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Connection
PRESBYTERIAN
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FALL 2018
  MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL SECRETARY
 PRESBYTERIAN
 The Facebook of the Church
 By the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, Life and Mission Agency
It’s a mistake to idealize the early church as a golden age. Living Faith says that “The Church is Christ to- gether with his people...in constant need of reform because of the failure and sin which mark its life in every age.” The church, even at its best, has faults and flaws.
The legend is told that Saint Nicho- las, the Bishop of Myra (i.e., Santa Claus) became so enraged during a debate with his opponent, Arius, at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 that he struck him on the face. Neverthe- less, we are told that the members of the early church practiced a kind of fellowship that distinguished them from the brutal world around them.
Acts 2 records that early Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. All were together and held everything in common. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily.”
Aristides, living in the second century, described how people were persuaded to become Christians be- cause of the tender love and respect shown them by their Christian mas- ters, parents and neighbours. Tertul- lian wrote around AD 197 that the generous deeds of love enacted by Christians led people to brand them as a positive social force. “‘See,’ they say, ‘how they love one anoth- er’... ‘See,’ they say about us, ‘how
they are even ready to die for one an- other.’” And even if, as St. Augustine reportedly said, Tertullian spoke with more enthusiasm than accuracy, there was evidently something com- pellingly distinct about the way early Christians spoke and acted that at- tracted new members in droves.
Recently, at a dinner party, a fellow guest asked what I did for a living. When I said I was a minister, she took out her phone and began to surf the net to read about The Presbyterian Church in Canada. She found these words from the mission statement of the church in the “Who Are We” sec- tion of the PCC website:
• Our mission, in a world where many do not know the gospel, is to tell the biblical story in ever new and creative ways.
• Our mission, in a world wounded by sin, is to point to the redemp- tive work of Christ and the life- changing presence of the Spirit.
• Our mission, in a world bur- dened with anxiety and appre- hension, is to provide a place of sanctuary, tranquility and renewal in the name of the One who said, “I will give you rest.”
• Our mission, in a world where many are oppressed, excluded or ignored, is to call for personal
righteousness, justice and rec- onciliation in the church and in the world and to hear, respect and cherish all God’s children.
• Our mission, in a world of lim- ited resources, is to use God’s gifts wisely and fairly for the good of all.
• Our mission, in a world of many nations, peoples, denomina- tions and faiths, is to learn from one another and work together for the healing of the nations
Soon everyone at the table had their phones out and were read- ing comments on a Facebook page loosely associated with the PCC. I grimaced as the diners groaned and scoffed at some of the bitter com- ments they read; someone began singing “And they’ll know we are
Christians by our love” in ironic and mocking tones. And then a guest said reflectively, “I have sometimes thought I would like my children raised with the moral teachings of Je- sus, but I read this stuff and I would never want my children exposed to this kind of negativity and behaviour. I am happy we aren’t involved in a church.”
The PCC’s strategic plan says that we will all attempt to use technolo- gies to facilitate the achievement of
the goals and objectives we have set for ourselves and, presumably, to also help us tell the gospel story, point to the redemptive work of Christ in the world, show respect and cher- ish God’s people.
The church is slow to harness technology for the good news of the gospel and the extension of the Reign of God. But we easily “con- form to the patterns of the world” and join the bandwagon of bad news and behaviour that flourishes on Facebook, Twitter and in the comment sections of web pages. There is little the President of the United States could teach some of us in the church about the egregious use of social media. (Egregious lit- erally means “outside the flock” and once meant outstanding and illus- trious but has taken on a negative connotation and could be taken to mean antisocial.)
There was an instructive moment at General Assembly this year when the Young Adult Representatives in- dicated they felt that, generally, the commissioners of the Assembly did not deal with each other respectfully, on some topics. I wonder how they would have reacted if they were to read some of the Facebook postings by some church leaders. I suppose it’s counter-intuitive to quote twice in one article about the use of technol- ogy by someone writing nearly 2000 years ago. But Tertullian is eternally instructive when he wrote “from the nature of their conduct may be esti- mated the quality of their faith. In their discipline we have an index of their doctrine” (from Prescription Against Heretics).
 While there are number of Facebook group pages associated with the PCC, visit the official PCC Facebook page at facebook.com/pcconnect
                                                           Transformational Leadership The Presbyterian College, Montreal
Equipping leaders through Academic Programs including the Bachelor of Theology, Master of Divinity, and Master of Sacred Theology degrees – academic and professional formation for service within the church.
And equipping leaders through the Leadership Centre – mentorship for pastors, a faith and work cohort, and a deepening focus on congregational vitality.
Check it out: www.presbyteriancollege.ca
  The Presbyterian College Montreal, Quebec, Canada 514.288.5256 info@pcmtl.ca
    Healing and Reconciliation Tour
June 15–26, 2019
An opportunity to visit PCC ministries working with Indigenous peoples in Kenora, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Mistawasis; listen to Indigenous stories and experiences; and visit cultural and historical sites.
 To learn more:
presbyterian.ca/missiontrips
                                



























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