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Like many common words, “renewal” has many meanings. License plates, library cards, and magazine subscriptions, they all come up for renewal. That simply keeps the momentum of life going. Pieces of old furniture and most home décor at some point needs renewal. That restores worn out things to their former glory or usefulness. As Presbyterians for Renewal, we are called to be doing far more than recycling or restoration. We are called to be serving God’s purpose to “make all things new.” All things new. Renewal.

From time to time, it’s important for those invested in any kind of renewal to take a look at themselves and see where they themselves are in need of renewing. To that end, the PFR Board enlisted change consultant Kevin Ford of The Armstrong Group in suburban Washington, D.C., to lead us in a process of renewal: defining who we are and what we do as PFR.

Significant strategic work began in early October 2006 as 19 focus groups, each made up of approximately 20 people from around the denomination were interviewed. Special strategic planning sessions in November and January moved the process along. By May 2007, we had a new mission statement: “Mobilizing leaders of congregations within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to be biblically faithful and missionally minded in their service to Jesus Christ.”
Now comes the challenging part, seeing how this new mission focus will shape the ministries and direction of PFR throughout the next years. Not only will it determine what we do, but it will help us decide what things we aren’t called to do. Over the next few issues of reNEWS, we will look at our new mission statement, unpacking its meaning and giving practical ways we see God working through this ministry to bring these words to life. For now, here is an initial overview.

Mobilizing

As we learned in school, verbs are where the action is. The PFR Board thought and talked and prayed long and hard about what our main action is to be as we move forward into a future affected by the work of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church and the actions and recommendations of the 2006 General Assembly. Is PFR called to equip the denomination, or is our ministry to inform? Do we lobby for issues, or do we create networks? Do we have a clear purpose and goal, or are we just one large affinity group? What is it that God is calling us to do?

Through prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, we saw consensus among the Board emerge. While we engage in many areas of ministry, it became clear that our main focus needs to be in mobilizing — gathering people together, building connections and networks among individuals and congregations, holding aloft a torch around which people can rally. Something unique happens when God’s people come together, and bringing people together is not something our denomination does well. It’s not always something our presbyteries do well either. A leadership vacuum currently exists in the PC(USA). We believe we are called to help address this need.

We are unique in our ability to mobilize people, and we do so in a variety of ways. Our most obvious means of mobilizing is through communications media: e-mail, our e-newsletter, our website (www.pfrenewal.org), this newsletter, reFORM, our annual academic journal, and video. These are somewhat impersonal methods, but through these we can reach large numbers of people with a message and a vision.

Secondly, we also mobilize people through regional conferences. PFR is uniquely gifted in this area. We offer nine regional Wee Kirk Conferences, pastors’ and seminarians’ conferences, events sponsored by the Network of Presbyterian Women in Leadership, and other events like the Christian Life Conference at Montreat. These are large events, with great speakers, but their greatest gift is mobilizing; offering the possibility of personal interaction and networking among participants.

Thirdly, we mobilize more locally and personally through Officer Training Events and Lay Renewal Weekends. These local events emphasize hands-on learning and significant interaction.

...leaders of congregations

For many years, the focus of the work of almost all “renewal” ministries has been on the so-called “top” of the denomination. While the vision of the leadership from Louisville is not immaterial, it does not define reality for much of the PC(USA). Christ Jesus continues to build his Kingdom each day through the work and witness of faithful congregations in the power of the Holy Spirit. PFR wants to be where the real action is taking place — finding where God is at work. While that doesn’t mean disengagement with denominational issues and concerns, it means our main focus is on the leaders of congregations. Changing structures and winning votes doesn’t guarantee the renewal of a denomination. A renewed denomination is the end result of renewed congregations filled with renewed leaders — whose relationship with Jesus Christ has changed the way they think, the way they behave, the way they live. Renewed leaders change both congregations and denominations.

One of the parables of Jesus is about mustard seeds. A detail about that parable which we often miss out on is how unwanted mustard plants were at that time. They were about as wanted then as dandelions in our lawns today. And they are just about as tenacious. Jesus’ point: The kingdom of God is small and unwanted, but it is tenacious and will take over the lawn of the world.

We believe that congregational leaders are our dandelion seeds.

...within the presbyterian church (USA)

God has not given up on the PC(USA). And neither has PFR. There will always be more work to be done than we can ever accomplish — in any congregation or in the denomination. But all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit is far more than a match for any obstacle we face within or beyond the PC(USA). We trust Jesus, and we are called to minister with Christ in our denomination.

This does not mean that we are uninterested in what God is doing outside of the PC(USA). We are united in prayer and in mission with all faithful Christians, including those who are hearing God’s call to leave the PC(USA). But we are called to serve those that remain, because this is where God in his wisdom has planted us.

...to be biblically faithful

Our Reformed faith teaches us that all life can be worship, and the emphasis of our worship is the Word of God. All we are and do is shaped and filled by God’s Word — God speaks and we respond. In a fallen world, we will always be tempted to replace God’s Word with our own ideas of what God “should” say. As faithful Christians, we steadfastly refuse to do so. To misrepresent God’s Word is to misrepresent God.

…and missionally minded

As the Blues Brothers famously said, “We’re on a mission from God.” But what does it mean to be missional?

Like “renewal,” the word “mission” and its derivative “missional” have both been reduced to either global outreach or social service. Darrell Guder, George Hunsberger, Michael Frost, and others who shape the Church’s life and thought are using the adjective “missional” to describe a larger, more holistic view of mission that draws all of life into an active pursuit of the kingdom of God. “God’s Church does not have a mission — God’s Mission has a church.”

PFR’s vision is to see Presbyterians so filled with faith, hope, and love that individuals and congregations are bringing the Kingdom of God to life in our local communities — recovering gospel hope. There are countless ways the gospel of Jesus Christ engages the world. What is required of Christ’s people is a missional mind, an imagination that sees opportunities to share the gospel and bring redemption in not just big and programmatic ways, but in small and daily ways.

The first and most important hurdle in developing a missional mind is the move from church-for-church’s-sake to “being the church for the world” (to quote from the subtitle of Marva Dawn’s book, A Royal Waste of Time). Through articles, conferences, videos, and personal interactions, we hope to spark imaginations and launch conversations that lead to new ways of thinking: connecting Christians to the world and, through those connections, connecting the world to Christ. As part of sparking this missional imagination, we want to print lots of brief stories of how you’re living missionally. So, please let us know how the gospel is continuing to convert you as you live the mission of Jesus more fully in your local context. A missional mind needs lots of stories to keep its imagination alive.

...in their service to Jesus Christ

The ultimate word about who we are is a name: Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Christ who is renewing us and Jesus Christ who is renewing the world. It is Christ alone who commands our service and Christ alone who deserves our worship. Our biblical faithfulness and our missional minds are all centered in the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to work and pray for the same to be true of every leader of every congregation in the PC(USA).

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (TNIV) People who have worked long and hard for renewal within our denomination have been known for revering Christ as Lord and for being prepared to give an answer. Now, more than ever, we need to be filled with gospel hope. It is God who is at work in us and in our midst, and we must do what we do and say what we say with gentleness and with respect. Guided by our new mission statement, we will prayerfully and boldly attempt to live 1 Peter 3:15 as members of Christ’s Body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).