Sharing Dessert with Our Presbyterian Brethren

We just got back from Grace Presbyterian Church. Five churches in our community are hosting a Sunday night get-together during the Lenten season, and tonight--the third week--was Grace's turn. They're part of the Presbyterian Church USA.

They have a woman minister, which is a problem with a lot of people in my denomination. But not with me, and not with my church. Pastor Barb is a wonderful person with a sharp sense of humor. During the question and answer time, she gave a superb answer to the question, "How to Presbyterians explain pre-destination?" (It was evidently a planted question designed to stump her, but she was game.)

The Presbyterians also put out the biggest spread. This is supposed to be just a soup supper, to keep it simple. But they pulled out the stops with the dessert table. Wow, what a feast! I had one bowl of vegetable barley soup, and then hit the dessert table several times.

I thoroughly enjoy these folks. My denomination began when a German Reformed minister and a Mennonite minister, sensing that they shared the same heart for God, embraced and said, "We are brethren." Well, that's how I feel about these Presbyterians.

It's tragic that in so many communities, churches located near each other don't make any efforts to get acquainted. The pastors may get together, but the congregations keep their distance. But as we've discovered with these five heretofore-unknown quantities in our neighborhood, churches of different denominations are much more alike than they realize. Pastor Barb talked about their structure, how they have elders and deacons who serve for life, and all of this was totally foreign to me--very different ways of doing things. But nothing I found disagreeable. They have a strong process for identifying and shepherding persons who feel called to the ministry--something that is a huge weakness in my denomination.

And as Barb talked about God's Word, and about people coming to faith in Christ--this is what it's all about, and, indeed, "We are brethren."

Posted on March 11, 2007 09:26 PM|

Comments

Be careful, Steve. The origin of the Presbyterian faith is in Catholicism. The doctrines of different faiths should seperate us. The Spirit allows us to have convictions on matters of Scripture. Be wary of faiths who proclaim to believe as you do, but really have beliefs that go against God's Word.

Posted by: Anonymous | March 11, 2007 11:07 PM

The origin of most Protestant denominations is in Catholicism, and the origin of Catholicism is in the First Century church. Things are not so cut-and-dried.

We let FAR too many lesser doctrines separate us. Evangelism Explosion, through which hundreds of thousands of people found Christ (and which was instrumental in my own life), came from a Presbyterian Church USA guy. We have much, MUCH, we can learn from each other and which we share in common.

I have never believed that United Brethren have a corner on doctrinal truth--that where we differ with other groups on matters of biblical interpretation, that we are always right and they are wrong. I'm sure we're wrong on plenty of stuff, and to believe otherwise would be unduly arrogant.

Posted by: Steve Dennie | March 11, 2007 11:17 PM

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