Board of Pensions Update: Call to Health

The Board of Pensions has changed the way it funds medical dues. Beginning last year and continuing forward, there is a smaller deductible for those who participate in the Active Health program.

When members participate in Call to Health by completing specific actions before September 30, 2015, they earn a reduced individual and family deductible: from 1.5% to 1.0% of effective salary for 2016.  For example, a member earning an effective salary of $60,000 will have their deductible lowered from $900 to $600 merely for spending a few minutes online inputting one’s medical results. This is easy money, folks, just for doing what is in your own best interest to do anyway.

To participate in Call to Health the plan member must do the following:

1.     Schedule and complete a preventive care or well-patient exam with one’s doctor.

2.     Answer the phone if wellness nurses or a coach calls from Active Health.

3.     Choose two additional actions from the following list:

a.      Complete a health assessment at myactivehealth.com/pcusa,

b.     Input your lab result numbers from your wellness physical,

c.      Complete and verify that you have had a vision exam,

d.     Complete and verify that you have had a dental exam,

e.      Participate in nutritional counseling,

f.      If you use tobacco, participate in the Active Health cessation program,

g.     If invited, attend the BOP sponsored, eight day, Presbyterian CREDO retreat.

In other news, the Board recently announced that it is giving an “apportionment increase” of 4.7%. What this means is that all participants – retired, active, as well as former participants – are getting a 4.7% raise as of July 1, 2015. For example, a retired pastor receiving a $30,000 annual pension from the Board will now receive $31,410 annually.

So to summarize: the Board of Pensions is offering discounted deductibles for those who participate in the Call to Health program (the Lord giveth) and everyone participating in the Board’s pension program is getting a raise (the Lord giveth again). May the name of the Lord be praised (with kudos to the Lord’s servant, our Board of Pensions).

Grace out,

Brad Munroe

P.S.  If you, your family, or any of your church leaders have any questions please contact our Regional Representative, Clayton Cobb at 267-844-2411, or ccobb@pensions.org.  He would welcome you call.

On Theological Conversation: Bridge-Building Between “Progressives” and “Evangelicals”

I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices. Like any other choir, the one known as Grand Canyon Presbytery sings in four parts, perhaps more, and strives for a harmony that will lead others to praise. At least, such is the goal of our ideal selves. Alas, we are not always our ideal selves and harmony remains elusive.

            This week the news from Fountain Hills was that eight evangelical churches have joined in common cause to preach an eight-part sermon series on “Progressive Christianity: Fact or Fiction?”[i] (Link below)The president of the ministerial alliance, Bill Good, pastor of Fountain Hills Presbyterian, was interviewed by Fox News, an interview which went viral; leading progressive voices weighed in with their dismay that, as it appeared to them, these eight churches were attacking all progressives. Evangelicals and progressives both took to social media to offer an opinion for or against what has become a firestorm of controversy; many within the presbytery, and even a friend from Tampa, have contacted me personally.

            I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices. Acknowledging this truth, I feel the need to speak in support of grace toward one another. The clear and present temptation is to take a public stand berating another for something one reads or hears on Facebook or Fox. Let me advise caution and restraint! Instead of reacting, I would prefer we respond to one another with thoughtful, theological dialogue.

            I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices. I had coffee on Tuesday morning with Bill Good,[ii]  our pastor in Fountain Hills. Bill assured me that his intent was never to attack anyone else but to lift up the winsome and compelling nature of the Gospel message; that he personally makes a distinction between “Progressive Christianity” and “Christians who think progressively about their faith.” Bill encouraged me, and I encourage you, to listen to his sermon before forming an opinion about what was said.[iii](Link below) Further, Bill stated that he and his colleagues took great pains to ensure that their sermon series would not be directed at any one person or church but rather was responding to a particular understanding of faith, a brief introduction to which can be found here.[iv](Link below) Bill celebrates that eight, diverse churches were able to agree on something as an expression of the Body of Christ.

            I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices. In my response to Bill, I told him that I hear his heart and that his intent was to bring members of the Fountain Hills community to faith through the transforming power of the Gospel. I also expressed my opinion that there were some regrettable messages conveyed; namely, that the distinction between “Progressive Christianity” and “Christians who think progressively about their faith” is subtle and rather easy to misconstrue as being an attack against many of our brothers and sisters within the presbytery and that the title of the sermon series, though obviously effective as a marketing campaign in that it is drawing lots of attention, is also easy to misconstrue.

