Written by David P. Cassidy |
Friday, June 16, 2023
While the Alliance is deeply committed to the original mission of the PCA, its members are equally convinced that a business-as-usual approach will not be an adequate response to the current crisis, and the time has come for us to fashion new structures that more adequately serve the established mission.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” – John 12:32
The Alliance for Mission & Renewal (AMR or the Alliance) is dedicated to:

assisting and encouraging churches, ministries, and leaders in the work of preserving and preaching the ancient, unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ in the current culture;
equipping God’s people for mission in daily life;
and seeking the good health and unity of the Church in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and our towns, communities, and cities.

At the intersection of truth, vision, and ethics, movements can be born that offer the opportunity for sustained and sacrificial commitments that create lasting institutions which embody and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ with compelling grace and truth. Given our current cultural moment, it is time for us to consider again how we do this for the sake of the Church and the Gospel.
Broadly considered, Western culture is significantly shifting from a society with many shared core beliefs to a more radicalized one marked by deep fragmentation and tribalization. This emerging cultural reality is characterized by continuous tremors in several areas resulting in one seismic shift. Consider the cultural changes in:

anthropology, including sexuality, gender, personhood, family, and marriage;
epistemology, including the notion of whether transcendent knowledge and truth are possible at all;
geography, in which particular groups and individuals that align with one another move to either urban or rural environments to preserve their values and resist those who do not share them;
community, in which a more diverse people speak into the broader societal story, and we honor their unique contributions and receive their gifts instead of rejecting or demonizing them; and
communication, in which we access and disseminate information at unprecedentedly high speeds, but our trust in the veracity of the information is shallow, and the use of the information to promote harm rather than harmony is widespread. Information — or at times, disinformation — has often been weaponized and used as propaganda to intimidate, silence, and censure others.

This emerging transformation impacts every level of and all sub-communities in our society. Those who serve in medicine, news media, educational institutions, religious bodies, government agencies, and commerce encounter a deep and divisive cynicism that has undermined public trust and continues to erode the foundations of public peace.
The Church will navigate the impacts, but there are obstacles. Some of those obstacles are generated from within the Church. For example, we believe that the Church of Jesus Christ should graciously step into this societal confusion with the hope of the Gospel and serve as an instrument of peace. Yet, with sadness, we note that the current Church is wracked with painful revelations of sexual misconduct and abuse that undermine the credibility of its claims. So internal obstacles (both individual and systemic) slow our progress. While it’s urgently needed, change may take years to embrace.
In recent years, numerous studies have noted the steep decline in public worship attendance, the shrinking number of young people who identify as Church members (even when they continue to describe themselves as Christians), and more and more people who are deconstructing their faith and commitments, some turning from the Christianity altogether.
The PCA Is Not Immune
The PCA exists within the context of this cultural shift and has struggled to navigate these unsettling times of realignment. Consider:

We have frequently found ourselves divided more by the issues in our culture and what is regarded as a faithful and healthy response to these matters than by the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Our communication is sometimes marked by the same intemperance and callousness that we find in any censorious tweet or vlog from a secular standpoint.
We have struggled to agree on adequate and precise language to describe matters regarding human sexuality.
We struggle to understand how best to address and secure the further flourishing of women serving in Christ’s Church.
Promoting justice, healing, and truth is always deeply important, and yet we also have witnessed abuses of power and wrongdoing within churches and among pastors.
We all remain profoundly and prayerfully concerned about the possibility of theological declension as we minister in our culture and its changing nature, and we must continue to emphasize the challenging call to clarity and charity.
We eagerly seek ways to not only preserve the Faith for the rising generations in our churches but also to proclaim the Gospel boldly and lovingly in a society that views Christianity as not merely irrelevant but potentially dangerous and harmful.

In the face of these realities, we still maintain hope. Christ has promised to build his Church and has sent the Holy Spirit to guide, preserve, and empower her for the mission she’s been given. The Gospel remains the power of God that saves, and this efficacy is not diminished by our weaknesses and struggles. Church history is filled with seasons of far greater sorrows and challenges, and at every step, our faithful Savior has led his Church to fruitful and faithful paths. We believe he will continue to do so as we humble ourselves, turn from sin, and seek his face.
Though we don’t have all the answers, the AMR is working on a way ahead for a peaceful and yet disruptive witness in our fragmenting society, ready to partner with and learn from other Christians who are also working on the needed paths for the Church to be faithfully present and effective in its mission. The Alliance believes that a crucial component in this work of renewal is a recovery of and fresh declaration of the original intent of the founders of the PCA.
The mission of the PCA has been described in these terms:

Faithful to the Scriptures,
True to the Reformed faith, and
Obedient to the Great Commission.

This remains the summary of our shared purpose. How do we fulfill this commitment in the aftermath of a cultural earthquake unsettling all around us and among us?
While the Alliance is deeply committed to the original mission of the PCA, its members are equally convinced that a business-as-usual approach will not be an adequate response to the current crisis, and the time has come for us to fashion new structures that more adequately serve the established mission.
To that end, The Alliance for Mission and Renewal works for the unity, faithfulness, and flourishing of the PCA. We want to see a denomination characterized by:

Firmly standing on the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Scriptures;
Boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people in all places;
Faithfully holding in good faith to our confessional standards;
Humbly recognizing how our doxological diversity is critical to our mission and leadership;
Earnestly welcoming, valuing, and co-laboring with our sisters in Christ as they serve the Savior;
Joyfully embracing our universal connection with Jesus’ Church to maintain the unity of the Spirit with all who proclaim the Gospel;
Gratefully deploying the treasures of our Reformed theological tradition in the service of the Church; and
Purposefully focusing on making new disciples so we maintain and proclaim a visible and viable witness to the Gospel.

