People we know have made a family commitment to stay away from toxic people. I got a reaffirmation of that on Christmas Eve. Yeah, they believe they are Christians. Weird, huh?
Christmas is the time when we celebrate God making Godself vulnerable, living among toxic beings calling humans as a human with all the weakness inherent in being human. The Christian New Testament says "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth."
Among us? You mean, not avoiding toxic people?
Yup.
Some of the folks he rubbed shoulders with did their best to avoid toxic people. Essenes lived out in the desert. Pharisees barricaded themselves behind laws, rules and ostentatious piety. Jesus, on the other hand, "ate with tax-collectors and sinners".
How, I muse, can you claim to follow Jesus and go out of your way to avoid toxic people?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Keeping Folks Awake -- It's No Secret
When I got moved into my first parsonage (it didn't take long, I had everything I owned in an old Ford station wagon) I set out to visit every home in that town of 900 or so. After all, I was pastor of the Baptist Community Church. At first, no one was home. Then a wise lady in the church told me a story. The only people, she said, who wore neckties and knocked on doors were either tax collectors or bill collectors.
I got it.
I lost the necktie and white shirt my seminary professors thought so highly of, and amazingly most people were home when I knocked on their doors. I heard an appropriate story, and I didn't fall asleep. Over the next few years I heard lots of stories. People in that community loved to "visit".
When I preached about outreach, I didn't tell people to reach out. I spoke from my experiences with real people I was meeting, without breaching any confidences. I told stories. I only fell asleep during my sermon that one time when I had been up all night helping search for a hunter we couldn't find. He didn't reckon he was lost. We thought he was lost. But that's a different story. . .
Preachers who want to keep folks awake do the stuff they preach about, and tell stories about it (without breaching confidences or embarrassing folks). It's not, "You should reach out to your neighbor" (prescriptive) but, "I stopped by the Jones family last week and we talked about the kinds of fish he used to catch back in Iowa. Who might you stop by and visit with next week?" (Descriptive, a mini-story). Or, "Harold was telling me how he stopped at the Smiths a couple of weeks ago, and they told him some interesting stories from their childhood."
OMG! Those are such short stories! Do you suppose they would lead to short sermons?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I got it.
I lost the necktie and white shirt my seminary professors thought so highly of, and amazingly most people were home when I knocked on their doors. I heard an appropriate story, and I didn't fall asleep. Over the next few years I heard lots of stories. People in that community loved to "visit".
When I preached about outreach, I didn't tell people to reach out. I spoke from my experiences with real people I was meeting, without breaching any confidences. I told stories. I only fell asleep during my sermon that one time when I had been up all night helping search for a hunter we couldn't find. He didn't reckon he was lost. We thought he was lost. But that's a different story. . .
Preachers who want to keep folks awake do the stuff they preach about, and tell stories about it (without breaching confidences or embarrassing folks). It's not, "You should reach out to your neighbor" (prescriptive) but, "I stopped by the Jones family last week and we talked about the kinds of fish he used to catch back in Iowa. Who might you stop by and visit with next week?" (Descriptive, a mini-story). Or, "Harold was telling me how he stopped at the Smiths a couple of weeks ago, and they told him some interesting stories from their childhood."
OMG! Those are such short stories! Do you suppose they would lead to short sermons?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Suspicious Behavior
It's not a matter of "What are you?" so much as "How are you?" in my opinion. Let me share what I mean.
How are you? Are you a trusting person? a person of faith in God, Allah, or Adonai/Yahweh?
How are you? Are you a trusting person? a person who trusts the other human to listen, learn and grow in her or his own time?
When Jesus told the good news he didn't evoke guilt for failure to believe him (although he was occasionally disappointed in others slowness). He trusted God. He trusted the message. He trusted other human beings. That's how he was.
Not so Mohammed. He trusted the sword. He pressured, he slaughtered, his news was not that good.
That's how he was. Some of his later followers became more trusting. These days there seems to be a division between trusting followers of Mohammed and suspicious, untrusting fellow Muslims.
But wait! That is equally true for Christians. The "evangelical" wing of the Christian church doesn't trust God and doesn't trust the message to be good news and for sure cannot trust other humans to see it their way. These folks and institutions use pressure, gimmicks, and threats to "evangelize". They pervert the nature of God and the Good News in God's message. That's how they are. At the other end of the spectrum are the folks who think any old message will do. Believe something and join us . They don't trust the message although they may trust the God who grasped them in their time.
