Page 1 of 11

Many congregations today across the United States are hearing the story of Jesus baptism. Im guessing you remember the story. JohnJesus cousinwas baptizing in the Jordan river. People were emptying out of Jerusalem to go into the wilderness to be baptized by John. Jesus approached John about being baptized. John said you should baptize me Jesus. Jesus insisted. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan. As Jesus came out of the water the sky opened. A dove fell upon Jesus. A voice said, this is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased. This was Jesus identity. Gods son, Gods beloved, God was pleased with Jesus. Its the start of the year and I think its appropriate to look at our identity as a congregation. Today Im beginning a two-week sermon series called Identity. Today we are going to look at our Presbyterian identity. Next Sunday when we have the Annual Meeting of our new church we are going to look at our identity as a congregation. This series is a culture-setting series in that the aim is to have more clarity on who we are as a congregationon our identity. It might be easy to think that this is a series meant for the people who regularly come to Chain of Lakes. Thats not true. That actually is not the case. If you are a visitor or relatively new to Chain of Lakes I believe you will enjoy this series as you will get a sense of who we are and what we are aboutour identity. Last fall my wife, Amy, and I hosted some friends of ours from Rochester, Terry & Vicki. They came to worship with us. That Sunday I shared a culture setting series. And afterwards I asked them if it bothered them that we talked about ourselves on that day. They said noactually they enjoyed listening and understanding who we were as a congregation. They understood that churches have to do these culture setting series.

Page 2 of 11

With that introduction let me encourage you to get out this brochure that is in the bulletin. In this brochure you will find a devotionthis week I wrote a devotion on the word, elder. The word Presbyterian is the transliteration of the Greek word, Presbuteros. Presbuteros is elder. The Scriptures teach us a lot about elders. I encourage you to use the devotion this week. On the back is a place for prayer requests. In the middle is a place to take notes. I want to encourage you to take notes during this sermon. One I believe that God might say something to you that youll want to remember and write down, and two the information I am sharing is important for our own identity. One more resourceI wrote an article called Presbyterian 2.0. Its on our web site. It describes a part of my own understanding of our Presbyterian identity. For the past two months the leaders of our congregation have gone through an intensive planning process. We hired Tom Bandy as the coach of our congregation. We have five focus areas at Chain of Lakes for 2014. They are SLIDE 1) Worship targeted towards the demographic in our areaBabies and Bliss & Boomers and Boomerangs. Our style will be Inspirational and Coaching 2) Small groups 3) Children and youth 4) Radical hospitality 5) Heartburst ministry This past Thursday night the Steering Committee set the goal of our congregation for the year. SLIDE By December 31, 2014 the people from Chain of Lakes will bless those outside of our congregation in such an extraordinary way that 20 new families will connect to Chain of Lakes by way of participation, financial giving and commitment.

Page 3 of 11

By organizing our ministry around these focus areas we are going to change. Some people have asked whether we can make these changes and still be Presbyterian. Its a fair question. Can we throw ourselves into these focus areas as weve defined them and as we believe God is calling us to do and keep our Presbyterian identity? For some of us being Presbyterian is not that important. We didnt come here because this is a Presbyterian congregation. For others it is. Being Presbyterian is part of our faith-based identity. If we went to a Presbyterian church we would go to a Presbyterian church first. For those of us who identify ourselves as Presbyterians we have a sense of what a Presbyterian church looks like. Whennot ifwhen we are successful in living into these focus areas we might not look like our idea of a Presbyterian church. There is a lot at stake in this question of identity. If being Presbyterian is important to youthis sermon is meant to you. If being Presbyterian isnt important to youthis sermon is meant for you as youre going to learn about being Presbyterian. To get at this idea of identity Im going to ask two questions. I want to encourage you to write them down. SLIDE What is non-negotiable about being Presbyterian? If we stopped doing ____, then

we would stop being Presbyterian? I want to take a risk. Would you write down your answers to these questions in your sheet. Even if you have no clue to your answer, pray to God what an answer might be. Im going to give you thirty secondswrite down your own response Part of hospitality is having meaningful conversations. During our Fellowship time today I would encourage you to share your response with another person.

Page 4 of 11

This past week I asked these questions on my Facebook page. Many of my Presbyterian friends responded. SLIDE Here is the response. I encourage you to go to the page.

