The other local option

The demonstration of a working knowledge of Greek and/or Hebrew will no longer be a requirement in order to complete the examination successfully. When exams are graded, the readers will comment on the language facility which is demonstrated in the paper. Such comments will be offered as guidance for Committees on Preparation for Ministry in determining readiness for ministry.

Don't quite have the conhones to send this via the postal service, but I thought i would share with the 3 readers of this blog (ps--I am also in a very sarcastic, exhausted and frustrated mood, so it is also smart not to mail ((or blog for that matter)) in these states). New Exegesis Grading

Dear PCCEC,

I just came across the grading change for the PC(USA)’s Biblical Exegesis exam. I am greatly bothered by this change and wanted to express that to the PCCEC. I believe you all should reconsider the change:

The demonstration of a working knowledge of Greek and/or Hebrew will no longer be a requirement in order to complete the examination successfully.

As Princeton Theological Seminary student who had taken Ancient Greek courses in undergrad and having received As in my Summer Greek, Exegesis of Luke and other original language courses, I felt I was well prepared to write my exegesis exam on Jesus’ Temptation in Luke during the Fall of 2006. Unfortunately and to my surprise, I received a failing grade due to my failure to show working knowledge of the original language.

I share this to say that through the process of failing and having to retake the exam, not only did my academic ability to adequately exegete a passage, and articulate it in such a manner to show proficiency increase but also my understanding of faith and ordination. While having to wait 6 months to retake the exam provided temporary stress and frustration in my family as we sought our first call, I was greatly challenged as to what it means to be called into ordained ministry.

Certainly, I would commend some change, such as having only Ministers of Word and Sacrament or qualified elders, who have knowledge of the original language, be graders, but by diluting the examination process of candidates and expecting a local CPM to assess the working knowledge of a candidate diminishes our responsibility and call to ministry.

Ordination is not a right; it is something that challenges, that sends us into uncomfortable and strange environments (my failing a language exam was unknown territory for me), and at times seems “unfair.”

The third question on the PC(USA) website shows the essential problem with this grading change. Of course it is reasonable to expect a qualified candidate to retain—or at the very least relearn—the basics of translation and exegesis. If they have not maintained a working knowledge of the language, should they not be told to retake an exam once they have undertaken adequate retraining and study?

Are we so concerned about the lack of qualified ministers, preachers and pastors in our denomination that we are willing to lower our standards with regard to an examination about a fundamental aspect of Presbyterianism?

This exam addresses a central piece of Reformed Theology, namely the Word. As Ministers of the Word and Sacrament we must ordain ministers who are able to engage and exegete scriptural passages from their original language and the examination process is a part of that responsibility. It should not be solely left to the CPMs. For example, the biblical examination question I received at CPM—having failed my initial exegesis exam—was, “which book of the Bible do you wish was not included?” Is that suffeceint mark of my readiness for preaching?

We are people who gather around and are sent by the Word, and to pass inquirers and candidates who are not prepared or proficient in interpreting Scripture from its original language only further diminishes our denomination's ability to article God’s message to the world.

I ask that the PCCEC seriously reconsider its role in the examination and ordination process rather than sending that responsibility to the local CPMs.

Sincerely,
Rev. Wesley Barry
2007 PTS Graduate
2006 Failure of Exegesis Exam

Traveling Preacher

Ah, it was one of those Sundays:
At about 5pm Saturday, I realized that I left my sermon, order of worship and directions to my friends church in Waxhaw (40 minutes South of Charlotte) where I was pulpit supplying for him. Thankfully, I could access everything from home, and by 10pm have everything printed and ready to go.

Then I woke up at 7am realizing that I had left my robe at the office. So, I took off at 7:15am, drove 20minutes North, grabbed my robe and drove home).

From 8-9:30 had a nice breakfast as a family and then we loaded up to head to Waxhaw.

We have been working on Ellie not to have a pacifer except at nap/bedtime. The biggest area of struggle is the car-ride, so we implemented the tried and true "Ol' McDonald." But by the third round of "duck," since that is Ellie's favorite animal, the car ride started to feel much longer...but I digress.

