 |
|
| December
2006 letters Archives of letters to the editor  |
|
| Tribute
to a passionate journalist, loyal churchman December 28, 2006 At the end of 2006, John H. Adams will be retiring as editor of The Layman. I hope many readers will join me in paying tribute to this passionate journalist, loyal churchman and dogged lover of the truth. Jack has logged countless miles and hours covering the news of the PCUSA. He has sat for days in meetings I would never have endured. He has worked sometimes in hostile environments, yet kept his reporting even-handed. I can see him so clearly, crossing the street with his laptop, on his way to write the story he covered, up long after the rest of us had collapsed in our beds. He showed up in so many cities that were so far away from his passion of being in the woods hunting with friends. It has always mattered to Jack to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the church. I was privileged to be Jack's pastor for nearly a decade when he moved to Lenoir in the mid-90s. There, I met a professional journalist who learned Greek so he could know the Word in its original language. He loves especially John 17 (and so I always count him a man after my own heart.) He is an able teacher and a great student of Reformed theology. He loves his wife Nancy and his family, especially those grandbabies. The Layman has great staff and great reporters, but Jack will still be sorely missed. He revolutionized reporting in the PCUSA with his web journalism. No other single source has so much news so fast. The Layman Online is where people turn when they want to know right away what has happened. Jack, we will miss you, but hope you have a great time with Nancy, your sons and your grandchildren Gerrit Dawson First Presbyterian Church Baton Rouge, La. Best wishes in retirement December 28, 2006 I've always appreciated his careful and thoughtful reporting in The Layman Online. Best wishes in retirement. Walter B. Funk (The Rev. Dr.), HR Charleston, W.Va. Adams is a humble servant and my friend December 28, 2006 Not only can Jack Adams be described as "fearless editor," "meticulous reporter" and many other high-level attributes; he is also a humble servant. At the Presbyterian Lay Committee's annual Faith and Life Conference, for many years Jack would be seen at one moment introducing noted speakers or leading a workshop and the next driving elderly folks around the campus to the functions. Always serving, that is Jack Adams. Most of all, Jack Adams is my friend. James Logan Sr. McHenry, Md. The PCUSA's agenda has destroyed any harmony and unity December 28, 2006 Re: The Dallas Morning News article: Highland Park Presbyterian fights church over gay pastors The latter years of the last century, our Presbyterian Church US merged with the Presbyterian Church USA. At that time, they believed as we did in Scripture, the Trinity and the sanctity of marriage. Ever since then, they have been attempting to modify our Book of Order and our beliefs through various means. One by vote, which has always failed, and then by modifying and circumventing our Book of Order through maneuvering procedures and manipulations of the system through the General Assembly. Now they expect us to either accept their view that destroys the family unit and our culture or run us out of the denomination – and threaten to take the property that the local congregations have invested their time and money in securing, improving and maintaining. It appears that when we ask for justice and respect of our views, the denomination wants to either make us accept their views, or when it appears that congregations want to leave the denomination, they want to threaten or "talk us to death." Aesop back in 620 BC-560 BC had it about right: "After all is said and done, more is said than done." They have "itching ears." 2 Timothy 3: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." KJV It is my hope, as I am in my 80th year, that the Presbyterian Church (USA) will recognize its wayward ways and stay with Scripture, or give our membership their freedom to practice their religion with their families and by the Scriptures and restore their property rights. The PCUSA's agenda has been very destructive in nature and has destroyed any harmony and unity by taking this destructive path of a minority in power who wants to reinterpret the Bible to suit their own social and cultural attitudes and whims. Daniel Ball Pope Sr. Bradenton, Fla. Blaming the school for all problems in the Western Hemisphere is absurd December 28, 2006 I appreciate The Layman's offering of the May 2000 commentary by Pastor Jim DeCamp regarding the School of the Americas. I was not aware of that commentary and could not provide a more thorough response to Ritchie Jones' comment [posted Dec. 20, 2006] on my Dec. 18 message. My experience with the school was in all respects comparable to that of Col. DeCamp. I'm baffled by Jones' statement that the report by the Presbyterian News Service was merely reporting facts in a balanced fashion. I do not consider simply reporting what the leftist demonstrators say as "facts" since what they are saying are not facts, but misguided opinions generated by a well-organized propaganda campaign that has been developed over many years. The purpose of these demonstrations is simply to close the only source of democratic values most Latin American countries have available to them. The narrow view of these demonstrators represents efforts to kill the goose that lays the golden egg because a few eggs were rotten. Blaming the school for all the problems in the Western Hemisphere is simply absurd. Col. Ronald Everett North Olmsted, Ohio World is rejecting 'mainline Protestantism' because it's the same old thing December 28, 2006 It is becoming increasingly commonplace to write of the "demise" or "freefall" of "mainline Protestantism." Recent convulsions among the Episcopalians have vastly exacerbated the trend. I am confident that those "mainline" denominations will never entirely disappear. They will simply continue to exist in perpetual decline. This to me is the saddest fate of all. It reminds me of the character in Greek mythology who gets his liver eaten by birds every day throughout eternity. In my life, I have seen non-believers have conversion experiences and join conservative churches. I have (rarely) seen conservative Christians have conversion experiences and join liberal churches. But I have never seen anyone go directly from non-belief to liberal Christianity. This is because the belief systems of these two groups are so similar. I surmise that the leaders of "mainline Protestantism" persist in the belief that, because of the similarity in their worldviews, they ought to be able to attract people from the secular culture. Actually, it doesn't work that way. When a man decides to leave his wife, he doesn't run off with his wife's sister. He runs off with his 22-year-old blonde secretary because he's been looking for a radical change in his life. And so the task of the leaders of "mainline