Winter 2021
INDEPENDENT Presbyterian Church
WINDOWS
All Things New In this issue: A TIMELESS TRADITION | HELPING STUDENTS SEE JESUS | DR. TURNER
A New People. A New Memphis.
My dear Friends: There was a recent news item (as I write in mid-October) that served as a warning to Americans. “Supply chain issues may cause a Christmas crisis!” Some articles even warned that Christmas will be ruined because of these problems. While we may worry a little bit that we may not be able to give (or receive!) the gifts we want this Christmas season, as believers in Jesus Christ, we know that there is nothing that governments or retailers can do to improve or ruin Windows is a publication of Independent Presbyterian Church. Go to ipcmemphis.org to view online.
Christmas. And that’s because the Word has already become flesh and dwelt among men and women; God sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. What we celebrate at Christmas time is something true that happened in the past and changed everything. But as this issue of Windows suggests, what we celebrate at this time of the year is also something that will happen in the future and bring to
In this issue:
2 ALL THINGS NEW 4 A TIMELESS TRADITION, GROUNDED IN GIVING AND GRACE 9 WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP STUDENTS SEE THE BEAUTY OF JESUS 13 THE PATH TO BECOMING A DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
consummation all that Christmas Day promised. Jesus Christ declares in his Word that he is making all things new (Rev 21:5). When he returns in power and glory, we will see this finally realized. The great gifts of new bodies in a new world with all the good gifts of the old world purified for the new—that is what Jesus promises as the Resurrection and the Life. That is the Good News of this season that many Christians remember as Advent and Christmas. The one who came is coming again! And he doesn’t depend upon the supply chain or Amazon! In the meantime, as believers in Jesus Christ, we declare the Good News of Jesus and live out his love and grace toward our neighbors. In these pages, you’ll read about how this Gospel ministry has played out over the past 12-18 months in our student ministry as Pastor Brad Robson and his team point our students to Jesus over and again. You’ll also learn more about our long-standing ministry for others through Christmas Baskets, shared through ministry partners to those who need a meal, but who also need Jesus. Longing with you for the day when Jesus returns and makes all things new!
In the grip of God’s grace,
Sean Lucas Senior Pastor
4738 Walnut Grove Road Memphis, Tennessee 38117 (901) 685-8206 | ipcmemphis.org
Martin C. Shea
Music of Christmas Memories of Christmas
Wednesday, December 1 | 6:15 p.m. | Sanctuary
Pre-Elementary, Children’s, Junior High & Senior High Choirs
33rd Annual Christmas Service
of Lessons & Carols Sunday, December 5 | 6:00 p.m.
Adult, Junior High & Senior High Choirs with members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Family Christmas Carol Sing Sunday, December 12 | 6:00 p.m. | Sanctuary
Messiah Sing-Along
Sunday, December 19 | 6:00 p.m. | Sanctuary
Christmas Food Baskets
Setup Friday, Dec. 10, 2:00 p.m. Assembly & Delivery Saturday, Dec. 11, 9:00 a.m.
Please help feed families in need. $50.00 each
Baskets can be purchased to honor or memorialize someone for Christmas. Available online at ipcmemphis.org or at church on Sunday. Sample Honorarium Christmas Card (5”x7”)
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All for Love’s Sake Sean Lucas
W
All Things New Sean Michael Lucas
There is a wonderful, yet spurious, quotation attributed to Martin Luther. The story is told that someone—perhaps a young seminarian—once asked Luther what he would do if he knew that the world was ending tomorrow. Luther allegedly replied, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would plant my apple tree.” That quotation was meant to insist on the pursuit of beauty and life, common grace for the common good, even when it must come to an end. The true thing, though, in that story was that Luther had an eye to the end of time. In fact, he was fairly convinced that he was living in those end times. And really, who could blame him for thinking that? After all, God was reviving and reforming his church, even in the face of the opposition of official Christendom represented by the Roman pope and his religious-political bureaucratic state. Surely, the sixteenth century was the end of the age, the final battle with the Antichrist, the time when Christ would return and make all things new.
