Presbyteries & presbymergent

Though on the longer side, this episode is rich with hope for possibilities of our church structures, and ourselves, flourishing in the midst of chaos.

Between recording the opening context essay of the episode and now posting this episode (…please pray for me that future episodes take less time to complete…) the post Concerning Exegesis put words to something I couldn’t quite explain. Why are there natural ties between traditionally mission focused Presbyterians and presbymergents? As that post highlights, we share a desire do thoughtful exegesis of culture, and both gain from writers such as Lesslie Newbigin. This podcast and that posting providentially complement one another as we explore the mission before us.

Episode 02: Vera White, Pittsburgh Presbytery

Vera White is the Pittsburgh Presbytery Director of New Church Development, Stewardship, and the Committee on Ministry. This episode has two main themes that Vera develops in her sharing: presbymergent oriented leadership and presbytery-wide support of presbymergent NCDs. Vera’s role in Pittsburgh Presbytery provides a valuable collection of wisdom for any PC(USA) leader or governing body engaging with presbymergent.

Interspersed among this episode’s pictures are paintings from the walls of a tattoo parlor, created by an artist connected to one of the Presbytery’s NCDs. (BTW if you look with care at the picture that resembles ‘The Last Supper,’ you will realize why it is called ‘The Last Tattoo.’)

• Pittsburgh Presbytery
• Pittsburgh Presbytery’s NCD plan, core values and year one benchmarks

You can download the episode here. Or you can download the file in MP3 format here.

The next podcast will take us beyond Pittsburgh, all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, for an interview with one of the first presbymergent NCD pastors Bruce Reyes-Chow, who is now also a candidate for moderator of the upcoming General Assembly.