Protestantism" is not to demonstrate how different they are from traditional Christianity; that much is evident to all. They must demonstrate – if they are ever to attract new members – how they are different from the dominant secular culture of today. A liberal Protestant may say, "But I am tireless in my efforts to bring empowerment to all people everywhere." Well and good, but the Communists of yesteryear might have made the same claim. The irony of it all is that the world is rejecting "mainline Protestantism," not because it is something radically new and different, but because it is the same old darn thing. Perhaps the word that best describes today's "mainline Protestantism" is "tedious." Rev. Dr. Larry Brown African Bible College Lilongwe, Malawi Evangelical and conservative Christians are serving 'whine' for Christmas December 28, 2006 I couldn't help but notice that many evangelical and conservative Christians are serving "whine" for Christmas. They whine because some retailers cater to the holiday crowd instead of the Christmas bunch: Lowes, K-Mart, Staples, Penny's and Sears all stand accused of refusing to say, "Merry Christmas," while many of the same retail establishments openly promote Ramadan and Kwanza. They whine because many public schools, in an over-stretch of the separation between church and state, do not permit the display of overtly Christian decorations like nativity scenes or songs about shepherds and Magi and angels and the baby asleep on the hay. They whine because the media insults Christianity and Christ Jesus and Christmas with something akin to religious zealotry. The season's worst example of such behavior appeared on CBS's always explicit and disgusting Two and A Half Men. The "show" opened with Charlie Sheen (as Charlie Harper) singing new, sex act-specific lyrics to the tune Antioch, which is better known as the Christmas carol Joy to the World. His rendition was punctuated by laughing hoots and howls from the studio audience. Such was the holiday spirit of the People's Choice Award-winning comedy. They whine because certain liberal legislators, bureaucrats (some of whom work at 100 Witherspoon Street in Louisville, Ky., for the PCUSA), and celebrities seem to pursue the elimination of Christian symbols and speech from the public sphere with the fevered fervor of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Yet, unlike Dr. Seuss' memorable character, these individuals show no signs of repentance for stealing "the faith" from common view. Whine, whine and more whine! Dear friends, it does not belong to the retailers or the public schools or the popular media or the civil (or denominational) servants and cultural celebrities of our land to promote Christmas or Christ Jesus or Christianity. Celebrating this special season of the sovereign Savior's birth belongs to us, to those who confess a saving, grace-inspired faith in Jesus Christ. If there is not enough "Merry Christmas" ringing in the air, it is our mouths that need to proclaim it! Remember, it's Christmas for 12 whole days. You can keep announcing a "Merry Christmas" to folks right through Jan. 5. Then, if you really want to set people's ears on edge, wish them an "Especially Happy Epiphany" on the sixth day of 2007, as you rejoice in the revelation of Christ Jesus to the world by remembering the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem. Decide right now, as we ring out the old and ring in the new year, that you will be a force of one to publicly speak and show your faith, at every opportunity, all year long. Jesus said, "Everyone who acknowledges me in public, the Son of man will also acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me in public will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8). There will come a day when Charlie Sheen is going to eat-his-heart-out for acknowledgment before an angelic audience, but the hoots and howls he receives then won't be the laughing kind. Those who denigrate the Christmas season and the Savior it celebrates, and those who whine over their sacrilege, all need to hear again the proclamation of the Living Word of God: "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. But I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" (Luke 12:4-5). Keep this truth in mind also, and take it to heart: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to" the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:20). Serve Christ Jesus with a holy fear, dear friends, reverence him with a trembling awe. Work toward that day when you will receive accolades of acclaim because Jesus Christ is acknowledging you before the angels of God. Victory in Jesus! Jim Henkel North Benton Presbyterian Church North Benton, Ohio I admire your efforts, but why bother? December 28, 2006 I really do admire The Layman and all their writers, editors and readers. You folks are uncompromising, fight-to-the-last Christians and everything you say (pretty much) is right on track. What I do not understand is why you bother at all? I was a Presbyterian for over 40 years. I finally just got sick of all the lies, the half-truths, the elitism of the clergy and the total lack of commitment by leadership at all levels in the church. So, I left. My wife and I joined a large evangelical church that is bringing in over 1,000 new members every year. Not that increasing membership is proof of a commitment to Christ – I am not saying that. But one cannot help but think that the mass exodus from the mainline Protestant churches is for some reason other than convenience. Our new church fulfills us and we are more involved with helping the less fortunate than we ever had been with the Presbyterians. We pray for our old friends at the Presbyterian church every day, but the only way I'd ever go back is if I got sent as part of a mission trip. So, what I cannot figure out is why those, like you at The Layman, go to all the bother? Obviously, the PCUSA doesn't want you there. Just as obviously, you're not comfortable any more. So, why stay? Why not just quit like so many others before you and move someplace else where you're more fulfilled? The hierarchy of the PCUSA is just there to rake in money, and that's about it. From what I hear, they can't even figure out what gender the Holy Trinity is. Why do you put yourselves through that? As I said, I admire your efforts. We read The Layman almost every day and we love the articles and the thoughtfulness behind them. But we have to wonder: Why? Robb Rowan New song lyrics relate to PCUSA and ECUSA December 28, 2006 I saw this on the Virtue Online Web site today as they reported the courageous actions of the ECUSA parishes in Virginia departing the apostate Episcopal Church. Apparently, this is sung to the tune of "The Churches One Foundation." It certainly seems to apply to the apostasy of our own denomination as well.
Rev. Jim Yearsley Tampa, Fla. |
|
| December
2006 letters, page 2 Home · News · PLC Publications · The Layman Online Reviews · Archives· History of the Lay Committee · Feedback · Links |