It’s time to see the future for what it is, suggests Wayne Meisel, and it’s not about us – or at least – most of the “us” who fill Presbyterian pews.

Many of us have read about Siddhartha Gautama who became the Buddha and are familiar with his mission to alleviate suffering and his discovery of the path to Enlightenment, but I was fascinated when I actually read the "Core Story" of Buddhism to realize that there were so many similarities to our own Jesus story.  Click here to read the full article. 

Tom Hobson calls Ezekiel’s vision of the attack of Gog "a bold piece of eschatology" applicable to today's geopolitics.  Click here to read full article.

The Compass Points Certification Program was developed by the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association (PCCCA) in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.

DALLAS

The General Assembly Mid-Councils Commission has voted 15-5 to permit non-geographic, “provisional presbyteries” as part of a “designated season of reflective experimentation” in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

The General Assembly Mid-Councils Commission is calling for reviews of the denomination’s top-level agencies and its racial ethnic ministry.

James Babcock wonders why Presbyterians can't work together to pull the denomination out of "the seemingly irreversible downward spiral we are caught in."  Click here to read full article. 

Starting in 2013, the Board of Pensions  of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will begin offering benefits to same-gender domestic partners of those who are members of the board’s pension and other benefits plans.

A fifth candidate has emerged to stand for moderator of the 2012 General Assembly. Janet Edwards, co-moderator of More Light Presbyterians from 2008-2011 and a Presbyterian minister for 35 years, has announced that she will stand for moderator, even though Pittsburgh Presbytery voted on Feb. 2 not to endorse her.

          Edwards is a graduate of Yale Divinity School and earned a doctorate from Duquesne University. She currently is involved with Community of Reconciliation Church, a multi-denominational congregation in Pittsburgh, although she is not the pastor there. Edwards and her husband, Alvise, have been married for more than 30 years and have two sons.

            Here’s the idea: start a new Presbyterian church. Progressive. Online.

            Former General Assembly moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and a small group of Presbyterian leaders from across the country have announced plans to plant a new church that would connect people primarily through social media.

DALLAS, Feb. 28 – Is it a movement, an organization or just a conference? The 600 participants in the second NEXT Church Conference held at First Church, Dallas, shared the common curiosity. Leaders mapped out a few of the steps ahead but left many details to be determined. One thing for certain: they intend for it to have a future.