Something happened last September on Wall Street and in Detroit which is reflective of the direction of our denomination. The big financial firms that seemed wealthy beyond imagination and the big car companies that had once been the model of manufacturing excellence for the world came crashing down. The great dinosaurs of the 20^th century proved to be too big, too slow, and too ingrained to benefit in a retooled economy.  So Goldman Sachs, General Motors, and others find themselves in the Graveyard of the Giants.

It causes one to ponder whether there is a lesson for the PC(USA) in all this. We have been watching as the budget (and staff) for the Office of General Assembly continues to shrink and its relevance to the mission and ministry of the local congregation dwindles. If there is a “cutting edge” of ministry in our denomination it is surely in the local church – especially in start-ups that find they can manage their ministry on much less cash and professional experience than we have been taught. We see this especially in the areas of missions where congregations manage local efforts quite well by themselves and need only the occasional advice and coaching of presbytery staff to launch into foreign fields.

Like the songwriter wrote: “Something is happening here/ What it is ain’t exactly clear…” But it appears to be the passing of an age that valued management over style; structure over function. If this is a general movement, it can’t help but to affect the church.

My friend, Sam Marshall, who is the Executive Presbyter of Salem Presbytery, recently pointed me to a book, The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle. I am in the process of reading Great Emergence and will comment on it. I welcome fellow readers and conversation regarding these things…