September 26, 2011 LOUISVILLE, KY  Leaders of the Fellowship of Presbyterians celebrate with The Reverend Dr. Jim Singleton his pending appointment to the faculty of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year.

“Dear Friends and Brethren: The aspect of divine providence, and the extraordinary situation of the world, at the present moment, indicate, that a solemn admonition by the ministers of religion and other church officers in General Assembly convened, has become our indispensable duty . . . A solemn crisis has arrived, in which we are…

By Richard Gibbons, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC For many of us attending the Fellowship Gathering in Minneapolis later this month, the questions uppermost in our minds will quite naturally relate to the purpose, focus, and direction of the PC(USA). Such questions are of course not new. They have been asked multiple…

By Ken Bailey, Author and Lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament Studies, New Wilmington, PA Once a small mouse was playing around the feet of a family of elephants.  The mouse suddenly decided to run down the hill away from the elephants.  The elephants did not follow the mouse. The Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2011…

By Jerry Deck, Executive Director of Presbyterian Global Fellowship Confession. Penitence. Contrition. Repentance.  These words, if we’re honest, are not ones that come easily for many of us.  Perhaps that’s why the Scriptures are continually repeating these words in one form or fashion.  God is abundantly aware both of our proclivity for sin and our…

Some people have begun imagining what it might look like if we developed more formal and ongoing relationships of congregations that wanted to gather around how they could be more missional in their communities.  What would it look like if we could create some missional presbyteries? 

By Dave Peterson, Pastor, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX Some have expressed worry that our Fellowship of Presbyterians is fueling division and disunity in the PC(USA).  Yet division and disunity have been our way of life for the past 40 years. Those who now cry, “Please stay, it is

These are personal observations shared by Keith Hill, Pastor of St. Giles Presbyterian in Richmond, VA, based on his experience at a recent Fellowship planning meeting. I was one of the people present for the June planning meeting for the August Gathering.  As an agenda for the Gathering was formed,

These are observations shared by Gayle Parker, Pastor of The Spring in Tempe, AZ, based on her experience at a recent Fellowship planning meeting. As a member of the Advisory Group for the Fellowship, I was one of the people who attended the planning meeting in June. Here is what I observed:

It has been almost two months since our last letter (May 4), and in that time significant change in our denominational reality has come with the passage of Amendment 10-A and ratification of the new Form of Government. Neither of these changes affects the vision or the intent of the Fellowship, but the passage of…

We’ve just posted a new resource on our Documents page. It’s a transcript from a forum Dr. Scott Dudley, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, held on the topic of homosexuality and the Bible. Check it out here.

"Envisioning a New Church: The Potential Is Right in Front of Us” by Paul Detterman, Executive Director of Presbyterian For Renewal People who have been shaped by Scripture are steeped in the language of individual repentance, forgiveness, grace, and a new beginning. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  But when it comes to the nature of the institutions…

“Agreeing to Agree: Theology in Presbyteries” By Dr. Jerry Andrews, First Presbyterian Church, San Diego, CA In his 1954 book, The Broadening Church, Lefferts Loetscher described how a church with a once tightly-held theological core significantly relaxed its theological commitments, especially in the first half of the last century. The approval of the broadening project…

Richard J. Mouw, President at Fuller Theological Seminary, discusses how pastoral theology can help Christians find unity in disagreement. Check it out here.

Is it fair to say that the PC(USA) is “deathly ill”? Jim Singleton, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian in Colorado Springs, CO, shares the Fellowship’s thoughts in this video. Check it out here.

Is it fair to say that the PC(USA) is “deathly ill”? Jim Singleton, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian in Colorado Springs, CO, shares the Fellowship’s thoughts in this video. Check it out here.

To address some of the most common questions we’re hearing, we’ve created a new FAQ page to share a rolling list of questions and responses.  There is nothing inspired about our answers; they’re our best thoughts to date.  Join the conversation in the Comments section. View the latest FAQs here.

This is the second in an ongoing series of “New Ideas” thought pieces. We want to explore these ideas together and solicit your feedback.

This is the first in an ongoing series of “New Ideas” thought pieces. We want to explore these ideas together and  solicit your feedback.

What might a new Presbyterian fellowship look like and how would it relate to the PC(USA)?  Jim Singleton, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian in Colorado Springs, CO, shares some ideas in this video.

Check it out here.