Status Report

Change is difficult at any age, but more so when one reaches one's fifties. 

That being said, I have found myself in a process of change for the last three years or so.  I haven't written much about it because part of the flux of the situation has resulted in my being less certain about a lot of things.

About three years ago, our family moved from a denomination steeped in the pentecostal and Arminian tradition in which R. and I both grew up, to a Reformed tradition, Presbyterian church.

Big change. 

I think both of us have spent the past three years mostly listening; and that's been good.
I have had my thinking challenged almost constantly; and though that has not been fun - it has been good as well.

I like a "big-tent" mentality and find myself always searching for ways to join what I have held dear in the past with the truths I am presented with presently. I am discovering that it may just be impossible for Calvin and Arminius to exist in the same room; my attempts at wedding the two belief structures are mostly futile.

Awhile back I lunched with one of our pastors.  As we talked about how we each got to where we were at the time, he used a phrase that seemed to fit:  he said that at some point he "discovered that he was Reformed theology....".  It was as if the belief structure had been their all along - even when he was not in a Reformed church.  

In some sense, that has been the case with me:  many of the tenants of Reformed theology and many of the attributes of Presbyterian worship have been things that I have longed for for many years.

Because we are no longer a part of a group among whom we shared such a long history - and have joined a congregation with whom we share almost no history, it is sometimes difficult.  However, the discomfort that this situation may impart often has contributed to my ability to listen more.

I am very pleased with many things in this place God has led us: 

• I have a deep appreciation for the adherence to the traditions of church history this congregation embraces. 
• For a number of years we observed Advent in our home - now we also observe the lighting of Advent Candles in church as well.
• I have come to see worship more as a deliberate display of the gospel of Christ; and more about what we offer up, than about what we received.
• I appreciate the fact that most everything is done with intentionality - everything is for a stated purpose related to the gospel.
• Our children have been immersed into a culture of disciplined study and reflection on the Word of God and its application to their lives.

 I think it is good to have our thinking - and our faith challenged.  The result is that those things grounded in truth will remain and those things that can be shaken should be abandoned anyway.

The Christmas season is a reflective season for me (which is why I am so repelled by the distraction and busy-ness of it all), and I thought I would record some of these thoughts just in case you were wondering.