At 10:17am, we turn down the road to the church where those little Presbyterian street sign said, join us for worship at 10am...
um...my friend said worship was at 11am--I quickly pulled out the email to prove it. But as I drove up to the church I noticed the parking lot was full and a head was popping in and out of the sanctuary door looking for any car coming down the church.
Turns out this was the last Sunday of their summer schedule and somehow we got our wires crossed...so I quickly robed up since the Children's Sermon was going on...walked in and right up to the pulpit to read the epistle and gospel passage.

This experience made me totally disagree with the worship model being practiced at some large churches where the minister will run from traditional to contemporary worship in order to preach live at both services. It totally destroys the theology of preaching, since preachers are also in need of the call to worship and prayer of confession. Otherwise pulpit hopping reduces preaching to a performance.

Devotion: Dedication

With hours of Olympic coverage on NBC this past weekend, I could not help but watch some intriguing sports events. One story I found interesting was Bridget Sloan, one of the female American gymnasts. She was part of the team that received a silver medal in the team all-around. What I found interesting was that her Olympic experience was finished after 2 seconds of effort. She was there to jump the vault, and that was it. The years of preparation, hard work, and commitment were complete after two seconds.

That is what astonishes me about the Olympics. The athletes are dedicated to such extremes that 2 seconds of Olympic competition justify their extensive preparation and training.

Paul tells the Corinthian church that "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

While most of us will not even participate in one nano-second of the Olympic games. We dedicate ourselves to our careers, our families, our hobbies, and other things in our lives, but we often struggle to "go into strict training" and dedication when it comes to matters of faith. Paul's point is that our careers, our side interests, even our families will not last.

Our faith, however, can be something that carries us and pushes us forward every day. It can give us purpose to our lives, an identity greater than what we do, and hope that things will get better.

What things are priorities to your life? What are you dedicate to?

What does it mean for you to go into "strict training" in your faith life?

Devotion: Messiness

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.” Matthew 8:2-3

Remember when you were a child and there was no thought or concern about how dirty you got? Summer afternoons were spent playing outdoors, making a mess, and enjoying the day. Then somewhere our attitudes changed and we began calculating the messiness. We started to wonder how the dirt and mess might effect how others perceive us.

We created a formula: If I jump in this pool, then I will have to take a shower, change, dry my hair, etc. so that I can return to be a clean-cut, respectable citizen again. We calculate the mess to decide whether or not it is worth doing it.

We have become concerned with the perception people will place upon us. We have allowed their view to become our judge of worth.

I came across this great quote by Mike Yaconelli in Messy Spirituality that reminded me of our true worth:

“Jesus is not repelled by us, no matter how messy we are, regardless of how incomplete we are. When we recognized that Jesus is not discouraged by our humanity, is not turned off by our messiness, and simply doggedly pursues us in the face of it all, what else can we do but give in to his outrageous, indiscriminate love?”

God’s outrageous and indiscriminate love has allowed us to live life in a way where our understanding of worth and value is not based upon what others perceive, or even what we perceive about ourselves. This frees us to make a mess, to adventure into unknown territory eager to see where God is leading us, knowing full well that the mess we make of our life will not repulse our God.

Mean but funny

I can already see Ellie at 12 pissed that this photo is in cyberspace but the stretch feature of PhotoBooth is too much fun!



To see her in all her cuteness go here: web.mac.com/wbbarry

Paul-like

In seminary, I was never really a fan of Paul's. I felt that the narrative of the Gospels were far more interesting and appealing because they were stories that could draw the hearer of any time in to the life of Christ. Granted this may be due to Young Life's canon of Genesis 1-3 and the Gospel of John.
But I have recently found the story of Paul fascinating by viewing him a missionary, a pastor, seeking to articulate matters of faith to particular contexts.
In Kummel's Intro to the New Testamenthe says, "Standing nearest the private letters are Philemon, II and III John...but even such brief, intimate lines from Paul and the "elder"...are...no private correspondence." Or in other words, Paul understands all that he reads and writes is not for private consumption but for the inspiration and encouragement of a broader Christian community.
In my own small way, I have seen how as preachers everything we read, listen to, watch, etc. is no longer for private consumption but always viewed through the lens, "How can I use this to share God's message?"