Seminary interns?

Yesterday I had a delightful conversation with Leah Bradley, who is the Director of Alum and Church Relations for Louisville Seminary. Among other things, she was the primary person responsible for putting on the Festival of Theology and Reunion this week at the Seminary, a truly herculean undertaking!

But the conversation Leah and I had was on a different subject. I had a crazy idea, and I wanted to talk with her about it. What about if we formed what might be called a Learning Community in our Presbytery? This is what I envision at present... A few congregations, a few experienced pastors, and a few seminary students who are willing to spend a year's internship, covenant to be an intentional Learning Community together. The students come to gain hands-on experience in pastoral ministry. The seasoned pastors have opportunities to share their experiences and also to learn from the students. The congregations begin to see themselves as teachers as well, offering their faith community as a learning lab for someone who soon will be ordained as a Presbyterian minister.

Leah reminded me that there is a similar program for students who are finishing seminary and looking for a first call - a program called "For Such a Time as This." (http://www.pcusa.org/vocation/residency.htm) However, the program that I envision would intentionally be for people still in seminary. I did an intern year between my middler and senior years in seminary, and, I discovered in our conversation, so did Leah. What we both found was that that experience made our senior years inestimably richer; we knew questions to ask that we otherwise wouldn't have known, we knew things to concentrate on in our studies, and on and on.

I'm excited about the kinds of things this kind of program could offer the Church. It could do amazing things within the life of our Presbytery. It could even be expanded and done within our Quad-Presbytery Consortium (Missouri River Valley, Prospect Hill, Central Nebraska, and Homestead). There is, of course, this minor practical consideration of funding... but I think this could be addressed in some realistic ways without having to get too "creative."

In any case, I certainly want to pursue this when I get back home, and to continue the dialogue about this with Leah. She also mentioned that she gets together with other Field Education folks at the other Presbyterian seminaries, and that some of them might be open to considering this as well. Who knows? The idea just gets more and more intriguing to me!

And for lunch today, I had...

conversations. Okay, I first have to get this out of the way. I had lunch today with Cliff Kirkpatrick and with Allan Boesak. Just the three of us. Sitting around a table in the dining room at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. I have known and admired Cliff for a few years, and had the honor of introducing him at the annual COM/CPM Training Event sponsored by the Synod of Lakes and Prairies in January 2007. I have followed the life, teachings, and preaching of Allan Boesak for decades. His outspoken, non-violent opposition to the South African system of apartheid was an inspiration to me. To sit at table with him today... to share ideas as brothers in Christ... to laugh together... to shake his hand... it touched my soul.

I described for both of them the thrust of my sabbatical ponderings: i.e., we simply must find a new way of being and doing church other than the corporate model of each congregation having its own building, running its own programs, overseen by its board of directors (the Session), and implemented by its CEO and mangers (the Pastor and staff). When I asked Allan about possible models that we might draw from in South Africa, he shrugged his shoulders. "We are in the same unstable boat as you, because we inherited the same European model of how to be the church as you all did. And we are struggling to find new ways just as you are outlining." So they struggle with the costs of educating their pastors... how small, and especially rural, congregations can ever afford to hire pastors... the necessity of pastors being tent-makers (bi-vocational is the new term for this old, biblical term referring to someone who has a "regular" job that pays the bills, but also serves as the pastor of a (usually) small congregation).

When I asked Cliff what he knew of the Church in the global south, he immediately thought of the Presbyterian Church in Kenya - which, I believe, is the Presbyterian Church in East Africa. He said he knew of a congregation there of 5,000 members... who had one - yes, one - pastor! The bulk of the ministry of that congregation was carried out by the elders. In addition to preaching and sacramental ministry, the job of the pastor there was to train, equip, and encourage elders in their ministries. On holidays, everyone understood that that was when the elders gathered for a meeting of the College of Elders to study, pray, and worship together. Cliff gave me the name of John Chapman, our denomination's Mission Liaison contact person with the church in Kenya. I'll be getting in touch with John soon to follow up on this.

I've thought of something like a College of Elders - or a Lay Institute of Theology - for a long time. Our Director of Christian Education, Kris Adler, and I have talked about this on and off for a few years. Our Book of Order is clear about the responsibility of elders in ministry, and in developing their gifts and calling for ministry. The proposed new "Form of Government" is even more explicit about this. This may be a model worth exploring more.

