Pastoral Thought--May 3

Long before masks, before vaccines, and viral strains. . . before social distancing and the challenges that accompanied it, before we were challenged about how we can safely gather together, the president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Sam Calian, wrote a book entitled: Survival or Revival: Ten Keys to Church Vitality. Under Dr. Calian’s leadership Pittsburgh Theological Seminary consistently grew and equipped ministers for leadership in the Post-Modern church. 

At the time of publication Dr. Calian had no idea that 23 years after the release of his words that they would continue to be so helpful in the church. When I am able to lead worship in a local retirement community here in Cranberry, I would see Dr. Calian sitting with his wife at every service. His gentle smile and blue suit were a constant. As I lead the service I would remember both the leadership that Sam offered to the seminary and the strength of his convictions that accompanied him. 

As we navigate the ever-growing complexity of the post-quarantine world, as we try to make sense of how our calling as the church is evolving and transforming, I take some degree of comfort from Sam’s words. He wrote: 

"Finally, we need to realize that preaching, singing, and praying will not unveil the divine mystery to us. Neither will traditional, nontraditional, or even a blended service do it. Nor will the pure study of theology reveal the divine essence to us. . . .The finite categories of human understanding can never capture God’s being. We are engaged in a journey of faith, our convictions are woven with doubts. The few answers [that] we have do not correspond neatly to every tragedy we face, nor will our ‘answers’ stand up to empirical and rational measurements."

These are strong words from Dr. Calian that could spark a lot of conversations in the church, however, it is the next sentence that I want you to remember today as you navigate around the community amidst ever-changing expectations and projections. 

“Yet we still hold on to our naked faith. Why? Because we trust in God.” (Emphasis added)

Indeed we trust in God. We trust in the God who has been with us since the very beginning of time. For that God, this God, is the same Lord and Savior who has seen us through or combined history. Global suffering will come. A viral outbreak unlike any that we have seen in our lifetimes has happened. Yet we continue to trust in God. We continue to hold onto God. We continue to take our mixture of doubts and faith and we bring them before God. In that moment, God does something miraculous for us and we are changed. 

So today, I hope that Dr. Calian’s words have been a source of comfort and grace for you. I hope that you can remember them as you share the gospel this week in a complex world. For we trust in God. . . and for today, that is enough. 

Blessings

Rev. Derek