Five Truths to Remember at General Assembly
By Timothy Sin
When I was younger, there was a roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure called “Kingda Ka.” It was advertised as “the tallest and fastest roller coaster on earth,” accelerating to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and climbing up to 456 feet.
My friends and I would wait several hours for a ride whose thrill lasted for only 28 seconds. Apparently, you were able to see both Philadelphia and New York City from the top of the roller coaster. I wouldn’t know, because my eyes were closed, my heart was crying out to God, and my hands were desperately holding on to the handles.
That is how I feel at our General Assembly every year. I am just trying to hold on through the Kingda Ka of our Assembly, flying through all the sessions, services, motions, and debates. Every year, I learn something new, but I feel like I’m working on arithmetic, while my fellow fathers and brothers are discussing calculus.
Some years, I leave feeling encouraged and hopeful. Other years, I leave discouraged and heartbroken. But every year, I leave exhausted.
As I am trying to navigate my annual cacophony of emotions—anxiety, excitement, helplessness, hope—it’s my goal this year to remind myself of these five truths at GA. Maybe they’ll be good reminders for you if you’re planning to attend.
1. Jesus is Lord of the Church. And we are not.
I am not sovereign over all things. I am not the one holding all things together. I am not the same yesterday, today, and forever. I have not been appointed as head over everything in the Church. That’s Jesus.
Five days in June will not change that. Fifty-three years of a denomination will not change that. We are a mere breath. God’s word is eternal. Jesus’ reign is forever. Today’s controversies will be yesterday’s lessons. And no matter the day, Jesus is Lord.
2. Jesus Loves the Church. And so should we.
It wouldn’t make sense if someone said they loved me, but hated my kids. It’s because if you love someone, you love the people they love. Jesus has bled for this Church. He lived, died, and rose again for her. He loves her. If we love Jesus, then we should love the people He loves, His bride. If God is our Father, then this is our family, as beautiful and dysfunctional it appears to be at times.
Can we say that we love those who sit across the aisle from us? Is there a baseline of respect, charity, and grace given, just by the mere fact that Jesus loves our fellow commissioners just as much as He loves us?
By this, all people will know that we are His disciples—that we have love for one another.
3. We are united in Christ. And this unity is marked by peace.
One body. One spirit. One hope. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Father of all. We believe in the historic creeds. We confess the biblical truths of the Westminster Standards. We fight for the sanctity of the gospel. How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
This unity works itself out through peace. My church is going through the book of James as a sermon series, and it floors me to see how much he implores the church to be wise. This wisdom from above is marked by meekness, purity, gentleness, peaceableness, and mercy.
This means that we should be marked by charity rather than animosity, kindness rather than criticism. We should be quick to hear and slow to speak, marked by restraint rather than an unbridled tongue.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Let’s strive to be such peacemakers, dear friends. Talk with someone who is different from you. Shake the hand of someone from across the aisle. Have fellowship with others. Catch up with friends. Laugh and have fun.
4. There is diversity as well as unity in the body of Christ.
Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. There is unity in the body but not uniformity. If one day we find our denomination filled only with people that look like us, talk like us, and think like us, then that will be an occasion for lament and weeping.
What this means is that this denomination is our church. In a safe and healthy household, even the utterances of the youngest child are not just welcomed, but embraced.
Our vote counts. Our voice matters.
Research. Talk with others. Participate in committee work. Be open about your convictions. Speak on the floor. Pray. In the family of God, your words and thoughts are a gift. Share them humbly and boldly.
5. The work of the Church is not just national but local.
Have you seen videos of marathon runners struggling at the finish line? Sometimes, they can’t even stand. Fellow athletes run near, and instead of passing the runner by, they compromise their own finishing time to hoist the exhausted runner up, crossing the finish line together.
That’s how I feel when GA is almost over. I’m exhausted, solely focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Yet, it is the fellowship of the saints that carry me to the finish line.
But the truth is that the work of the Church is not over when the week is done. It continues. We go back to our local churches and serve to the best of our ability—teaching and preaching the Word, sharing the gospel, enjoying sweet fellowship with our members, doing works of mercy, loving our neighbors, praying together, etc.
The decisions made at GA trickle down to the local church, and each local church carries out the denomination’s mission. The kingdom is not just advanced in a conference center, but it’s also found in the details, in the seen and unseen service of God’s people. It is lived out moment by moment, day by day, with every word and every interaction. It moves forward, one soul at a time.
This work of the local church fuels our hearts for the universal church—the hearer in the pew, the grieving member, the lost neighbor, our covenantal children. They are in our hearts, because they are in God’s heart. And we strive to serve faithfully at every level, for the glory of God and the love of neighbor.
After the 28-second ride was over, it would take a second for me to get my bearings. I had to remember where I was and where to go. I would focus on the ground immediately in front of me in order to not stumble and fall.
But soon, I felt the concrete beneath me. I would walk in confidence, knowing that the solid ground would not be moved.
Friends, GA will be a wild ride. Let us plant ourselves on the solid rock of Christ. He is sure and steadfast. He is good and faithful. He is sovereign and loves the church. No matter the outcome of the week, we can still walk confidently, knowing that Christ will not be shaken and even the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. So, take a moment and breathe. The victory belongs to the Lord, and we are His.
Timothy Sin is currently serving as Assistant Pastor at Denver Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and his children have inherited his passion for the city's sports teams. After receiving a BS from Grove City College and an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary, he served in his hometown till 2015 and has been in Colorado ever since, falling more in love with this beautiful state and community with each passing day.
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