Lessons from local church history, part two
July 25, 2011
A couple of days ago, I began a series of reflections on lessons that I have been learning as I've worked on the history of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi, which will celebrate its 175th anniversary next year. Here are a couple of more.
3. The lesson of "a few good men"
One of the outstanding features of this congregation is the quality of men who have served as ruling elders. Even when Jackson was a small, struggling town in the mid-nineteenth century, First Church had remarkable men as elders: J. S. Copes, William Lemly, and J. L. Power to name three. Copes was a doctor who would move to New Orleans to establish the medical college at what is now Tulane University; Lemly was a leading merchant; and Power would be the long-time owner of what is now the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and Mississippi's Secretary of State. And from that time to this, the church's elders have included state supreme court justices, prominent lawyers, leading merchants, hard-working doctors--who have taken their turns teaching Sunday school, caring for the sick and struggling, and visiting the lost and lonely.
Indeed, what has marked this church's elders is not only that they were talented, but that they were godly men. And I'd suggest that it is that combination--talented, godly men--that sustains influential congregations over the long-haul. Churches that lose the faith have talented men; many small churches have godly men; but churches that have served as leading churches in the formation of institutions and in impacting their cities and towns over generations inevitably have talented and godly men. In God's mercy, FPC Jackson has had more than a few good men serve that church as elders.
4. The lesson of "long-term missions"
One of the trends in missiology over the past twenty years has been the increase of "short-term missions," where people volunteer to serve on the mission field for two weeks or two years. Undoubtedly this is valuable. But one of the lessons from FPC Jackson has been the long-term missions work of their pastors. Since 1858, the church has had only seven ministers: John Hunter (1858-94), J. B. Hutton (1896-1940), Girard Lowe (1941-51), John Reed Miller (1951-68), Don Patterson (1969-83), James Baird (1984-95), and J. Ligon Duncan (1996-present).
That kind of longevity has shaped the congregation's life in profound ways. First, there has been profound stability. Consider that from 1858 to 1939, there was only one pastoral transition; what stability that provided the congregation as they went through building programs, Yellow Fever, tragic deaths, church discipline, four church plants, and countless efforts to reach Jackson with the Gospel!
Not only this, the commitment to long-term mission has allowed for sustained impact for the pulpit ministry. A long stay in the same place allowed these men to shape the theological and experiential perspective of the congregation in favor of the grand, winsome, evangelical truths of Reformed Christianity.
Finally, the pastors' long-term stays allowed them to develop great trust. Though each of these men had other opportunities--both coming to FPC Jackson and while there--they remained at their post, earning the long-term trust of the church. And so, this lesson: when difficult times come, it is not the wonder or power of one's preaching that holds the congregation, but the trust built up over a long-term mission with God's people.
This lesson of "long-term missions" is an important one--one that is true for my own congregation (eight ministers in 130 years). A commitment on the part of pastor and people for "long-term missions" is vital for the long-term health and generational good of a congregation.