            I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices. Let me suggest, however, that this can be a watershed moment for the presbytery, as it raises serious questions about our ability to be in conversation with one another. This situation could be the “poisoning of the community well” or “the wake-up call” that  leads us all to examine our own hearts in order to find love and mercy toward brothers and sisters of differing expression but the same conviction to love and serve Jesus Christ.

I cannot speak for the entire presbytery; mine is but a single voice amidst a chorus of voices.  If I may be so bold, I call each one reading this newsletter to craft a thoughtful, theological articulation of your faith in which you outline your core convictions of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. As my friend Wayne Darbonne recently posted on Facebook, “The invitation of Christianity is not primarily mental assent to religious ideas, it is to enter a dynamic relationship with a living Person.” What does this dynamic relationship mean to you? I would be interested in receiving brief, one-page statements of how you express your faith as a living, relational connection and dynamic, missional call from the God confessed in Scripture and our confessions.[v]

            Last month, Tom Lineweaver and Tully Fletcher came to the Leadership Team meeting and requested that the Leadership Team engage the presbytery in deep, sustained theological conversation. At the time, I doubted whether their idea was even possible; I now see that it is necessary.

Searching for oneness in Jesus; can it be found?

Brad Munroe

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[i]http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/29058247/2015/05/13/faith-fight

[ii] I have Bill’s permission to share our conversation.

[iii]http://fhpresbyterian.info/sermon-archive/

[iv]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppmDw9iGjNA&feature=youtu.be

[v] Statements can be emailed to bradmunroe1963@gmail.com. All statements will be considered public unless I receive written direction to maintain confidentiality. If you do not want your statement shared with others, please indicate such in your email.

Start with Why - Seeking God’s Justice

Last week I proposed an idea borrowed from Simon Sinek’s Start with Why that suggested that the difference between success and failure in projects often comes down to motivation, inspiration and passion, which come from having a crystal clear sense of why we are doing something (See last week's missive below) Starting with why touches our sense of identity; why speaks to our soul.

            A corollary to Start with Why is to define “why” in terms that are real, compelling and connect to our lives in simple yet powerful ways. Dan Heath, in his book Writing a Mission Statement that Doesn’t Suck, illustrates what happens when we try to get too cute with our words. He tells the story of the pizza parlor who proposed the following mission statement:

·         Our mission is to serve the tastiest damn pizza in Wake County.

Nice, right? Simple, clear, compelling: makes my mouth water.

            But then Dan tells what happened when the owner suggested this mission statement to his managers; everyone became a 10^th grade English teacher and began to worry about things from grammar to political correctness to channeling one’s inner thesaurus. The resulting mission statement sounded like this:

·         Our mission is to present with integrity the highest quality entertainment solutions to families.

Would you like to have pizza from this place?

            This past week I was privileged to visit the border ministry of Frontera de Cristo with Mark Adams and folks from de Cristo presbytery. We talked across the border fence with Mexican church leaders; we visited a migrant repatriation center and a food cooperative; we held a prayer vigil to remember those who have died in the desert; we spoke with Border Patrol agents and the mayor of Douglas. Sounds nice, right? Perhaps…perhaps not. But what happens when I talk not about what we did but why we did it; our day of prayer and reflection takes on a whole new light:

·         Because Jesus is Lord of all nations, we lived the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) by speaking with those of other tongues, praying the Lord would break down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14).

·         Because God hears the cries of the oppressed (Exodus 3:7), we visited a center of healing and hope to hear stories of God’s mercy and care.

·         Because God cares for the needs of the hungry (Matthew 25:40), we visited a food cooperative to hear the amazing story of how 16 families no longer suffer food scarcity.

·         Because God knows all people by name (Matthew 6:26), we prayed for those forgotten in the desert; we remembered them, and our hearts burned with a passion for shalom.

·         Because God has established all governing authorities (Romans 13:1), we listened to the hearts of Border Patrol agents as they seek to protect our nation even while wrestling with the very real human tragedies that surround them.

Do you know why you do what you do? Can you articulate this truth in simple, compelling ways? As a spiritual exercise, I urge everyone reading this to write a personal mission statement for at least one thing you do for the Lord and then share that statement with another person. In Christian faith, what we do certainly matters, but God cares about our hearts; why we do it matters just as much, maybe more.

Abounding in hope,

Brad Munroe

Start with Why- Sharing Faith

Have you ever wondered why, how and for what reason one church is thriving and another that is doing the exact same things is dying? Or wondered why, how and for what reason a program led by a 50-something, well-liked, long-term church member is a great success while the program led by a different church member with the exact same credentials utterly fails? Perhaps the problem is starting with why (or not).

