My son David and Thousand Year Star Productions

Some pictures by my son David and his new web site.

The first a sunflower from my garden. The next some of my tomatoes before they began to ripen.

Brothers; you can surely tell.

Roses from my garden; they bloomed like a wedding bouquet. Some members of a good Presbyterian family : ) Three are not pictured including a wonderful son-in-law. The mother of my great grand-child. She did design the pretty tattoo on her leg.

My son David is entering the world of film and photography. Here is his new web site. Thousand Year Star Productions. Be sure to visit this part of his site where he has a wedding highlights video on U-Tube.

The Surprising thoughts of a ten year old

Up-date! Okay I am in trouble this child is ten! If you had seventeen grandchildren you might make that mistake too!

It’s surprising the concepts and understanding a TEN year old child can have, as well as the compassion. One of my granddaughters sent me a get well card she made today.

Like Sherman’s march to the sea the shingles have been marching steadily across the upper part of the right side of my face for the last several days coming a bit too close to one of my eyes for comfort. If any thing I write sounds strange just blame it on the steroids and the pain pills!

Anyway, the card: The front page has a beautiful traced leaf, and the words “life has good things.”

On the inside left page she has drawn pictures. There is a lightening streak with the word “pain,” and a broken ring with the words “divorce.” (No we are not getting a divorce no matter how badly I look at the moment!)

There is fire with the words “anger” and a person falling down into the middle of some water with the words “loneliness.”

There is a rose falling apart with the words “ended love” and a tear drop with “sadness.” There are a lot of dark lines and scary eyes with the word “scariness.” And finally right in the middle are the words “But Life has bad things.”

But on the right-hand page are the words “And I know God can help you through it all! Get well soon!

And just for fun on the backside it says Egg Cards.

So I would like to share. For anyone else out there that has a rebel Sherman marching through your life at the moment may the Lord bring comfort your way.

The Confession of the Church 9

I remember when the Confessing Churches in the Presbyterian Church USA formed. That was around the time I started writing for renewal groups in the Church, in particular, for Voices of Orthodox Women. The Confessing Churches did not write a Confession of Faith.

They did ascribe to three statements they wanted to emphasize. But they were roundly criticized for their name and their statements. This is what the ninth character of a Confession of Faith is about. Arthur C. Cochrane in his book The Church’s Confession Under Hitler using his chapter on the nature of a Confession of faith explains:

“A genuine Confession of Faith invariably provokes opposition from the false church and from the world precisely because in its witness to God’s free grace for all people it constitutes a radical attack upon the false Church and the world. As a fighting action of the Church it runs against the stream. According to Matt., ch. 10, the confessors will be hated by all men. A man’s foes will be those of his own household, and he will be dragged before governors and kings for Christ’s sake.”

Of course in the United States you can only throw words not stones.

Cochrane points out that a Confession of Faith will not only affirm the faith but also condemn those prevailing heresies of the era.

He writes of the damnamus of a Confession:

“A genuine Confession, therefore, will not merely confess, declare, and teach; implicitly or explicitly, it will also condemn, reject, and anathematize the opposing error. … This feature of a Confession has often been lamented and denounced on the ground of its intolerance and lovelessness.

The truth is that the negative exists for the sake of the positive, for the sake of definiteness and clarity, Hitler had no objections to Christians who confessed that Jesus is Lord; but he was enraged when they confessed that Jesus is Lord and Hitler is not.

Moreover, the damnamus, like the woes Jesus pronounced upon the Pharisees, has to be uttered just for the sake of a genuine love for the erring brethren. To spare them the anathema would be neither loving nor truthful. Obviously the anathema ought not to be excised rashly or self-righteously. But if we do not have the confidence to say ‘we condemn,’ if we still want to indulge in innocuous sweet-sounding affirmations that can neither give offense nor engender strong loyalties, then it is a sure sign that we are not ready to confess at all.” (I have divided this paragraph up into three parts to make it easier reading.)

I have mostly quoted from Cochrane's book for this posting. I think what Cochrane has to say under his ninth point is so important, now, in the United States at a time when we are so careful not to offend. Diversity is a wonderful word when it is not used to undermine the faith of the church by placing untruths beside truth.

I know a small PCUSA church in my town whose diversity is amazing. People of many ethnic groups attend. There is a wide range of ages, and members include both those who are single and many families. There are many differing personalities that attend. I know this because my Daughter and Son-in-law and their large and "diverse" family attend. Yet, most members stand upon the firm foundation that includes faithfulness to Scripture, faithfulness to Jesus Christ as Lord and faithfulness to each other. This is a proper use of the word diversity for the Church of Jesus Christ. We have a choice to either offend the world or offend Jesus Christ.

