September 14, 2003
Joint Boards
Olivet Moravian church
Winston-Salem, NC
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
2000 years ago a Savior was born into a world where God’s chosen people
had become more obsessed with rules and regulations than with understanding
and living God’s will. The people of Israel were managed by a group of
Priests, Pharisees and Scribes who had turned away from God’s will and
instead worshipped the rules and order that they had put in place to outline
the do’s and don’ts of entering God’s kingdom.
They had not learned their lesson well from history. This history was
replete with occasions where God tried to get their attention with prophets
anointed in His spirit and failing that had resorted to fire, floods,
invading armies and more to turn their faces toward Him and His will.
Instead, the response was to write more rules and further prevent the people
of Israel from hearing God’s true message by insulating them through a
system of rules and regulations that hindered their access.
God sent His son Jesus to proclaim the final message and ultimate truth.
God is love and the only path to salvation and eternal happiness is through
His son Jesus. To seal this final covenant, God sacrificed His son on the
cross that we might understand finally that salvation is through grace and
heeding a few simple commandments that were carved in stone so many years
before. When Christ died on the cross, the temple veil was rent showing once
and forever that salvation was available to each of us individually though
our own confessions and not through the conduit of a hierarchy that existed
only for its self actualization.
I believe that this is the year that we at Olivet need to return to
basics. I believe that the renewal services that we traditionally hold each
year around this time provide an excellent opportunity to provide
instruction in what we need to do to get right with God. I think that the
first step is to follow in the steps of Count Zinzendorf and publicly
confess our faith and love in our Lord Jesus Christ and recant the ways and
things that have led us astray. We need to renew our resolve to look beyond
our immediate family and accept that ultimate commission that Christ made to
us. We will not meet it by always looking inward without regard to the world
around us.
We are no different than so many others of our sister churches (e.g.
Methodists, Lutherans, . Several of those have taken up what some refer to
as the “Confessing Movement.”
Some congregations in the southern province have also begun looking into
this movement as a way to study and worship so that we might once more have
our hearts right with God. I urge you to consider bringing in a speaker
during our renewal services who can tell us about the movement and instruct
us in what we need to do to participate as individuals and as a
congregation.
There are those in our congregation (both leaders and members) who tell
us that there is nothing amiss and that everything is right with the
Moravian Church. They tell us that we are going through a process to
revision the church and to meet consensus on those essentials necessary for
our church’s survival. I challenge you to look closely and see the veils
of separation. Look at where the re-visioning is being discussed and who is
involved. Look at where the consensus occurs and ask yourselves whether
members of congregations should also be party to these deliberations. If you
look closely, you will find the veil has been restored at several places in
the hierarchy.
I believe today that the Moravian Church has turned away from essential
truths and has put us and future Moravians at risk. We have become bound by
obsession with rules and regulations and have placed barriers between the
church leadership and the clergy and the members of our
congregations. We have allowed clergy to offer alternative messages to the
good news of the gospel and have put the salvation of souls at risk. (Drive
past Rev. Dunn’s church on Peace Haven and read the snippets on the church
board sometime). We have told our missionaries who place everything on the
line in other lands that church order and discipline is more important than
salvation through grace. We have placed church doctrine and rules above the
Bible which reveals the real story and provides us with the authority and
guidance we need to govern our daily lives as we strive to live according to
God’s plan.
As a result, we are facing a potential crisis. Ordained pastors have
resigned from their calling and others have placed their faith on the line.
There are congregations today who are in discussion with the Southern
Province regarding the withholding of the provincial assessment and the need
to move to an effective line item veto. While some congregations are
growing, others are shrinking, in part because of our church’s inability
to recognize the truly essential matters and proclaim the true essential
truths. Other churches outside the Moravians, however, are growing at
astounding rates because they speak of things important and accept the
commission our Lord gave us.
As members of the joint boards, you are in a unique position to help
steer Olivet to a higher spiritual level and guide us in the Holy
Scriptures, The Ground of the Unity and The Covenant for Christian Living. I
respectfully request that you be aware of the current issues, take the
necessary actions representative of our church membership, and report back
to us on these events. I look forward to your discussions with us on
essential matters that may impact our salvation and health as a church
family.
I urge you to consider these things and provide the leadership necessary
to turn our face back toward God as we approach our annual renewal season.
This is your opportunity to respond to a real spiritual challenge. I trust
that you will prayerfully consider these things.
I and the Olivet congregation thank you for the time and effort you give
as members of our boards to make our church better.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike Parsons
