The Gathering

I am sitting in the Grand Ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel waiting for the few minutes to pass before a new seminar is to begin. Roughly 2,000 Presbyterians are here from all over the country. They came for something called The Gathering. They came for different reasons.

In addition to this seminar there have been multiple small group discussion opportunities. My discussion group is #135. It is made up of pastors and lay people gathered from California, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Oregon, Georgia, and Texas.

One pastor is committed to sticking it out and ministering in place. One has a congregation that has voted unanimously to pursue a course of separation from the denomination, two pastors serve congregations that are divided if not conflicted on what to do, where to go, and how to respond. One person is newly ordained, only two weeks ago. Another is still in seminary and is exploring how to pursue God’s call upon his life. One is an Irish national pursuing God’s call to minister to a congregation within the United States. Another is striving to minister so boldly within his presbytery that it will transform the presbytery into something that addresses the slow death of the PCUSA. These are my brothers and sisters. They are yours as well.

This is the new reality in which we find ourselves and our churches at this time in the history of our denomination. This is the face of diversity. Diversity has been a term that has been used over the past several decades only to divide the church.

In the midst of this tremendous diversity what is there left to unite us? Historically, there is only one theme around which the Scriptures call us to unite. It is in fact the dividing line between authentic Christian doctrine and something else. It is salvation through Jesus Christ alone. It is the reason the pastor from Arizona has chosen to stick it out and “minister in place,” not because of the calling of Christ alone, but because of the unity the Spirit of God has been able to forge between evangelicals, conservatives, progressives, and liberals when all of them agree on what comes first – Jesus Christ. This is what we are called to as well, to minister where we are, not waiting for “the right climate or circumstances to fall into place, but realizing that people need Jesus NOW – not just when it becomes convenient for us to tell them about him.

The months ahead will bring changes within our structure. We will see or hear of changes around us. One thing will remain constant. Jesus Christ is Lord!

Pastor Craig