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Here we are five
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would plant my tree.”
centuries later, still planting apple trees, still waiting for Jesus’ return. If we aren’t careful, we might even become a bit cynical or, worse, thoughtless, doubtful that he is coming again. Starting the Sunday after Thanksgiving, many Christians around the world observe the weeks leading up to
judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), where there will be a
Christmas as “Advent.” At IPC, I usually tune my preaching
separation between the sheep and the goats (Matt 25:31-46,
toward biblical texts that prepare us for Christmas Day,
notice that it is “the Son of Man” who judges). At the end
helping us see that the entire Bible points us toward Jesus’
of the age, when Jesus returns, there will be judgment. It is
incarnation as well as his death, burial, and resurrection. But
good for us to consider this.
in other Christian traditions, the focus of Advent is not on Jesus’ first coming, but his second coming. I wonder how it might shift our focus this December if we were to meditate on Jesus’ second coming? For one thing, we would have to focus on Jesus’ return
But above all, if we were to consider Jesus’ second coming, we would focus our hearts on Jesus’ making all things new. In Revelation, John sees a vision of the new heavens and new earth and he hears “a loud voice from the throne” declare, “Behold, I am making all things new”
in power and glory. Jesus himself taught us that when he
(Rev 21:3, 5). And this one who sits on the throne, Jesus
returns at the end of the age, “Then will appear in heaven the
himself, will dwell amidst his people and wipe away every tear
sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt 24:30). The trumpet will sound so that all
from their eyes. He will
For those of us who are sorrowful in this season, fearful, alone; for those lamenting the sadness of this hard world and these dark times or wondering about the world that appears to be melting down around us; for those who are weary or who wonder if their labor in this world matters at all—maybe Martin Luther wasn’t so wrong after all.
the earth will see Jesus
raise us from the dead and give us new bodies, empowered by the Spirit, that are immortal (John 5:19-24; 1 Cor 15:50-58). And all the good gifts that he gives us in this world,
revealed in his true character: the God of all wisdom, glory,
“the glory of the kings” (Rev 21:24, 26), will endure into the
honor, and power. And every knee will bow before him, every
next, purified for his glory and our good.
tongue confess him, as Lord (Phil 2:9-11). Surely it would
For those of us who are sorrowful in this season, fearful,
be good for us to focus our hearts on Jesus’ coming again in
alone; for those lamenting the sadness of this hard world and
power and glory this December.
these dark times or wondering about the world that appears
But it would also be good for us to meditate on Jesus’
to be melting down around us; for those who are weary or
determination to judge in his Second Advent. Jesus told his
who wonder if their labor in this world matters at all—maybe
theological opponents, the Pharisees, that “the Father judges
Martin Luther wasn’t so wrong after all. Certainly, plant a
no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may
tree, but also look forward to the end.
honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” (John 5:22-23). There will come a day when everyone will appear before the
For the Christ who came is the Christ who is coming again—this time to make all things new.
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A timeless tradition, grounded in giving and grace BY KATHERINE WHITFIELD BAKER
F
said Associate Pastor Ed Norton, who has served within the IPC community for 25 years. “The IPC Christmas baskets are tangible evidence of our love for Memphis, and I love seeing the Body of Christ come together each year to participate in this ministry as we seek the peace and prosperity of the city.”
“IPC exists to worship Our Father in Heaven and to clearly communicate his truths of the Gospel to our city and the world,”
In fact, the food baskets ministry has been bringing people of all ages and abilities together for more than 35 years now, serving as a sign of the Christmas season for IPC and for the families blessed through the church’s ministry partners—Streets Ministries, Neighborhood Christian Center, and Palmer Home for Children. Begun in 1985 by members Anne Seiler and George Merriam, IPC’s food basket program served approximately 20 families in its inaugural year. Church members were encouraged to bring food from home to fill a handful of boxes lining the hallway near the
From 20 to 1,200 Fed
Photo by Wess Bramlitt
ew can seem to recall when the Christmas food baskets program began. Certainly, there are ballpark estimates and solid conjectures—around 30 years ago, say, or sometime in the mid-80s—but for many Independent Presbyterian Church parishioners, it seems difficult to remember a time when the food baskets ministry was not an integral part of the church’s DNA. Like so many time-honored traditions, particularly those rooted in the Christmas season, the annual food basket ministry seems like something that has always been in existence, baked into the ethos of IPC as a physical extension of the church’s mission to be “A New People for a New Memphis.”
