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Reports & Resources
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Dave Crittenden
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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Many elders, deacons, and pastors are less than pleased when the subject of the annual stewardship campaign comes up. In many churches the activities that make up this campaign are the only time the majority of members hear the term stewardship and it is often one of the few times they hear money and faith linked in worship. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Dave Crittenden
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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Websites that might be helpful: www.pcusa.org/stewardship Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) resources for annual campaigns stewardship in general and stewardship education. Either: The Stewardship Manual PDS #72530-94-001 or Confident Steward 2.0 – an interactive CD |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Karl Travis
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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Stewardship season is coming. For most congregations it’s akin to getting a flu shot. Each autumn we volunteer reluctantly to be pricked in the body’s nether regions hoping all the while to be protected against further exposure for another year. It’s no surprise, then, that so many pastors speak reluctantly, if at all, on the topics of money and generosity. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Bob Sheldon
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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Does your church play favorites? Do you give some members special treatment while ignoring others? |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Rolfe Granath
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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Many pastors look at stewardship as being repetitious and, frankly, less then exciting. Unfortunately, many pastors become extremely uncomfortable regarding the subject of money and giving. They view what seems like endless urgent appeals as a chore and not as an opportunity for their members to grow in their faith. Yet we know that pursuing mission requires financial support. A familiar quote says, “Ever since its invention by the Phoenicians 3,000 years ago, there has been a wonderful way of saying ‘thank you,’ it is called money.” |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Sam Roberson
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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For the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to move into God’s future, it must let go of its carefully stacked layers of church bureaucracy. For years now, the stacked layers have been in danger of crumbling/imploding on each other, weighed down as they are by years of history and unrealizable expectations—not to mention the dancing elephants. |
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For Church Officers
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Written by Tom Ehrich, Church Wellness
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Sunday, 17 August 2008 00:00 |
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To be healthy, not every church needs a demographically correct suburban location, a 30-something pastor with 20 years of flawless experience, a denomination free of bickering and embarrassment, a pot of gold, and a doctrinal package so compelling that God himself applauds. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Robert Austell
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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I write today having had just under two weeks now to reflect on the experience of being a commissioner to the 218th General Assembly in San Jose. Fresh from the stricture of a 60-second time limit at the microphone, I am not going to waste words, but jump into what is of greatest import to me as I reflect on the whole of that experience. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Edward Koster
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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The initial reactions to the Authoritative Interpretation of G-6.0108 approved by the General Assembly in San Jose were dramatic. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Doug Nave
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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The 218th General Assembly, meeting this past June in San Jose, issued two Authoritative Interpretations (“AIs”) and proposed an amendment to the Constitution that have important effects on the church’s ordination standards and our life together. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Michael Haggin
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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We Presbyterians have long prided ourselves on our church government. We have rejected rule by powerful individuals (bishops) set apart to make the important decisions that affect the many. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Jeffrey DeYoe
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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In 2006 our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly took the following action in regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict: “The 217th General Assembly does not believe that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should tell a sovereign nation whether it can protect its borders or handle matters of national defense.” This resolution went on to point out |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by John Wimberly
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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When it comes to policy issues related to Israel/Palestine, the 2008 General Assembly made significant movement back toward the positive, prophetic peacemaking approach the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) employed prior to 2004. This is a good thing. |
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For Church Officers
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Written by Tom Ehrich, Church Wellness
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Sunday, 10 August 2008 00:00 |
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The Internet age gives you a tool of immense reach and power: “viral marketing.” |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by David R. Carlson
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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Many will ponder the mood of the 218th General Assembly. There were no obvious clues that this would later be described as a radical assembly. Commissioners were as “Presbyterian” — i.e. as conservative, elderly and grey, like me — as usual. The atmosphere was exceptionally calm. A well organized COLA (Committee On Local Arrangements), superb facilities, and pleasant weather made this the most comfortable assembly I have attended in years. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Timothy B. Cargal
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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This year’s General Assembly was returned again and again over the course of the week to its scriptural theme drawn from Micah 6:8: “To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.” I admit that I don’t know the processes whereby themes are chosen, but I can think of no better theme for a denomination as fractured as ours — stress fractures rather than clean breaks, but fractures nonetheless. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Katie Pate
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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Our brokenness is a spiritual reality. The ideological and theological divisions among good people of faith in the church are a reflection of this brokenness. Can we as brothers and sisters in Christ overcome the divides within our neighborhoods and our faith communities? Is there any common ground? Do we have the courage to engage in the conversations that might lead us to change our positions on controversial issues? |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Gradye Parsons and Mark Tammen
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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Recent actions by the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) regarding G-6.0106b and G-6.0108 in the Book of Order (Advisory Opinion #22) are raising questions in sessions and presbyteries about the effect of those actions on the work of these ordaining bodies. This is a synopsis of some of those actions and their effects. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by William C. Myers
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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“If you want to completely shatter the denomination, then vote for this substitute motion. But if you want to give (the issue) the time it needs for us to learn from each other, listen to each other, then, please God, vote no.” Truly these words of a former moderator of our General Assembly, Marj Carpenter, were as influential as they were powerful in the opening moments of our denomination’s discussion of Item No. 408, regarding the definition of marriage. Influential enough that I voted against my own motion. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Mark Achtemeier and John Wilkinson
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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As part of the General Assembly’s deliberations on the John Knox Overture, we presented the following reflections, at the invitation of the Church Orders Committee, explaining why we, as former members of the Theological Task Force, continue to believe that the procedures outlined in Recommendation 5 are faithful expressions of our calling as a Reformed church body. We share them here with readers of The Presbyterian Outlook. |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Charles A. Hammond
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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Almost three quarters of a century ago, more than 1,000 Presbyterian ministers got so angry at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that they signed a document called the “Auburn Affirmation” and circulated it throughout the church. The main issue at hand was the question, “Can the General Assembly amend the Constitution without the vote of the presbyteries?” Several times over the decades before, the GA had passed statements of summaries of doctrine that they wanted to be required of every candidate for ordination. These are summed up in what were called the “Fundamentals.” |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Jerry Andrews
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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At the beginning of General Assembly week Jack Haberer asked me to write “some words” about the General Assembly. By mid-week it was clear where this assembly was going and so I offered to Jack: |
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Presbyterian Heritage Articles
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Written by Susan Andrews
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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As a veteran of a dozen General Assemblies, I found myself fascinated by much of what happened in San Jose. There was a spirit and a Spirit about this bi-annual family gathering that felt distinctly different to me. It was not the most energetic assembly I have attended — much of the floor debate was sluggish. It was not the most adversarial gathering, either. On most issues these commissioners made careful, conciliatory, and centrist decisions. But it was truly Presbyterian, because what the body did as a whole was wiser and stronger than any individual agenda. |
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For Church Officers
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Written by Tom Ehrich, Church Wellness
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Monday, 04 August 2008 00:00 |
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Like all buzz words, transparency can be overused. I understand why a colleague said recently, “I am so tired of the word ‘transparency.’” |
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For Church Officers
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Written by Tom Ehrich, Church Wellness
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Monday, 21 July 2008 00:00 |
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Church musicians walk a delicate line. Many are classically trained. Their tastes might be broad, but at some level, many believe that “serious music” is better than “popular music,” and it is their job to defend musical excellence. |
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