Louisville panel discussion

This morning there was a panel discussion among the three lecturers of the Festival of Theology: Allan Boesak, Cliff Kirkpatrick, and Kathryn Johnson. Here are some of the things I gleaned from their discussion.

One of the strengths of the Churches that came through the Reformation is that we realize that the Church is not some ethereal, spiritualized, immaterial thing. The Church is the corporeal, lovable, yucky, holy, broken, tangible community of faith. It is the Body of Christ here.

The thing that helped turn around the situation in the Reformed churches in South Africa when they were struggling in the midst of the battles with and against apartheid was when they opened themselves up to ecumenical conversations. It was when they learned from other churches that they were able to make a peaceful transition away from apartheid.

This is at the very heart of what I am attempting to do during this sabbatical study, discernment, and reflection. What are some things that we can learn from other churches... other churches around the world, other churches in our country, other churches in our denomination, other churches in our Presbytery, other churches in our own communities? I'm not convinced that we will find the answer any other place. But I am absolutely convinced that we will find answers that we need. Why? Because I am a Calvinist! I believe in a sovereign God. I believe that the final answer belongs to God. I believe that God is in the midst of our struggles. I believe that God wills for us to be successful in our efforts to be faithful.

What will this answer - or some sort of answers - look like as we discern what shape the Spirit is calling the Church of Jesus Christ to grow into as we move into the future? I'm beginning to envision some models of what this might be, but I don't know for sure. But I do know that God is with us in the discerning, in the journey, and in the efforts. And that is all I need to know for now.

Cliff Kirkpatrick - part 2

A follow-up to something that Cliff mentioned yesterday...

He talked about his observations from visits to Reformed churches throughout the world, particularly in the global south. He said that the churches that are the most vital are the ones who emphasize mission outside of their walls.

The thing that sparked the initial conversations that led to my sabbatical this year was finances at Central Pres. We still struggle, and, in the long run, finances are the reason that we must do something different. That's the reason that most of our congregations must do something different.

However, I'd like to propose a switch in emphasis.... or at least a switch in how to look at the implications of doing something different in our churches. If - no, when - we find ways to do things differently in our churches, by cooperating in terms of buildings and staff and programs and the like, that will free up financial resources so that it will be possible for us to reach out more beyond our own walls, our own needs, our own facilities, to meet the needs of others in our communities, our nation, and our world.

When I first came to Central Pres. in 1999 to serve as the Pastor, we were giving something like 8.5% or 9% of our budget to mission. That would have amounted to something like $15,000 or $16,000 each year to mission beyond our doors. In 2000, we made a goal that, within 5 years, we would be giving 12.5% of our budget to mission. Last year, in 2009, we gave $0. Unfortunately, I didn't make a typo there. Zero dollars. I'm embarrassed by that. I'm angry about that. I don't think we had a choice at the time, but I don't like that one bit. I am convinced that we have to figure out a way to do things differently at Central, not just because it's irresponsible to continue to pay $35,000-40,000 per year for utilities alone, but because we must return again to an active, financially faithful support of mission causes outside of our own church.

And the challenge for the broader Church? Central Pres. is not alone in this condition.

Cliff Kirkpatrick - part 1

This afternoon's lecture was given by Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk Emeritus of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and President of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Cliff spoke about the Accra Confession, a document which came out of years of study, and which was adopted by the delegates of WARC at their 24th General Conference in Accra, Ghana (2004). The subtitle of this Confession is "Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth."

So much of what Cliff said grabbed my attention... and grabbed my heart and mind. Here are snippets of some of those things.

Two-thirds of the world's Christians live in the global south! Their experiences challenge our North American understandings of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. So, I wonder, what kinds of things do they have to teach us... what kinds of things do we need to learn from them... and how willing are we to dare to be open to learning from them, and from God, those things that we need to learn?

Being a former Stated Clerk, Cliff said that it would be unthinkable for him to deliver a lecture and not quote from the Book of Order! Here was the quote he gave us from that part of our Church Constitution:

"The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity." (G-3.0200)

So, how well are we doing in demonstrating to the world God's intentions for the world?

Cliff is firmly convinced that a church's vitality is based upon the reality of mission that reaches beyond the congregation's walls.

