSWP is a tight little knot of like opinion, about as far removed from true diversity of thought as they are from the true center of the church. Think of your session, your presbytery, your Bible study group. What if you said, “I have two kids, and I

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1075252473343530222004-01-27T17:14:00.000-08:002004-01-27T17:36:17.810-08:00

It’s always interesting to hear people tell their side of a story. Somehow their own words and actions nearly always seem to get put in the very best light as absolutely justified and perfectly proper. Thus I read with avid interest the paper by the Committee on Ministry of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina that elaborates on their previously terse pronouncements about their

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1074725385863265532004-01-21T14:49:00.000-08:002004-01-24T23:08:11.873-08:00

Take a look at a Web site by a group calling themselves Presbyterians Concerned about Jewish-Christian Relations: www.pcjcr.org [The website design was changed on January 24, so that it no longer looks almost exactly like the PCUSA site, due to a PCUSA request that the webmaster desist from the infringement of copyright rights.] Does the site look familiar? It should, if you've been to the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1074499078946028772004-01-18T23:57:00.000-08:002004-01-19T00:20:13.153-08:00

The Baltimore Presbytery Council decided not to endure the new Synod of the Mid-Atlantic review of their presbytery's mishandling of the Don Stroud case, and so has fired back at the Synod Council (Item #24, page 14). They want the Synod Council to rescind their plans for an administrative committee--and do it prior to the January 22 meeting of Baltimore Presbytery. If not, Baltimore Presbytery

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1074132727326793142004-01-14T18:12:00.000-08:002004-01-14T18:13:27.890-08:00

Be on the lookout for an amazing assertion making its way around the denomination these days. It falls into the category of “the big lie,” the kind of audacious thing that if it gets said often enough and brashly enough with enough certainty, it takes on a life of its own and is treated as if it were indeed the truth. It isn’t. The claim? That the Authoritative Interpretation of 1978 (about

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1074032266387095562004-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:002004-01-14T13:15:07.950-08:00

Between three and four thousand years ago, a family settled in the wilderness. They established their property boundaries, put up excellent markers, and dwelt within the boundaries for millennia. For well over three thousand years, no one questioned their property lines, because everyone knew where those lines were and honored them. Much more recently, some neighbors moved in, neighbors who

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1073697849816272022004-01-09T17:24:00.000-08:002004-01-13T15:59:24.233-08:00

Shaking off both the cookie crumbs and the snow to face a new year, I find that many items continue to roil within the PCUSA. So let's catch up on some happenings: Mt. Auburn's continuing defiance This Cincinnati church was stripped of Stephen Van Kuiken, its pastor, and has lost some members, money, and momentum, but it hasn't lost its edge. A presbytery administrative committee, charged with

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1072213439648205662003-12-23T13:03:00.000-08:002003-12-23T13:07:18.856-08:00

Christmas opens people's hearts to Christ. People who rarely attend church, do go on Christmas Eve. They sing carols that tell the Good News. But, in most cases, the carols lack a clincher, something that connects the Christmas story with individual spiritual indolence. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is the exception that actually contains a prayer of salvation: "O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1071956290325875492003-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:002003-12-20T13:47:29.966-08:00

The National Council of Churches has released a Christmas Message. The first part isn't half bad. The second half is half missing. Those first three paragraphs are thought-provoking and rather profound. They conclude with: "As members of Christ's one Church, as inheritors of the call to bear the message of the Word of God in the world, what is required of us?" Uh, well, I guess we'd be at least

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1071807002464284882003-12-18T20:10:00.000-08:002003-12-20T13:48:20.593-08:00

(My apologies to the good people of Lackawanna Presbytery in Pennsylvania, because the Lackawanna Syndrome has nothing to do with you and everything to do with a cool name that is ripe for cheap exploitation.) I think the Lackawanna Syndrome explains a great deal about people in general and Presbyterians in particular. What IS the Lackawanna Syndrome, you ask? Good question. The title comes from

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1071388893598759862003-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:002003-12-14T01:04:06.293-08:00

Often one would just rather not know what goes into sausage. Having just returned from observing a bright and congenial Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) writing group in Louisville perform some penultimate polishing of a new draft policy for families, I offer three brief observations: First, for some theologically liberal people, ecumenism extends in one direction only--

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1071030746106601552003-12-09T20:32:00.000-08:002003-12-09T21:25:03.966-08:00

1. Murder someone. 2. Murder someone else. 3. In fact, make murder your passion. Embrace it as a lifestyle. Claim it as your right. Insist that God made you a murderer, and it is good. 4. After years of committing only the most flagrant murders, you may have charges brought against you, and a PJC Investigating Committee may investigate. Don’t worry. 5. If, by some rare circumstance, an

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1071032829098634042003-12-09T19:53:00.000-08:002003-12-09T21:11:36.610-08:00

1. Be a theologically conservative evangelical who scrupulously honors and obeys Scripture, upholds the requirements of the Constitution of the PC(USA), follows the Confessions, and loves and serves the Lord and the church. 2. Voice an unpopular opinion.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1070956150084632072003-12-08T23:49:00.000-08:002003-12-09T00:01:32.810-08:00

It is deeply perplexing to me how otherwise nice, diligent people can use their God-given gift of intellect to help others deceive the church more proficiently. Such is the case with a newly released paper: “Interpreting Book of Order §G-6.0106b.” If you want the unadulterated truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from candidates for ministry and ordinands for elder and deacon, if