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Noelle Douglass and Halley Williams, along with husbands Gene and Ford, have assumed the leadership helm of IPC’s Christmas basket ministry from long-time chairs Kathy and Bob Garrett and Sam and Matt Olson.
sanctuary, and these boxes were then hand delivered to families in need. In the years that followed, the congregation continued to donate food from home to fill the boxes, but program coordinators began requesting monetary gifts and specific food items, as well, to ensure greater continuity among the boxes. By 1991, the ministry was running entirely on monetary gifts and volunteer hours, and a total of 125 food baskets were donated from IPC members that year for distribution to at-risk families through the Neighborhood Christian Center. Financial contributions and total families served increased exponentially over the years, and program leadership gradually transitioned to two couples, Matt and Sam Olson and Bob and Kathy Garrett, who collectively spearheaded the ministry for about 25 years. The couples learned valuable lessons along the way—for example, that eggs, potato chips, and bread, while popular, weren’t likely to survive the basket’s journey—and the chairs also made thoughtful adjustments to basket contents throughout the years, seeking ongoing guidance from Neighborhood Christian Center and Streets to make sure the program wasn’t duplicating other service efforts or providing families with unpopular or unneeded items. “In the program’s early days, we focused our efforts on pantry items like cooking oil, corn meal, and other baking goods, but we’ve made a point along the way to adapt with the times, and today the food baskets contain a wider range of mixes, boxed meals, microwave-friendly options, and other staples,” said Kathy Garrett, whose family joined IPC in 1989. “We also made a shift in the early 90s from purchasing food retail to buying our food through a distributor at wholesale prices. That helped our donations stretch even farther, and we were really able to enhance the scope of what we included in the food baskets.” Today, IPC’s annual baskets ministry provides a week’s worth of food—including ham, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other Christmas dinner fare—to approximately 1,200 families 5
in our community every season. Each Wednesday dinner and activities have paused “In the program’s early days, year, the congregation donates an for the season, and Advent wreaths are blazing we focused our efforts on bright. Volunteers gather on a Friday afternoon inspiring $45-$50,000 in support pantry items like cooking oil, to unpack two truckloads of food and prep the of the program, and with a gift of corn meal, and other baking fellowship hall for the next morning’s assembly $50, church members have the goods, but we’ve made a line, when hundreds of volunteers come together opportunity to sponsor a basket in point along the way to adapt honor or memory of a loved one. In with the times, and today the to load individual food items into every basket. At some point over the years, IPC introduced a its largest year, the congregation filled food baskets contain a wider manual conveyor belt into its packing process, so and distributed a staggering 1,800 range of mixes, baskets are moved through the hall via conveyor boxes, though the program has since boxed meals, belt and rolled right out the window into the evolved to support one partnering microwavevehicle of a volunteer helping with deliveries. ministry, Palmer Home for Children, friendly options Boxes for Neighborhood Christian Center are with financial resources allocated and other delivered in bulk to NCC for distribution, but each specifically for ongoing food purchases staples.” basket for Streets Ministries is delivered directly in the coming year. Neighborhood Kathy Garrett, to a family’s door by IPC volunteers. Each year, Christian Center and Streets Ministries former program co-chair Streets helps identify recipients for the program, continue to receive a combined total of and IPC families deliver individual food baskets to each family on about 1,200 food baskets for the families they serve. their list. Church volunteers offer to pray with every family they visit, and many meaningful, prayerful and holy moments have taken place over the years on front porches and in living rooms of While one might think a ministry of this magnitude requires homes throughout the greater Memphis community. Friends from weeks of behind-the-scenes busyness to prep and package so IPC also pray over each and every basket before its distribution, many baskets, IPC’s members somehow manage this effort in and a card is included inside proclaiming to recipients that prayers only two days, assembling on a Friday afternoon and subsequent have been said for their “protection, provision, and salvation, and Saturday morning to turn two tractor-trailer loads of grocery items for the salvation of those in your family.” into 1,200 individually packed and prayed-over food baskets. Teamwork, years of trial and error, strong logistics expertise, grace, prayer, and good old-fashioned fun and good cheer appear to be the ingredients that make up a successful recipe for the baskets’ Perhaps strange at first, though, is the absence of IPC’s name annual assembly endeavor. anywhere on the food baskets. A far cry from the traditional ‘to’ and ‘from’ framework underpinning so much of the holiday giving “We’ve had the help of hundreds of volunteers each year— season, nowhere does IPC’s name appear on any box, basket, or each with their own special contribution to the day. Some provide music, some bring donuts, some tear down boxes, some pack the finished product