PHOTO BY FRED SQUILLANTE / COLUMBUS DISPATCH
From left, Irvin Moxley, Amy House and John Birkner form the tri-pastorate at Brookwood Presbyterian Church.
By JoAnne Viviano
Brookwood Presbyterian Church recently updated its slogan to represent its goal of being “a church for all peoples.”
That mission is exemplified in the East Side congregation’s new tri-pastorate arrangement, which offers members diversity of race, gender, age, experience and more.
The Rev. John Birkner, 55 and white, said the choice was intentional at the church of about 200 diverse members. He works alongside the Rev. Irvin Moxley, who is 79 and black, and the Rev. Amy House, 41 and white.
“Our country is becoming more multicultural and multiethnic, so how do we find ways of relating the Gospel in ways they find comfortable and understand and live?” Moxley said. “The church of the 21st century has to be a church for all people or not be a church at all.”
Brookwood’s is the first tri-pastorate arrangement in the Presbytery of Scioto Valley, which includes 104 churches. It was made possible after recent revisions to the Book of Order — part of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) — that give presbyteries more leeway in creating pastoral configurations, said the Rev. Richard Hays of the local presbytery.
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Well, la-de-da – what have we now? Something new – a cafeteria church. “Relating to the Gospel in ways they find comfortable, and understand, and live” Isn’t that just a neat way to stand for Jesus. Just pick and choose what you like and wish to hear, maybe something non-offensive. If you don’t like one pastor, just find another one who will agree with your “feelings”. “The church for the twenty-first century has to be a church for all people or not be a church at all.” So, this is a church for all people is it? It is, in fact, not a church at all. You’ve got an oxymoron here folks – you might as well be a local social club. God’s church must stand for something, and that is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Sin confessed, salvation through Jesus alone, the Gospel alive in Jesus. There are standards in God’s church – we are not “all-things-to-all-people” – Jesus never ever said that. All are surely welcome to worship but we do not conform God’s church to the whims and wishes to every junior theologian who comes through the door and wants to be his/her own God. God’s church is indeed inclusive in welcoming every sinner but it is also exclusive in that Christianity is an exclusive faith; its requirements are not negotiable or to be compromised. You may have a wonderful local faith community there, but you are walking on thin ice with 3 pastors – why 3? ,why not ten or fifteen? You are on a slippery slope when you don’t tell folks, “Here is what we believe – come join with us if you will, you’re welcome; but if you can’t follow Jesus and His gospel, there are other churches down the street where you may feel comfortable. We are indeed here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted. Ouch !!!
The church of the 21st century must be really not all that different from the church of the 1st century. It too was “multi-cultural” if we believe Paul’s analysis of Corinth or even the limited demographics we know about the original Twelve (or was it Twenty?). Clearly this congregation is doing something right, having more members than the vast majority of PC(USA) congregations; this gives the congregation a level of leadership flexibility unavailable to more typical PC(USA) congregations (smaller than 100 members). The success of this model will be in whether or not the faithful proclamation of the Gospel by these three leaders plus the 200 – plus members results in lives being changed.
Having said all of the above and the article does seem to give the impression that racial-gender-age diversity will solve all of the problems associated with ministry in the 21st century. I suspect these three professionals know better. I wish them God’s blessing.
excellent point