Welcome to First Presbyterian. "Presbyterian"??? What does that mean?
Well, it has a couple of meanings, one of which may be more interesting to you than the other. But they both matter.
Strictly speaking, "Presbyterian" describes the way we function as a church. "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word "presbyteros" or "presbuteros," which means "elder" or "older person." In a presbyterian church, the leadership is made up of elders or "presbyters," nominated and elected by the local congregation members themselves. There are two groups of elders: "teaching elders" or pastors and "ruling elders" or local church members elected to be on the "session" or leadership group of the congregation. All this goes back to a time when Christians, particularly in the United States and Britain, were trying to decide the best way to organize churches and who would make decisions affecting the churches.
There are other ways of organizing churches, principally "episcopal" churches and "congregational" churches. In episcopal churches, say, the Anglican or Episcopal or even the Methodist churches, there are bishops who guide local churches, particularly in deciding who will serve each congregation. In congregational churches, there is really no stated relationship among the various congregations, with all decisions left up to each individual church.
"Presbyterian" is a bit of a hybrid. Like the congregational churches, most decisions are made by the local congregation, including who to call as a minister. But we also have "presbyteries," or gatherings of representative elders from the local congregations in a particular area. These presbyteries carry the responsibilities, among other things, of preparing candidates for ministry and working with the local churches to obtain the best call for both minister and congregation. We call ourselves a "connectional church" in that way.
But "being Presbyterian" is also a short-hand way of saying that we are part of the Reformed tradition of Christianity, coming down through the years from people like Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox as they were stunned by the message of Jesus in the New Testament. What that means is that we have found deep meaning in the learnings of the Protestant Reformation, with its strong Biblical emphasis on "salvation by the grace received through faith in Jesus Christ." By saying that, we do not claim to be the only Christians and certainly not that the Presbyterian Church is the only true church. Instead, at our truest, we base everything on God's calling, God's grace, God's mercy, God's sovereignty as the only judge of human beings. We are only servants, whose one claim is that God has amazingly shown us unmerited and undeserved grace poured out in the life, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul taught us, "there is no boasting before God." We are saved entirely by grace. There is nothing we have done to earn God's approval.
We are, therefore, called to extend God's welcome to everyone, without distinction. We seek to welcome everyone. We receive church members based on simple faith in Jesus, accompanied by any form of baptism. We seek to remove all church obstacles from people seeking relationship with Jesus. It is Jesus who taught us, "Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice." He told story after story about how God's mercy overrides all human objections and all human claims to a righteousness of achievement. Instead, trusting in the God who is out to save sinners is the path for the disciples of Jesus.
As a group, Presbyterians (at our truest) leave all judgments to God alone. Presbyterians, in general, hold traditional Bible-based beliefs. But we also seek to respect God's work in each person, honoring each person with the freedom of their conscience to hold their faith between themselves and God directly. Presbyterians as a group become uneasy with rigid theological tests or decision-making power in the hands of one or just a few people. Instead, here is where our theology and our way of organizing churches come together. Because God is the God of all, and God's Spirit is given to all who put their faith in Jesus, Presbyterian organization seeks to involve as many typical people as possible throughout the life of the church. We are together in the church, not because we are all alike, or think or talk or even believe exactly alike. We are together in the church, because God's grace has come equally to us all, and God's Spirit has bonded us together, completely by the grace of God alone. To us, this is really Good News. "Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save sinners." That is a free invitation and call to every human being, one and all.
Well, it has a couple of meanings, one of which may be more interesting to you than the other. But they both matter.
Strictly speaking, "Presbyterian" describes the way we function as a church. "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word "presbyteros" or "presbuteros," which means "elder" or "older person." In a presbyterian church, the leadership is made up of elders or "presbyters," nominated and elected by the local congregation members themselves. There are two groups of elders: "teaching elders" or pastors and "ruling elders" or local church members elected to be on the "session" or leadership group of the congregation. All this goes back to a time when Christians, particularly in the United States and Britain, were trying to decide the best way to organize churches and who would make decisions affecting the churches.
There are other ways of organizing churches, principally "episcopal" churches and "congregational" churches. In episcopal churches, say, the Anglican or Episcopal or even the Methodist churches, there are bishops who guide local churches, particularly in deciding who will serve each congregation. In congregational churches, there is really no stated relationship among the various congregations, with all decisions left up to each individual church.
"Presbyterian" is a bit of a hybrid. Like the congregational churches, most decisions are made by the local congregation, including who to call as a minister. But we also have "presbyteries," or gatherings of representative elders from the local congregations in a particular area. These presbyteries carry the responsibilities, among other things, of preparing candidates for ministry and working with the local churches to obtain the best call for both minister and congregation. We call ourselves a "connectional church" in that way.
But "being Presbyterian" is also a short-hand way of saying that we are part of the Reformed tradition of Christianity, coming down through the years from people like Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox as they were stunned by the message of Jesus in the New Testament. What that means is that we have found deep meaning in the learnings of the Protestant Reformation, with its strong Biblical emphasis on "salvation by the grace received through faith in Jesus Christ." By saying that, we do not claim to be the only Christians and certainly not that the Presbyterian Church is the only true church. Instead, at our truest, we base everything on God's calling, God's grace, God's mercy, God's sovereignty as the only judge of human beings. We are only servants, whose one claim is that God has amazingly shown us unmerited and undeserved grace poured out in the life, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul taught us, "there is no boasting before God." We are saved entirely by grace. There is nothing we have done to earn God's approval.
We are, therefore, called to extend God's welcome to everyone, without distinction. We seek to welcome everyone. We receive church members based on simple faith in Jesus, accompanied by any form of baptism. We seek to remove all church obstacles from people seeking relationship with Jesus. It is Jesus who taught us, "Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice." He told story after story about how God's mercy overrides all human objections and all human claims to a righteousness of achievement. Instead, trusting in the God who is out to save sinners is the path for the disciples of Jesus.
As a group, Presbyterians (at our truest) leave all judgments to God alone. Presbyterians, in general, hold traditional Bible-based beliefs. But we also seek to respect God's work in each person, honoring each person with the freedom of their conscience to hold their faith between themselves and God directly. Presbyterians as a group become uneasy with rigid theological tests or decision-making power in the hands of one or just a few people. Instead, here is where our theology and our way of organizing churches come together. Because God is the God of all, and God's Spirit is given to all who put their faith in Jesus, Presbyterian organization seeks to involve as many typical people as possible throughout the life of the church. We are together in the church, not because we are all alike, or think or talk or even believe exactly alike. We are together in the church, because God's grace has come equally to us all, and God's Spirit has bonded us together, completely by the grace of God alone. To us, this is really Good News. "Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save sinners." That is a free invitation and call to every human being, one and all.