the work at hand

This week’s guest blog post is from Rev. Roger Dermody, formerly of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church. Dermody is the new Deputy Director for Mission with the General Assembly Mission Council. These are some of his thoughts regarding the work of the denomination, and how it can support the missional work of the local congregation.

ephesus wall, photo by erin dunigan

During a recent meeting of the leadership team, retiring Executive Administrator Curtis Kearns led a devotional looking at the story of Nehemiah.  I was struck by the parallels between the work of Nehemiah and the work of the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC.)

In Nehemiah’s day, the people of God faced threats from within and without.  Their home was in shambles, and they needed to rebuild the wall around the city.  I notice that in Nehemiah’s leadership, he made several very strategic decisions.

First, he defined the common vision – simply, the people of God needed to repair the wall.  Second, he organized the work – each family would be responsible for repairing their own particular section of the wall.  Third, he provided vital resources that helped the people accomplish their work.

I also notice what Nehemiah did not do.  He did not tell the people exactly how to build the wall, how high it should be, nor what color it must be.  The vision was pretty clear, and open to each family to interpret how best to repair the section of wall in their neighborhood.  Further, while Nehemiah did provide some critical resources, he did not do the work for the people, nor did he give them everything they would need.  Much of the work and supply of particular materials was left up to the individual families.

This is such an important parallel for work of the GAMC and our interaction with the local congregation.  I believe the PC(USA) can rally around a common vision – namely that we are called by God to bring the Gospel to our neighborhoods.

It is not the purpose of the GAMC to tell each family/congregation exactly how to do this work – and how high, what color, which methods each congregation chooses to use will be unique to their particular neighborhoods.  The GAMC, in partnership with our Middle Governing Bodies, can provide vital resources to help each congregational family accomplish their unique part of our corporate mission most effectively.  As I’ve begun my new role with the GAMC, I’ve been so encouraged to learn about the many resources we provide specifically to help our churches accomplish the vital work of ministry in their neighborhoods.

My desire is to help our congregations capture a fresh sense of our corporate mission – that God has called us to bring and live out the Gospel to the people and institutions in our neighborhoods.  My hope is that the GAMC would be a body that continues to provide vital resources and leadership to the families of our denomination, to the end that Christ is glorified, and our neighborhoods are transformed.

Rev. Roger A. Dermody
Deputy Executive Director for Mission