Feeding the 5,000:Youth Triennium 2016

This week at Purdue University 5,000 Presbyterian youth, twenty of whom are from our presbytery, have been blessed to be a blessing. I have been receiving daily reports via Facebook and the verdict is in: the worship is amazing, the small groups transforming, the relationships deepening with Jesus and with one another.
We are not known as a denomination as being harbingers of the youth culture; more that we are “demographically challenged.” Yet God breathes new life and new spirit into the Church from generation to generation, and our generation is no exception. This week, at Triennium, God has inspired, called forth and led our young people to go deeper into relationship with Him in practical and pragmatic ways.The key word in the previous sentence is “go.”
Using the Great Commission text from Matthew 28:19 as the theme verse: “Go into all the world making disciples.” Our youth are being challenged to go beyond mere knowledge of the story. Rather, our calling as Jesus followers is to go and see for ourselves the Author of the story; go and tell others the story; go and show others what the story means in our lives; go and live the story in practical ways.

The Church cannot move forward unless and until it goes somewhere. The question, of course, is “Where should the Church go?” The Psalmist tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” (Psalm 32:88), which is another verse the Triennium youth have learned. In Jesus we have been shown the way to go. The answer to the question regarding where we should go is always the same: “Follow Jesus.” Follow Jesus into the world of brokenness and bring a healing presence. Follow Jesus into the world of darkness and shine a loving light. Follow Jesus into the chaos of shouted vitriol and whisper kindness until others are compelled to listen. Follow Jesus out toward “the highways and byways” and welcome the uninvited to a great feast of blessing.
Jesus also invites you and me to that same great feast of blessing. But in the economy of God, we are never blessed merely for our own sake but always blessed to be a blessing for others’ sake. It is a joy to be a part of a presbytery willing and able to bless our youth at Triennium. Now that they have been blessed, how will they now bless others? Let’s go and find out!

Blessed to be a part of you,

Brad

P.S. Upcoming opportunities for blessing include Synod’s Stewardship event, Nurturing Generous Hearts, Presbytery’s Ignite the Spark! event with Tom Tewell, and Presbytery’s Big Event educational gathering. Look for more information in this newsletter! 

Presbytery is on the Move…Literally

            We’re moving! We’re moving! We’re moving!

For a change, I am not waxing eloquent. Nor am I writing with a Red Bull infused literary flourish, (as a colleague teasingly described my style recently). I mean that, literally, the presbytery offices are moving from one physical location to a different physical location.

“Where are you moving?” you ask. Good question, and I kind of have an answer. But I’ll get to that in a moment.

It has been a while since I have discussed our presbytery’s Season of Discernment. To remind you, O Gentle and Faithful Reader, the presbytery’s Leadership Team and Resources Committee have been in conversation with a budget task force that has been asking questions about how to craft a sustainable budget from year to year to year. And, specifically, the task force was to give input to the Combined Finance team and Combined Personnel team of the two presbyteries as together they negotiate an extension of the shared staffing plan.

Presbytery’s budget task force has given input during the first half of this year, and now, during the second half of this year, the two combined teams will discuss with one another the details of the shared staffing plan and its extension, to be presented at our combined presbyteries meeting of January, 2017. While the details are yet to be finalized, the broad outline for the Presbytery of Grand Canyon looks like this:

·         A commitment to continuing the shared staffing plan,

·         A desire to keep per capita the same,

·         A plan to bifurcate the budget into separate categories: a mission budget and a connecting budget (administration and operations),

·         A plan to fund the mission budget through church gifts and by establishing a mission endowment from which we will draw 4% per year, with 100% of mission gifts going toward mission,

·         A plan to fund the connecting budget through per capita and by establishing a connecting endowment from which we will draw 4% per year,

·         A plan to take the sale of the Verde Valley church and put the proceeds into an account designated for New Worshipping Communities, with a term-limited, sunset clause after which time we will reevaluate the designation,

·         A willingness to discuss modifications to staff expenses related to continuing education and participation at General Assembly – (we think we can squeeze some cost savings while continuing effective service),