Another surprising fact... 60% of Presbyterian congregations have fewer than 100 members! That means that seminarians who graduate this year and go out to serve those churches, if they do everything right that they've been taught, will see those churches die probably within 10 years. That hits home for me, as the father of one of those seminarians! That hits home for me as the Stated Clerk of a Presbytery. That brings home for me the urgency that our Committees on Ministry need to begin now to help congregations have conversations about how to do things differently. This affirms for me the importance of why the Presbytery in which I serve as an officer decided to help fund my sabbatical this year, and impresses upon me anew the importance of this work for my resourcing our Committee on Ministry.

Allan Boesak and Africa - part 1

Allan Boesak - pastor, prophet, anti-apartheid activist, author.

I have read and followed him for years, often moved by his passionate appeals to the social demands of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, after hearing him speak, I was moved again.

The occasion of his lecture at Louisville Seminary's Festival of Theology was the topic, "To Stand Where God Stands - The Confession of Belhar." This confession (pronounced bell-har') was written by the Church in South Africa during the years of the final, intense struggle of the overcoming of apartheid, and is currently being considered to be included in the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at this year's meeting of the General Assembly. Boesak believes that, although its initial focus was parochial, its impact is global.

Boesak stated that the system of apartheid dehumanized black people and accorded an idolatrous position to whites. That particular statement got me thinking about the implications for my sabbatical questions. What is it that is idolatrous for us in the church today? Are our buildings idolatrous? Is having a full-time pastor idolatrous. For us pastors, is being able to work full-time as a pastor idolatrous? In other words...

• Is Jesus Lord, or is our ecclesiastical paradigm lord?
• Is Jesus Lord, or are our structures lord?
• Is Jesus Lord, or are our buildings lord?
• Is Jesus Lord, or are the ways we do our programs lord?

He believes that the Belhar Confession helps us discern the difference between the Gospel and idolatry, between truth-telling and myth-making.

I realize, after his talk, that I need to go back and read this confession again. If you'd like, you can read this at http://www.pcusa.org/theologyandworship/confession/belhar.pdf.

There is so much more, and I'll write more later. I'm also going to have lunch with Allan tomorrow, during which time I'll be able to talk about some of the specific concerns of my sabbatical work.

In Louisville

Finally arrived in Louisville tonight. The Seminary's Festival of Theology begins tomorrow, and I plan to set up appointments with two of the lecturers.

Kathryn Johnson is the Paul Tudor Jones Professor of Church History and Professor of Historical Theology at Louisville Seminary, and is currently on a three-year leave to serve as Assistant General Secretary for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Switzerland.

“I have gotten to see so many different contexts” and have a broader understanding of the world Church, Johnson said of her role with LWF. Her duties include coordinating LWF’s relationships with other Christians around the world.

Kathryn was my advisor when I was working on my D.Min. years ago.

The other lecturer I plan to set up an appointment with is Allan Boesak. Although out of the spotlight of much of the world after personal and family problems years ago, Boesak was a major player in the Christian struggle against apartheid in his homeland of South Africa.

Both Johnson and Boesak will be able to offer a much larger view of the world Church that I think will be helpful in my exploration. I look forward to the conversations, and trust they will be able to make time.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be more lectures from them, but also visits with some folks at the General Assembly offices.

Grace and peace - Steve

Beginning in earnest now

The last post I wrote was one that, quite obviously, had nothing to do with my sabbatical ponderings about the Church... although the Church historically has had a lot of involvement in the area of people's health. After all, as I remember my Greek (although I'd have to check this), the word for "healing" is intimately connected with the words for "wholeness" and "salvation."

That said, I begin my trip to Louisville, KY after the Presbytery meeting on Saturday. I'll be talking with several people at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, as well as some folks at some of the General Assembly offices. We'll be exploring all kinds of questions about what it means to be the Church.

As Quad-Presbytery conversations are done, General Assembly commissioner training completed, sermon written and delivered, a wonderful Inquirers' Class held, a Finance meeting held, a Session meeting done, a fun meeting of our church's 125th Anniversary Committee, and, in just a bit, a Nominating Committee meeting to complete... well, then there will be our Presbytery meeting on Saturday, and I hit the proverbial road. I'm getting excited about the prospects before me and the conversations that lie ahead.

I hope others read along and share comments as well.

Blessings to us all.