ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS: LEADERSHIP PRINCIPALS FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERS

Over at Bayou Christian, Bill Crawford has begun an examination of Christian leadership. While he writes in terms of pastors, what he has to say is applicable to all leaders in the Church. He says

. . . people need Good, Average, Leadership.

Good - biblical, humble, risk taking, passionate proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. In other words - orthodoxy no matter what. It can't be man made it has to be God breathed.

Average - I don't need to be excellent, outstanding, or special. I need to saddle up and ride every day. I need to be there on the sunny days, and the dark days, I need to be where the hurt is and where the laughter is. I need to be huggable. Average is a daily thing and I think it is good.

Leadership - Passionate refusal to allow people to settle for whatever life throws at them. A constant desire to point to Jesus, and head in that direction. Nothing flamboyant, just is. Someone who speaks up even at the risk of being wrong. Sure you will take some shots. But you know what? I believe the folks in the pews, they deserve our risk taking. They deserve our best - because those folks are the Kingdom here on earth, they are children of the God most high. I have learned to love them and if you don't - you're not a leader. If they mistreat you - that's why there are pastors in the first place.

His excellent comments took me back 42 years to a hot Butler building (a corrugated steel "temporary" building of WWII vintage) classroom at Camp Upshur aboard Marine Corps Base, Quantico. As brand new officer candidates, 600 of us were introduced to the leadership principles and traits that nearly 200 years of Marine Corps combat experience had distilled into useable form.

Reading Bill's comments, I found that much of what he wrote was right on, rekindling my understanding that leadership is both instinctive and a teachable skill.

The Leadership Principles are:

KNOW YOURSELF AND SEEK SELF IMPROVEMENT

BE TECHNICALLY AND TACTICALLY PROFICIENT

DEVELOP A STRONG SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY AMONG YOUR SUBORDINATES

MAKE SOUND AND TIMELY DECISIONS

SET THE EXAMPLEs

KNOW YOUR MARINES AND LOOK OUT FOR THEIR WELFARE

KEEP YOUR MARINES INFORMED

SEEK RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS

ENSURE ASSIGNED TASKS ARE UNDERSTOOD, SUPERVISED, AND ACCOMPLISHED

TRAIN YOUR MARINES AS A TEAM

EMPLOY YOUR COMMAND IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS CAPABILITIES

The Leadership Traits, posted as large sacrlet and gold signs in nearly every barracks and command post I have entered, are:

DEPENDABILITY -- the certainty of proper performance of duty.

BEARING -- creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance and personalconduct at all times.

COURAGE -- the mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a man to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.

DECISIVENESS -- ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in clear, forceful manner.

ENDURANCE -- the mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress and hardship.

ENTHUSIASM -- the display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.

INITIATIVE -- taking action in the absence of orders.

INTEGRITY -- uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles; includes the qualities of truthfulness and honesty.

JUDGMENT -- the ability to weigh facts and possible solutions on which to base sound decisions.

JUSTICE -- giving reward and punishment according to merits of the case in question. the ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.

KNOWLEDGE -- understanding of a science or an art; the range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.

TACT -- the ability to deal with others without creating offense.

UNSELFISHNESS -- avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.

LOYALTY -- the quality of faithfulness to Country, the Corps, the unit, to one's seniors, subordinates and peers.


I'll start with a minor semantic disagreement over Bill's use of the word "average.". He says, "I don't need to be excellent, outstanding, or special. I need to saddle up and ride every day. I need to be there on the sunny days, and the dark days, I need to be where the hurt is and where the laughter is. I need to be huggable. Average is a daily thing and I think it is good."

Hold on, there, Bayou! A leader cannot, by definition, be "average."

I think what Bill is saying is that a leader need not -- cannot -- be "elitist." Leadership is not limited to only those few fortunates who are "naturals" at it. With proper desire and some training, almost anyone can become an effective leader. Generations of officers of Marines have been trained to be leaders. Sergeants and Corporals, the backbone of the Corps, are trained and become leaders.

