{"id":797,"date":"2009-06-17T04:01:22","date_gmt":"2009-06-17T04:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/good-news-for-the-presbyterian-church-usa.html"},"modified":"2009-06-17T04:01:22","modified_gmt":"2009-06-17T04:01:22","slug":"good-news-for-the-presbyterian-church-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/06\/good-news-for-the-presbyterian-church-usa.html","title":{"rendered":"Good News for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) could use some good news. No, I don’t mean the<\/em> Good News, though we could always stand to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ once again. I’m speaking more of specific, tangible good news that would tell those of us who are faithful Presbyterians that our denomination is on the right track. (I am, as you may know, a PCUSA pastor.)
\nLast month my denomination received “sort of” good news, when the presbyteries (our regional governing bodies) voted to reject a change in our polity that would have allowed the ordination of people who are sexually active outside of marriage. I say this was “sort of” good news because it didn’t mean that my denomination is healthy and thriving, only that we had voted not to drink spiritual hemlock at this time around. We did, however, spend a whole lot of time and energy arguing over whether we were going to uphold biblical teaching or not. I’m glad for the conclusion to honor the Bible’s teaching on sexuality, but sad for the huge distraction from our mission. I wonder how many more people would know God personally and how much more justice would have been done in this world if the PCUSA had not spent so much time and money over the last thirty years arguing about sexuality, but had instead focused on evangelism and discipleship.
\nSo what is the good news for the PCUSA that encouraged me today? It was the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Stephen Hayner as the next President of Columbia Theological Seminary<\/a>, a PCUSA institution in Decatur, Georgia. Since 2003, Dr. Hayner has been the Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth at Columbia. Now he will assume the reins of seminary leadership.
\nI have met Steve Hayner on a couple of occasions, and have followed his career for more than 30 years. When I first got to know Steve, he was the university pastor at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. From there he went to Seattle Pacific University before serving as the President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for 13 years. Following his stint with IVCF, Steve was a parish pastor for a couple of years before joining the faculty of Columbia Theological Seminary in the evangelism chair.
\nI have always been impressed with Steve’s bright mind, passionate heart, and winsome personality. He is a faithful, orthodox Christian who seeks to engage this world for the sake of the kingdom of God. He sees the mission of Christ wholistically, emphasizing the centrality of evangelism without ignoring the call to do justice. Steve has had a long commitment to students, and this will surely enrich his leadership of Columbia Seminary.
\nI congratulate Steve for this fine appointment and the Board of Trustees at Columbia for this fine choice. Please join me in praying both for Steve and for the seminary as they seek to be faithful to Jesus Christ in trying times, both in the PCUSA and in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) could use some good news. No, I don’t mean the Good News, though we could always stand to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ once again. I’m speaking more of specific, tangible good news that would tell those of us who are faithful Presbyterians that our denomination is on the right…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pcusa-general"],"yoast_head":"\nGood News for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}