Cynthia Holder Rich is currently the Interim Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Muskegon, MI and serves on the Special Committee on the Nature of the Church in the 21st Century of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In the latter role she posted five questions, which were developed by the committee: What is your vision for the church in the 21st century? What characteristics will draw the great diversity (racial ethnic, age, gender, etc.) of our country into our community of Read More …
PCUSA
Review of The Pastor by Eugene Peterson (#0329)
Meet the Author Eugene Peterson (b.1932) is the author of the best-selling The Message, which is his translation of the Bible into contemporary American language. He is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who served as the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. Peterson has since assumed the title of Pastor Emeritus in that congregation. Following his retirement from parish ministry, Read More …
Radical Inclusivity (#0321)
Christian leaders make news headlines on a daily basis, but are rarely portrayed as open minded or inclusive. Jonathan Devin's "Radical Preachers Buck Mainstream Christianity" tells the story of a growing interdenominational group of pastors known as Outlaw Preachers who are bound together by their shared belief in radical inclusivity. Founded in 2008, the group has grown to 300 members and recently held their first conference, which was attended by persons representing Read More …
Social Media for Lent: Fast or Engage? (#0308)
Bruce Reyes-Chow is a forty-one year old Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who serves as founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, which primarily attracts young adults in their twenties and thirties. He served as the Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the 2.3 million member PCUSA. Serving as the youngest person ever elected to that office, Reyes-Chow became a pioneer in the use of social media in the mainline Protestant world. To connect with Read More …
Reality Check: A Typical Mainline Church in 2010 (#0305)
The Research Services Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) just released the 2010 Survey of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Congregations, which was part of the Faith Communities Today (FACT) 2010 study of 10,000 congregations from 100 Christian denominations and other faith groups in the United States. The data was provided by leaders of 706 PCUSA congregations. Among the statistics worth noting: The median worship attendance for all Sunday morning services is 70 people Read More …
Review of Open Source Gospel (#0286)
Landon Whitsitt. Open Source Gospel: Ten Commandments for the Future of the Christian Faith. E-book, 2010. Available online at http://landonwhitsitt.com/open-source-gospel/ Meet the Author Landon Whitsitt is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who serves as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Liberty, Missouri, and as the Vice-Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is the second highest elected official in the 2.3 million Read More …
The Presbyterian (PCUSA) Church is Deathly Ill (#0267)
"Where Have All The Presbyterians Gone?" could be the title of a denominational funeral hymn for the 2.3 millionmember PCUSA, but is actually the title of a recent Wall Street Journal article by Russell Moore. Moore (pictured at left) is a Southern Baptist minister who currently serves as the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Read More …