I also asked this question yesterday at our Presbytery meeting. I am going to share these responses on my blog What is Presbyterian. Its a denomination. Presbyterian is not a church. There is one church made up of many denominations. Ive compared denominations to cars. There is one journey of faith and followers of Jesus travel this journey in different cars. There is the Presbyterian car and the Methodist car and Catholic, and UCC and Eagle Brook, and the nondenominations to car. For our journey to go well we have to know what is in our car. I drive a Ford Escape. Amy & I have had the car for ten years. I know that car. This week when it was so cold and icy, I knew how to press the brakes, I know how hard I can steer the car around turns, I know where the lights are, the windshield wipers, how the radio works. Amy drives a Toyota Camry. Sometimes I drive it, but it takes me a while to get used to her car. I might hit the brakes too hardbecause Im used to driving the Escape. The ride is not as easy. Our journey is not going to be as easy if were not familiar with what our car looks like. Ive been Presbyterian my entire life. If you cut me open I bleed Presbyterian. I thought about sharing my story of how I came to love being Presbyterian. But Im going to save that for another day. I love the Presbyterian church. My sister is a Presbyerian pastor, her husband is a Presbyterian pastor, my Dad has served as a General Assembly commissioner, my mom is on the Pastor Nominating Committee of my home Presbyterian church. If you ever doubt my own commitment to the Presbyterian church ask my wife, Amy. Often she has said, when your family gets together all you talk about is the Presbyterian church.

Page 5 of 11

Its important for us to know that the purpose of our new congregation is not to make Presbyterians. Im not serving here as the pastor of this new church so that we can make Presbyterians in the north Metro. SLIDE We exist as a new congregation to: 1) be a community who lives according to our Purpose Statement 2) be a community who lives according to a set of eight Core Values 3) becomes a place of extraordinary blessing. Another question I want us to write down is this: SLIDE How does the world view Presbyterians? I think there is a stereotype about

Presbyterians. This short clip captures the stereotype. VIDEO VIDEO IDEO

What are the stereotypes in the video How are people dressed in the video? Are the people in the video young or old? Are the people sitting still and trying to make a nose or are they moving around and comfortable Is the preacher communicating clearly or sharing a sermon that uses big words and is hard to understand Is the man who is sitting next to Mr Bean happy to see him? Does he share hospitality? People who are not Presbyterains have these stereotypes about Presbyterians. A while ago I was having a conversation with a woman who wasnt Presbyterian. She was very interested in what it meant to be Presbyterian and had attended the church I was serving. Her friends were giving her a hard time about going to a Presbyterian church. They asked her, Do Presbyterians believe in salvation? Yes we believe in salvation. I believe in

Page 6 of 11

salvation. As we were talking it came to me that the stereotype that people have aout Presbyterians is this: SLIDE Old Unitarians who like, but dont love Jesus. Out of touch with pop culture and

trends. Their congregations are small. I dont think we at Chain of Lakes are like this. I remember a few Sundays ago when someone was so moved by what was happening in worship that the person started crying. Another person got up and shared a handkerchief. That was so cool to see. Whats non-negotiable about being Presbyterian? If we stopped doing ____, then we would stop being Presbyterian. I have a list of ten. For time reasons Im only going to talk about two I will also put this list on our web site and our blog. This list is my personal viewsthey dont represent the views of our congregation. Our Steering Committee hasnt had the time to develop our own sense of Presbyterian identity. This is what non-negotiable SLIDE Pastors and Elders working togethershared authority The community and especially worship is informed by the Word Engaged in the wider community Celebrate the sacraments Connectionalwhat happens in one Presbyterian church matters to people at other Presbyterian churches

SLIDE Informed by the Book of Order and Book of Confessions Women in leadership God alone is Lord of the conscience--were not subscriptionist Presbyterian Ecumenical Committed to the Reformed Tradition of theology

Page 7 of 11

The first non-negotiable I want to explore is Pastors and Elders working together authority is shared. In the Presbyterian church the elders run the church. Recently the terminology of pastors and elders was changed in the Presbyterian church. I am called a Teaching Elder. You can still call me pastor Paul, but my title is Teaching Elder. The people who serve on the Steering Committee are Ruling Elders. The Elders run the church. This is very biblical. The Apostle Paul was the first new-church development pastor. When he would enter a village he would most often go to a synagogue and start sharing that Jesus was raised from the dead. After being in the village for a while a group of people would gather around him. That group of people would be the church in the village. Paul would then start training a group called elders. The elders would run the church. When Paul left that community he knew the new community was in good shape if the elders were doing their tasks. In the story that we heard today Paul was telling Timothy which specific qualities of being an elder was important. Elders are spiritual leadersits their task to ensure that the spiritual life of the congregation is flourishing. The Elders are examples for the rest of the congregation. SLIDE These are the things you must insist on and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 In a Presbyterian church the pastor or Teaching Elder cant make decisions without consulting with the Ruling Elders. If someone came to me and asked if I would baptize their child, I always tell them that I have to approach the Steering Committee first. If you came to me and said that you would really like to celebrate Communion next week, I would say I have to ask the Steering Committee.

