Andy Crouch

Those of you who are artists, and there are many in the Delta, need to be aware of the ministry of Andy Crouch. Crouch was a campus minister at Harvard for many years, and he has just written a wonderful new book entitled, Culture Making. Check out the Culture Making website.

An Easter Carol, Christina Rossetti

Cindy Mercer, Wales, 2005

Spring bursts to-day,
For Christ is risen and all the earth’s at play.

Flash forth, thou Sun,
The rain is over and gone, its work is done.

Winter is past,
Sweet Spring is come at last, is come at last.

Bud, Fig and Vine,
Bud, Olive, fat with fruit and oil and wine.

Break forth this morn
In roses, thou but yesterday a Thorn.

Uplift thy head,
O pure white Lily through the Winter dead.

Beside your dams
Leap and rejoice, you merry-making Lambs.

All Herds and Flocks
Rejoice, all Beasts of thickets and of rocks.

Sing, Creatures, sing,
Angels and Men and Birds and everything.

All notes of Doves
Fill all our world: this is the time of loves.

A Prayer in Spring, Robert Frost

Cindy Mercer, Belhaven, 2006

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchid white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

Stem Cell Research: A Monumental Moral Shift

"President Obama is now personally responsible for research that will involve the intentional destruction of human embryos," writes Al Mohler. "This represents a monumental moral shift. The United States government is now in the business of supporting the destruction of human embryos through federal funding of stem cell research."

For outstanding comment on the moral shift that took place yesterday, see Al Mohler's blog.

Bonhoeffer on Abortion

In the blunt words of the great Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

“Destruction of the embryo in the mother’s womb is a violation of the right to live which God has bestowed on this nascent life. To raise the question whether we are here concerned already with a human being or not is merely to confuse the issue. The simple fact is that God certainly intended to create a human being and that this nascent human being has been deliberately deprived of his life. And that is nothing but murder.”

Report from the Deacons
By William Patridge (Chairman)

As you know, I just returned to the Board of Deacons a few months ago and have been reminded what a sinful person I am, trying to lead sinful people. But as I work with my fellow deacons I am totally amazed and overcome by their love, their dedication and their enthusiasm to serve the members of Westminster Presbyterian Church. We are truly blessed to have such committed men serving this church.

So back to the original question, what plans do the deacons have for WPC in 2009? First, because of your generous financial support, we plan to repair the outside of the church building. You have probably noticed that we have a lot of rotten doors, windows and shutters that need to be replaced, as well as, painting; we plan to repair it all.

The second thing that we want to do in 2009 is remodel the kitchen and fellowship hall. The kitchen needs to be more user friendly and we want to improve the acoustics and appearance of the fellowship hall. If you have any suggestions or expertise in this area, please let us know.

The third thing that we want to do this year is to reinstate committees and ministry teams. We are studying a book by Tim Keller that Stephen Pillow picked up in Nashville at a Keller conference. We hope through our studies to get new ideas and insights into how to make our teams more productive. If anyone is interested in serving on a committee or a ministry team and would like to have a copy of this book Resources for Deacons, please call one of the deacons.

The Pastor’s Perspective
By Brad Mercer

The letter of 1 John was written against the background of proto-Gnosticism. These false teachers peddled spiritual fulfillment (in this life) with no need for obedience, and eternal happiness (in heaven) with no need for resurrected bodies.

“We hold the secret key,” they claimed. “Follow us, and you will be free from the messiness of daily, ordinary, bodily life.” “We will help you escape! Join us.”

These days, dematerialized, elitist self-spiritualities abound. Neo-Gnostic connoisseurs of the sublime are happy to let the unenlightened in on the secret: spirituality without the inconvenience of creation, sin, morality, people we don’t like, and (most attractive of all) God. What a deal! A spiritual inside track without the messiness of matter.

Americans were shown the way (unfortunately) by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Standing on the bare ground—my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of God.

I can feel my feet leaving the ground! Actually, this vision is not very appealing to me—but very popular these days.

Contrast this with Eugene Peterson’s description in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places of holiness with our feet on the ground:

A primary task of the community of Jesus is to maintain this lifelong cultivation of love in all the messiness of its families, neighborhoods, congregations, and missions. Life is intricate, demanding, glorious, deeply, and God-honoring, but—and here’s the thing—never a finished product, never an accomplishment, always flawed in some degree or other.

So why define our identity in terms that can never be satisfied? There are so many easier ways to give meaning and significance to our human condition: giving assent to a creed or keeping a prescribed moral code are the most common in congregations.

Belief and behavior are essential, but as the defining mark of the Christian they lack one thing—relationship. They are both prone to abstractions or programs. Abstractions (learning right belief) are good: programs (learning right behavior) are good; but it is also possible to master the abstractions and carry out the programs impersonally. In fact, it is far easier if done impersonally.

Our goal is holiness and fear of the Lord—practiced in the midst of daily, ordinary, feet-on-the-ground life. This character is cultivated by Bible intake, personal prayer, and corporate worship, and embodied in the messiness that comes with particular places and particular people.

May God help us embrace the truth of the Gospel, seek to be obedient, and love one another—step by step, day by day.