Church Planting 101

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Acts 11:19-30            One of our callings as Christians is to be change agents.  As Presbyterians, we see ourselves with the responsibility of “pointing beyond our church through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus its Lord.” (Book of Order, F-1.03)  Part of our self identity is being a partner in God’s work to change the world.

This week, a group of pastors and educators in our Presbytery had a one night retreat with singer/songwriter/author David LaMotte.  I remember hearing David sing at various venues in North Carolina at least 10 years ago.  He stepped aside from his 18 year professional music career to earn a master’s degree in International Studies, Peace, and Conflict Resolution Continue reading “Church Planting 101” →

What Are You Waiting For?

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Delivered by Moderator James Parks

 

I am a big fan of “Star Trek”—the movies, the TV series in all its different voyages of the starship Enterprise and its multitude of crews. But the one version I grew up with and love the most is the original version with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the lovely Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura—after all I was a teenaged boy with hormones. As a result of that series I developed a passion for learning things about the universe beyond our little planet and I eat up the latest pictures from the Hubble Telescope, reading all about them.

So when I read about Jesus ascending into the clouds in the book of Acts, I was really intrigued.  But I had a serious problem with the way the story is told. Continue reading “What Are You Waiting For?” →