delivered to recipients. Instead, materials from food, some load vehicles for delivery, and so on,” recalls former either Streets or Neighborhood Christian Center are inserted in the program chair Sam Olson. “It’s amazing that a group can fill, load boxes, alongside the unsigned prayer card. and deliver over a thousand boxes and clean up the fellowship hall “The families receiving these boxes typically don’t know IPC,” all in one Saturday morning, but it happens! Volunteers from the said Kathy Garrett. “Their relationship is with Streets or NCC, and congregation with a passion to change our city for Christ donate, we are equipping those organizations to do their ministry. Our do the work, and share in the blessing of families helping families.” partner ministries are the face of Jesus for these families, checking Traditionally, donation collections begin in mid-November, in with them to see how the food was received, what they enjoyed, and assembly and delivery take place a month later, when and what they’d like to see differently next year. IPC is the hands
Families Helping Families
The Hands and Feet of Jesus
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and feet, helping do the work of donations and deliveries.” Although it may seem unusual for a community to contribute over $50,000 in resources to bless those in need without seeking recognition or anything else in return, IPC’s generosity and willingness to serve as the behind-the-scenes body of Christ is the church’s hallmark, according to those ministry partners whose communities are nourished through the program. “Many churches have their recurring ministries, but IPC is always willing and available, whenever a need arises,” said former member Ken Bennett, who founded Streets Ministries in 1987 and remains actively involved there today. “Whether the need is clothing, food, or another resource, IPC is a place that understands how to love the city unconditionally. It is an honor to serve alongside people who are driven by their love of the Gospel and their personal relationship to Jesus, and I thank God for the IPC community every day.”
surplus raised in 2019 would be put to use in 2020 to help assist families during the pandemic,” said Noelle Douglass, who has been an IPC member since middle school and also served on staff at Streets. “Every year, God shows us He is present and in charge in some pretty miraculous ways, and the entire church—including volunteers as young as 4 years old—comes together to serve our community.” So, too, with the weather each December, when the weekend earmarked for food basket assembly always seems to come in About four years ago, the Olson and Garrett families passed right under, or after, any threats of ice, snow, or freezing cold. God’s the torch to the Douglass and Williams families, and the food abundance and grace seem to radiate in, around, and through all basket ministry is now helmed by church members who were aspects of IPC’s annual food baskets ministry, and as evidenced barely old enough to see inside the boxes when the program first by the congregation’s ongoing support and the program’s faithful began. The two couples, Gene and Noelle Douglass and Ford and transition from family to family throughout the years, food baskets Halley Williams, have already helped shepherd one of IPC’s longest have grown into the sort of timeless Christmas tradition that will standing ministries through the challenging climate of COVID-19, likely be woven into the fabric of IPC as long as adapting the 2020 food baskets the church’s members have ears to hear and program to provide gift cards for “We’ve had the help of eyes to see. hungry families, rather than procuring hundreds of volunteers each “I have been involved in Christmas baskets and packaging physical boxes of food. year — each with their own since I was in high school, and each year it Noelle also recalls fears of a fundraising special contribution to the has been a great blessing in my life,” said shortage in 2019, when donations day. Some provide music, program co-chair Halley Williams. “Now, I have initially came up several thousand some bring donuts, some the privilege of bringing my own children to dollars short of the need. Both the tear down boxes, some pack Olsons and Garretts recounted a the food, some load vehicles participate. I’m so thankful my kids can learn what it means to love and serve our city, doing similar year when the fundraising goal for delivery, and so on.” something for others at Christmas. I’m also seemed impossibly far out of reach, Sam Olson, thankful they can be reminded to have a heart of but ultimately, both then and in 2019, former program gratitude for all they have been given, and that God’s abundant blessings shone bright co-chair we can all remind each other that Jesus loves us through IPC and donations surpassed and through His great love, we are called to go the need by a significant margin. and love others.” “Little did we know that the
Abundance and Grace
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IPC MISSIONS CONFERENCE • FEBRUARY 16–20, 2022
The Kingdom of God Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” MARK 12:29-31 The only way the kingdom of God is going to be manifest in this world before Christ comes is if we manifest it by the way we live as citizens of heaven and subjects of the King. R. C. SPROUL A Christian is: a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps. AUGUSTINE CONFERENCE SPEAKERS:
THE REV. DR. IRWYN INCE | THE REV. RONNIE GARCIA
Photo by Wess Bramlitt
Rev. Brad Robson (second from left) leads IPC’s Student Ministry with the help of his enthusiastic assistants (from left) Maryanna Story, Mary Virginia Felker, and Stephen Felker.