Most of us, I think, exhibit suspicious behavior. We are suspicious that God cannot do it without our gimmicks, we are very suspicious that others won't 'get it'. Maybe it would help if we were more suspicious of our own gaps in faith and trust.
We can do something loving with our selves.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
How are you? Are you a trusting person? a person of faith in God, Allah, or Adonai/Yahweh?
How are you? Are you a trusting person? a person who trusts the other human to listen, learn and grow in her or his own time?
When Jesus told the good news he didn't evoke guilt for failure to believe him (although he was occasionally disappointed in others slowness). He trusted God. He trusted the message. He trusted other human beings. That's how he was.
Not so Mohammed. He trusted the sword. He pressured, he slaughtered, his news was not that good.
That's how he was. Some of his later followers became more trusting. These days there seems to be a division between trusting followers of Mohammed and suspicious, untrusting fellow Muslims.
But wait! That is equally true for Christians. The "evangelical" wing of the Christian church doesn't trust God and doesn't trust the message to be good news and for sure cannot trust other humans to see it their way. These folks and institutions use pressure, gimmicks, and threats to "evangelize". They pervert the nature of God and the Good News in God's message. That's how they are. At the other end of the spectrum are the folks who think any old message will do. Believe something and join us . They don't trust the message although they may trust the God who grasped them in their time.
Most of us, I think, exhibit suspicious behavior. We are suspicious that God cannot do it without our gimmicks, we are very suspicious that others won't 'get it'. Maybe it would help if we were more suspicious of our own gaps in faith and trust.
We can do something loving with our selves.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
God Told Me. . .
For more than fifty-five years I have had people tell me (from time to time): "God told me."
It happened recently, and I have been reflecting on what that means.
God told me, because I was asking for direction. . .
God told me, and I took a step in a direction that makes sense now that I look back at it. . .
God told me, and told me to tell you because you aren't paying attention any more. . .
God told me, and now I get to be the "boss" of all you other people . . .
God told me, and I am checking myself in to a psychiatric hospital. . .
God told me, and you'd better do what I say . . .
I admit I initially cringe when I hear this phrase, because it is usually used to justify controlling or nasty behavior. I try to listen with an open mind. Sometimes I reflect on what a person says, because people are important.
Usually, however, "God told me" turns out to be nonsense. Often a 'reason' to justify behavior that really cannot be justified in a person of faith.
One story: a lady told a young woman that God told her to divorce her husband, leave her child with him, and go marry a prominent sports figure (who was also married). Obviously either the lady giving this counsel was delusional, evil, or had very sick needs to control others. Fortunately the young woman sought counsel elsewhere, and ended her relationship with the "God told me to tell you" lady.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
It happened recently, and I have been reflecting on what that means.
God told me, because I was asking for direction. . .
God told me, and I took a step in a direction that makes sense now that I look back at it. . .
God told me, and told me to tell you because you aren't paying attention any more. . .
God told me, and now I get to be the "boss" of all you other people . . .
God told me, and I am checking myself in to a psychiatric hospital. . .
God told me, and you'd better do what I say . . .
I admit I initially cringe when I hear this phrase, because it is usually used to justify controlling or nasty behavior. I try to listen with an open mind. Sometimes I reflect on what a person says, because people are important.
Usually, however, "God told me" turns out to be nonsense. Often a 'reason' to justify behavior that really cannot be justified in a person of faith.
One story: a lady told a young woman that God told her to divorce her husband, leave her child with him, and go marry a prominent sports figure (who was also married). Obviously either the lady giving this counsel was delusional, evil, or had very sick needs to control others. Fortunately the young woman sought counsel elsewhere, and ended her relationship with the "God told me to tell you" lady.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Why You Sleep Through Sermons
I even fell asleep during one of my own sermons. I dreamed I was preaching, came awake, and -- I WAS preaching! In my defense, I had been up all night on a search and rescue operation looking for a man who didn't come home from hunting, but, still. . .
Most preachers don't trust God and don't trust their listeners. Christian ministers don't trust the example of Jesus.
