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Last Week Jo Gus, and I traveled to Nashville so that I could participate in our church’s national leaders convention (know to us as the General Assembly) For me this time of meeting is incredibly encouraging and incredibly draining.

In the last few days I’ve heard things said by church leaders that have made me cringe, but I’ve also interacted with folks that get me so excited about what can happen when people are honest about their need for God, and live out of that need. I even heard from a old white guy who planted a black church in Georgia in 1954. Think about that–White Dude, Black Church, Jim Crow, Deep South. That means this guy might as well be Jack Baur’s great-grandpappy. General Assembly embodies the best and the worst parts of being connectional all wrapped up into one very long week, but it’s well worth it.

Here are 5 things I learned at General Assembly:

1. Sometimes Procedural stuff is good and sometimes it gets in the way of actual discussions – I wish we spent more time talking about our actually disagreements and less time wrapped up in procedural vortexes (Dave Snoke’s handy term). I hope next year is different.
2. World Harvest Missions is legit – first off any group that foregoes the usual free luncheon to rent out a bar and gives away good beer, good cigars and great Christian material has my vote, but I also got a chance to hang out with some of the folks planting churches in London, and they are doing some cool stuff.
3. Southern guys can bring it – I sat it on a lecture by Brian Habig Church Planter and Pastor down in Greenville NC and that dude was great.
4. Disagreement and Disunity are different things – Some speaks were very gracious and winsome and even when I didn’t agree with their point, I was glad they had the chance to speak, while at other times guys spoke and even though I understand where they are coming from I wish they hadn’t said anything. All young pastors need to take some notes from guys like David Coffin, Bryan Chapell,  Tim Keller, and Ligon Duncan.
5. Face time is important – Email is great and twitter will help build connections but, nothing can replace good face-to-face conversations.

I’ve thought a lot lately about blogging. Up until now, that’s all I’ve done (duh). I’ve avoided it for one reason or another – claiming that people don’t really want to know what’s going on in my head, that I’m too self-conscious to share my thoughts, fears, and dreams to strangers, that “bloggers” assume everyone actually cares about their trivial lives when no one does… the list could go on.

But… here I am. I changed my mind for various reasons. One is a little conceited. Last June we had a baby, and I’m convinced that everyone wants to know what he is doing and looks like ALL the time. Yes, sadly, I’ve become that deranged mother (grandparents rejoice!). The other big reason is that my husband and I are trying to start a new church in our town. We aren’t doing it alone of course. We had our first core group meeting a few months ago, and there are about 20 people committed or seriously considering a commitment. But I think I, as Sam’s wife, am going to have a unique view on how this whole thing goes down. I hope that this can someday be an encouragement to other families as they start down similar roads, or for anyone who wants to keep tabs on this crazy family.

This morning I had the pleasure of having breakfast with the Rev. John Tweeddale, senior pastor of First Reformed Presbyterian Church (firstreformedpca.org), and Walt Turner one of the elders at FRPC. After Walt left, John and I ended up talking for about an hour. I found myself very encouraged by our discussion, and as I drove to work, I began to think of some of the reasons why I am glad I am part of a Presbyterian system. Presbyterians at their root believe in the idea of many leaders being united to each other in the local church and having courts of accountability and support between churches.

As I looked over this list, I realize that these aren’t things which are exclusive to being Presbyterian but they are found within Presbyterianism.

5 Good Things:

Connections – Being a leader in a Presbyterian church means that you have taken vows to care for other leaders in your church and denomination. The ability to leverage these relationships is one of the best parts of being Presbyterian. Presbyterianism encourages leaders to feel comfortable reaching out to other leaders for assistance. Churches in different cultural situations can see each other at deeply connected, and can request help and/or advice when they need it.

Resources – Presbyterians are committed to helping each other with time and money. This means that while a small church might never have the resources to start a new ministry alone, it is able to partner with other churches that will make new ministries possible.

Accountability – In some church systems when a problem arises at the local level it’s stuck. In Presbyterianism leaders are protected for bogus charges. At the same time the higher you go up in dealing with an issue the more people are involved. This means church members are protected from a few powerful leaders covering up inappropriate actions. Every members of a Presbyterian church has the right to ask other churches to intervene in a conflict.

Prayer – Being connected means that one church might be able to ask 10 or 15 churches to prayer for a specific issue, this means that you might have hundreds or thousands of people praying for a specific concern.

Methodical – Everyone has experienced making a mistake because you’ve rushed to make a decision. Bringing many leaders into a discussion means that there are more opportunities for reflection, and this often leads to a healthier and steady pace of action, with less regret.

5 Bad Things

Suspicion – Trust is an earned commodity. Sometimes camps form within Presbyterian denominations, and its easier to foster relationships along these lines. When this happens trust is primarily given to people who are similar to you, and sometimes suspicion is held toward people that are less known.

Jealously - Because church leaders interact on a regular basis and are sharing about how things are going, sometimes people can become jealous of other’s success.

Culturally Confined – while it isn’t a necessity, most Presbyterians exist in the context of middle class Europeans (and their descendants). I don’t think there is something peculiar to Presbyterianism that causes this other than the fact that Presbyterians haven’t been good at interacting with other cultures.

Sluggish – sometimes being methodical can lead to dragging you feet, and when that happens things slow down too much, and we unintentionally deter healthy progress.

Polity Over Personal Interactions – Sometimes we forget that our discussion at a formal level work best when they are preceded by numerous informal discussions. When we skip the informal we sometimes fall into the habit of caring more about following certain procedural rules rather than making sure we are best taking care of each other.

I know this isn’t an exhaustive list, and I hope what I’ve said makes sense. If not please drop me a note.

Remember, These aren’t things which are exclusive to being Presbyterian but they are found within Presbyterianism.

Here is a list of 10 books that I’m hoping to read this summer.

1. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxes – Scot McKnight made me aware of this new biography. Bonhoeffer is a very interesting historic figure and I really don’t that much about his life, his ministry or his murder.
2. The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling by John Stott – I had seen that Stott was working on a new book, but then Scot Mcknight noted on his blog that this will by Dr. Stott’s last book. I’ve found many of his books very helpful and  some of our leaders read the Cross of Christ two years ago for Easter.
3. Christian Apologetics Past and Present by William Edgar and K. Scott Oliphint – I really enjoy the topic of Apologetics and I think more and more Christians should become familiar with the historic ways that Christians defending their beliefs.
4. The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christian by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Michael J. Kruger – I really enjoyed Köstenberger’s Salvation to the Ends of the Earth and I’m always interested to hear discussion about how Ancient Christian faith impacts present Christian.
5. God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom by Graham A. Cole –  I’ve become a fan of the New Studies in Biblical Theology series (NSBT), and I try to pick up their new volumes as their are released.

6. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davidson Hunter – I first heard of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture in Jim Belchers’s Deep Church, and it sounds like an interesting read.
7. You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions by Tim Chester –  I hope this book is a good as Total Church.
8. Church Planting Is for Wimps:How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things by Mike McKinley – As a new church planter I figured this good might be a good read, but I have to say it’s toward the bottom of my list.
9. The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne – Last month, in Philadelphia, Stephen Smallman recommended this book, and I’m interested in checking it out because a few years back some of the leaders in the church began using this imagery to distinguish between starting programs and building the church.
10. Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision by N.T. Wright – There has been a lot of debate over Wright and my understanding is that this book is his response to other people’s interpretations of his work.  It’s always better to let a person explain their own views rather than have someone else do it for them.