·         A commitment to relocate into office space hosted by a local church, which will save us $7,000 annually.
“What church?” you ask, “and when will this happen?” Thank you for asking: Memorial
Presbyterian Church in Phoenix will be our new home. As for specifics, I am sworn to hold my tongue, as Carolyn McBurney is negotiating with the postal service, internet providers and the phone company all such details. Anything I write today is as likely as not to be incorrect. What I can say is that the move will happen in about seven to ten weeks and that Carolyn will blanket your inbox and your church’s mail box with all the specifics you need or want.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Rev. Cynthia Jennison, CRE Marta Lopez, and Session of Memorial for their gracious offer to host the presbytery offices. The finances of the deal are that, for “rent,” they are asking us to split their utility expenses. The Memorial Session believes that, as a connectional church, we seek to resource one another as best we can, and this was an opportunity for them to serve their brothers and sisters within the presbytery. What a great spirit!

Thankful for generosity,

Brad Munroe

No Words Worthy…

I write today in the shadow of officer assassinations and police brutality and no words of mine are worthy to express our corporate feelings. I write in the afterglow of yet another outburst of outrage on broadcast and social media. I write to tell you the story about how John Cheek became the most important pastor in either of our presbyteries and to ask that you pray for John and his work, for it is more necessary now than ever.

“Who is John Cheek and why is it urgent for us to pray for him?” Thank you for asking.

To look at John one would not suspect that he is a retired police officer; he lacks the chiseled physique many of us imagine for our stereotypical cop. To listen to John one would strain to imagine how one with such a gentle and kind demeanor could have prospered for 20+ years on the mean streets of Tucson. To see him now, serving in one of his two churches, Northminster Tucson or First Silver City, one encounters a healer, a caregiver, an exemplar among those who follow Jesus.

As a pastor and retired police officer, John Cheek is uniquely positioned to facilitate a conversation between law enforcement and the communities they have sworn to protect and to serve. Such a conversation, if it occurred, could create the kind of dialogue that might lead law enforcement agencies to allow growth, transformation and real, institutional change. In a sense, John has in his training, life experience and personal character the ability to serve as a bridge in this most necessary of conversations. And John feels called by God to be that bridge.

How can one person, one pastor, help create the kind of dialogue where events in Baton Rouge and Dallas become the exception rather than the rule? I don’t really know. What I do know is that God is in the business of working through people, often a single person: Moses, Naomi, Elijah, Esther, Elisha, Mary and Paul. What seems inevitable is that once that one person says “Yes” to the solitary call of God upon their lives other folk, a remnant, present themselves and then, before we know from whence it came, a movement.

As we pray for John, that his sense of call to be a peacemaker along the Way of Jesus be blessed of the Spirit’s wisdom and courage, let us also ask ourselves: what is the one thing that I can do with my training, life experience and personal character to be part of the solution? I ask this question without prejudice in this debate: for me, the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements are not mutually exclusive. In the eyes of God, everyone matters. You matter. And what you do matters. So what will you do?

What I will do is this: I commit to learning more about what some call “white privilege.” I want to deepen my understanding of the ways my life is privileged and the ways that my lifestyle or choices may be unintentionally contributing to the problem of unequal justice before the law in this country. I do not consider myself a racist but am willing to wonder what attitudes and actions may be contributing to racism as a systemic expression of our American culture.

I do not ask you to make the same commitment that I am making. I only ask that you ask God to show you what He has for you to do. And if you can think of nothing else, pray for John Cheek.

Grace to you today and always,

Brad Munroe

Ignite the Spark! Leadership Transformation Event: August 19th

Like humans, churches have life cycles. It is a natural process, but it can be a scary thing when membership plateaus and attendance begins to decline.  Recognizing the causes will help in deciding on a course of action.  The Presbyteries of de Cristo and Grand Canyon have received a grant to aid in helping congregations to begin and continue a transformational way of life.  Transformation is the process of intentionally moving into a new reality and way of being that helps congregations envision what God is calling them to be for their community and for the Kingdom of God.  All churches are in some state of being transformed and presbyteries must have resources available to assist them.