Look at Bill's working definition, and we see that he is describing a person who is far from average in the popular sense of the word. Using his definition, a leader is one who works to be ready for whatever task comes down the pike, who shows up, day in and day out, rain or shine, who is dependable and caring. The leader is not afraid of hurt and is able to give both hugs and kicks in the rear when needed. It is, indeed, ". . .a daily thing."

One of the traits of leaders that I have observed is that they groom and train the next generation of leaders. So potential leaders need not be afraid to assume their tasks simply because they are "only average."


Tomorrow, we will see how both match up with what Bill has written.

ANOTHER VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL GOES INTO THE RECORD BOOKS

This past week we conducted our Vacation Bible School. As always, it was hectic but oh so rewarding. We had an average of nearly 70 kids each night--from toddlers to Jr. High.

This year we added the Jr. High (grades 6-8) to our program and had 18 kids show up. We had expected 6 to 8, so getting a handle on a herd of kids that age was an adventure for the three of us teaching the group. Many of the kids do not regularly attend our church, but came because their home church does not have a VBS.

As I have experienced before when teaching Jr and Sr High Sunday School classes, it was a little daunting to be invited into their strange little world for a couple of hours, and I was happy to get out each night. What we found is good news--they are clearly products of today's society, but when offered a chance to study God's holy Word, to think about what it means, and to try to apply it to their daily lives, they seize on the opportunity.

One of the nightly topics was "Jesus gives us the power to tell others about Him." That led to a discussion about a local public school that does not allow students to mention the name of Jesus because it might be offensive to other students, although they may discuss Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and wicca (and, believe me, they know what wicca is!!!). That led to ideas which included, witness through behavior, one-on-one witness, texting, im-ing, and even something as "old fashioned" as e-mail. Ouch!

We start planning next year's VBS in September. I can't wait.

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

Presabyterian Gal (http://presbyteriangal.blogspot.com/) posted this list of 100 books that the NEA names as its "top 100." They estimate that the average adult has only read 6 of them. I have bolded the ones I have read, 35 in number and far behind her 49.


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

There are a few that I have started and just couldn't finish, i.e., To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye,Crime and Punishment, Catch 22, and Watership Down.

I am also intrigued by some that are missing. I would have included Killer Angels - Michael Shara, Treasure Island and A Child's Garden of Verses - Robert Louis Stevenson, Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurty, The Virginian - Owen Wister, and the collected works of Rudyard Kipling, especially Barrack Room Ballads, Captains Courageous, and Kim. And I recommend Fields of Fire by my old shipmate and now US Senator Jim Webb, possibly the best novel to come out of the Vietnam War.

What say ye?

ANOTHER FOURTH

And this one was pretty cool. With friends and neighbors, 22 of us "tubed" down the Delaware River. Jumper girl and her best friend, Bren, floated with other kids, and I saw little of her except for the splashes and flying nerf footballs. Lots of laughs, giggles and the joy of being old enough to let go of Daddy's hand (darn it) and adventure on her own.

Bionicle Boy has started that break--this year, we did not tie our tubes together. However, he was rarely out of arm's reach after the first hour of the three hour trip. I ended up towing him (literally, "toeing" him as he grabbed my foot) the rest of the way. He either held my foot while I stroked or held my hand as we floated together.

At one point when we were separated by about twenty yards, he was standing on the rocky bottom and lost one of his water shoes. "Dad. Dad! DAD!! I lost my shoe!"

I was downstream, thinking, "And what, exactly, am I supposed to do about that?" when the shoe floated right to me about six inches under water. Daddy is a hero!!!!

Throughout the day, the conversation was great, especially when we saw a doe and two fawns on the shore. It just don't get much better'n that!

SWMBO was home with another migraine and really appreciated the quiet and the snuggling comfort of the three cats who really run the roost.

All was peaceful in an unpeaceful world.

As I drifted down that famous river, so close to the point where Washington's army made an icy crossing one long-ago Christmas night, I paused to reflect on the countless Americans who for over two centuries have consistently pledged and all too often offered up their their lives and fortunes as a matter of sacred honor in defense of the ideals of 1776. That, my friends, is a humbling exercise.

