Why does a Presbyterian congregation in Roanoke, Va., care about the quality of pastoral ministry in Prestonsburg, Ky.? Or in Kane, Pa.? Or in Pasadena, Texas? Why would a congregation offer facilities, staff, homes, and members’ time to provide southern hospitality for eight ministers, most of whom had never been in Roanoke?

On April 5, the Presbytery of the James hosted a conference on evangelism. I found it a thought-provoking experience.

I am aware of yet another situation in which the Presbytery of “Wherever You Are” ought to be thoroughly ashamed of itself. The presbytery is about to drop the ball again by failing to exercise its rightful, mandated disciplinary action on behalf of God’s Presbyterian people. The presbytery is going to lose another talented, dedicated, and capable pastor because the Committee on Ministry is about to cave yet another time to the interests of a few well-heeled adult babies who find that the Gospel their pastor preaches is not the Gospel they want to hear.

SAN JOSE, July 22 – The woman stood in the bright afternoon sun, her head bowed, tears streaking her face. A Presbyterian minister – who had never met her before, who was in town for General Assembly and happened to be walking by – opened his arms and pulled her into a comforting embrace. Before long, tears streaked his face too.

To keep up on calendar management — a true art form in New York City — I recently switched my calendar to the “cloud,” a/k/a the Internet.

Transformative or tourism?

This is high season for short-term mission trips, with congregations all over the United States sending groups to paint and hammer, teach and worship, and fix teeth.

About 15 years ago, Los Ranchos Presbytery in southern California and Limuru Presbytery in Kenya began a partnership journey together “with good intentions,” says Steven Toshio Yamaguchi, Los Ranchos’ executive presbyter.

Editor’s Note: This sermon was preached recently at First Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The Scripture references include Psalm 146:1-7, Romans 13:1-7, and John 18:33-38a.

As mainline congregations grapple with the “graying” of their ranks — average age pushing into the mid-60s — many recognize they need to serve “young adults” more effectively.

A sense permeated last January’s gathering that only the providence of God could bring together such a strikingly diverse collection of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) pastors, workers, mission personnel, and leaders for such a peaceable — indeed, course-altering — meeting regarding Presbyterian mission.

On the Day of Pentecost, which was very windy here in West Virginia, I could not help but be impressed by the Scripture reader’s ability to pronounce the names of all the various nationalities listed in the narrative in Acts.