Union alums have influenced the Protestant church in America and around the world for two centuries.  If one were to write a book on the faithful ministries of Union alums through history, it would constitute volumes.  The Alumni/ae Corner tells some of our stories, one at a time.  If you would like us to highlight an innovative or exciting ministry in your church or agency, or if you have a fellow alum you would recommend us contacting, please email Rev. Dr. Lynn McClintock, Alumni/ae Development Director, lmcclintock@upsem.edu.

Thinking Creatively about Worship and Mission

Mark Davis, D.Min.'86

Fifteen years ago, Mark Davis (D.Min.’86) was the first called pastor of Heartland Presbyterian Church in Clive, Iowa. Growing from 83 to about 430 members, “it’s a wonderful congregation,” he said, with two predominant strengths. The first is jazz worship. “We don’t just up-tempo old hymns,” Mark said. The musicians use original compositions and a variety of styles. They might play jazz, swing, and Latin styles on different verses of the same song. “We’ve really developed the congregation’s ear to just listen, listen to each other, listen to the musicians,” said Mark. The result sounds great, but “it’s not just, ‘ooh, cool, we have jazz,’” Mark said. About ten years ago, with the church “in between choir directors,” the worship committee spent a year studying the Directory for Worship, seeking “a multivalent voice that could really speak to a lot of different experiences and really communicate the expansiveness of grace.” The study led them to hire a jazz trio instead of a new choir director, a move that has shaped the church ever since.

The second big strength of Heartland PC is their mission involvement. They send two delegations a year to their sister congregation in El Salvador. The twelve-year-old ministry involves plenty of hands-on projects, money, and crisis aid—“In that respect, it looks very much like the kind of mission where you just kind of send money,” Mark said—but they are also very intentional about building relationships with the church and its members, going from house to house to get to know them. “We don’t go to do stuff that they can do for themselves,” Mark said. “We enable them to do it.” That philosophy now carries over to the church’s local missions, transforming the church as well as those in need.

Mark's latest book, Left Behind and Loving It: A Cheeky Look at the End Times, came out in 2011. It looks at apocalyptic texts, including Mark and Daniel, and the way modern Christians interpret them.

--Written by first level student and future alumna, Rachel M. Jenkins

Mark will be presenting his book on September 26, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at UPSem's Morton Library Book Talk.  Watch it live at www.unionlive.org on September 26th.