Why I am Presbymergent
I’ve attempted to place a finger on the exact reason I feel called to be a part of this Presbymergent community, this emerging conversation about faith, theology, and our tradition. I’ve thought about my own background, growing up in a Presbyterian church, going through membership as a youth, and understanding the great community I was joining as something of significance and as a place where God had been active for years and was continuing to be active. I’ve also examined the way my faith has shifted over the last 5 years, as I went off to college, where my worldview and perspective developed and I was challenged to reflect on what I believed, who I was. All of these things shape my engagement into this emerging conversation. I doubt my story is that unique from others out there who are starting to engage these new ideas within their own traditions.
Earlier this week, I sent some of my thoughts about this new community, Presbymergent, to my pastor and asked for his input on what I have been thinking. He responded to my thoughts and to the question of being emergent within our mainline, PC(USA) denomination by recalling Jesus’ parable of the new wine and new wineskins. He mentioned that the wine skin of the PC(USA) might have room for some new wine from the emergent movement, some room for evaluating our ideas and seeing Jesus in new and exciting ways within our communities. His caution was that we focus on the wineskins alone and forget to focus on the wine, Jesus, in light of working out all of these details.
Our conversation needs to center on Christ and how he impacts our churches in ways that shape our future and open the doors to a world in need. I’m excited to think that I belong to a church and denomination that has such a rich tradition and a strong theological base that would allow us to ask new questions and be willing to see our ways of doing church in a new light. It’s exciting to see that people of the PC(USA) are finding themselves asking “emerging” questions and being willing to honestly evaluate the way the Holy Spirit is being active in their communities with a willingness to develop new forms of worship and learning.
So, what does it mean to be “Presbymergent”? How does one practice emergence in their PC(USA) community? Clearly, from all the discussion on this site, from all the books and articles and conferences we’ve all taken in, there are many ways, many “right” ways, of engaging emergence into a new kind of community. We need to be Presbyterians who seek the best for our congregations. We need to be active in our churches and not let the “old ways” frustrate us or stifle our creativity. We also need to honor those who have founded and been faithful to our communities and teach each other how to ask questions about where God is leading our churches over the long run. And we need to exercise grace and humility as we face challenges along the road to becoming Presbymergent churches. As God leads this reformation of our theologies, our ways of doing church, and the ways our churches impact the world, there have and will continue to be hiccups and setbacks, as well as encouraging breakthroughs and exciting moments of divine presence.
I believe this dialogue that begun here at Presbymergent is a positive step for all of us. We have begun to lay out ways in which we will be faithful to our church and denomination, but also be willing to ask new questions. I really like this term “loyal radical” that has been brought up in our discussion. I feel very loyal to the people who have shaped my life in church, in the PC(USA) church. And yet, I feel a radical call by God to move forward and open wide for the new wine of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing action to flow through us and continue to make all things new. It is a pleasure to journey out in this with all of you.
written by Seth Thomas
Twenty-Three
Comment by Drew on 7 February 2007:
true dat.
Comment by Jan on 7 February 2007:
Hi Seth –
Your reflections resonate with me. One word that stood out was WINESKINS. Yes, we need to focus on the wine (as well as the wineskin) but I was also remembering the group within our PCUSA called New Wineskins which is meeting this week in Orlando:
http://www.newwineconvo.com/
Among their hopes is to make some decisions about leaving the denomination. My hope is that we will pray for that meeting – that God’s will is done. I’m not sure what else to say about them.
Thanks for your words.
Comment by Tom Robinson on 7 February 2007:
I find all of this conversation about the Emerging Church to be very exciting. As a guy in his late 50’s who is sometimes embarassed by his ‘modernism,’ the exchange in these posts are eye-opening and mind-broadening. At the Presbytery of the Western Reserve here in the Cleveland, OH area, we have a young woman who is trying to get an Emerging Church going as part of an NCD. It’s a delight to see her eyes light up at the possiblity, and to know that the church is open to new ways of connecting.
Comment by Adam Walker Cleaveland on 7 February 2007:
Tom – how is your Presbytery receiving this young woman? How much freedom and financial support are they giving? How do they respond when she shares her dreams and desires for an emerging NCD?
Comment by Tom Robinson on 8 February 2007:
Hi Adam – it’s still early yet. I’ll bet more than half of the ministers of this presbytery don’t even know what an ‘Emergent Church’ is yet. As is obvious by many of the postings, neither do a lot of us who are yearning to learn. But there will be an educational event before the Presbytery meeting in May to talk about the Emerging Church. I’ll be leading and will be using the material given by thethoughtfulchristian.com site. If there is a better source I would be glad to hear of it.
As far as how well this woman is received – she is the daughter of one of the longtime ministers here, so she has a good history. I think people will be supportive, but how deep that will be remains to be seen. Will it be a condescending tap on the head, ‘oh how nice’ kind of thing? I really hope not. Another danger would be – again as reflected here – of looking at this as a way to show off to those in their 20’s and 30’s that the church is ‘cool.’ I hope there is a real recognition that we need a new outlook on sharing the Gospel across a lot of lines, and this can be a big step in that direction. Time will tell.
Comment by Neal Locke on 8 February 2007:
Tom — I suspect you’re talking about Meredith. She’s incredible, and will make a great leader for your Presbytery and for the community she develops. I’d encourage you to do everything you can to support her and her ministry. She’s very much in tune with God and the culture that surrounds us.
Comment by phoenix on 8 February 2007:
Hello Friends
It would appear that my reputation has preceded me – and, for once, it is a good thing. Although I have been registered with this site for a little while now, I have found that this New Church Development stuff takes quite a bit of time and I haven’t had much chance to join the conversation. Although I am probably showing up as Phoenix, my name is Meredith and I’m the project leader for the Phoenix Project in the Presbytery of the Western Reserve.
I am looking forward to spending some time with the community at Presbymergent so that I can hopefully finally have a good answer for people who say ‘what is this emergent thing anyway’. It seems too simple to say – it’s what emerges when people get together and celebrate the presence of the divine in their midst. Although I think in many ways, that is exactly what it is. I have recently been reflecting on the idea that ‘emergent’ is less about a particular manifestation of Church and more about a movement that is happening in all of our churches as we reconnect with that same divine presence that inspired us in the first place. Hopefully I will be able to speak more about that later.
As for how I am being received by my Presbytery, I can only say that for the moment it is with open arms and blessings. I don’t think everyone fully understands the project but my impression is that everyone wants to see the church move and grow in the spirit, whereever it may lead. We’ll see what happens when it leads us to mohawk wearing techno-punks showing up at Presbytery meetings, but that may not happen right away.
note to neal – thanks for the encouragement and the kindness – I’m going to take some time to read what’s here but I’m sure I will have more to say as the conversation progresses.