December 7, 2017 My dear Friends: Greetings from Denver! I hated missing the children’s Christmas concert last night, but I know how hard they worked to offer a beautiful night of music in honor of Christ the King. Congratulations to Pam Brown and all those who assist with our age-graded choirs throughout the year! You may never have thought of this: children’s music programs like ours are incredibly significant for preserving Christian culture. In that regard, we are like the monasteries of Ireland in the eighth and ninth centuries that collected various documents as the Middle East was overrun by marauding Muslim bands and as a new Europe was emerging from the ashes. As historian Thomas Cahill argued, those Irish monks were instrumental in preserving western culture as we know it because they preserved those documents. In the same way, as our schools move away from classic sources of music and from significant harmonization, programs like our children’s music program preserve something worth keeping—the very music and skills necessary to connect with the rich Christian tradition of the past and to appropriate it for the future. Another vital program for passing on the faith to the next generation is Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), which is why I’m in Denver. I had the privilege to do the training for over 130 campus ministers and an additional 20 or so female staff. I’m one of the world’s biggest fans of RUF and here’s why: in my first congregation in Louisville, Kentucky, where I served as an assistant pastor, I saw the way that our young adults who came to us out of RUF were equipped to serve and lead in our church. In that church now, two of the three elders were RUF folks. And that’s proven true again and again. As a result of that experience, I’ve spent a good deal of time trying to support our campus ministers and female staff because they are equipping the next generations of elders and deacons and women leaders. I’ve been RUF chairman in three presbyteries, including our own, and am currently chairman for RUF Midsouth, our regional joint committee. I believe in the work that our folks on campus do; I’ve seen the value and payoff in the local church. To be able to serve these leaders this week was a rich honor—because in equipping them, I hope I’m equipping the men and women who will be ministering to our children throughout the country. Grateful that I serve here at IPC, though, and that our leadership encourages me to use what God has given me to serve the larger church, whether it is through Reformed Theological Seminary, Ridge Haven, RUF, or church planting. Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday! In the grip of God’s grace,
Rev. Sean Michael Lucas, PhD Senior Pastor Independent Presbyterian Church Memphis, TN