Semper Fi,

Mac

REFLECTIONS ON THE 218TH PC(USA) GA

A whole bunch of bloggers from all across the spectrum have commented on the results of the PC(USA) General Assembly which concluded last weekend. As in any sporting event, there are cheers from some and groans from others. I use the sports analogy rather than a religious one because the mud-wrestling contest held in San Jose bore little resemblance to a Biblically faithful exercise. It was hard-core, full contact politics.

For many of us, the most common adjectives were "worst ever," followed by "vindictive," and just plain "mean-spirited."

Among other things, the 218th GA:

- decided that Islam and Christianity worship exactly the same schizophrenic God (He believes that He sent His Son to atone for our sins on even-numbered days and sees Jesus only as a prophet, but a mere mortal, the rest of the time);

- removed all ordination standards, effectively renouncing both the sovereignty of God and the authority of Scripture;

- abandoned mission in favor of sponsoring coercive terrorism within the PC(USA);

- consolidated power in the bureaucracy in Louisville; and

- watered down the ordination questions (a la the refusal to establish essential tenets) so that they mean anything and thus, nothing.

The two big questions I have are these:

1. Will the most of the grass roots (Pat and Patty in the pews) even hear of the California Calamity? It seems to me that a lot of pastors (for any non-presbyterian readers, pastors are members of the presbytery and not their congregations) work diligently to ensure that their congregations are do not know, or even hear of, the denomination's repeated and ever-increasing departures from orthodoxy. A sort of "mushroom factory" approach to ministry.

2. For those congregations that do learn of the latest debacle, will their elected leaders take any action?

Only time will tell.

Unlike the PC(USA) commissars, I remain convinced that whatever takes place will be part of God's plan. The comrades in Louisville like only the part of the plan that leaves the power in their hands, denying that God may call others to figuratively pick up their belongings (including the land He gave them) and move to another part of His vineyard to carry on the mission He assigns them.

BACK FROM EPC GENERAL ASSEMBLY (Part 2)

This has been a busy week. Jumper (my beloved young horsewoman) has been helping at a riding camp and Camper, my eldest son and faithful camping partner, had back surgery yesterday. Bionicle Boy has spent a lot of time with his Bionicle buddy from church. Number two son, "Moleson" (an F-15 pilot, it's his call sign) just reported to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, as an Air Force exchange student in the Army Command and General Staff College. SWMBO is keeping the lid on this tempestuous teapot.

Leaving me some time to reflect on last week's GA..........

Having observed some of the antics of the committees and the GA of the PC(USA), I marvel at the joy we had at the EPC GA. The major difference: In the EPC, it is all about Jesus while in the PC(USA), it is all about polity and power. In the PC(USA), parliamentary procedure is a full contact sport.

The EPC GA could be much shorter because we did not have to argue about the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, whether God's Word is unchanging or merely subject to our approval, ordination standards or lack thereof, or strong-arming congregations into staying in our midst. There was no debate about whether sin is really sin or "just what is marriage, anyway?" 45 new congregations joined the EPC last year. That other bunch lost nearly 60,000 more members.

At one point in the debate on setting a goal that the EPC be a missional church, there was a brief parliamentary foofarah. They settled it amicably in about 5 minutes, leading one former PC(USA) pastor to comment, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, "These people are a bunch of pikers. We could have tied this in knots for hours!!!"

By my count, the business of the GA was concluded in about 9 hours, including approving a number of new denominational missionaries. In that regard, if the PC(USA) ever sent out a proportionate share of missionaries, it would have over 1600 in the field, rather than the current 250 or so. And they go out for real mission--not to hire lawyers to sue brothers and sisters who, faithful to God's call, seek to move from one part of God's pasture to another.

Worship took up another 8 to 9 hours (usually an hour each morning and 2 and 1/2 hours each night), and it was wonderful--Scripturally faithful and edifying.

Compared to that bank and trust corporation that is meeting in California this week, it was a drink of cool water after a long trek in the desert.

