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If one were to inquire of an Artificial Intelligence tool, "What is God's activity in the world?", it would respond by acknowledging the complexity of the topic and suggesting approaches from biblical, theological, and experiential perspectives. Ultimately, the AI would conclude that God's activity in the world remains a mystery that transcends human understanding.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to pay attention to God's activity in the world when serving others. What God does, we are called to do. Therefore, it is vital for ruling elders and the churches they lead to comprehend God's character and activity and then discern God's will for the world.

The 197th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted "A Declaration of Faith." The section “God makes himself known in Jesus Christ” can help us understand God’s action through God’s son:

“Jesus' involvement in the human condition is God's involvement. His compassion for all kinds of people is God's compassion. His demand for justice, truth, and faithfulness is God's demand. His willingness to suffer rejection is God's willingness. Jesus' love for the very people who reject him is God's love.”

If we understand the Jesus of the Bible to be truly human, then we can serve by seeing Jesus’ face in others and knowing that everyone is deserving of God’s love. If we understand that Jesus’ compassion for those who are sick, rejected and oppressed is God’s compassion, then we can act with the same empathy toward those who are rejected by society and subjected to its violence. If we see Jesus’ actions toward women, children, his religion and the empire that colonized his people as demands for justice, then we can comprehend God’s kin-dom and work toward it. If we read the Bible and see Jesus’ actions as countercultural, then we can understand that some of our actions of service in the name of God may not be understood by others.

It is critical for ruling elders to think about the message that the church is proclaiming. What aspects of God are you preaching — not just on Sunday mornings, but through everything that the church does to serve and impact the lives of those around it? If your service to others does not reflect all aspects of Jesus’ life, not just healing but restoring people to their whole lives or serving people while denouncing the systems that keep them sick, rejected, or isolated, then there is something missing in the way you are understanding God’s activity in the world. 

Russell Moore, the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, shared in an interview that some pastors have approached him, expressing their experience of delivering sermons on "turning the other cheek." To their surprise, members of their congregations dismissed the idea, deeming it ineffective and weak. This response occurred even though the pastors told them that they were quoting Jesus' words.

Are we truly grasping who Jesus was? Are we understanding God's activity in the world? Are we comprehending the way God, through Jesus Christ, manifested in the world? Are we actively participating in an incarnational discipleship that follows Jesus' life through our actions and words, or are we inadvertently promoting a discipleship that upholds alternative values, potentially misconstruing God's activities in the world?

Ruling elders have a responsibility to provide opportunities for both those interested in joining the church and those already part of it, encouraging them to explore and deepen their faith by understanding God's activity in the world. Through exploration in worship, discipleship, and service, those in the congregation have the chance to actively be the hands and feet of God in the world.

For Reflection:

  • What can you do, as a ruling elder, to discern and measure thoughts about God’s activity in the world?
  • How is your church demonstrating the love of God, not just on Sunday mornings, but through everything that the church does to serve and impact the lives of those around it?
  • What opportunities can you provide to have conversations about God’s activity in the world through Jesus Christ, and how his life and actions impact the way we serve?

Marissa Galván-Valle is a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She is the senior editor for Spanish Language Resources in the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation and temporary pastor at Beechmont Presbyterian Church, an intercultural church that worships each Sunday in Spanish and English. She was ordained as a ruling elder when she was 21 years old.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, monthly “Regarding Ruling Elders” articles will alternate between a deep dive into the ways ruling elders discern and measure the life of a congregation through the ministry of members and stories about how ruling elders are using their call and gifts as they move within and beyond the walls of the congregation.

Subscribe to receive notifications of monthly Regarding Ruling Elders articles. Visit the PC(USA) Leader Formation website for more resources for ruling elders and deacons. For more information, email Martha Miller, editor of “Regarding Ruling Elders.”