Page 8 of 11

Also the Ruling Elders cant make decisions without the Teaching Elder. The Steering Committee cant even meet unless the pastor is present. The relationship then between the pastor and Steering Committee memberTeaching and Ruling Eldershas to be collaborative. Its important to remember that Presbyterian churches are not congregational churches. The congregation only meets to vote on their pastor, have an Annual Meeting, to vote on going in debt, and to elect officers. The congregation doesnt vote on operational matters of the church. Thats up to the Steering Committee. At the last church I served I remember one time when we were going through a thorny issue. Some people in the congregation wanted to have a congregational meeting. I said no. We have eldersit is there task to run the church. We didnt have a congregational meetingwe made it fine through that issue. Its certainly appropriate and important for the elders to be in touch with the congregation and involve the congregation in the decisions that are made. Its appropriate for the congregation to have forums and to share their views. But the elders or the Steering Committee ultimately have authority. Rememberthe congregation elects the elders. One more point every Councilthey used to be called governing bodyin the Presbyterian church has an equal number of Ruling Elders and Teaching Elderslay people and pastors. When the General Assembly meets this summer in Detroitthe General Assembly is the highest governing body in the Presbyterian churchthey will have an equal number of Ruling Elders and Teaching Elders. This is a wonderful way to do church. Its hard, but the challenges are worth it. Women in leadership. This is a non-negotiable.

Page 9 of 11

In the Presbyterian church we have women pastors and women who serve on the Steering Committee. Women preach. Last week Sally Narr led us in a Bibliodrama; two weeks ago Kate O-Brien-Soltau preached. Kristel Peters is our Music Director. This non-negotiable part of being Presbyterian is not something to be taken for granted. I made a list of churches in Blaine. I looked at whether they have women in leadership SLIDE Eagle Brook Kingswood St. Timms their Parish Council SLIDEE Renovation Started by Encompass church. I searched and searched for their Baptist churchdont have women in leadership Wesleyan denominationdo have women in leadership Catholic churchdont have women in leadership. Women can serve on

denominational affiliation. Their worship leaders are men Lutheran church Do have women in leadership Do have women in leadership

Blaine Methodist church

Many of our churches in this area dont allow women in leadership We are one of the few churches in this community who do. Is this important. Absolutely. This issue of women in leadership is not tangential. How a church lives this out says a lot about the congregation. I believe that when women are denied leadership opportunities because of their gender that this is a tragic misinterpretation of the Bible and a tragic misunderstanding of Gods intention for humanity.

Page 10 of 11

Throughout the Scriptures women were Spiritual leaders. Who was the first person who saw Jesus after he was raised from the dead? A woman Mary Magdalene. Among Jesus followers were there more women or men at the cross? Women. Peter and John were the men and Mary, Mary Magdalene, and other women were there. The men had fled How about Miriamwho was a leader of the Israelites along with Moses, or Hannah whose persistence led to the birth of Samuel of prophet. Even though the times were patriarchal, women were leaders. Look at our culture today. Women are breaking the glass ceiling and are leading in all sorts of positions. Its exciting that a woman just became CEO of General Motors. We have three women on the Supreme Court, we could very likely have a woman President in the next decade. Women are sharing their gifts. And we think that women dont have the spiritual gifts to serve. This issue is personal for me. My sister is a Presbyterian pastor. To think that her gifts for ordained leadership would not be recognized just because of her gender. The fact that we ordain women is a reason to come to the Presbyterian church. Presbyterians have had women leadership for so long that I think we take its significance for granted. I dream of the day when a woman is the lead pastor at Eagle Brook, or a woman is the bishop of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Diocese. These are just two non-negotiables. I want to close by asking one final question. Can Presbyterians develop thriving congregations in the 21st century?

Page 11 of 11

There is no doubt that the Presbyterian brand is suffering tremendously. Yesterday I attended the Presbytery meeting. The Presbytery closed two churches Arlington Hills in St. Paul and the Presbyterian church in Farmington. Two churches merged yesterdayKnox in St. Paul and North Como in Roseville. Six Presbyterian churches are in the process of leaving the Presbytery. Can Presbyterians develop thriving congregations in the 21st century? Of course we can. When we meet the spiritual needs of the people in the community we will thrive. When we worship in a way that connects people to God we will thrive When we have small groups where people develop PALS and connect to God we will thrive When we have a dynamic childrens and youth ministry we will thrive When we have a heartburst ministry where people are saying, How cool is it that you are doing thiswe will thrive When we develop our hospitality ministries where people are engaged with each other and engaged with God. Where meaningful conversations are taking place we will thrive. The brand doesnt lead us to thrive. Of course we can thrive within the brand Presbyterian 2.0. Thats what we are going to experience this year. And we are going to thrive!