it's laaaate

Today was a very full day. I tried to pace less... the three amiga's behind me (Joanne, Nancy, Shirley) were at their raucous best. I spoke to a resolution I wrote and it got good support in the house and passed. CeCe spoke eloquently on a motion from her committee. I got to see Tamara up close at the end of the evening (almost midnight), when I closed in prayer. This is as serious as I'll get on this blog... there were some issues of significance to many. I will say that our Charlotte group was very supportive of each other, even when voting differently. I tried to acknowledge these differences and highlight our unity in the closing prayer as rows stretched across the hall with hands held.

Let us pray…

Heavenly Father,

We are divided on much. Chances are that the person beside us voted differently on significant issues, passionately held. It is so easy to see one another as “the enemy” and yet you declare those who hope in the Lord Jesus Christ to be family.

You declare it – in Christ, we are one family! Yet, we struggle so to experience it! Some of us believe truth is at stake; some of us believe justice is at stake; some of us distrust each other, and we struggle with other issues that would drive us apart. Some leave rejoicing; some leave in sorrow; some are not sure what they feel.

What hope do we have apart from your grace through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? What hope? Grace seems a fragile flower in a room full of elephants.

Give us a vision for your grace – unconditional, true, winsome, and strong. Help us see the person on our left and on our right, not as the enemy, but like us, a broken son or daughter for whom Christ has died. Help us cling to your Word and live in your Spirit.

We ask it in Jesus’ name, Amen!

what's big in my committee - #16 (worship)

I thought I would pick a conversation starter (hopefully) with my fellow commissioners.

What committee are you on and what do you think are some key overtures/issues coming before your committee. (Who knows, it might even help the rest of us sort through the 100's of pages to focus in on key stuff!)

I am assigned to committee #16 - worship and spiritual renewal. So far, we only have two pieces of business. Both of them seem pretty non-controversial. One is a statement that we are brothers and sisters in Christ (and inviting the moderator to remind us of that regularly). The other is an invitation to churches to experience a "solemn assembly" - a prayer meeting modeled on Old Testament prayer gatherings, for the purpose of worship and spiritual renewal.

The other interesting piece to committee #16 (and 17), as I understand it, is that these two "added" committees are going to use the consensus model of decision making and share with the rest of the Assembly how that goes. That should give me something unique and interesting to blog about the first few days!