Jesus told stories. Parables, some of them. He used story proverbs. Then he walked on.
He trusted God. He trusted the stories. He trusted his listeners to find a message for them if they were ready for the message. Through it all he watched, he lived, and he thought.
When did it come to him that he had never seen householder light and lamp in the evening and then put it under a bushel basket? Under what circumstances did he grasp that if he had something in his eye, like a bit of sawdust, he could not see very well. He wouldn't be able to take anything out of another person's eye, for goodness' sake! He watched. He lived. He thought.
He put together stories and sayings. Probably he practiced them over and over and over until they flowed from his lips at appropriate and inappropriate times.
In my next blog I will share ways sermons could come alive. Meanwhile, what do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Most preachers don't trust God and don't trust their listeners. Christian ministers don't trust the example of Jesus.
Jesus told stories. Parables, some of them. He used story proverbs. Then he walked on.
He trusted God. He trusted the stories. He trusted his listeners to find a message for them if they were ready for the message. Through it all he watched, he lived, and he thought.
When did it come to him that he had never seen householder light and lamp in the evening and then put it under a bushel basket? Under what circumstances did he grasp that if he had something in his eye, like a bit of sawdust, he could not see very well. He wouldn't be able to take anything out of another person's eye, for goodness' sake! He watched. He lived. He thought.
He put together stories and sayings. Probably he practiced them over and over and over until they flowed from his lips at appropriate and inappropriate times.
In my next blog I will share ways sermons could come alive. Meanwhile, what do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
What Matters?
Whether in the world of Islam, of Judaism, or of Christianity, what really matters?
The extremists scream, "Belief!!! Right Belief!!!! Being willing to die and to kill for right belief!!!!!!!"
If these people are right, eventually one group must kill off all the other groups and then we will live in bliss until the end of time. I use the word "we" generically. I am sure I seldom get it right, and I have yet to meet anyone who gets it right all the time. I'm not sure what "right" is.
What really matters?
A friend of mine suggests that the Golden Rule (which shows up in many versions of religion) is all we need: Do to others what you would have them do to you." He may be on to something.
He at least hints that it is character and caring behavior, not theological correctness that matters. So maybe someone who is a faithful adherent of the Girl Scout Law or Boy Scout Law matters more than a screaming evangelist or thundering theologian (of any faith).
For the rest of us in the world, getting theology right is usually less important than being treated fairly, with respect. We would rather be loved, in the agape' sense of the word that taught to believe the right things.
What do you think? What is important in your life journey? Leave a comment and let us know.
The extremists scream, "Belief!!! Right Belief!!!! Being willing to die and to kill for right belief!!!!!!!"
If these people are right, eventually one group must kill off all the other groups and then we will live in bliss until the end of time. I use the word "we" generically. I am sure I seldom get it right, and I have yet to meet anyone who gets it right all the time. I'm not sure what "right" is.
What really matters?
A friend of mine suggests that the Golden Rule (which shows up in many versions of religion) is all we need: Do to others what you would have them do to you." He may be on to something.
He at least hints that it is character and caring behavior, not theological correctness that matters. So maybe someone who is a faithful adherent of the Girl Scout Law or Boy Scout Law matters more than a screaming evangelist or thundering theologian (of any faith).
For the rest of us in the world, getting theology right is usually less important than being treated fairly, with respect. We would rather be loved, in the agape' sense of the word that taught to believe the right things.
What do you think? What is important in your life journey? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Relationships and Rules
One of my teachers thought it was basic psychology. Temperament. The way people are wired.
He believed that certain people need formulae. Rules. Guiding Principles. Roadmaps for the future.
I wonder if he was correct. I believe in rules. I believe well formulated rules keep societies functioning, and that people who break those rules need to be brought to heel. Is that my temperament or is that something else? "Well formulated rules" might not include a lot of the rules we create and the laws our legislatures and congresspeople create. In fact, most laws barely seem well formulated at all. Is that the problem with religious legalism?
Many scholars have come to understand that most of the laws in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy were never -- that is never enforced in the covenant people and tribes. A few seem well-formulated. Most are not.
