xclose menu

Pastor's Note | Monday, May 13th

1

On many occasions I've referred to the rear yard re-landscaping project Connie and I undertook five years ago. After demolition of over 70 tons (that is correct, 70 tons) of concrete walkways and water features (as I've referred to them "The Matterhorn"), we began the process of amending the soil. This called for a very large rototiller - something that looked like a downsized version of an earth moving machine.

Fortunately, the rototiller had a hydraulic "brake" system. When it hit a large object the digging blades would stop - brake before they would break. Fortunate because as I operated this ground-chewing marvel, the blades struck a large chunk of concrete about a foot underground. This turned out to be a concrete footing for a no-longer-existent pergola. Not only was there one footing, but four - each about three feet by two feet and in need of being dug out.

Foundations are essential to strong, stable, secure buildings. A deep, sure foundation ensures the integrity of the structure and enables it to withstand inclement weather and other threats. A church is no different. For a church to be strong and to have an impact in the world it needs to be built on a strong, sure foundation. We have been focusing on the foundations of our Christian faith through the series on the "Solas" - the soil in which our roots grow deep, the foundation upon which the church - a spiritual household is built (take a look at 1st Peter 2.4-12, which we we'll discuss this weekend).

This leads me to our current Season of Discernment regarding our affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Within our denomination some very important foundations have been replaced with relativism, some essential tenets have been dismissed as irrelevant, and some perspectives related to the sanctity of life and human sexuality have been supplanted by current cultural trends. That's why we continue to discern the best denominational affiliation for Good Shepherd. Would you do me a favor? If you haven't already done so, please click onto our discernment page. Please read this document containing the FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions - that have been asked in our Town Hall meetings. This will give you a good sense of why this discernment process is so important. Then, please pray for the Discernment Team and the Session as we continue to discern where God is leading us.

A "White Paper" will be presented by the end of May which will lay out our concerns and responses to the issues needing discernment. We will then invite you into the process of deciding the next steps.

Thanks very much. Let's continue to be rooted in the rich and vital soil of Christ, the sure foundation.
Jim

1 Comment

After reading the FAQ doc. you linked, it sounds as if PC-USA freely delegates qualifications for ordination yet they take a possessive position in their legal brief against the S.F. Synod concerning all things material, i.e., church property in which they otherwise share no investment or responsibility for.

Leave a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.