MODERATOR

SUMMARY OF WORK

Grace and peace to you all in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

It has been a blessing and honor to serve as Moderator of the 43rd General Assembly. This is a fantastic denomination that is full of so many wonderfully gifted people all across the country who are both faithful and fruitful. I have had the privilege of serving on multiple national committees and have worked with people from a number of presbyteries. What has been solidified for me more than ever is that the EPC is my home; a wonderful home that I love and will continue to work hard for. I know many, if not all, of us feel the same.

Our times these days are full of trouble. There are ongoing wars in both Israel and Ukraine that are in their own ways, tragic and troubling.

At home there is growing anxiety as another presidential election looms, especially in the age of AI, social media, and a growing distrust of authority and “truth.”

But our hope is forever in Christ who warned us that we would have much trouble in this world. And in that context, He urged us to take heart, for He truly has overcome the world.

My prayer for myself as well as for the denomination was that the Holy Spirit would give us wisdom and sobriety so as to offset our anxieties and help us keep our eyes fixed on Christ as we went about our Lord’s business.

This year, there were three Ad-Interim Committees and a Task Force in service.

• • • The Ad-Interim Committee on the Pastoral Letter of Racial Lament and Hope has finished its two-year project and will be submitting its final draft at this General Assembly.
    • The Ad-Interim Committee on Domestic Abuse began meeting online last October and has been diligently working to revise our older pastoral letter on domestic abuse.
    • The Ad-Interim Committee to review our ordination standards and processes began meeting last fall.
    • The Task Force on reviewing our Book of Discipline has begun their work as well.

Assistant Stated Clerk Michael Davis and the Gospel Priorities staff have been working hard to bring The Gospel Priorities, the OGA, and the denomination into alignment.

• • • In Church Planting, we will no longer be outsourcing our assessments of planters and instead will do all assessments “in-house.”
    • In Church Health, there has been an explosion of growth in our Transitional Pastor Training Seminars in both demand and attendance.
    • The Ministerial Vocation Committee, in conjunction with Church Health, have created training videos for Pastoral Search Committees that will be available later this year.
    • The Effective Biblical Leadership Pastor and Spouse Retreat had excellent attendance and by all reports was helpful and productive.
    • The EBL webinar series on equipping and encouraging leaders has been well received.

I would like to conclude my report with something I remember Roman Catholic scholar Bishop Robert Barron said in a lecture about issues surrounding Vatican II. Barron recounted a story about Pope Benedict, who once objected to the mission statement of a particular Catholic journal. The journal’s stated mission was to continue the spirit of Vatican II, which Catholics hold as an official Church Council. Councils are when the whole church stops whatever it is doing to discuss, debate, and if necessary, fight over some serious issue that the church has come face to face with. But Benedict was adamant that Councils are temporary, and this combative debating spirit necessary for “council time” should not persist into “normal time,” where instead a spirit of love and service should exist.

Benedict’s words really have a lot of wisdom. May the combative spirit that is of the world not find its way into our churches. And during the times when debate is necessary, may the “council spirit” we bear be temporary and end at the appropriate time so that when we are finished, it is our Love and not our contentiousness that shows the world that we truly are Christ’s disciples.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joe Kim, Moderator
43^rd General Assembly

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