$2,000,000

Two commissioners from the Presbytery of Northern New England (PNNE) to the PC(USA) General Assembly have filed a "commissioner's overture" asking the General Assembly to create a two million dollar fund so that PNNE can continue its law suit against Londonderry (New Hampshire) Presbyterian Church. PNNE claims that to date, it has spent nearly $226,000 in legal costs to prosecute their case, and they anticipate spending another $150,000 in 2008.

The cash would come from the Office of the General Assembly (OGA). The purpose of the fund is to cover legal fees "defending our Constitution against the New Wineskins Non-Geographic Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church."

"But wait," you say. "Didn't 'LPC, a New Hampshire voluntary religious corporation' sue Presbytery of Northern New England, a New Hampshire voluntary religious corporation' first?"

And the answer is, "Yes." LPC, Inc. filed a declaratory judgement action in the New Hampshire courts, seeking a judicial determination as to the legal interests of LPC, Inc. and PNNE,Inc., respectively, in LPC's property. This is a straight forward civil legal issue that even the PC(USA)'s legal department recognizes to be a matter of state law. Cf., Romans 13: 1-5.

But contrary to the Book of Order, PNNE wanted a judicial resolution of theological issues. And to do that, they have combined with the PC(USA), their synod, and a group of about 80 former members of LPC who voted against disaffiliation. This group was organized by PNNE into a church plant with a pastor supplied by PNNE.

"But why do you say PNNE sued?" you ask. That's where the commissioner's overture gets interesting.

You see, for nearly a year, PNNE and its apologists have been whining about the dec action. They were offended that before their AC could come in and take over the church, change the locks, dismiss the session, and freeze the bank accounts, the congregation of LPC exercised their "permissive powers" (G-7.0304a) and voted by a 3 to 1 margin to disaffiliate. At the same time, the corporation sought to clear its title to its property.

New Hampshire is a neutral principles jurisdiction, so PNNE, Inc. has a tough row to hoe in overcoming LPC's ownership of the property. They needed to muddy the waters and to impose tremendous costs on LPC. To do that, they needed to file a suit against LPC's individual trustees, in hopes that they would cave. But because PNNE has been so harsh with respect to the suit between LPC, Inc. and PNNE, Inc., they could not bring themselves to sue.

Enter their new church plant. PNNE used them to sue the trustees.

Now comes the commissioner's resolution that admits that PNNE, the synod and PC(USA) have been completely financing the second suit. The 80 haven't had to spend a dime. Once again, the pernicious hand of Louisville and its minions is revealed.

For its rationale, the commissioner's resolution argues that "the PCUSA (sic) holds that the Church is an organic unity of which its synods, presbyteries and local congregations are integral parts. We must be careful that we do not lose the civil lawsuit and set legal precedent endangering our Constitution, simply because we cannot afford to put up the best defense."

Well, nonsense. The only precedent that will be set is in New Hampshire, and LPC was the only PC(USA) church in that presbytery that took the orthodox, biblically faithful position on matters of Scripture and theology. No need to worry about the PC(USA) constitution. This is Louisville's gambit all the way.

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly (COGA) opposed the request. It argued "that an additional 39 presbyteries face, or have faced, similar challenges. . . Our present annual budget for this assistance is only $50,000 intended to cover all ongoing cases. . .." It then admitted that that the stated clerk (probably the SC's office, unless Clif Kirkpatrick ponied up the cash himself)has already provided $20,000 to the Presbytery of Northern New England for the Londonderry suit.

Nonetheless, the General Assembly Procedures Committee overwhelmingly approved the overture and sent it to the GA. The reception it will get there will be interesting. How will commissioners return to their churches and presbyteries to report that "we could find only enough money to support 250 missionaries, but we took $2,000,000 to pay presbyteries to carry out the Louisville Papers Plan."

One wonders: If PNNE had taken that $226,000 (and any settlement offered by LPC, Inc.) and given it to the 80 to plant a new church in Londonderry, where would they be today?

Finally, we now have the red herring du jour from PNNE. They claim to be suing the New Wineskins Transitional Presbytery of the EPC "to protect our constitution." Wrong!!