Simon Sinek, in his book Start with Why, contrasts the impact Apple has as a successful enterprise versus TiVo as a commercial failure. Both are tech companies with state-of-the-art products; yet one is cutting-edge cool the other nerdy. What is the difference between them? One started with why.

Apple started with why: its vision and self-identity is to make connections easier for an individual to become a community and for personal ideas to become shared encounter. TiVo’s vision and identity is to produce a remote control that allows you to manipulate your TV watching experience; this is not a “why” but a “what.” Apple’s vision leads to energy, enthusiasm and passion and just happens to get fulfilled by creating gadgets. TiVo’s vision leads to the making of gadgets for the sake of gadgets; no wonder TiVo failed.

*****

            Starting with why is a theological issue. Why proclaim the gospel? Why share the gospel? Why seek justice? Why live out the gospel in the world? These are the questions that energize our faithfulness, that bring passion in the pursuit of fruitfulness. For instance, David Gortner, in his book Transforming Evangelism, suggests that beginning with why is essential for our understanding of sharing our faith: “No program or formula will work. Evangelism that emerges from our gratitude and compels us to speak is a chosen habit….”Gortner suggests three spiritual practices to energize the habit of sharing faith:

·       I will remember my own wonder, joy and gratitude.

·       I will speak; I will tell my stories.

·       I will meet other people listening for the Holy in their lives.

Implicit in Gortner’s spiritual practices is the notion that faith sharing must start with a clear and compelling sense of why Jesus matters and why our relationship with Jesus matters. Because Jesus is the most amazing man, a true revolutionary, a he-troubles-my-soul-in-all-the-best-ways prophet, a “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39) Savior of the world, I love telling his story. Because Jesus is both an abiding presence and my guiding light, both my Friend and Savior and Lord, it is a joy to tell his story. Faith sharing then is neither a “program orformula” but a way of living and moving and having our being. May we be these kind of faith sharing people, move in the direction of telling good news, and live into the fullness of joy that is found in Jesus Christ.

Abounding in hope,

Brad Munroe

Emerging from the Sacred with (More) Alleluias! A (Post) Holy Week Reflection

“He is risen!” “Alleluia! He is risen indeed!”

*****

            How many people are in the Presbyterian Church? If you answered, “About 1.8 million,” you failed to recognize a trick question when you saw it. According to a recent article in The Presbyterian Outlook, the number of 1.8 Presbyterians increases substantially when a full accounting is made:

The 175^thanniversary of international mission by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church was celebrated in 2012. In that time, Presbyterian missionaries have planted churches, built hospitals, and started schools on every continent. The seeds sown by those missionaries have, in many places, developed into self-sustaining churches and institutions led by local Christians. Today, more than 94 million Christians around the world now belong to churches that were founded or co-founded by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) mission workers.

If you are keeping score at home, that’s 95.8 million Presbyterians, thank you very much!

“He is risen!” “Alleluia! He is risen indeed!”

*****

            Unfortunately, funding for World Missions has fallen off dramatically such that Hunter Farrell, director of World Missions for the PCUSA, projects a $925,000 short-fall for world missionaries in 2016 and up to a $4.5 million short-fall for 2017, which would devastate our missionary corps. The causes are many and varied: the loss of members and churches, the tightening economic landscape, as well as an emphasis on home grown needs (aka “local mission”) rather than global needs. While it is significant to understand the causes, much more significant is to embrace the solutions: increased prayer, increased reflection on the ways our world missionaries make a dramatic impact for the gospel, and of course increased giving.

            You may actually know one of our PCUSA world missionaries: Leslie Vogel and Mark Adams, serving in Central America and on the Arizona-Mexico border, are two of the folks whose ministries help us impact communities with the gospel. On May 17* I will be leading a delegation of de Cristo folks to be with Mark for a Day of Prayer and Reflection, and we hope to schedule a similar opportunity for Grand Canyon folks in the near future. Mark and I both believe in world missions and are committed to increased prayer and increased reflection. By God’s grace and your church’s generosity, may there also be increased giving.

            “He is STILL risen!” “Alleluia! He is STILL risen indeed!”

Bounding in hope,

Brad Munroe

*For those interested in carpooling to the Day of Prayer and Reflection, we will leave from the Trinity Presbyterian parking lot at 7:00 a.m.  Please RSVP for the event to trisha@fronteradecristo.org.