Working together to help students
see the beauty of Jesus By Maryanna Story
To say the last year and a half has been challenging would be an understatement for most people. The global pandemic has been marked by loss, isolation, and changes both small and structural in multiple aspects of everyday life. As Senior Pastor Sean Lucas points the congregation to the promise of all things being made new in the second coming, the IPC Student Ministry team has taken time to reflect on the ways God has been visibly at work in their ministry, even in unprecedented times.
“From my seat, several things have been remarkable over the past year. One has been the way our Student Ministry team has exercised incredible creativity in continuing to carry out the mission of making disciples here at IPC,” Lucas commented. Rev. Brad Robson leads the student ministry department, and Mary Virginia Felker, Stephen Felker, and Maryanna Story complete the rest of the staff working with 6th through 12th graders at IPC. According to Robson, the staff dynamic has played a huge part in carrying out the mission of IPC. “A big reason things have 9
In addition to weekly gatherings on Sunday morning and Wednesday night for Word-centered teaching, fellowship activities and trips provide opportunities for our students to grow in their relationship with Jesus and each other, as well as offer avenues for inviting their unchurched friends.
gone so well is because of our team. We are different in many ways Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, in small groups with but kind to one another, and our gifts complement one another staff and volunteers, and by meeting individual students in their well. I am very thankful for this staff.” everyday lives, whether sharing a meal, doing The team operates out of their an activity, or watching their games. philosophy of ministry. Robson explains, “All of these things work together to “We think about ministry in large group, help students see the beauty of Jesus and small group, and one to one meetings. want to follow Him,” says Robson. We pursue students and want to come In the initial Covid shutdown, the staff alongside their parents. For teaching, our quickly shifted to Zoom and continued to The Rev. Brad Robson curriculum in Junior High (grades 6-8) offer large and small group meetings. When typically centers around justification, IPC reopened in May of 2020, Student who God is, and how they know Him personally. In Senior High Ministry had the opportunity to shape the summer in a different (grades 9-12), we focus more in sanctification and what it means way, emphasizing outdoor meetings on Wednesday nights with to live out your faith. Simply put, Junior High is Gospel roots, and food and games using Covid protocol. The students responded Senior High is Gospel fruit.” so well that meeting outside continues today. Because IPC was The mission is carried out through Word-centered teaching one of the only churches offering youth programs during the
Photo by Wess Bramlitt
“Since summer of 2020, we’ve had over 100 first-time visitors show up at our programs.”
Outdoor meetings that began during with last year’s COVID pandemic were so well attended they continue today.
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pandemic, many new faces came and have stayed. “Since summer of 2020, we’ve had over 100 first-time visitors show up at our programs,” reflects Robson. “That says a lot about what students think of our ministry. We’ve struck a good balance of being a welcoming place, an environment where students want to bring their friends, and that has created an opportunity for new people to stick around.” Small groups used to meet indoors with meals, so those were paused at the beginning of Covid. Junior high girls pivoted to outdoor lunches with Maryanna at various houses with their specific grade. The boys met with Stephen for Sunday Afternoon Hangouts, enjoying outdoor activities with their own grades. In Senior High, both a girls and a guys group have continued to meet outside. “That was really cool to have students interested in still meeting together,” says Robson. “It felt organic, not programdriven. Not only had these groups grown as friends, but they wanted to continue talking together about the Christian faith and praying for one another.”
