One of my chickens recently began acting peculiar. Rather than racing out of the coop to peck for worms in the spring mud, Nugget stayed in her nesting box. I thought she was just laying one of her signature sage-colored eggs. But when I found her in the same spot a few hours later, I knew something wasn’t right. I tried scooting Nugget out of the box. She wouldn’t budge. I tried again only to discover that chickens can make a growling sound of sorts with what I swear was an evil eye. A quick Google search revealed she wasn’t sick or hurt. Rather, I had a broody hen on my hands.
As a seminary student I heard a constant refrain from our professors: Jesus came to preach and teach. It was the pretext underlying our whole seminary education as they trained us to preach and teach.
Ministry candidates talk about them. Moderators share them with session members during meetings. Pastors do sermon series on them. “They” are the Great Ends of the Church — statements crafted in the early 20th century to guide the vision and mission of the Presbyterian Church. But who can recite all six Great Ends? (Be honest.) And what do these Great Ends look like when lived out? Presbyterians Today explores how congregations embrace these guiding principles in ways that show their communities the power of love in action.
In a recent denominational survey, nearly three-quarters of Presbyterians said that “Jesus Christ is the only Savior and Lord,” a finding that stands in contrast to an earlier study on Presbyterian views of salvation.