(By Jana Blazek, Presbyterian Outlook). J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), spoke to participants in a workshop session at Big Tent July 8 about his vision for the denomination and what he sees in its future. Referencing his response to the PCUSA 2016 denominational statistics indicating membership loss of nearly 90,000 members from…
Written by Jerry M. Roper, Ph.D. and John W. Daniel, D.Min., Crestwood Presbyterian Church “Churches paying big bucks to get out of the PCUSA” was The Layman’s October 28, 2015 headline story. Crestwood Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia wasn’t mentioned in the article, because the dismissal terms of $1.5 million were not yet agreed to by…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Acts 2:1, which says, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place,” was the basis of Claudio Carvalhaes’ sermon at the Racial Ethnic and Immigrants Convocation and National Multicultural Church Conference Joint Worship Celebration and Luncheon held Aug. 2. The worship and celebration was held in conjunction…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Showing a PowerPoint slide of the constitutional expectations of the office of ruling elder, Diana Barber asked those attending her workshop, “What does it mean to ‘discern and measure’ a congregation’s fidelity to the Word of God and to also strengthen and nurture it?” Barber’s workshop “Discern and Measure” was part of…
“We should be people who are vulnerable and willing to receive from others.” That was the message delivered by the Rev. Pam Driesell at the closing worship service of the third annual Big Tent gathering at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 3. Driesell, pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta,…
Jin Kim maintains that creativity and trying new things are crucial to drawing young people back to the church. That was a focal point of a session on reaching the post-boomer generations during the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s third annual Big Tent meeting in Louisville, Ky. Speaking Aug. 3 on the topic of attracting young people…
Part of the 1001 Worshiping Communities concept of the Presbyterian Church (USA) focuses on establishing places of worship for various racial and immigrant groups. During an Evangelism and Church Growth Plenary session at the third annual Big Tent event in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 2, the formation of such communities was a topic of discussion, focusing…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – “How do we put God’s first things first?” That was the question asked by Frank Yamada, president of McCormick Theological Seminary, when speaking at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Big Tent event held Aug. 1-3. “I’ll give you a hint,” he said. “The answer is not to worry about it. The simple answer…
Developing new ways to form disciples for Jesus Christ and take the Gospel to those who don’t know Him lies at the core of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s 1001 Worshiping Communities initiative, which has the goal of establishing 1,001 such communities in the next 10 years. The development of such communities was at the forefront…
A panel of Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders took up the topic of racial issues during a session of the third annual Big Tent meeting at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 3. Linda Valentine, Gradye Parsons, Arlene Gordon, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Teresa Chavez Sauceda and Marcus Lambright had a conversation on racial matters…