They and their dummy are suing real people at LPC. They just don't want anybody to know that.

BACK FROM THE EPC GENERAL ASSEMBLY (Part 1)

I spent almost all of last week in Bethesda, Maryland, attending the 28th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. I am still coming down from the high! What a breath of fresh air when compared to the semi-annual antics (being repeated this week)of the PC(USA).

We started with the second stated meeting of the New Wineskins Transitional Presbytery/Support Network ("NWEPC") on Tuesday. The high point of the meeting was centered on pastoral care and leadership. We started with the reception of Reverend Ken Glasier as the Pastor of Londonderry Presbyterian Church (New Hampshire). Ken was called from an EPC church in suburban Denver,becoming the first EPC pastor to transfer from an EPC presbytery to the NWEPC. The Presbytery of New England,(PC(USA), had held Londonderry' request to call a pastor hostage for two and a half years. Because their CIF was complete, the PNC and the Ministry Committee of NWEPC were able to interview three candidates by last February and LPC called Ken in late April.

We then examined four candidates for ordination, approving all pending call. (They all have calls.) In another first, one of the candidates was a woman, despite the scare tactics engaged in by the PC(USA) last year (predicting that the creation of NWEPC was an attempt to end ordination of women).

The candidates were rigorously examined on Scripture, theology, the Essential Tenets of the Reformed faith, NWEPC polity, and the Sacraments. An EPC pastor present commented that it was more intense and detailed than the last exam he had seen in his EPC presbytery. (No more PC(USA) exams in which the hardwest questions are "What is your name?" and "If called, what color will you paint your study?" The required answer to the latter being "Green.")

We also have two mission churches that are well on the way towards becoming functioning congregations in the NWEPC.

God is good, all the time!

More to follow.

MIDWESTERN FLOODS

I must confess a hidden defect in my character. "My name is Mac and I'm a poet." (Chorus: "Hi, Mac.") Yes, friends, I have been known to commit, and to occasionally inflict upon others the result of, poesy.

I grew up in northwestern Missouri and southern Illinois, near and along the big rivers--the Missouri and the Mississippi. Their power and majesty have held me in awe for as long as I can recall. Today, the news is full of reports concerning "the worst floods since 1993." Well, I was out there in 1993, and it was awful, so my heart goes out to our Countrymen in the heartland.

I dusted off an old journal and found the following:

MIDWESTERN FLOODS, 1993

I am The River, ageless, mighty.
I was here long before you were born.
I will be here when you are but a dusty memory.

Born was I of long-forgotten glaciers.
My youthful valley still spreads far and wide,
Ignored by Man. But I have not forgotten.

Secure am I in my long patterns,
Indulging Man whose own short span
Lulls him, making him forget my power.

I scoff at mortal man, whose need to control
All of Nature breeds fatal confidence,
Assuming, without basis, that I have surrendered.

And so I lapse into gentle patterns
Which I of ageless eye can see,
But short-lived Man ignores -- or misses.

Comes Winter's blast.
I am sucked dry and frozen solid,
My essence captive, waiting Spring's warm call.

Season of Birth, of light and life,
That gentle Warden, Spring, now comes,
With grace-filled warmth to free me.

The skies darken with nourishment,
Opening wide their taps in gushing torrents,
Replenishing my strength,restoring my surging soul.

Summer finds me placid, languid, lazy,
Host of vernal sport, still constant flowing,
Having spent myself in the lusty rush of Spring.

Then comes Fall, Autumn's end of cycle.
My heavy waters, low but constant,
Bear the leaves that mark the season of decline.

From age to age, I sing my cyclic lullaby,
Ever flowing with steady beat;
Soothing, gaining Man's misplaced confidence.

But ne'er do I forget my youthful strength,
Addictive, cloying, which this great valley carved.
Oft cast I mem'ry's wistful eye to those heady days.

Nor do I leave Man unfairly blinded.
My springly rushes give fair warning
That, always, I am The River.

I am not alone in the great drama.
Homage do I pay and sacrifice offer
To the One who is Master and Creator of all.

