By Rev. Dr. James A. Milley
Sometimes we Presbyterians tease ourselves as the “Frozen Chosen.” Part of us enjoys our traditions, favorite songs, and comfortable feeling of rootedness. At the same time, we hope more people will join our community and journey with us. As we want to hold onto our past, we also want to change to meet our future. Is there anything in our shared Presbyterian story to help us do both?
There’s guidance in the words and actions of our founder, John Calvin. Sometimes we read Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, written between 1535 and 1555, as if it is a book springing only from his remarkable intelligence and soul. But Calvin was a pastor with a congregation, mostly French exiles in Geneva, almost all raised in the Catholic Church. His parishioners had real problems and real struggles, which Calvin had to address.
The teachings of the Catholic Church then tended towards using fear — to inspire good behavior and motivate paying money for indulgences to help free a soul from purgatory and its suffering. Calvin searched the scriptures and found the theme of forgiveness as a free gift in the writings of Paul (Romans 3:1-5). Calvin’s proclamation of Salvation by grace through faith was not simply true theologically, it was also a truth his parishioners needed to overcome fears and find peace. The same might be said for his emphasis on divine predestination: Calvin presented the doctrine as a source of comfort in an age when Catholic preaching frequently tried to inculcate anxiety in the pews, as a means of prodding Christians to work harder and do more to attain salvation.
What are the needs of your people — or people not in your church? Once you identify those needs and how they describe them, follow the pattern set by Calvin and search the scriptures for the whole counsel of God. You might even write something new or at least put those thoughts in your own words. But first, listen.
Here’s an example, following Calvin’s method:
An atheist asked me, “What is the significance of the death of Jesus on the cross?”
You might think this a great opportunity for me to share the goodness of Jesus by launching an explanation.
Instead, I responded, “I can’t answer your question until you tell me your problem.“
My friend was surprised. I was doing what Calvin did — what Jesus did. When people approached Jesus, he often asked, “What is it you want?” Jesus understood that an answer, even “good news,” needs to match a need or problem felt and understood by the person asking.
A few weeks later, my friend confided that she felt oppressed “by negative energy.” Following Calvin’s methods, I searched the scriptures. There’s a reference to “energy” in the story of “power going out from” Jesus to the woman with continuous bleeding (Luke 8:46). I considered the cast-out goat representing people on the Day of Atonement, Jesus’ death on the cross, and the results as described in Scripture. Drawing from everything I read and the language she used to describe her problem, I assured her, “Jesus’s death on the cross absorbs – takes the impact – of negative energy, so we do not have to suffer it.” And there you have it, the old and the new, together.
The next time someone in spiritual turmoil asks for guidance, listen well enough to understand their deeper needs before deciding how to describe the salvation we experience when we give our trust, allegiance, and love to Jesus.
This is a Bridging skill, one used by our founder, John Calvin. Can we listen to our people articulate their problems? Can we search the scriptures for the whole counsel of God? As we respond, can we innovate without changing? I think we can. In doing so we will be faithful to our founder — and to Jesus.
Jim
