‘We might miss the work of the Spirit,’ the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick says
by Beth Waltemath | Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick preaches during the opening worship of the Inspire! regional gathering of immigrant leaders in the Synod of the Covenant. (Photos by Beth Waltemath)
According to the Rev. Dr. Chip Hardwick, when you Google “Why are Presbyterians like that?” one of the top five questions asked is, “Why are Presbyterians called the ‘frozen chosen’?” Hardwick, executive for the Synod of the Covenant, preached at a regional gathering of immigrant new worshiping community and church leaders in Cincinnati over the weekend. Hardwick brought greetings on behalf of the synod, which spans most of Ohio and all of Michigan and as of 2022 had 623 churches reporting 82,264 members, to a group that included the praise team from Korean Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati and other regional leaders as well as immigrant leaders from California and Georgia.
“I think the reason we’re probably frozen chosen, at least in white churches, is because if you put motion sensor lights in a Presbyterian sanctuary, they might not ever go on during a worship service right there. That might not be enough motion to make any life happen,” said Hardwick. He attributed some of the freeze of white Presbyterian churches to be related to a habit of control and what he called “the decent and in order disorder.”
Hardwick looked to the Bible for examples of when God did the unexpected and shook up the order of things. His chosen Scriptures focused on the story of Pentecost in Acts 2 and on the story of Moses in Numbers 11, who commissions 70 elders in the tent of meeting. But in the Numbers account, it is the two extra elders who remained in the camp, Eldad and Medad, who receive the spirit and prophesize in the camp.
A musician from Korean Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati plays an inspiring arrangement of “Blessed Assurance” on the violin.
“The Holy Spirit’s supposed to come on 70 people, but the Holy Spirit comes on 72 people,” Hardwick said about the Numbers story, which pointed out that “we get not one, but two bonus elders of the Spirit coming, the spirits doing what they don’t expect.” Hardwick characterized Joshua and another objector to Eldad and Medad’s prophesizing as “great Presbyterians.”
“Wait, wait. The Holy Spirit is doing something. Stop, stop, stop. Keep it under control,” Hardwick said, impersonating their reactions. “Presbyterians are great at thinking that we can totally project what God is going to do and when God is going to do it,” he said.
When prophesizing God’s will for the people, more important than the ability to predict and project is the ability to observe, to listen and to understand. In the Pentecost story, Hardwick saw the power of the Spirit not just in Peter and the disciple’s ability to speak many languages into the crowd but also to listen to the many voices speaking back to them. According to Hardwick, God “gave Peter and the disciples the power to understand the languages that came back and to learn from the people who were there from all over the world.”
“We have to admit that the Holy Spirit is just as active in immigrant communities and can teach us in our established churches what’s going on, too,” said Hardwick. “If we only imagine God to work in very specific ways and very specific times, and that we can control them, then we have a decent and in order disorder.” Hardwick ended with the caution that “we might miss that work of the Spirit.”
The Rev. Lindsay Armstrong and the Accents! team of the Revs. Rafael Viana, Sam Kim and Gad Mpoyo introduce themselves during opening worship.
“The purpose of the Inspire! [events] is threefold,” said the Rev. Gad Mpoyo, associate for 1001 New Worshiping Communities’ Eastern Region. “To celebrate new immigrant church creativity, resilience and commitment; to reflect on best practices for bringing immigrant new worshiping communities and the established church into mutually beneficial relationships with one another; and to have a renewed, shared sense of hope and direction for a vibrant church future.” Mpoyo co-leads the Inspire! events with the Rev. Lindsay Armstrong, executive director of the New Church Development Commission, the Rev. Rafael Viana, organizing pastor of Casa Brasil Church, and the Rev. Sam Kim, coordinator for transnational ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary. In each region, they invite local preachers and worship teams to lead as well as make space for participants to share stories of their contexts in what are called “Ignite!” moments. The Rev. Natarsha P. Sanders, associate for intercultural leadership development and recruitment for the PC(USA), also participated and preached at the closing worship.
The events attract immigrant new worshiping community leaders, presbytery leaders, local congregations that host immigrant new worshiping communities, and those who are interested in learning about and building relationships with immigrant new worshiping communities. Thanks to a partnership with the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Financial Aid for Service, travel scholarships of $500 are available to participants. There is another regional gathering planned for Stony Point Center in New York with a new date of Nov. 11–12.
According to Armstrong, who has been on the planning team since the first national one in Atlanta, the Holy Spirit is at work and is not easy to miss. Armstrong said, “The Inspire! regional gatherings continue to gain momentum.”
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