Pastor's Message

Greetings,

Today is October 19, 2009.  On October 19, 1884, a meeting was held to form a congregation that would become Tustin Presbyterian Church.  So we begin a year of celebrating TPC — past, present and future.  In yesterday’s sermon, I lifted up our Identity Statement as a partial blue print, one way for us to reaffirm our core values.  I hope we can become familiar with these words, to prayerfully repeat them and to decide together how we are to move into the future.  Here is that statement, followed by an excerpt from my sermon.  I would love for all of you to think about how you would describe the church we have been, the church we, are and the church we might be in the Spirit’s future.  Share your ideas with me and with the session. 

TPC Identity Statement

We are a nurturing community, worshiping and learning from Christ.

Answering God's call, we join together in —

•   vibrant, traditional worship

•   thought-provoking Christian education

•   compassionate service

Guided by the Holy Spirit, we seek to be faithful disciples, welcoming all to join us on the journey.

An excerpt from the sermon, “Plan Check,” preached October 18, 2009.

TPC is traditional yet tolerant.  No church in this presbytery has more traditional worship.  I don’t mean the Presbyterian tradition that dates back to the 1946 book that some of us grew up with.  I mean a tradition that honors our holy history all the way back to those first disciples who gathered around a table for a meal with their Lord.  A tradition that sings the great music Christians have composed for God’s glory.  A tradition that celebrates the Resurrection in an ancient but new way at the Easter Vigil. 

We value our holy history.  But we are also tolerant.  We practice what the Book of Order calls “mutual forbearance.”  There are all kinds of political views in this church.  Different backgrounds come together.  We disagree about certain things.  But I’ve seen

this family welcome a Jew, a Muslim, a Jain, a Hindu into our family and make them feel at home.  I’ve seen you welcome gay and lesbian family members.  I’ve seen you welcome immigrants.  I’ve seen you welcome all kinds of households into this household of faith.  I’ve seen you welcome our Taiwanese sisters and brothers and share this home with them.  You are traditional and you are tolerant.

TPC is Presbyterian and passionate.  These two words are not mutually exclusive.  We like to do things decently and in order, but you are not God’s frozen chosen, even though you are usually pretty well-behaved.  We like being Presbyterian even though it’s a bit passé.  Officers in this church read the Confessions and the Book of Order.  You serve on Presbytery committees and even Synod and General Assembly.  Yet you care deeply about one another, about mission, about the poor, about creation, about the world God loves.  You bring food for the hungry.  You give generously whenever there is a need.  You roll up your sleeves and serve.  You readily express your opinions.  You are Presbyterian and you are passionate.

TPC is a Christ-centered, counter-cultural community.  I believe Christ is at the center of everything we do.  We see that Good Shepherd caring for us week in and week out.  We keep trying to understand what it means to be the Body of Christ, to serve, to follow, to obey.  We live in gratitude for the good news of the gospel—the amazing love of God in Jesus Christ, the promise of eternal life, the Spirit’s hopefulness.  This church was founded to be the center of the community and at one time the movers and shakers of Tustin were actively involved in this church.  But I think the world has changed in the last 125 years—the last ten years.  The kind of church we are is no longer at the center of the culture and I think that may be a good thing.  We are swimming upstream.  We are in the world but not of it.  And so the core values that are part of our blue print are no longer in synch with the culture.  It makes our mission more difficult but much more challenging and exciting.

You are Christ-centered and counter-cultural — a faith community in the midst of a community that needs faith and hope and love and justice.  You are TPC — traditional, Presbyterian, Christ-centered.  We are TPC — tolerant, passionate, counter-cultural.  Together we are a community of faith, the body of Christ, the household of God.  Together, with a bit of faith and hope and gratitude, we can begin the next 125 years of mission and ministry on this corner.

Blessings, 

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