“Get in the Boat; Go Across the Lake; There Will be a Storm; You Will Not Die”
by the Reverend Dr. Howard W. Boswell, Jr. Pastor
At the 218th General Assembly in San Jose, California, the commissioners elected the Reverend Gradye Parsons as our new Stated Clerk. Before the election, the other three candidates for the office and he were asked to comment on the greatest problems facing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). All four agreed that fear was one of the largest problems facing us.
In his article about the election, Jerry Van Marter of the Presbyterian News Service wrote:
Parsons called fear “the overriding issue in the church — everybody’s afraid that for some reason or another the church is going to close in two weeks.” He said his favorite Bible story is the story in Luke 8 — Jesus in the boat, asleep, with his disciples when the storm comes up. “Jesus wakes up and asks, ‘Where is your faith?’” Parsons said. “The middle of the lake is pretty scary and you can’t see the other shore, but a mantra I recite to myself regularly is ‘Get in the boat; go across the lake; there will be a storm; you will not die.’”
I agree with the candidates for Stated Clerk, because I believe fear is the largest problem facing the church. We live in fearful times. Between the current state of the global economy, the ongoing threat from terrorism, and the increased awareness of global warming, we have many reasons to fear. These fears echo loud within the church, along with the continuing decline of membership, money, and influence. Some people in Kenmore Presbyterian Church question whether it is time for us to move, merge, or even close.
Fearful folk make foolish decisions. While I have said it before, it bears repeating now: According to the late theologian, Paul Tillich, doubt is not the opposite of faith, fear is. Kenmore Presbyterian Church has survived many storms in its 114 year history. It nearly closed its doors after an influenza outbreak in the early part of the Twentieth Century. Two World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts took its young men and women into harm’s way. The Great Depression hit not long after the sanctuary was built. I could continue, but you get the picture. This church has met challenge after challenge.
We face a new challenge in 2008. We are not the first, nor will we be the last generation to ask whether the church will survive the latest storm. Yet, we may be the first generation who will allow our fears to get the worst of us. We may be the generation who will give in and walk away, because we lack the will to persevere, to dare and to do great things for the glory of God.
As we consider our stewardship commitment for 2009, we need to hear Jesus ask us, “Where is your faith?” Yes, we may be in the middle of the lake and it may be scary. Now is the time for us to repeat Parson’s mantra, “Get in the boat; go across the lake; there will be a storm; you will not die.”
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