Links to Organizations and Individuals who are providing a direction for faithfulness

Links to information for those who are concerned about the actions of the 2008 General Assembly.

Several renewal organizations and individuals are doing excellent work pointing out a direction for those in the PCUSA who are Evangelical, Reformed and orthodox. They are attempting to help individuals and Churches stay and in that staying be faithful to Jesus Christ. Since I have been part of one forum on the GA and will help with another Sunday night I want to place a group of links on my blog where others might find help. It is meant as a resource for others to use.

I am posting them here and will later put them on the side of my blog :

Presbyterians for Renewal: This site has many good articles and ideas.

The Presbyterian Coalition This is a group that has been faithful for many years. They still are with many great ideas and perseverance.

Rev Dr. Mark Roberts , Senior Director and Scholar in Residence at Laity Lodge in Tex, has been blogging on this subject since General Assembly. (with a few breaks)

Michael Walker, Theologian in Residence at Highland Presbyterian Church in Dallas Tex, at Regula Fidei has just began an excellent series "What Way Ahead?"

New Wineskins Association of Churches, While some of the Churches belonging to this group have and are leaving the PCUSA there are many who are not. I know there is compassionate fellowship here.

In addition to this for news of the whole Church the best spot is Presbyweb whose founder and web master is Hans Cornelder. This is a subscription site but not expensive and well worth it.

And finally here is a posting by Robert Austell, Pastor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Charlotte NC. I think his posting says all that can be said: some things are bigger than GA.

All of the renewal groups can be found here: http://www.ppl.org/renewal.html.

I will undoubtedly add more sites to this list.

Responding to the Moderator's Presbymeme

I saw a Moderator Monday: Presbymeme II put together by Bruce Reyes-Chow. The questions are very interesting and I decided to break into my blogging on the Church’s Confession and do the meme.

What is your favorite faith-based hymn, song or chorus.

“There is a fountain filled with Blood.” I have loved this hymn ever since I became a Christian as a teenager. Here are two of the verses I particularly like.

“Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.”

When looking this up on Cyber Hymnal I found a last verse I had never seen before.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!’
Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

(I'm thinking my husband a piano tuner, might enjoy that third line.)

What was the context, content and/or topic of the last sermon that truly touched, convicted, inspired, challenged, comforted and/or otherwise moved you?

Lately, I have listened to a lot of good sermons, at my church and other places. I think Robert Austell ‘s sermon “Dazed and Confused,” which he just recently posted is excellent and relevant for this time in our denomination. A sermon that I recently listened to on the internet was preached by Thabiti Anyabwile. He is an African American who pastors a Church in the Cayman Islands. His sermon “Bearing the Image: Identity, the Work of Christ, and the Church” is about race issues and is so very significant for the Presbyterian Church USA. To give you a hint he doesn’t believe in the word race. You can hear it here scroll all the way down.

If you could have all Presbyterians read just one of your previous posts, what would it be and why?

I think Paul Schneider: A Chestnut Tree and the Confessing Church, is one of my favorites for several reasons. It includes several of my passions, first of all Jesus Christ and the Church, second, history and that of a time I am extremely interested in, and finally it led to a discussion on anti-Semitism a subject that needs to be explored in all the mainline churches. (I also like the picture)

What are three PC(USA) flavored blogs you read on a regular basis?

This one is very hard because I read a lot of blogs. Bruce has already listed Toby Brown and Mark Roberts so I can’t list them : ) I do enjoy reading Michael Kruse, The Berkley Blog, and Taking the Ring.

If the PC(USA) were a movie, what would it be and why?

I am thinking of a movie from my teenage years, “The Robe.” The main character played by Richard Burton roams all over the country side of New Testament Israel looking for Jesus’ robe because he thinks it is causing his madness. (He is the soldier who was in command at Jesus’ crucifixion.) Instead he finds Jesus’ disciples who lead him to Christ. It seems to me our church is roaming in the wilderness looking for (robes) answers for our own particular form of madness. I pray we will all end up with Jesus Christ as our only Lord.

I tag Debbie Berkley at Taking the Ring.
And Barb Moody at I was just thinking..., which will mess up her weekly schedule, sorry.
And Toby Brown.

