Presby-Musings

So yesterday I hung out with over a thousand Presbyterians for nearly thirteen hours, and not once did we argue about: 1. Politically charged and divisive denominational statements. 2. Motions and amendments. 3. Definitions of Marriage. 4. Ordination Standards. 5. The Authority of Scripture. 6.  Whether Confessions should be ignored/changed. Instead we worshipped, we fellowshipped, we networked and we got to discuss things like: 1. Missions 2. Evangelism 3. How to Evaluate the Spiritual Health of our Churches 4. The Centrality of Christ 5. The Need for Holiness in all aspects of life (not just in sexuality) 6. Accountability in Ministry 7. The Vital Role of Confessions in the Church. The sort of unity that exists here at this Gathering is not the kind that you have to manufacture.  It's not the kind that has to have polite statements or well thought out and committee approved prayers to be read in order for everyone to feel somewhat better about the nasty ...

It seems that at least once a week the leadership of my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA)  seems to find itself in the middle of controversy. The latest is a continuation of a long line of what have been characterized as "anti-Israel" stances that at least one wing of the General Assembly Council has chosen to take. Here is the story reported from an Israeli point of view: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152904#.T1S_k3LOy_Y Listen, I know that there is plenty of blame to go around in the Middle East .   But I've been to Israel.  I've talked to Israelis and Palestinians.  I've seen first hand the close proximity of neighboring Muslim countries there who would like nothing more than to see Israel overrun.  I've also seen the Israeli settlements that are being built as fast as possible in areas where the "ownership" of the land is disputed.  I know that even among many Israeli's these are unpopular. But I've ...