I think this is why the good news of God's forgiveness is perceived as such bad news. Rules make everything predictable. A creator who forgives, who redeems the people on the cosmic junk pile and values them once again -- that makes it pretty hard to manage. Rules keep the train on the rails, the cars on the highways and out of the cornfields. Forgiveness?
Forgiveness puts us into a different universe. Yet without rules there can be nothing to forgive.
I have no cheap and easy conclusions to draw. But I would appreciate any reality based insights you can provide. Leave a comment and let me know. Let US know.
He believed that certain people need formulae. Rules. Guiding Principles. Roadmaps for the future.
I wonder if he was correct. I believe in rules. I believe well formulated rules keep societies functioning, and that people who break those rules need to be brought to heel. Is that my temperament or is that something else? "Well formulated rules" might not include a lot of the rules we create and the laws our legislatures and congresspeople create. In fact, most laws barely seem well formulated at all. Is that the problem with religious legalism?
Many scholars have come to understand that most of the laws in Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy were never -- that is never enforced in the covenant people and tribes. A few seem well-formulated. Most are not.
I think this is why the good news of God's forgiveness is perceived as such bad news. Rules make everything predictable. A creator who forgives, who redeems the people on the cosmic junk pile and values them once again -- that makes it pretty hard to manage. Rules keep the train on the rails, the cars on the highways and out of the cornfields. Forgiveness?
Forgiveness puts us into a different universe. Yet without rules there can be nothing to forgive.
I have no cheap and easy conclusions to draw. But I would appreciate any reality based insights you can provide. Leave a comment and let me know. Let US know.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Confusion in Faith-Based Groups
We got into a fascinating discussion this morning over breakfast. Seven of us were figuring out how to help a church grow in a healthy way. Ideas flew fast and furious. It brought to mind the massive tension between meaning and means. Let me ruminate on this with you.
Unless you and you alone are the inventor of a faith you probably got all or most of your ideas from those who have gone before. The community stretches back in time as well as forward into a history that has yet to be written.
Finding inner meaning generally means being part of, or interacting with, community. This is not just true in matters of faith. Scientists interact and play off one another's thoughts, discoveries, and passions. Poets interact with nature, with politics, with other poets, with the internet (these days). In spite of the presence of a few hermits in various faith traditions, they interact or used to interact with others with regard to 'what it all means' or 'what it means for me' or even, 'what it should mean for everyone'. Sadly, that last phrase has led to religious oppression, insanity, and robbery.1How do you keep the community healthy and alive from generation to generation? How does the community take care of it's own health while keeping the focus on meaning, not the institution?
Good marketing strategies are important. Just sitting in a field waiting for someone to stop by really doesn't work. But if you can get "someone" to stop by, what then?
I suggest that helping that 'someone' explore her or his questions, even questions he or she has never put into words before, is worthwhile. Once the questions are framed, then exploring possible responses from the perspective of faith can be helpful. In the culture of the United States, with our emphasis on the individual, it's usually best to let the person get access to some information and make her or his own meaning of it.
Most people don't come to a community for the potluck. More people than not endure the potluck to spend time with people finding meaning. Few people come for the gorgeous building. The help maintain the building to have a common place to work with the questions of life with others. But the building does need to be paid for, and the heating bills must be paid.
What grabs you about a faith based community? If you are part of one, even once in awhile, what is it that draws you back? Leave a comment and let us know.
Unless you and you alone are the inventor of a faith you probably got all or most of your ideas from those who have gone before. The community stretches back in time as well as forward into a history that has yet to be written.
Finding inner meaning generally means being part of, or interacting with, community. This is not just true in matters of faith. Scientists interact and play off one another's thoughts, discoveries, and passions. Poets interact with nature, with politics, with other poets, with the internet (these days). In spite of the presence of a few hermits in various faith traditions, they interact or used to interact with others with regard to 'what it all means' or 'what it means for me' or even, 'what it should mean for everyone'. Sadly, that last phrase has led to religious oppression, insanity, and robbery.1How do you keep the community healthy and alive from generation to generation? How does the community take care of it's own health while keeping the focus on meaning, not the institution?
- Some groups spit on the community. "I can be a Christian by myself. Just me and Jesus!" shout some.
- Some groups embrace the community they no longer get around to the mean which birthed the community. "We have to have more young people! "How can we keep our youth?!
