News from the Interim Co-Executive Presbyters“See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10” (NIV)
“And now I will show you the most excellent way. … Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts.” 1Corinthians 12:31b, 14:1a (NIV) What do you talk about? What is on your minds? What grabs your attention and builds up your spirits? In this past month, we have been engaged in many conversations. You have as well. For each of us, the matters are felt differently: joyful, difficult, blessed, challenging, concerning, and bringing positive results to inspire love in our common work. Conversations of worship, session’s planning, commission meetings, congregation meeting, installations, fellowship meals, mission co-workers, mission trip planning, zoom presentations of church/pastor advocacy of ministry for immigration legal rights of individuals, families and congregations. Conversations about the future of presbytery, faithfully engage with people, and use of property for new ministry work or community groups. Finally, conversations by a committee that enacts to generously resource pastors and sessions as they meet the limitations of membership or financial resources. Conversations require interpretations of language, polity and relationships. Each of these conversations were desiring God’s gifts to be used to show the use of God’s gifts to build holy outcomes for the churches. Conversations swirl in each season of Church life. We are looking to be faithful to Christ’s ministry in our lives, congregations, and presbytery serving Central Florida. Like Jeremiah, we recognize that God has given prophets spiritual words that are over the powers of politics and politicians. God gives us words to root out wrongs and evils, of human thinking, practice, and systems. God does this work in us, we follow God’s lead. This is done to make opportunity to speak words of building and planting. God sends us to speak to the world and faithfully share the truths that God places within our spirit and our words. We go with the Spirit of God, the word of God. Are we listening before we speak? We are faithful to God during seasons of changes, loss, hurt, as well as stability, gains, and healings. We need the prophets and God’s prophetic voice to teach our congregations and our communities to recognize our failings and our opportunities, our brokenness and our rebirth. Also, conversations in this season of Church life shows us the love of Christ, that is God’s most excellent way for us to follow and to eagerly desire spiritual gifts. Our ministry of prophetic speech joins with our ministry of love (gr. agape) – giving our lives, faith and treasures to build, plant and desire spiritual gifts. We give to build faith, hope and love. We spend time with others in commissions, committees, worship, meetings, missions, making safe places and practices, keeping healthy boundaries in our work and living. We desire to share Christ’s ways with congregations, communities, building faithfulness into the lives that we touch at home, church, work, and public events. We give thanks for all of the Holy Spirit’s powerful conversations within the Presbytery of Central Florida. Blessings. Olivia and Hoover |
FEBRUARY 2025
Rev. Dr. Hoover & Rev. Olivia Haney
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