“When they leave the familiar and are surrounded by relationships and gospel teaching, they are much more willing to think about their faith and how they live that out.” The Rev. Brad Robson
The staff also offered summer discipleship, where students signed up to meet with a staff member and go through a book weekly — over 60 students have participated in the last two years. None of these programs could have been as successful without the help of summer interns and the regular volunteers. “Tentpole” events are the trips. Junior High students attend the Buffalo Retreat weekend every fall at Victory Ranch and the weeklong Edge Conference every summer in Chattanooga. Senior High students have a weekend retreat in Nashville over President’s Day and the highly anticipated RYM trip every summer in Panama City Beach, Florida. (This past summer’s
College students serve as summer interns assisting with chaperoning trips, teaching large groups, leading one-on-one discipleships, and playing games. IPC members Andrew Cofield, Sally Walker, Sarah Suddoth, and Kate Yelverton were joined by EA Hickman and Pat Bray as our summer 2021 interns.
RYM trip filled all spots less than a day into signups!) “Students look forward to them all year and show up for them,” says Robson. “When they leave the familiar and are surrounded by relationships and gospel teaching, they are much more willing to think about their faith and how they live that out. “The hardest challenge is to develop a sense of community among students because they live throughout the city, go to
All of IPC’s spots for the RYM summer conference filled on the first day of sign-ups. The highly anticipated trip for senior high students is a week of Reformed teaching, fellowship, and fun at the Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center in Florida.
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Photo by Wess Bramlitt
IPC’s Student Music Ministry offers 6th through 12th graders musical training to glorify and enjoy God plus a chance to establish lasting friendships, beginning the year with a day at the lake.
different schools, and come from many different backgrounds,” The Student Music Ministry has also displayed creativity Robson added. “RYM was great because students were connecting offering students opportunities to be involved. James Brown, and growing together. We saw some of the normal barriers Director of Worship and Music Ministries, and his team have breakdown — students who would not typically be friends here, expanded their musical activities beyond singing to include become friends there. The hope is instruments and movement such that carries over when we come back. as guitars, handbells, percussion, Some of these students might not and choreography. “These activities ever be best friends or hang out on the develop listening skills and techniques weekend, but when they are here, they in playing various instruments,” says see each other as brothers and sisters Brown. “We have also included more in Christ and want to be together. That meals to encourage involvement and actually reflects what the kingdom of social interaction.” James Brown, Director of Worship and Music Ministries God is like, because the only thing that Junior High Choir meets many of our students have in common Wednesdays, and Senior High Choir is the Gospel. For them to learn and see that they are united by the meets Sundays; both meetings include dinner as well as rehearsal. Gospel is invaluable.” The student choir has also continued their “tentpole” trips, including Lucas commented on the group dynamics as well. “It seems traveling this past May to Panama City Beach to sing at First as though our older students, since I’ve been here, have increasingly Presbyterian Church and enjoy time at the beach and a waterpark. been group-focused as opposed to self-focused. Obviously, parents In April, they take a weekend trip, and this summer will go on tour have a lot to do with that, but I think the Student Ministry team has singing at many PCA churches in Alabama and Florida, also visiting . a lot to do with that as well. That it’s really about the group is not Disney World and Universal Studios. always been the way it has been here.” Even as the music ministry has pivoted in some ways during Covid, the mission remains the same for Brown: “My desire is to strengthen our number of participants and continue to train middle and high school students as they develop musical skills, grow in their abilities to worship the Lord in corporate settings, make lifelong friendships, and grow in their faith and relationships with the Lord.” “With all of these pieces, when you look at Student Ministry at IPC, it’s the most healthy, the most ministry intentional, really the most theologically driven it has been in my time,” Lucas says. “The things they are doing are vital and important, and by God’s grace have been remarkably successful as well.”
“These activities develop listening skills and techniques in playing various instruments. We have also included more meals to encourage involvement and social interaction.”
Junior and Senior High Choir members also enjoy opportunities to travel and grow in faith during singing tours.