These workshops are free to pastors and congregational leaders (limit 3 ruling elders per church, plus a church’s teaching elders) and available on a first-come, first served basis.  Registration includes a meal, workshop registration and hotel for anyone travelling over 50 miles to attend.

Our first Ignite the Spark! event will be August 19, 2016 with the Rev. Dr. Tom Tewell. This initial Ignite the Spark! event will be from 1:00 p.m.- 8:00 p.m. at Northminster PC, Tucson and will include a catered dinner.

The Rev. Dr. Tom Tewell, executive director of Macedonian Ministries in Atlanta, will lead our initial Ignite the Spark! on the topic of congregational transformation. Drawing on his 35 years of parish ministry experience, Tom will provide some best practices in ministry he has gathered that pastors and church leaders can apply in their congregations.  Macedonian Ministries is a ministry that resources pastors and mid-councils throughout the U.S. and in Scotland for the sake of learning best practices that help pastor’s both broaden and deepen their leadership skill set as they in turn help their congregation’s rediscover their missional identity and vitality. Dr. Tewell is the former pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City as well as Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston. To register for the August 19 Ignite the Spark!click here.

I look forward to seeing how God will work among us,

Brad Munroe

Rediscovering Stewardship Nurturing Generous Hearts 2.0

Does your congregation wrestle with its budget? Does your Session desire to deepen or broaden your congregation’s mission budget yet struggle to pay staff? Is the “stewardship campaign” only a fall event or series?
As I travel to General Assembly, I want to point you and your congregation’s finance leaders in the direction of synod. We are privileged to host this year’s national training for synods: Nurturing Generous Hearts II. For a mere $75 per person ($50 for commuters), you get three days of conference with two nights room and seven meals in our very own backyard. No traveling east is necessary. No planes or trains, just automobiles.
The keynote speakers will be the Rev. Dr. Karl Travis, senior pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas and Grace Duddy Pomroy, co-author of the book Embracing Stewardship. In addition to our keynoters and worship led by the Rev. Shannon Webster, (who some of you may remember as the former executive presbyter of Sierra Blanca Presbytery), there will be workshops for small and large congregations, for preachers and finance committees, for multi-racial and multi-cultural communities, for creating narrative budgets and asset based budgets, for creating glad and generous giving that is an expression of our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Did I say that all this is available for the low, low price of $75? I think I did. What I have not mentioned yet is that Nurturing Generous Hearts II will be held Thursday, August 25 – 27, 2016 at the Hilton Phoenix Airport Hotel just east of Sky Harbor. Oh, and registration opened yesterday at www.synod.org.

If you or anyone on your church’s Session answered yes to one of the three questions in my opening paragraph, you need to send your pastors and a contingent of elders to Nurturing Generous Hearts II. It is long overdue for pastors to become comfortable talking about money, for elders to envision stewardship as an essential component of discipleship, and for congregants to learn the joy of developing lifestyles of thankfulness and generosity as the inevitable response to living in the grace of Jesus Christ!

Stewardship is the new cool,

Brad Munroe

Westward Ho! General Assembly and Evangelism

The most exciting action taken at the General Assembly in Portland, June 18-25, will be among the least widely reported. What will absorb all the oxygen in the newsroom (and around coffee pots in local congregation’s fellowship halls) will be whatever controversial action taken by the Assembly by a 51% to 49% vote. However, in my humble opinion, the most exciting action that will be taken is the celebration and republication of Turn to the Living God: A Call to Evangelism in Jesus Christ’s Way.

Turn to the Living God was first published in 1991 so 2016 commemorates the 25^th anniversary of its publication. It is as relevant today as it has ever been; as true today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). As the publishers write in a preface to this anniversary edition:

The church is continuing to learn how to exist in a post-modern and post-Christian society…at the same time, one-third of the world’s population is yet to be exposed to the message of our triune God’s love in Jesus Christ in culturally appropriate ways…We have an outwardly focused mission to proclaim our faith to the ends of the earth.

