When Chain of Lakes was started, I was encouraged to gather the Presbyterians in the community. Seven families were initially gathered. I was able to gather a few more.
It soon became obvious to me that we wouldn’t build this church by gathering the Presbyterians. There weren't enough to build a congregation. We didn’t ultimately even put the term “Presbyterian” in the name of our congregation, which is Chain of Lakes Church. We didn’t put the term “Presbyterian” in our Purpose Statement or our Core Values. We weren’t trying to hide from the reality that we are a Presbyterian congregation. But in our mind being Presbyterian really wasn’t that important to people not connected to a church.
Our denominational identity is a balancing act at Chain of Lakes. We are Presbyterian, but we’re not trying to make someone become a Presbyterian. What we really want to see happen for newcomers is the person flourishes in faith, develops meaningful friendships, and connects to the community in ways that brings tremendous value and purpose.
And I love being Presbyterian. My family of origin is as Presbyterian as you can get. My parents have been Presbyterian their entire adult life, my sister is a Presbyterian pastor, she is married to a Presbyterian pastor. It’s not surprising when we get together, we talk Presbyterian. I’ve been a Presbyterian pastor for 33 years. I’m currently the Moderator of the Presbytery of Twin Cities Area. We have passion for what happens within the Presbyterian church.
To help with this balancing act, I developed and have shared often a talk about what it means to be Presbyterian. The metaphor that guides my talk is a car. All of us are on one journey of faith, and we ride in different cars. At Chain of Lakes church we ride in the Presbyterian car. So even though we are not trying to make someone Presbyterian, I believe it’s important to know what is in our car.
In my talk I shared twelve parts that I believe are part of the Presbyterian car. I could add some or take some out down the road. I'm always willing to talk about them. If someone wants to talk more about them, send me an email at pastor@colpres.org.
In no particular order in order of importance, here are twelve parts that make up the Presbyterian car.
The foundation of Presbyterians is Jesus—his birth, birth, life, death, resurrection and teachings. This is more important than anything else.
Presbyterians are led by Elders. My title as a pastor is Teaching Elder. A person who serves on the board or Session of a Presbyterian congregation is a Ruling Elder. Both Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders have to be voted upon by their congregations. No one is every appointed to serve. Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders work together at every level of the PC(USA) to discern where God is leading.
I talk about this frequently. No one has to subscribe to a particular view to be a Presbyterian. No litmus test exists. Anyone who is part of Chain of Lakes is encouraged to form their own views. When I preach and teach I share what I think and then encourage people to think for themselves.
Worship revolves around Jesus and what he would have us do in our own lives and in the world.
At Chain of Lakes we celebrate Communion once a month. We baptize infants and don’t believe that people have to be rebaptized when they connect to our congregation. When people ask me about rebaptism, I share that I believe God did a terrific job the first time, so no need to redo what God has already done.
I would guess that a hundred percent of congregations in the PC(USA) have some involvement with their local Food Shelf. Presbyterians are known for being engaged in their community.
It’s hard to put this in a short paragraph. The PC(USA) has four governing bodies—a Session (which leads a local congregation), Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly. The four governing bodies are made up of people who are elected to their positions. The three wider governing bodies (Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly) can’t really order a local Presbyterian congregation to do something, but they certainly have influence.
The Book of Order is like a manual of operations for Presbyterian congregations. We’re informed by it. You can read the book of Order at: 2025_0724_Book_of_Order_Interactive_2025-2027.pdf
The Book of Confessions is a gathering of theological statements that the church has made throughout history. You can read the Book of Confessions at: Microsoft Word - File 01 Front Matter.doc
Presbyterians are always interested in partnering with other denominations to do ministry. I’m married to a Catholic. She is the Administrator of the Catholic church in Lino Lakes. I cantor there about six times a year. When our daughter, Hannah, was baptized, a Catholic priest and Presbyterian pastor officiated at her baptism in a Presbyterian worship service. That was a glorious day!