Good marketing strategies are important. Just sitting in a field waiting for someone to stop by really doesn't work. But if you can get "someone" to stop by, what then?
I suggest that helping that 'someone' explore her or his questions, even questions he or she has never put into words before, is worthwhile. Once the questions are framed, then exploring possible responses from the perspective of faith can be helpful. In the culture of the United States, with our emphasis on the individual, it's usually best to let the person get access to some information and make her or his own meaning of it.
Most people don't come to a community for the potluck. More people than not endure the potluck to spend time with people finding meaning. Few people come for the gorgeous building. The help maintain the building to have a common place to work with the questions of life with others. But the building does need to be paid for, and the heating bills must be paid.
What grabs you about a faith based community? If you are part of one, even once in awhile, what is it that draws you back? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Selective Theology
In 2013 selective theology is inevitable in all the "ancient" faith communities. Do you get it?
Let me illustrate.
A fellow student (last week in Bermuda) told me about the Orthodox Christian church she visited in Ethiopia. She was impressed with how they had 'retained' so many Jewish beliefs such as circumcision on a certain day after birth (male babies) and the closeting of mothers for 40 days after giving birth.
In other words, this church has selected from some but not all ancient Hebrew traditions and made what was selected part of their positive theology.
Look at all they have to select from. The rules in Leviticus and then reinterpreted in Deuteronomy aren't just many in number -- they make the person attempting to sift through them numb-er. More numb. Then throw in reinterpretations by the prophets, and the court customs of Proverbs and a community trying to be "faithful" must select. Every community trying to include these rules as points of theology must select. At the same time each community of faith must interpret what is selected.
Much the same thing is true in Islam faith communities. Some communities embrace the peace portions of Islam, others embrace the violent jihad portions of the traditions. Some Christian faith communities emphasise the peace portions of the Christian traditions, others embrace the patriotic positions.
Jesus was selective. His words, "You have heard . . . but I say to you" remind us that he selected portions of his Hebrew heritage to reinterpret.
What do you select? How do you make your selections? Does your religious leader tell you what to believe, and do you "buy" what she/he says? Are you actively involved in sorting and sifting for yourself? Do you have the comprehensive knowledge of your scriptures to sift well?
Leave a comment and let us know.
Let me illustrate.
A fellow student (last week in Bermuda) told me about the Orthodox Christian church she visited in Ethiopia. She was impressed with how they had 'retained' so many Jewish beliefs such as circumcision on a certain day after birth (male babies) and the closeting of mothers for 40 days after giving birth.
In other words, this church has selected from some but not all ancient Hebrew traditions and made what was selected part of their positive theology.
Look at all they have to select from. The rules in Leviticus and then reinterpreted in Deuteronomy aren't just many in number -- they make the person attempting to sift through them numb-er. More numb. Then throw in reinterpretations by the prophets, and the court customs of Proverbs and a community trying to be "faithful" must select. Every community trying to include these rules as points of theology must select. At the same time each community of faith must interpret what is selected.
Much the same thing is true in Islam faith communities. Some communities embrace the peace portions of Islam, others embrace the violent jihad portions of the traditions. Some Christian faith communities emphasise the peace portions of the Christian traditions, others embrace the patriotic positions.
Jesus was selective. His words, "You have heard . . . but I say to you" remind us that he selected portions of his Hebrew heritage to reinterpret.
What do you select? How do you make your selections? Does your religious leader tell you what to believe, and do you "buy" what she/he says? Are you actively involved in sorting and sifting for yourself? Do you have the comprehensive knowledge of your scriptures to sift well?
Leave a comment and let us know.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Preaching, Public Speaking and Me
We have good thinkers leading our worship experiences. They read, think deeply, and preach. Based on the past six months messages I have come to some insights worth sharing. These are not new, but need restating every once in awhile.
It really helps if the speaker is excited about what he/she is saying, and comes across as this: "I can't wait to help you 'get' this."
What do you think? As a person of faith, if you are, do you find the postlude on the organ uplifting and more active than the sermon? Leave a comment and let us know.
- A speaker avoiding eye contact puts people off.
- A speaker wringing his/her hands looks afraid.
- A speaker reading a long quotation puts people to sleep.
- A speaker looking a few people in the eye communicates better.