Each of these characteristics keeps with the original vision of the PCA and is critical to its future fruitfulness. The Alliance rejoices in the treasures of our Reformed tradition, and it seeks to discover a path with more cooperation and a unified and effective Gospel witness in our society. Please pray for us and for God to be glorified through the growing fruitfulness of the Gospel in our work.
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The most significant appearance of Gabriel in the book of Daniel was in Daniel 9, and his most significant appearance in Luke 1 was to Mary in Luke 1:26–38. In the former passage he promised that the Anointed One would come, and in the latter passage he announced that the time of fulfillment had arrived. 

The biblical authors identify the angel Gabriel by name in only two books: the book of Daniel and the Gospel of Luke. Let’s consider these appearances and whether they have any relation to each other.
The Appearances
Gabriel is mentioned twice in Daniel and twice in Luke. Here are the spots:

And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision” (Dan. 8:16)
While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice (Dan. 9:21).
And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19).
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, to the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary (Luke 1:26–27).

When you look at these four places where Gabriel’s name appears, the two places in Daniel are back to back, and the two places in Luke are back to back as well. Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 are vision scenes where the future is made known to the prophet. The occurrences of Gabriel’s name in Luke are in 1:5–25 and 1:26–38, passages where the future is made known to a man named Zechariah and to a virgin named Mary.
To recap so far what we’ve noticed, Gabriel’s name appears in only two biblical books: Daniel and Luke. And in these two books, his name appears twice in them (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26). Furthermore, these two occurrences in each book occur in back-to-back passages (Dan. 8 and 9; Luke 1:5–25 and 1:26–38).
What Gabriel Makes Known

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It was early and no one would be at church for another hour or so. Since I was alone, I jumped down the last two steps, belting out the wrong words to one of the hymns we were going to sing later that morning. As I landed on the sanctuary floor, there was a large bang and a swishing, scampering noise from the nearest air vent. I proceeded with my day thinking the Diaconate would take care of it. The next Sunday, I was again walking down the stairs and saw the vent. I remembered we had no Diaconate and per BCO 9-2, “the duties of the office shall devolve upon the ruling elders.” While not a Ruling Elder, certainly nothing was preventing me from devolving and serving the church by removing the plastic bag. As I approached, I noticed that there was something else waving in the air vent. I reached down to open it when I saw the most horrifying thing – a church opossum. Its beady, sinister eyes were staring at me, daring me to open the vent. Since I was a Yankee and didn’t carry a gun, I could not handle this situation properly by myself, so I texted the Session. 

This week marks one year since I left my first pastoral call. In the summer of 2018, as a licentiate of Warrior Presbytery, I started to preach at Marion Presbyterian Church in Marion, AL. She is an historic church having been founded in 1832. The current building was constructed in 1871 or 1872. She looks like a castle surrounded by magnolias and camellias. After serving for two years as pulpit supply, the Lord saw fit to call me as their pastor. I was ordained and installed on November 15, 2020. I pray that every pastor has an opportunity to serve a small, rural church. 
There are many things a rural ministry teaches you that a seminary could not (this is not meant to bash seminaries. There are loads they cannot teach but must be experienced). I thought I would share some of those lessons for your general edification. The last one could very well save your church. 

You don’t need a security team because everyone has a gun. I am from the North and we have a complicated relationship with guns. I never grew up with them and I’ve never owned one. I am not for or against them. They are just foreign to me. I forget when exactly but there was some issue going on and churches were afraid of potential shooters. I was talking with the elders about it and one told me not to fear and proceeded to show he was carrying. He also sat in an incredibly secure position in the church where he could see anyone coming into the sanctuary. At a church picnic some months later, it was revealed that I had never shot a handgun before. Our host, one of our Ruling Elders, was shocked by this revelation, and I think distressed. As we cleaned up, he approached me with some urgency and said, “Follow me!” I thought there was an emergency, and I was correct the emergency was me, “I cannot believe my pastor has never shot a handgun before!” We proceeded to walk away from the remnants of the picnic. He put a Smith and Wesson M&P Shield in my hand and said, “Have at it.” I commenced with vigor to “have at it.” To mark the solemnity of the occasion, he picked up a few empty cases and handed them to me, “so you can remember,” is what my elder said. They rest in a special box on my dresser ready to prove that this Yankee has now shot a handgun. 
The faithfulness of the saints. I always figured there was a retirement age for service in the church. I don’t mean you stop attending or being faithful, but at a certain age surely you’ve earned the right to step down and rest. Dr. B proved me wrong in that area of thinking. When I arrived, she was 92 years old and our church organist. Some Sundays, because the furnace was out or some other issue caused us to leave the sanctuary, we would have church in the fellowship hall, which had an old piano and some pews along the walls that we could move into the center. One Sunday when we were in that hall, Dr. B arrived with a cast on her left hand. She had taken a tumble and broke her wrist. Sticking out of the cast were her pinky and ring fingers. I asked her, “Dr. B, are you going to be able to play today?” With a huge smile, she walked to the piano and proceeded to play beautifully. She played the entire service with five fingers on her right hand and two on her left. Dr. B had been at Marion Presbyterian since the 70s as the music director and then organist. She no longer lived in Marion. Her daughter would faithfully drive her up from Montgomery every Sunday which is about an hour away. One Sunday when everything went wrong, it was just me and Dr. B. She played hymns, I read Scripture, and we prayed. It was a sweet Lord’s Day. 

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