Some words regarding national/denominational meetings specifically for June/July 2022

This is the time of year when many of the organizational and administrative branches of various churches and denominations meet together. To give you a brief list, here are some of the denominations, confederations, and affiliations which are meeting together for national/international gatherings to discuss official policy and joint ministry (Each of these denominations is hyperlinked with their website regarding their national meeting):

1. CRCNA (Dutch Reformed)
2. HRNC (Dutch Reformed)
3. ARP (Presbyterian)
4. PCA (Presbyterian)
5. EPC (Presbyterian)
6. OPC (Presbyterian)
7. SBC (Baptist)
8. UMC (Methodist)
9. ACNA (Anglican)
10. LCMS (Lutheran) 

(I'm sure I missed many others as well, my apologies. I hope this list gives you an idea of the sheer number of groups which meet during the late spring to early fall timeframe) 

With so many different groups of church servants meeting together, here are a few words of encouragement. 

1. Expect a lot of noise.

After national meetings major decisions are often either made (typically after years of engaged discussions, committee meetings, votes, prayer, and patience) or brought to a decisive next phase (meaning in subsequent annual meetings a vote will be the final word in a matter). Because these meetings are often where national and international policy is decided or discussed these meetings can generate quite a buzz of reaction and response. This has never been truer than in the age of internet communication modes. What is said on the floor of a gathering is quickly recorded, uploaded, and shared via Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, TikTok, websites, blogs, and the like. Now more than ever these gatherings are "open to the public". That can be a tremendous benefit for accountability and witness, and it can also be a window into humiliating infighting. Many denominations are working through and discussing issues related to politics, God's view on human sexuality, ecclesiastical theology, financial obligations and opportunities, missions efforts, and more. Just like how in your local church there is a level of "buzz" and talking points after your church gathers for a large vote taking meeting, the same is true for denominations and associations of churches. Don't be shocked if a wider audience than usual is talking about a decision, a talking point, or a potential future result of things going on in a larger gathering of churches. Be prepared and be informed! Not all of us can or will choose to attend these events. There has never been an easier time to not attend a gathering physically, but yet know the decisions and processes of your own overseeing body. 

2. God is at work in the midst of noise.

Meetings of God's people in the Bible are seldom free from drama. In Acts 15 the Jerusalem council was assembled to discuss, debate, and decide some very important matters that would impact the future of the church. In Exodus 19 the people of God gathered at the foot of mount Sinai to meet with God. The people were terrified of the thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud which descended upon the mountain (Exodus 19:16). In the time of Esther, the exiled Jews were terrified because of Haman's decree of execution (Esther 4:1-4). These moments of tense meetings are not absent of God's purposes. We see in the Bible the truth that God is at work in history and in the present. God uses the meetings of his people, and the drama, buzz, and noise of those meetings to further advance his good purposes. 

From the drama of the Jerusalem council came the tremendous and prolific spread of the gospel throughout the entire known Roman empire. From the drama of meeting with God at Mount Sinai came the very Word of God through Moses instructing a formerly enslaved people how to live freely in relationship to God. From the drama of Haman's decree came the provision and protection secured by Esther's heroic and desperate pleas to King Xerxes. God is not absent in the midst of all the "bru-ha-ha". God is actively using his people in the midst of all the turmoil to grow the kingdom and bear witness to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. 

3. We do not know all things.

While information can move quickly, large groups of people generally operate and decide things pretty slowly. The exception is usually due to panic, or an overwhelming majority influence. Do not be discouraged if a group of churches you are a part of or know and love do not move faster on something. In Revelation 6:9-11 the martyrs of God cry out for justice, asking in 6:10 "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?". The response in Revelation 6:11 is simple "they were told to wait a little longer". Just because a group of churches moves slower than we would like on a topic does not mean God has stopped working. The Lord is gracious and slow to anger (Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 86:15). Don't mistake God's different timing as indifference. 

How will God use these meetings? What will the outcomes be? We do not know all things. As Gandalf councils Frodo in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings "Even the very wise cannot see all ends". Don't assume you have definitive, omniscient knowledge regarding the outcome of decisions made at national meetings. You and I, no matter our depth of wisdom, or close walk with the Lord, do not know all things. We can certainly warn, have excitement and have concern, and pray beseeching the Lord to work in what we might view as disastrous or righteous actions. But we should refrain from despair, gossip, malice, slander, bitterness, or a desire for our own vengeance. Whatever upsets us about what's going on in the church, if it is genuinely sinful and evil, it grieves the Lord even more so. There are times when we should receive news and like Mordecai in Esther 4 put on sackcloth and wail. There are also times when we receive news and we should rejoice and celebrate with a great festive feast (like Esther 9). Either way remember that it is not our kingdom we seek nor is it our will we pray for. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done" (Matthew 6:10). Take comfort dear brother or sister, the Lord is at work even when we do not know how.