Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
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s t r engthening the pc(usa ) Thinkstock.com Rummage Sales and Reformations ᑀᑀᑀ BY CYNTHIA BOLBACH O ne of the things I most look forward to each October is Reforma- tion Sunday, the last Sunday of the month, when we remember and celebrate our Protestant heritage. Many people—most notably author Phyllis Tickle—are suggesting that we may be in the midst of another Reformation. In The Great Emergence (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2008), she notes that every 500 years or so, Christianity undergoes significant change and rebirth. This new growth can happen because of a metaphorical rummage sale—throwing out all the irrelevant junk and clutter that's accumu- lated in our attic. Changing Times Certainly, what I hear throughout the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a broadening recognition that we have a good deal of clutter ourselves, that the ways we "do church" no longer work as effec- tively today as they did 50 or 60 years ago. And that's not surpris- ing, given that society and culture have changed enormously over that time. Yes, the Gospel message that we proclaim is timeless, but the way in which we proclaim that message is not. Fifty years ago, gathering peo- ple together in pews at 11 AM on Sunday was an effective way to proclaim the Gospel; today, it might work better to have a Now, almost every presby- tery I've visited is trying to figure out what the role of a presbytery is, and how it can best use its limited resources to help its con- gregations. Some of our synods are working effec- tively; others are moribund. There's even discussion about how our General Assembly can more effec- tively combine decision making with worship and spiritual growth. The good news is that many people across the PC(USA) are thinking cre- atively about what "church" should be. In 2010, the General Assembly set up three groups—the Special Committee on the discussion at a coffee shop at 6:30 PM on a Thursday. Fifty years ago, there wasn't much demand for church leaders who were fluent in Spanish, Korean or an African dialect. Today, as our country becomes more ethnically diverse than ever before, we need to be able to talk about Jesus in lan- guages other than English. Changing Structures The need for change—for a reformation—affects not just worship styles or preaching. Our current denominational structure essentially is the same structure that was developed 50 years ago, when we were flush with mem- bers and resources. It was, and is, a structure modeled on corporate bureaucracy. It worked well then. Nature of the Church for the 21st Century, the Middle Governing Body Commission, and the Task Force to Study Racial Ethnic and New Immigrant Church Growth—to consider what in our denominational attic is clutter and should be tossed, what is valuable and worth keeping, and what new things need to be added. We have a prophetic Word to proclaim, the most powerful mes- sage in the world. Through the work of these groups, and through the work of others all across the church, we can, and will, clean up our clutter so we can proclaim that Word effectively and engagingly. Cynthia (Cindy) Bolbach is moderator of the 219th General Assembly.