Recently I had the privilege of preaching at one of the oldest and largest churches in our presbytery. After the service I was speaking with the Senior pastor of the church, and we were discussing the fact that the Presbyterian style of leadership in the church makes it possible for guys in our age bracket (he is 31 and I’m 27) to serve as pastors in the church. Without the support and wisdom that comes from having other elders with more life and ministry experience than us, it would be almost impossible to imagine having any level of success in our ministry.

At its best, to be Presbyterian means that you are deeply connected to other people. Within churches and even between different churches there is a high level of commitment to caring for each other. To be Presbyterian means that you make yourself accessible. It means that we are not on our own. If one church in a presbytery has an issue then the other churches have committed to coming to the aid of that church. Its a network of support.

The problem sometimes is that we forget that if our relationships are stronger on paper than they are in reality the whole process falls apart. Like any other relationship, for Presbyterianism to work well it takes commitment. It takes us being in each others life, it takes trust and respect. My hope is that vintage73.com helps in that process. I hope that it’s a space where Presbyterians can work at interacting, so that when it comes to helping each other and making decisions our relationships are healthy enough to weather any challenges that might arise.

Image by Bee Skutch