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1070771728672830082003-12-06T20:35:00.000-08:002003-12-15T11:53:45.420-08:00

There is no way on God’s green earth that the validated ministry of Parker Williamson should not be revalidated by the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. Williamson’s ministry is Christian, Reformed, Presbyterian, and of service to the PC(USA). He at times serves as Nathan to the denominational David, telling us things we must know if we are to be self-aware and to repent and reform ourselves

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1070332547489950072003-12-01T18:35:00.000-08:002003-12-08T10:28:28.390-08:00

A revealing exchange of letters on Presbyweb provides all the evidence the Presbytery of Cincinnati needs to finish its work of bringing the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church into constitutional compliance. While the presbytery rightly disciplined the pastor, Stephen Van Kuiken, for marrying homosexual persons, it exonerated him of responsibility for illegally ordaining sexually active homosexual

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1069887732783116562003-11-26T15:02:00.000-08:002003-11-28T23:30:37.310-08:00

At this time of Thanksgiving, I need to pause to give some thanks, myself. I'm thankful for the many faithful people of Presbyterians For Renewal, whom God has placed around me. This begins with Joe Rightmyer, our beloved executive director, and extends to dozens more of the finest people I know. They are intent on doing the right thing the right way, in faithfulness to God. I'm thankful for

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1069295742452817932003-11-19T18:35:00.000-08:002003-11-21T16:35:09.030-08:00

Sometimes, some of the most gung ho homosexuality advocates are the most unblinkingly honest. The Louisville General Assembly in 2001 passed an overture that would have eliminated our ordination standards and wiped out our fine Authoritative Interpretations, which elucidate our continuing biblical understanding of the immorality of homosexual practice. Many sophisticated progressive strategists

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1068835848408902402003-11-14T10:50:00.000-08:002003-11-14T10:57:44.640-08:00

I'm hearing a confusion these days over the terms "evangelical" and "evangelistic." They're being used interchangeably, and some lexical utility is being lost in the process. For instance, at the Covenant Network convention, Moderator Susan Andrews, said she wanted a church that is evangelical. I believe she meant "evangelistic," unless she was suddenly abandoning her liberal roots to join the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1068691200661959362003-11-12T18:40:00.000-08:002003-11-12T23:00:39.773-08:00

For evangelicals raised in an environment where people pretty much think alike, here's a one-essay excursion into the thinking of someone very exotic. Read Patrick Henry's witty and entertaining address to the Covenant Network Conference. You'll not agree with either his reasoning or conclusions, I would expect. I certainly didn't. But you'll find yourself better acquainted with the mindset of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1068453797375575442003-11-10T00:43:00.000-08:002003-11-10T11:07:56.670-08:00

Returning from the national Covenant Network Convention in Washington, D.C., Saturday, I had an insight that makes a lot of things clearer to me. (I know it may sound like "Well, duh!" to some who read this, but what struck me was how pervasively the identification resides.) There seem to be some people who deep down, most likely unconsciously, find it more important to be socio-politically

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1067973388896228012003-11-04T11:16:00.000-08:002003-11-04T18:33:23.340-08:00

A little story, occasioned by Genesis 18:16-33: Then some pessimistic Presbyterians said, “How great is the outcry against the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and how very grave its sins! We must determine whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to us, and if so, we will destroy its very structure.” Then optimistic Presbyterians came near and said, “Will you indeed

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1067538909452177052003-10-30T10:35:00.000-08:002003-10-30T10:43:31.856-08:00

The biblical-exegesis work of Dr. Robert Gagnon demands careful attention by the Theological Task Force. Gagnon’s work is simply the most insurmountable barrier for any exegete attempting to propose a novel meaning for the homosexuality texts. So if the Theological Task Force (TTF) is truly as serious about being biblical as it appears to be, they cannot sidestep Gagnon. As I read reports of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1067389241734783542003-10-28T17:00:00.000-08:002003-10-28T17:04:44.790-08:00

In a Washington State case in the Methodist Church not unlike the Baltimore Presbytery case of the Rev. Donald Stroud, the United Methodist court system has shown some backbone, unlike the Presbyterians in Stroud's case. Two regional levels of investigating committees chose to ignore the United Methodist Book of Discipline's clear language that prohibits self-avowed, practicing homosexuals from

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1067322851491222162003-10-27T22:34:00.000-08:002003-10-27T22:38:40.343-08:00

Is it any surprise that there's an uproar about Presbyterians sharing the Good News with Jewish folk in Philadelphia? Hasn't the Gospel always been a skandalon, a stumbling block? Paul wrote, "We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles" (1 Cor 1:23). Stephen was stoned for preaching Jesus to the Jews. Paul was beaten, arrested, and run out of town

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5590214.post-1067027449943518772003-10-24T13:30:00.000-07:002003-10-24T22:32:19.180-07:00

The Theological Task Force coverage continues with an informative new article by Leslie Scanlon. I urge everyone to read it. In any marriage, if one partner has a number of growing and enlightening experiences while the other partner remains static or stagnates, the bond is jeopardized. Well, our partner, The Theological Task Force, is hard at work educating themselves on the matter of

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10361148898558214238noreply@blogger.com