When drought He sends, taking and not returning,
My feeder fingers wither and dry
And I surrender dominion over what is mine.

Man, confident but sort-sighted,
In his constant quest to control,
Misreads obeisance as weakness.

Builds he then walls and dikes and levees,
Damming and channeling my waters where he will,
Claiming what is mine for his own.

Ignorant Man, unread, uncomprehending.
Read the rocks and hills that are my valley
To know the breadth and depth of my raw power.

This is mine, carved and etched
By icy floods of long-gone ages.
While I may lend, I do not give!

Stripped I may be in times of drought,
But bounteous Nature is even-handed,
Returning abundance for homage given.

In the cycles, all is even.
My life's blood comes in welcome flows;
With youthful zest, I reclaim all that is mine.

Reaching for those limits which I have set,
With casual nod, I push my way
to take anew and gain my rightful place.

Springtime melt and summer rain,
Gifts to me from the great broad sky
Are mine--my cup does o'erflow.

Behold, O Man, The River!
Read and comprehend your own small power
In the Great Creator's grand scheme.

In my rapids and flows, I speak.
With eyes and ears and being, listen,
My message for to know:

I am The River, ageless, mighty!
I was here long before you were born.
I will be here when you are but a dusty memory.

PANIC IN LOUISVILLE

As many have recently reported in the blogosphere, the PC(USA) continues its slide into an episcopal dictatorship. The latest institutional departure from historic presbyterianism arises out of the vote in Woodland Presbyterian Church in New Orleans to disaffiliate from the Presbyterian Church (USA). The vote by secret written ballot was 150-6 in favor of disaffiliation, with six abstentions.

What made Woodland's vote unique was the attempt by the Presbytery of South Louisiana to obtain from the civil courts a temporary restraining order prevent Woodland from holding a congregational meeting to vote on disaffiliation.

In this case, the civil court got it absolutely right: recognizing that the congregation has a constitutionally protected freedom of assembly--free from the interference of the civil government-- the request fro the TRO was denied.

Woodland voted three days later to disaffiliate, thus severing its voluntary association with the PC(USA). Sadly, the presbyteryis still seeking a preliminary injunction to stop Woodland from conducting the meeting that has already occurred. (That last sentence was as hard to write as it is to read, but that is what PSL is doing.) In effect, PSL asks the court to enforce PSL's incorrect interpretation of the Book of Order and to bar Woodland from ever meeting to vote on disaffiliation.

The bureaucratic attempt to remedy a defect in the PC(USA) constitution by means of civil suit and administrative fiat results from a nearly thirty year old defect in the Books of Order of the UPCUSA and the PC(USA). Since at least 1984, the PC(USA) has been aware that the absence of an express provision in its constitution forbidding disaffiliation, churches are free to do so. Coupled with the ambiguous grant to congregations of certain undefined "permissive powers," another ambiguity, the absence of such a ban fully supports the right of unilateral disaffiliation.

As more and more congregations learn just how far the bureaucracy in Louisville has strayed from the grassroots in matters of theology, Christology, and Scripture, the bureaucrats have panicked and attempted a putsch to stamp down on the restiver membership. The tools employed have been the unilateral amendment of the Book of Order by presbyteries in the form of "procedures" that change constitutional provisions on quora and required voting majorities. Louisville started the the assault on the Book of Order with the promulgation of the infamous "Louisville Papers."

The court's ruling in Woodland would appear to render PSL's request moot, but PSL has announced that it intends to pursue a preliminary or permanent injunction against Woodland. This can only be read as a warning signal to other congregations, meant to delay any more disaffiliation votes until the upcoming PC(USA) General Assembly. At that GA, the PC(USA) will attempt to ram through a new "Form of Government" which may clear up some of the ambiguities in the present Book of Order, and to transfer most power to the halls of Louisville.


Considering the recent actions by the Synods of the Sun and of the Pacific to usurp the powers of presbyteries, it becomes clear that Louisville hopes to shove through amendments to the Book of Order that will convert the PC(USA) from a presbyterian body to an episcopacy. As the clock runs down, it will be interesting to see just how many congregations make a break for freedom.