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The Path to Becoming a Doctor of Ministry: Lisa Francis Turner’s thought-provoking research and insight learned along the way BY ANNIE HOWARD
T
hroughout four decades of service, Lisa Turner’s
arrived at IPC, she remembers him nudging her toward another
joyfully worn any number of hats around Independent
degree. “I’d think about starting a doctorate program, but then
Presbyterian Church. In May 2021, she got a new one, this
I’d rethink it. Sean said, ‘You’ll enjoy it! It’s practical.’” Where her
time from Covenant Theological Seminary: a graduation cap for
Master’s underscored theology and Biblical studies, a doctorate
completing her doctorate.
promised courses on day-to-day church leadership — from
The path to becoming a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) was long. In true Lisa fashion, she takes a beat to thank those who encouraged her during eight courses and a 148-page dissertation. “I’m like a turtle on a fencepost,” she says. “If a bird’s sitting on a fence, it got there itself. But if you see a turtle, someone had to put it there. Someone had to lift it up.” Turner gained a Master’s degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2012. After Senior Pastor Sean Lucas
handling conflict to budgeting in tough times. “As a director, I felt you don’t give something that you don’t possess. And I wanted to continue to learn,” she says. So in 2017,
“I’m like a turtle on a fencepost. If a bird’s sitting on a fence, it got there itself. But if you see a turtle, someone had to put it there. Someone had to lift it up.”
she took the plunge. While juggling full-time work as IPC’s Director of Women’s Ministry, she overcame some challenges, including coursework, research, and a pandemic that closed the libraries she needed for research. “The ice storm was Chapter Four
Lisa Turner, Director of Women’s Ministry
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[of my dissertation],” she says with a
do they do it that way?’ or ‘why would
laugh, thinking back on the weather that
they wear that?’ People who study culture
landlocked Memphis in early 2021 — and
compare cultural differences to an iceberg:
gave her plenty of time to write.
about ten percent is visible or above
She poured special time and energy
the waterline. This includes actions and behavior. The ninety percent beneath
contagious as she lays out the focus she
the surface is invisible, including values,
discovered, of all places, at Sunday lunch. “My daughter is in her 30s now, and my mom just turned 88,” she says. “After church on Sunday, Mama, Kelly, and I will go to lunch, and so things come up. It could be music, or the topic of a sermon. And inevitably Mama would love it, and
Photo by Lisa Buser, courtesy of St. Mary’s Episcopal School
into her dissertation, and her passion is
beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions. This iceberg analogy can be applied to the differences in generations. As a result, there is often a whole lot more going on with people than what is seen. “We naturally gravitate toward someone more comfortable, in our age and
IPC’s beloved Lisa Francis Turner
Kelly would shrug. And vice versa. “And finally it dawned on me. These two generations — and I’m in the middle — love each other to death, and they love this church. And yet a thing that can be positive and mean a lot to one, is a negative for the other.” Intrigued, Turner launched a study on Intergenerational Women’s Ministry. Where was this gap coming from? She found, as she writes in her dissertation, that “generations are distinct cultures.” “The differences between generations are similar to differences people experience in a cross-cultural interaction,” Turner explains. “When traveling to a different country, you might question, ‘why
stage,” she says. “Maybe you have a young gal thinking it’s uncomfortable to go sit with an eighty-year-old woman. What do I talk to her about for an hour at lunch?” Turner interviewed six women’s ministry directors from churches nationwide that were “around our size.” They were seeing the same disconnect, so she asked them: what were they doing to pull the divide closed? The answer seemed to rest in building multigenerational programming, like an all-ages adult Bible study, with an eye on what was working and what wasn’t. Though directors noted apprehension with change here and there, as women left their comfort zone and gave inter-age
“People who study culture compare cultural differences to an iceberg: about ten percent is visible or above the waterline. This includes actions and behavior. The ninety percent beneath the surface is invisible, including values, beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions. This iceberg analogy can be applied to the differences in generations. As a result, there is often a whole lot more going on with people than what is seen.”
