The Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett explains her past influences and current passions during Everyday God-talk

The PMA’s president and executive director takes viewers from her childhood to the present focus on the Matthew 25 invitation

by Paul Seebeck | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — On the latest edition of Everyday God-talk, the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, discusses the church’s Matthew 25 vision and those who influenced her theologically to become an agent of change.

Everyday God-talk, Diane Moffett, Part 1 (Soul):

Moffett tells the Everyday God-talk host, the Rev. Dr. So Jung Kim, that the biggest influence on her life was her maternal grandmother.

“As a child, I was drawn to her spirit,” Moffett said. “She had such a joy; it was so authentic. I would watch her get on her knees and pray, and I would watch her read her Bible.”

While Moffett’s grandmother never had an official title, her grandfather was the associate pastor in The Church of God (Holiness). The Black denomination was very open and expressive. The main theological concern was making sure members were a living translation of the Word of God.

Moffett remembers getting the sense that God is with us in everything. As she learned about the presence of the Holy Spirit from her grandmother, she became aware of the importance of nurturing the interior life and of acknowledging the Spirit’s presence.

“She would say the anointing and power of the Spirit was so that she could be changed and then become an agent of change in the community,” Moffett said.

Through her encounter with the Holy Spirit, Moffett knows that God is real.

“It’s not just my intellect — there is power that comforts, convicts and strengthens us,” she said. “My favorite verse is in John 15, where Jesus tells us to abide in him so that we can bear much fruit.”

Everyday God-talk, Diane Moffett, Part 2 (Body):

“So,” Kim wondered, “how do you see this God who is real embodied within the context of your ministry at the PMA?”

In answering this question, Moffett describes things she has seen and heard, truth being spoken to power through:

• Mission co-workers with a non-colonizing humble spirit walking alongside migrants at the border, supporting them and providing for their basic needs.
• The advocacy work in the Office of Public Witness and Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, particularly on behalf of marginalized communities.
• Affordable housing efforts in the Presbytery of the Pacific and the Presbytery of Denver.
• Knox Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati working to repair the damage of its racist history, in partnership with the predominately Black congregation at Third Presbyterian Church.

Everyday God-talk, Diane Moffett, Part 3 (Heart):

Moffett says keeping her eye on what God is doing in the moment is what sustains her in ministry. She’s excited about getting the new director for the Center for Repair of Historical Harm, the Rev. Anthony Jermaine Ross-Allam, in place, along with the work of preparing the work of the Office of Innovation, Discernment and Visioning.

But her continuing focus is on the Matthew 25 vision.

“You don’t have to have a seminary degree to understand that Christ is on the throne judging these nations who create these systems,” she said. “People come out of these systems that are either compassionate and understand their human siblings’ needs should be addressed, or not.”

“The hungry, the thirsty, the naked — you need a welcome, you need health care, justice in the jail cell, things of that nature. It makes it so clear,” Moffett said.

Everyday God-talk is a production of the Office of Theology & Worship in the Presbyterian Mission Agency. For previous Everyday God-talk conversations with Presbyterian leaders, subscribe to the Office of Theology and Worship’s YouTube page here.

The next edition of Everyday God-talk will focus on the Doctrine of Discovery. It’s slated for release on or about Nov. 21.