Weekly Outlook - A small church chose risk — and found life

Dear readers, Our Lenten devotional written by Teri McDowell Ott, Discipleship in a Divided Age, is officially out and ready to download. I hope you enjoy this sample entry for the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday. To read more sample days and learn more about this digital offering, visit our product page. On a different note, if you're looking for a read that offers some hope about what the church has to offer, I encourage you to check out Robert Barrett's "The church that gave itself away" — an article that outlines how one small church chose to risk their livelihood in order to help their neighbors, and how that one decision changed their trajectory. If you like Barrett's article, you will find related content in our January issue on church vitality.  Peace, Rose Schrott Taylor Digital Content Editor Presbyterian Outlook  If you or I were writing a knockout bestseller, we wouldn’t open with a long list of names. Matthew clearly didn’t take a literary workshop on “hooking the reader.” In our age of distraction, the average attention span hovers around eight seconds — just enough to read the first two or three names before our eyes glaze over. Yet Matthew begins his Gospel with a lengthy genealogy. Why? Matthew’s original audience needed roots. In a fragile new church, the Jewish Christians, recently separated from their synagogues, felt lost and vulnerable as they ventured into unfamiliar territory. This genealogy tethered them to a lineage — their larger story — stretching back to Abraham, through Ruth and Jesse, David and the prophets, to Jesus, the Son of David. These names weren’t filler. They were family. And tucked inside this family tree is a surprise. Matthew includes five women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “the wife of Uriah” (Bathsheba), and Mary. Biblical commentator Thomas G. Long compares this to paging through a 1949 West Point yearbook and suddenly seeing five women’s portraits among rows of men. In a patriarchal culture where genealogies listed only fathers and sons, this would have shocked Matthew’s audience. We may never know precisely why Matthew included these women, but his opening chapter signals that with Jesus, we should expect the unexpected. God’s story keeps breaking barriers and including those the world overlooks. And maybe, at the start of Lent, we need the same. The world feels like a hot mess. Churches are shrinking, faith feels like wishful thinking, and the needs of the world scream for a Savior. Lent invites us into the wilderness, but we don’t go alone. Like Matthew’s community, we belong to a lineage of faith that stretches far beyond our individual lives. Lent grounds us, roots us, and calls us back into God’s story of redemption. Reflection Where do you feel “rootless” right now — in your faith, your work, your church, or your life? How does remembering the great cloud of witnesses (ancestors, mentors, saints — including surprising ones) steady you as you begin Lent? Prayer Holy God, at the start of this Lenten journey, steady our wandering hearts. Remind us that we belong to your story, woven across generations. As we step into this season, ground us in your grace, and let your love take root in us as we follow Jesus. Amen. Learn more about our Lenten devotional.

Minnesota Presbyterians mobilize after ICE shooting in Minneapolis by Harriet Riley, Outlook reporting A small church chose risk over fear – and came alive by Robert Barrett Grief, choice and resurrection in “Stranger Things” by Timothy Wotring Why universalism belongs in the Reformed tradition by Lucus Levy Keppel The Strategically Small Church — book review by Jo Wiersema What church decline is revealing about vitality by Mark Elsdon In case you missed it... A prayer of lament after the Minneapolis ICE shooting Teri McDowell Ott offers a prayer of lament after the Minneapolis ICE shooting, naming grief, honoring the life lost and calling the church to witness, healing and hope. Lauryn Hill: Faith, fame and a different measure of success Chris Burton explores how Hill’s music wrestles with faith, integrity and fame — and why refusing to “lose your soul” may be her greatest legacy. Protecting children from gun violence: Imagining a new world Presbyterian Peace Fellowship helps congregations implement PC(USA) General Assembly action. Your light was made to shine Small churches aren’t inadequate, writes Teri McDowell Ott. When congregations trust their God-given gifts, they rediscover confidence and shine as Christ’s light. Remembering Richard Smallwood: how his music became modern-day psalm Daniel Heath remembers Richard Smallwood, whose music taught the church how to pray, lament and hope. Pittsburgh Presbyterians join interfaith push for immigrant dignity On Fridays, a group of interfaith believers holds a vigil outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, where over 800 people have been held amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Order today!  Explore how to live faithfully amid division and uncertainty through Matthew’s Gospel.