wfn.org | [PCUSAnews] Churches uniquely positioned to meet worlds needs, Young

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #5990 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Title:Churches uniquely positioned to meet world’s needs, Young says
Ga00044
June 26, 2000

Churches uniquely positioned to meet world’s needs, Young says

	NCC president calls for better ministry with corporation heads

	by Jerry L. Van Marter

LONG BEACH, June 26–Though the U.S. is “the only power left in the world
with credibility, vision and resources to make a difference,” Andrew Young
told a breakfast gathering at the 212th General Assembly today,  “only the
churches and business have the flexibility to respond quickly enough to the
needs of the world.”

	In meeting the challenges of economic globalization “we have no other
choice,” former U.N. Ambassador, Carter administration official, Atlanta
mayor and current National Council of Churches president, Andrew M. Young
told the second annual General Assembly Breakfast.  “Governments just can’t
move fast enough.”

	And because business is such a critical player in the world economy, Young
said, it’s imperative that churches do a better ministry with corporation
heads.  “I know these folk.  They are by-and-large Christians who want to do
the right thing,” he said.  “They are on the cutting edge through no fault
of their own and their lives can be very lonely.  We need to be there with
them.”

	The church must be open to new ways Jesus Christ is making himself known in
the world, Young said.  “We know Christ is present in new cultures that are
emerging in our world,” Young told the crowd of several hundred, “and we
know that he is offering the gospel to those cultures.  We must be open to
those new ways and embrace them.”

	In a wide-ranging talk, Young praised the missionary work of the churches
and said prayer gives Christians the power to effect the changes that can
bring the kingdom of God to earth.

	“We are caught in a world that presents more challenges than our culture
has prepared us for,” he said.  “Prayer gives us the power to plumb the
depths of our spiritual power when the ways of the world conspire against
us.”

	And his experience as he has traveled around the world, the United Church
of Christ minister said, “have shown me that missionaries have put a human
touch on the world that the world doesn’t understand and the press can’t
figure out how to report.”

	God is moving in history and Christ is continually breaking in
unexpectedly, Young said, transforming our hopeless situations.  “Christians
operate from the unique perspective that God is going to do something
powerful and wonderful, even when it seems we can do nothing.”

	Young defended the National Council of Churches (NCC), which he has led
since last November.  “The NCC has been through an agonizing restructuring. 
Like churches and the public schools,” he continued, “you can’t run an
institution the same way in 2000 that you did in 1950.”  He said critics who
charge the NCC is not as effective as it should be “are right – we’re not as
effective as we should be.  Our denominations and congregations are not as
effective as they should be.”

	“But,” he concluded, “God doesn’t withhold His grace, so we shouldn’t
withhold our support.  By the grace of God we all strive to become more
effective and Christ will be with us always.”

	
	

_______________________________________________
pcusaNews mailing list
pcusaNews@pcusa.org

To unsubscribe, go to this web address:
http://pcusa01.pcusa.org/mailman/listinfo/pcusanews