The Confession of the Church 8

The Confession of the Church must speak to the political and social issues of its historical time. Arthur Cochrane, in his book The Church’s Confession Under Hitler, writes about the moral focus of the Church’s Confession. His eighth character of a Confession of Faith:

“A Confession of faith not only is relevant for the Church’s own doctrine and life but bears definite implications for concrete social and political issues. This is the ethical character of a Confession. It possesses both ecclesiastical and secular significance. It is a witness to Christ before the Church and the World. It does not shrink from dealing with concrete issues such as racialism, anti-Semitism, nationalism, Fascism and Communism, militarism and economic exploitation. In short, it is relevant for social and political justice, freedom, and peace. A confession which lacked this dimension would not be a true Confession; a Church that neglected to draw the implications of its Confession for the social and political order and that was concerned only about the purity of its own teaching and piety would certainly not be a Confessing Church—not the one, holy, catholic Church of Christ. For then it would have denied that Christ died for the world, and that it has been elected and called to serve the world with its message of God’s grace for all people.”

This is a long statement, but I felt it was very important to draw Cochrane’s whole conclusions out.

The Church does not simply live within its own walls holding onto its tenets as a kind of quietist monastic community, but instead it brings to the world a message of good news. That good news of God’s grace is without question contained in the life, the redeeming death and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That is in fact Cochrane’s first characteristic of a Confession of Faith. “It confesses a Living Person who is the Lord and thus calls for a personal relationship of trust and obedience to him …” Such trust and obedience will shape the Church’s view of the world. And the Church’s view of the world will shape how she serves those in both the Church and the world. And that is both political and social.

Cochrane adds some historical information to show how this was worked out in the Confessing Church. Ten men drew up a memorandum which was sent to the Confessing Synods, to Hitler and to a person who leaked it to the foreign press before it was seen by Nazi government officials. Of the three men who made sure it was read outside of Germany, Dr. Friedrich Weissler was “the first martyr of the Confessing Church”

The Memorandum is an appendix in Cochrane’s book. The authors, among many other complaints, protest young people being sent to work camps where they are not allowed Christian literature. They protest the concentration camps in Germany. They protest the arbitrariness of the law courts and unchristian oaths of allegiance. They protest the attempt to dechristianize the German people.

They write, “When even high authorities in the State and in the Party publicly assail the Christian faith … Church members are more and more enmeshed in their unbelief, the waverers and the doubters are made completely uncertain and are driven to defection. Grave danger, as a matter of fact, exists that the Evangelical youth will be prevented from coming to Him who is the only Savior of German as will as other boys and girls.”

The Confession of the Church 7

These times in the Presbyterian Church (USA) require special attention to the word of God and the Confessions of the Church. In the introduction to his book, The Church’s Confession Under Hitler, Arthur C. Cochrane writes:

“First, a Confession of Faith involves a conflict not merely between theological schools within the Church but a conflict between the true and false Church, a conflict that divides the Churches. While love for the erring brethren may still prevail, the division is extremely painful and deep wounds are inflicted. … Secondly, a Confession of Faith is a decision in which ‘the first shall be last, and the last shall be first,’ and none may glory save in the Lord!”

At the end of March I wrote my last posting on the Confession of the Church with, The Confession of the Church 6. I am now returning to that topic with four more postings. This is the first and covers the seventh point from the chapter “The nature of a confession of faith.”1

The seventh character of a Confession of Faith is:

“It occurs when the Church is convinced that its faith and unity are ‘grievously imperiled’ by a heresy that has ripened and come to a head. This is the dogmatic character of a Confession.”

Cochrane names the heresy. It belonged to the German Christians “who taught that in addition to God’s revelation in Christ attested by Scripture there is a natural revelation in nature and history …” For the German Christians that additional revelation in history and nature was found in “German blood, race, and soil, and in the event of the National Socialist revolution and rebirth of the German soul.”

Notice here the basic heresy was adding another revelation to the revelation that God had already given in Christ. This is a heresy whatever the additional revelation might be. And it has found a home in our own faith institutions. Our own heresy has its roots in the same errors that plagued the German Church during its modern history.

Cochrane points out that this was a heretical view that was “the culmination of the errors of the theology of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.” And then he goes on to quote Pastor Hans Asmussen who gave the address to those gathered at the Synod of Barmen:

“We are raising a protest against the same phenomenon that has been slowly preparing the way for the devastation of the Church for more than two hundred years. For it is only a relative difference whether, beside Holy Scripture, in the Church historical events, or reason, culture, aesthetic feelings, progress, or other powers and figures are said to be binding claims upon the Church.”

When some in the Church, in any age including our own, lift up additional revelation not based in Scripture it is they who break the unity of the Church, because in appealing to other foundations they divide the Church’s loyalty between two masters. Neither reason nor historical events; neither culture nor progress; there is no other foundation but Jesus Christ.

“Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9)

1 Those who formulated the Declaration of Barmen also laid out some practical steps for being the Church in a time of division and crisis. This can be found under Barmen as “III. Resolution of the Confessional Synod of the German Evangelical Church,” found in The Church's Confession Under Hitler. I will write on some of their practicalities when I am finished with this series.