Second Presbyterian Church
Annual Report
February 3, 2008
Excellence
Philippians 4:8-9
George C. Anderson
8Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
John and Cathy Shoulders were kind enough to invite Nancy and me to a Buechner Institute at King College. Speakers and panelists considered the writings of Frederick Buechner, the renowned novelist, memoirist, essayist and Presbyterian minister. The event ended with Buechner being interviewed by Walter Brueggemann.
I am so impressed with Buechner and Brueggemann that 25 years ago I vowed to buy every book they published. With around 90 books published between them, it was a vow I could not keep. Still, both have influenced me and I was excited to listen in on their conversation.
One of Buechner’s responses saddened me, however. Brueggemann mentioned that Buechner publicly admitted not attending church much anymore and asked him why. Buechner answered that though he has attended services that were the exception, by and large he has found worship and preaching in most churches these days to be depressing. Worship is often flippant, lacking a sense of holiness and reverence; and sermons are poorly prepared, poorly written, poorly delivered and, worse of all, not completely honest. And so, more often than not, Buechner skips church.
I am disappointed. Buechner has been known for writing out of a deep sense of humility, forged of an awareness of the fragility of life stemming from his father’s suicide. But pride has a way of coming back at you in disguise, and maybe that has happened to Buechner. Would it not be a discipline of humility for him to attend even a small, struggling church; perhaps with elderly members and a preacher of limited gifts doing the best she or he can do; and demonstrating that he does not think equality with equally gifted artists as something to be demanded, but will meet people in low places…. for after all, that is what Christ did for us?
Still, I am deeply appreciative of Buechner’s vision and gifts, and he is saying something the American church needs to hear. Buechner is discouraged to see many churches settle with mediocrity.
Gregory Jones would agree. Dr. Jone will give the Edmunds Lectures in March. In addition to writing a book on forgiveness, Jones co-authored a book on Christian ministry called, Resurrecting Excellence, in which he and Kevin Armstrong describe an erosion of standards of excellence in churches.
Once upon a time, people of tremendous gifts were compelled to offer them in the service of the church because the church called for and expected the best. David Bridges tells me, and might tell those attending the Men’s Breakfast, that the historian, Martin Marty, reports that in the 1920s, of the over 12,000 names in "Who’s Who," a thousand of them were children of ministers. Many high achieving children were inspired to excellence by high achieving ministers.
But over the last 80+ years, the church has been pushed to the cultural periphery. In a people-pleasing response to the marginalization, congregations expected less and less of its ministers and members.
That has proved to be a bad strategy. It has been a bad strategy because, as polls show, while mainline churches have been pushed to the periphery, Americans’ desire to know God has not. They are as religious as ever. And highly effective churches continue to thrive because what was once true still is: beauty inspires beauty. A beautiful resurrection inspires a beautiful ministry, and a beautiful ministry inspires beautiful lives.
Meanwhile, churches where the members are hanging on and where ministers offer little more than themselves as- and this is Stanley Hauerwas’ term- as "quivering masses of availability," become more and more irrelevant in the lives of those seeking meaning and meaningful service.
And so, Jones and Armstrong call for the church to strive again for "resurrecting excellence." The term "resurrecting excellence," is to be understood in two different ways. First, it means our being resurrected by the excellence of Christ. God held nothing back in Jesus, but gave the beating heart of his own heart, his Word in flesh, his full presence in his spirit. And with a perfect obedience, Christ gave of himself completely; in his teaching, healing, and then dying, that we might now the saving grace of God. Because of what Christ has done, Paul says, all things can be made new in us. Christ’s beauty can inspire beauty in us.
The phrase, "resurrecting excellence" is also to be understood in the sense of resurrecting excellence within the church. Jones and Armstrong are not referring to the prideful excellence of American culture, born of a competitive drive to be bigger, better or more dazzling; but rather an excellence born of the Holy Spirit that calls out the best from us. It is an excellence born of personal humility resulting in a passion for others.
Jones’ book is going to be required reading for the newly ordained ministers who are going to come here to Second Presbyterian Church. Thanks to a grant from the Trent Fund, Second Presbyterian has joined with Union/PSCE to offer a church-based seminar designed to help new ministers who have shown promise for leading larger churches understand how to do so in an effective way. At the end of March, eight new Presbyterian ministers, representing six states and six theological schools, will converge on Roanoke and, among other things, study this congregation… warts and all. Among their teachers will be some of our staff and members, and our programs will be continued to be scrutinized as case studies.
Also, as I described in the printed Annual Report, Second Presbyterian will be featured in a chapter of a new book by Bob Dale, a respected and published church consultant. How widely read that particular book will be, I don’t know, but this congregation will be presented as an example of what Dale calls "a perennial church," one that stays healthy in and out of season over the course of many years.
I don’t offer these two bits of information to make us feel superior or sinfully proud. What I want all of us to understand is that we have a leadership role in advancing the cause that Jones and Armstrong have placed before the church; promoting resurrection excellence. Parents know that how they live their lives is of double importance because their children are learning from their example. Well, it is doubly important that we be faithful in our work and witness because other churches will be learning from us.
Let’s be clear, though, that our being an example is a reminder, not a cause for our striving for excellence. As Paul’s words in Philippians remind us, God doesn’t expect perfection. But God does call for us to offer the best of who we are and have to offer so that we can grow in our own identity as those who are a part of the resurrecting work of Jesus Christ.