- A speaker who tells stories commands attention.
- A speaker who has one, and only one, purpose for her/his message usually comes across as knowing what she/he is doing.
- Short is better.
It really helps if the speaker is excited about what he/she is saying, and comes across as this: "I can't wait to help you 'get' this."
What do you think? As a person of faith, if you are, do you find the postlude on the organ uplifting and more active than the sermon? Leave a comment and let us know.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Learning Jesus
Pardon me for getting older. Getting older means taking more time to reflect on who I am, what I have done, whether I have accomplished anything worthwhile, what priorities I have and have had that were silly, to mention only a few things I think about and pray about. Let me think a bit about one reflection.
When I was younger I thought I needed to "learn about Jesus." When that only went so far I made it more personal: I thought I would figure Jesus out. (As you can tell, Jesus is rather in the center of my thinking, acting and believing and has been most of my adult life.) So I tried to figure Jesus out.
I think that is the wrong priority for me now, and probably was for most of my life.
I think the better priority is to "learn Jesus".
Moses offers a lot. Mohammed offers some value. But Jesus, as I see it, offers everything a human could want -- agape' love, behavior that respects others, values that confront prejudice and pride in the self as well as in others, understanding ("He knew what was in man. . . ") and so forth.
Although his teaching seems essential, his living what he taught is even more important to me now. I am not Jesus. Jesus lived in an occupied country with violence and violations I can hardly imagine.
I want to , and I need to, learn Jesus.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
When I was younger I thought I needed to "learn about Jesus." When that only went so far I made it more personal: I thought I would figure Jesus out. (As you can tell, Jesus is rather in the center of my thinking, acting and believing and has been most of my adult life.) So I tried to figure Jesus out.
I think that is the wrong priority for me now, and probably was for most of my life.
I think the better priority is to "learn Jesus".
Moses offers a lot. Mohammed offers some value. But Jesus, as I see it, offers everything a human could want -- agape' love, behavior that respects others, values that confront prejudice and pride in the self as well as in others, understanding ("He knew what was in man. . . ") and so forth.
Although his teaching seems essential, his living what he taught is even more important to me now. I am not Jesus. Jesus lived in an occupied country with violence and violations I can hardly imagine.
I want to , and I need to, learn Jesus.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Thomas Merton's Prayer
I saw this, or was sent this. I am helped by this.
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone."
From http://goo.gl/haLv2
As I age, as I live more experience, as I wonder about relationships I thought I understood, and as I am pounded back to a few experiences I know were real, this prayer works for me most of the time.
How about you? Would you try living with this, and then leave a comment. Let us know whether, or how, this expresses something authentic for you (or not).
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone."
From http://goo.gl/haLv2
As I age, as I live more experience, as I wonder about relationships I thought I understood, and as I am pounded back to a few experiences I know were real, this prayer works for me most of the time.
How about you? Would you try living with this, and then leave a comment. Let us know whether, or how, this expresses something authentic for you (or not).
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Can Anyone Tell Me Where To Go?
I never asked that questions. I didn't know enough to ask that question. But I lived that question.
"Can anyone tell me where to go to learn about God, about Jesus, about faith, about living?"
I was a junior at the University of Washington. I was open. I was searching. God found me, I didn't really find God. So, what next?
The student association associated with the church where God found me embraced me. I played intramural football with them. I went to group meeting, listening, learning. Probably some of it was useful. I know the sense of being accepted and welcome was useful. But remember -- I was brand new. These new friends had been raised in churches. As it turns out, they were mostly answering the wrong questions and asking very few others.
I was after answers. I believed in answers. I wanted answers.
One young man tried to help me embrace questions. He had questions. He had doubts. He had hooked on to a philosophical position that asserted that we cannot know anything. We cannot even, he said, know if the floor will hold our weight when we take the next step, or even if will will have a foot to step with.
He took his life when he was twenty.
His extreme position with an extreme result resonated with me. I wanted ANSWERS, dammit!
Can anyone tell me where to go?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
"Can anyone tell me where to go to learn about God, about Jesus, about faith, about living?"
I was a junior at the University of Washington. I was open. I was searching. God found me, I didn't really find God. So, what next?
