Insights and Encouragement for Church Leaders
Alan Hirsch – Shaped by Jesus
True community follows and imitates the character of Jesus. When Jesus Christ is the center of our lives and making disciples is the center of our church mission, community stops being about us and starts being a movement. During the 2014 National Gathering Alan Hirsch talks about being re-calibrated to being shaped by Jesus. Do we need another reformation or a refounding? Let the Founder, Jesus, define us fundamentally once again.
Anna Kent – Mission Affinity Groups
One of the founding values of both the Fellowship and ECO is to support the health of congregations through Mission Affinity Groups (MAGs). Explore the impact of MAGs and how congregations are being transformed through these relationships. In this video from the 2014 National Gathering Anna Kent explores the health of the community and the…
Jim Singleton – Did We Get the Right Blueprint?
One of the challenges of our day is that the relationship of the culture and the church is changing almost monthly. Is there a new picture we need for a new day? As we talk about moving from “Consumerism to Community” during the National Gathering Jim Singleton challenges us about our approach to changes. Where is God moving you?
What Game Are We Playing?
We’ve taken Jim Singleton’s workshop from the National Gathering titled “What Game Are We Playing?” on the health of the community and leaders and made it into a downloadable pdf file for you.
Jesus-shaped Identity
We believe Jesus Christ must be at the center of our lives and making disciples of Jesus at the core of our ministry. …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom…
The JFK Question
by Jeff J. Meyers Our New Members class at North Avenue Presbyterian Church has always presented a bit of a challenge to our staff. How do we turn church shoppers – folks who have been going from church to church comparing the quality of children’s programs, rating the pastor’s preaching style, evaluating the ease of…
Well Pastor John… What are you going to do now???
Well Pastor John, in light of the actions of General Assembly, what are you going to do now? I’m sad at the divisiveness of the Church. Scripture speaks against a “party spirit” (2 Corinthians 12), the fracturing of the Body of Christ into divisions and groups. The Greek word for this is “heresy.” The fractured…
God is at Work
Dear friends in Christ, During this week when some of you are discouraged about the PC(USA), I want to remind you that God continues to use Presbyterians to turn the world upside down. In the last 55 years the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, our Presbyterian partner which also includes Lutheran synods, has grown from…
A Pastoral Letter from PFR and the Fellowship of Presbyterians
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Meeting in Detroit, our 221st General Assembly has taken two significant actions on the teaching and practice of marriage according to the PC(USA)’s Book of Order. First, the GA approved an Authoritative Interpretation (AI) that now permits PC(USA) pastors to conduct same-sex weddings, and allows sessions to approve the…
The Quality of Our Relationships
“The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15 “Hey cutie, come over here!” I turned quickly to see who in the crowd said this and to whom. So did the eight fifteen year olds who were with me. The culprit was a…
Koinonia x 2
PAUL DETTERMAN Welcome to a new blog at the start of a new movement – the Fellowship Community. A friend joked with me that we would never be able to translate “fellowship community” into Greek because it would be “Koinonia Koinonia” (or K2). The more I thought about it, the more I realized that’s…
Becoming The Fellowship Community
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It is with great joy and anticipation that we celebrate the launch of a new movement as the Fellowship of Presbyterians and Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR) join together to nurture and connect gospel-centered PC(USA) congregations and expand relationships with our counterparts in other mainline traditions. The Fellowship Community is…
Foundation For Relationships: A Story of a Colorado Mission Affinity Group
Our Mission Affinity Group came together largely because of long-term relationships built on trust, accountability, and mutual respect. One of the things I love about being connected to the Fellowship of Presbyterians is the renewed emphases placed on these critical elements of pastoral ministry. Our MAG’s ability to come together last spring sprouted from similar soil as the Fellowship itself: a devoted, transparent group of pastors who gather together regularly for the sake of Christ...
Why a "Fellowship" of Presbyterians?
Response from within the PC(USA) The Fellowship of Presbyterians was created in 2011 to help individuals and congregations who are committed to building flourishing congregations who make disciples of Jesus Christ. In early 2012, ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians was formed. While some who have joined The Fellowship anticipate an eventual transition…
Dana Allin Named ECO Synod Exec
On behalf of the combined boards of ECO and the Fellowship of Presbyterians I am thrilled to announce Dana Allin has accepted the call to be the first Synod Executive of ECO. The Synod is the highest body in ECO because, in our global Presbyterian and Reformed context, ECO believes itself to be an integral…
An Open Letter to Mid Council Leaders in Southern CA and HI
By M. J. Romano, Moderator, ECO Presbytery of the West Executive Presbyters Stated Clerks Presbyteries of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Dear Colleagues, I am writing in response to the recent decision of the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii in the case of the…
"Essentials" and "Covenants:" Learning a New Way of Life
by Jim Singleton, President of The Fellowship of Presbyterians A persistent question for both PC(USA) and ECO congregations in The Fellowship of Presbyterians is our relationship to the Essential Tenets document – the centerpiece of The Fellowship’s Theology Project. Many of us believe the problems with which Presbyterians now struggle have developed as a result…
The Process of Joining ECO
As we move into the final months of 2012, PC(USA) presbyteries are meeting and more pastors and congregations are being dismissed into ECO. Checkout the ECO page to see the names of congregations and individuals as they complete the process...
Are We Flirting with “Congregationalism”?
The label “congregationalist” is being tossed around somewhat indiscriminately these days in our Presbyterian circles, especially by those who are critical of recent moves by PC(USA) evangelicals. We need to be clearer about what we mean—or ought to mean—when we use that term. It is a useful label for describing a specific view of church…