I  blew it. Here I was up to my eyeballs co-editing two different letters of outreach to many of my disaffected friends in the PC(USA), promising to “sow seeds of grace, kindness, respect and cooperation in every possible way — all toward the end of us all serving as agents of reconciliation before the watching world, as Scripture requires of us.”

A century ago, the geographic center of Christianity was in Europe and North America.

First, a disclaimer: I am happily married to a person whose vocation is sociology of religion.

Correction:

In the story, “In Pakistan, an island of clarity amid a sea of mixed messages” (pub. Jan 26), David Stoner was identified as former interim director of the General Assembly Council. He actually was the executive director. Also, Christy Munir did not teach at Gordon College but was chair of the chemistry department of Qaid-I Azim University. He was selected to become chairman of the board for Gordon College if the PC(USA) finally takes back the school.

 Check the Amazon.com listings of recent books about Pakistan and you will perceive a theme: “The Unraveling …, ” “Descent into Chaos,” “ … the World’s Most Frightening State,” “Deadly Embrace …, ” “ … the Hard Country.”

LAHORE, Pakistan

If the road to recovery begins with confessing your sins, then the future of Pakistan should brighten.

Here I stand; I can do no other.” I’ve heard those words more times than I can recall — mostly from pastors who were drawing a line in the sand and separating themselves either from a rival faction in the congregation or from their denomination of affiliation or both. However, many of those pastors ultimately sounded a different refrain: “If only I’d known what would have resulted, I never would have started this.”

Martin Luther’s footsteps are all over Germany — where he preached, prayed and inspired people to think about God in a new way.

Travel in Germany and the phrase “in former times” becomes almost a refrain. It can mean, depending on the context, during World War II, during the Communist era that divided the country for more than 40 years, during the Nazi regime which so scarred the country, or during an even longer stretch of history leading back to medieval times.

Once upon a time, in the 1600s, Martin Luther was a best-selling author in Europe. And his rise in popularity was connected to a technological revolution of the time: Johannes Gutenberg’s development of the printing press.

Exactly how Presbyterians would rank the top news of 2011 in the denomination, and how they would characterize what happened, will depend on their perspective. Here’s an effort to recap some of the biggest developments of the year. Feel free to make your own list.

2011. Good, bad or otherwise? For Presbyterians, 2011 was either the year of the breakthrough or the year of the collapse, either the year of clarifying or the year of confusing, either the year of ending the war or declaring war. It all depends on your perspective.

I’m going to miss Tom Gillespie. Now I’m going to resist getting sentimental, ‘cause sentimental wasn’t Tom’s style. I want to wax substantial, ‘cause that WAS Tom’s style.

The Covenant Network (CN) long has pursued the daunting agenda both “to work for the removal of ordination barriers to the full participation of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] Presbyterians, and to support the mission and unity of the denomination.”

MEMO to elders and educators: Don’t keep this magazine! Please give it to a high school student.

What crazy person would accept the call to be president of a Presbyterian seminary in this present, precarious environment?

Twenty-eight relatives. Seven days and nights. One house. Chaos.

When the press release from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary announced last Dec. 11 that Roger Nicole had been called home to heaven a day after his 95th birthday, I breathed a sigh of sadness.