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aren’t trying to be negative or
a chance, they
difficult. They really do have
connected. And as
different lenses through which
they connected, their
they see things. And, likewise,
different opinions
younger adults aren’t trying to
and outlooks didn’t necessarily change — but their empathy for one another did. “I think we’ve both learned to appreciate how the
Photo by Lisa Buser, courtesy of St. Mary’s Episcopal School
relationships
be disrespectful or insensitive to their elders when they prefer things to be different.” Love and respect bridge the gap, Turner found. “One person says, ‘I like organ!’ Another person says,
Three generations of Francis women: sister Molly Roberts, mother Ruth Francis, Lisa, and daughter Kelly Turner
other side values
‘I like guitar!’ Who wins?”
worship,” says Kelly
she asks. “Well, back to those
Turner, reflecting on her relationship with her grandmother.
Sunday lunches — my mom would sometimes say, ‘I just didn’t like
“When older people disagree or don’t prefer something, they
that song; the rhythm was hard to sing.’ And then my daughter says,
“When older people disagree or don’t prefer something, they aren’t trying to be negative or difficult. They really do have different lenses through which they see things. And, likewise, younger adults aren’t trying to be disrespectful or insensitive to their elders when they prefer things to be different.” Kelly Turner, lifelong IPC member and daughter of Lisa Turner
‘Nana, I love that song.’ “And so because Nana loves Kelly, she says, ‘I didn’t care for the song, but I love the person. I’ll sing it.’ And the 30-year-old says, ‘well I don’t love Brahms Requiem, but because I love my grandmother, I’ll go.’ Our preferences aren’t going to unite us. What unites us is this God that we worship, and God says you’re to consider others more important than yourself.” It’s a fitting observation from one so known for her wonderful servant’s heart.
Amazing Grazing on Wednesday Nights Session I: January 5 – February 9 Session II: February 23, March 2, 9, 23, 30 and April 6 The Christian and the Government
The Intentional Father:
A Practical Guide to Raising Sons of Courage and Character by Jon Tyson Dan Butler and Colton Cockrum
Romans 8-15 Robert Browning
A Theology of the Body Parker Tenent and Leslie Janikowsky
The Apostles to Augustine
Nate Kellum and Peter Winterburn
Sean Lucas
15
New Pathway Classes Taught by Dr. Sean Lucas
Visitors interested in joining IPC are invited to attend one of our upcoming Pathway Classes.
Choose from two upcoming options:
Starts back January 9
Weekend Friday night, February 11 & Saturday morning, February 12 — OR —
During Sunday School Hour March 27, April 3, 10, 24
6:00 p.m. | Sanctuary
For more information or to register, please contact Willa Badolato, wbadolato@ipcmemphis.org, or call (901) 685-8206
Women''s Conference March 25–26, 2022 Guest speaker Paige Benton Brown Fellowship Hall
Wednesday nights January 5-April 27 6:00-7:30 p.m. Room 233
For details, contact Lisa Turner, lturner@ipcmemphis.org.
16
Trim your Christmas list with great gifts.
MENTION THIS AD FOR A ONE-TIME
20%off
ENTIRE GIFT PURCHASE
All books are always 20% off! Offer expires December 23, 2021. Excludes consignment and special orders; may not be combined with other coupons.
Complimentary Gift Wrap
BOOKSTORE HOURS: Sunday open between services | Monday–Thursday 9:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. | Closed Friday and Saturday ipcmemphis.org/resources/ipc-bookstore | (901) 763-3932 | covenant@ipcmemphis.org The bookstore will be closed December 24-January 1.
4738 Walnut Grove Road Memphis, Tennessee 38117 www.ipcmemphis.org
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 422 MEMPHIS, TN
Dated Material — Please Expedite
Christmas
at Independent!
December 1
2 5 10 11 12 19 19 19 24
&
“Memories of Christmas” Pre-Elementary, Children’s, Junior High & Senior High Choirs Women’s Ministry Decorate the Church 33rd Annual Christmas Service of Lessons & Carols Food Baskets Set-Up Food Baskets Assembly & Delivery Family Christmas Carol Sing Children’s Sunday School Parties PreK-5th grade Gingerbread Contest 4th & 5th Graders Messiah Sing-Along Christmas Eve Family Service 4:00 | Fellowship Hall Communion Service 5:30 | Sanctuary Community Parties
and Christmas Shopping at Covenanters’ Corner Bookstore
Church offices will be closed Nov. 25, 26; Dec. 24-31; business office open by appointment Dec. 28-30.