Turn to the Living God is quintessentially Presbyterian, acknowledging our tendency toward “restraint” when it comes to evangelism yet mining our deep well of Scripture study and confessional heritage in ways that are accessible to readers with and without seminary degrees. What is perhaps more important in terms of our Presbyterian heritage and ethos is that it breaks down the false polarity of justice vs. evangelism to show how, in Jesus Christ, they are a double-helix, our Reformed DNA. As the final section, “The Wholeness of Evangelism,” suggests, Presbyterian evangelism is “the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.”

I commend to you Turn to the Living God either for personal or communal study.* There is something for every congregation in our presbytery to like in this study, as well as things that will challenge every congregation. Where will you see yourself or your congregation and say, “Ah! That’s me. That’s us.” Where will you see yourself or your congregation and say, “Hmmm…perhaps I / we have need to grow deeper and wider in the salvation and shalom of Jesus.”

To read Turn to the Living God: A Call to Evangelism in Jesus Christ’s Way just google the title or follow this link: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/wp-content/uploads/Turn-to-the-Living-God-25th-Anniversary-Edition.pdf.

Seeking a Wide and Generous Orthodoxy,

Brad Munroe

Westward Ho! General Assembly and Social Witness

At the General Assembly in Portland, June 18-25, one of the big discussion points will revolve around “social witness.” I cringe when I use this term because I fear that some of you, O Faithful Readers, hear “politics” when someone from the denomination says “social witness.” Alas, I must confess that I would prefer to keep social witness and politics in separate realms for the sake of lowering the temperature of discord within our congregations, yet do I acknowledge that the biblical mandate to “let justice roll down like a river” (Amos 5:24) and to “do justice” (Micah 6:8), in our democratic republic, often necessitates their intimate conversation. With this conversation in mind, I share two perspectives that will be presented in Portland.

One perspective in the conversation about developing social witness policy comes from Chris Iosso of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, who wrote a commentary in The Presbyterian Outlook on the Middle East report:

The study team made two Christian theological decisions:First, it would avoid the distraction of devising political solutions, at which diplomats have failed for many years. Second, it would apply universal and explicitly Christian values [and] foster relationships with partners who share its values, be they Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or secular...

To witness to Presbyterian values for a just peace, the report hears the Palestinian Christian call fornonviolent economic pressure for freedom, dignity and a larger role for the UN/ international law.“At the same time,” the report does not absolve Palestinian leadership for “decisions ...that discourage new leadership and ... passivity....”

What I hear in Mr. Iosso’s commentary is a wrestling with what the Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called “Christian Realism,” which is an approach to ethics that seeks to balance the radical idealism of Gospel imperatives with the earthy realities of culture, society and political discourse. That is, how can the Church or the individual Jesus follower best seek justice in a broken and divided world where (a) there are no perfect solutions yet (b) ideals should not be abandoned? Is there a way to balance the need for realism with the call of idealism?

A second perspective in the conversation about developing social witness policy comes from Foothills Presbytery, who has proposed an overture that says, essentially, that the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy take a sabbatical from writing social witness policy for the General Assembly to affirm and instead direct their energies toward writing curriculum that will help congregations and presbyteries engage in ethical study of “both” (“both” is how the Foothills overture reads but I would argue the word “multiple” is more appropriate) sides of a debate. The value of this Foothills overture, as I see it, is that it will deepen in constructive ways the church’s involvement in social witness by helping congregants and pastors wrestle together with ethical insights with which they already agree and insights that may be new to them. In a culture of narrow-casting, where people are fed information predominantly from single source perspectives, such wrestling with multiple perspectives cannot help but deepen and nourish our ethical conversations, for it is in the wrestling with God and one another that we are given a new name (Genesis 32:24-28). The constructive critique of this Foothills overture is that it may diminish the denomination’s prophetic witness by avoiding a single, monolithic word from the highest council of the church. It will be interesting to see what the Assembly does and how the commissioners wrestle with God and one another!
 

We shall overcome some day,

Brad Munroe