PCUSA
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Building a Plane While Flying
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on June 14, 2012 . . . Growing up, I used to hang out with my dad at the airport. This wasn’t the kind of airport that you go to when catching a flight. This was a small airport where airplanes were built and tested. My dad was a mechanical engineer…
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How to Integrate Worship in Meetings
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40.31) Isaiah 40 is the theme of this year’s 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. This week I have been training General Assembly Committee Moderators and…
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What Came First – the Mentor or the Mentee?
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 30, 2012 . . . Last week, I was at the Korean-American Clergywomen Conference at San Francisco Theological Seminary. For the past twenty-one years, this group of women have been meeting to provide support, advocacy, and resources for each other in a world where they receive few to none.…
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A Moderator’s Instruction Manual
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 17, 2012 . . . Depending on your presbytery, the job of the moderator can vary. However, we are living in a time when most of our presbyteries are facing some serious challenges: financial, church dismissals, staff restructures, struggling congregations, and more. In many cases, it has…
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The Accidental Leader
Originally posted on The Presbyterian Leader on May 3, 2012 I call myself an accidental leader, not because I don’t feel that I possess the necessary skills, temperament, and experience, but because I came about being a leader quite on accident and not by choice. I think many of us have had that experience sitting…
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Urban Ministry: Making the Switch
It seems that parish ministry is a challenging line of work these days, whether you are in a rural, suburban, or urban context. Parish ministry gets even more interesting if you are serving a church that is considered a new development, a redevelopment, or in transition of figuring out what their future is. At some…
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What If Churches Were Missional Outposts?
In March, we were able to hold our 2nd Urban Legacy Gathering, where twenty-two San Francisco PCUSA churches gathered together. This time we were able to gather ALL 22! Since this was the second gathering, we wanted to continue the energy and excitement from the last gathering. While the first gathering focused on getting to…
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Is There a Different Way to Do Presbytery Meetings?
I began my moderator year for the Presbytery of San Francisco January of this year. My focus for this year is to change the way we meet during our Presbytery meetings. Like most presbyteries, we sit in pews for 5-7 hours listening to reports and voting on important issues. What is clear is that people…
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United We Stand, Divided We Fall
22“No!” the other woman shouted. “He was your son. My baby is alive!” “The dead baby is yours,” the first woman yelled. “Mine is alive!” They argued back and forth in front of Solomon, 23until finally he said, “Both of you say this live baby is yours.24Someone bring me a sword.” A sword was brought, and Solomon ordered, 25“Cut the…
Still Waters 