The student association associated with the church where God found me embraced me. I played intramural football with them. I went to group meeting, listening, learning. Probably some of it was useful. I know the sense of being accepted and welcome was useful. But remember -- I was brand new. These new friends had been raised in churches. As it turns out, they were mostly answering the wrong questions and asking very few others.
I was after answers. I believed in answers. I wanted answers.
One young man tried to help me embrace questions. He had questions. He had doubts. He had hooked on to a philosophical position that asserted that we cannot know anything. We cannot even, he said, know if the floor will hold our weight when we take the next step, or even if will will have a foot to step with.
He took his life when he was twenty.
His extreme position with an extreme result resonated with me. I wanted ANSWERS, dammit!
Can anyone tell me where to go?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Conflict and Conscience
As the world population increases, as potable water supplies become more scarce, and as food shortages increase, I find my conscience in conflict with itself. I wonder if you do as well.
My faith doesn't help me very much. Maybe a little, but it also intensifies the conflict.
Here is what I mean:
I can find arguments on both sides of each questions. I can speak to both sides of these issues. I can find scientific data and faith data. What I cannot find are obvious answers. I have to act and live by faith at each moment as I respond to these questions and others like them. By faith, I don't mean "the faith" but trust that I will find my way at least part of the time.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
My faith doesn't help me very much. Maybe a little, but it also intensifies the conflict.
Here is what I mean:
- As resources become scarce, do I have a responsibility to die in a timely fashion?
- As population increases what is my responsibility to the unborn?
- As faith tells me to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and tend the wounded do I have a responsibility to let nature take its course?
- As new wells deplete aquifers not only in Africa but in Colorado and Nebraska, USA, is my job to lobby for every deeper wells, for for less irrigating even though that may mean higher food prices and food shortages?
- Although the Old Testament of the Christian Bible (Bible for people of the Jewish faith) commends having a lot of children, should I press for limits on births? Fight for better and mandatory contraception? Resist the Roman Catholic teachings?
I can find arguments on both sides of each questions. I can speak to both sides of these issues. I can find scientific data and faith data. What I cannot find are obvious answers. I have to act and live by faith at each moment as I respond to these questions and others like them. By faith, I don't mean "the faith" but trust that I will find my way at least part of the time.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
One Way
As a boy and a young man I heard this saying hundreds of times: "There is one right way to do everything, and thousands of wrong ways." Since I had some reason to believe my elders, I believed it. Eventually I grew up.
Eventually I was apprehended by God and began to search for the "right way" to be a person of faith.
Eventually I discovered hundreds if not thousands of "right ways". There seems to be more than one right way to do many, many things. But I digress.
For some, the "right way" is to read the Bible every day.
For others, the "right way" is to pray a prayer of surrender every day.
For others, the "right way" is to attend church at least twice a week and stop drinking alcohol.
For yet others, the "right way" is to participate in a spiritual formation retreat twice a year.
A person may have to try several approaches over the years to find the way of having faith and growing in faith for herself/himself. And, guess what? We humans may not have discovered all the ways yet! The best way for you may be a combination of approaches no one has tried yet.
We are all "works in process". And what works in our twenties may need to be replaced in our thirties, forties, fifties and so on.
What do you think? Or, do you ever think about faith? Leave a comment and let us know.
Eventually I was apprehended by God and began to search for the "right way" to be a person of faith.
Eventually I discovered hundreds if not thousands of "right ways". There seems to be more than one right way to do many, many things. But I digress.
For some, the "right way" is to read the Bible every day.
For others, the "right way" is to pray a prayer of surrender every day.
For others, the "right way" is to attend church at least twice a week and stop drinking alcohol.
For yet others, the "right way" is to participate in a spiritual formation retreat twice a year.
A person may have to try several approaches over the years to find the way of having faith and growing in faith for herself/himself. And, guess what? We humans may not have discovered all the ways yet! The best way for you may be a combination of approaches no one has tried yet.
We are all "works in process". And what works in our twenties may need to be replaced in our thirties, forties, fifties and so on.
What do you think? Or, do you ever think about faith? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
God Predictable? No Way!
I think that the un-predictability of God is not only a fact. I think it holds hope and warmth as well.
I know, I know. The believer who prays and does not get the answer she/he has believed God would predictably give may feel as if the coldness of outer space has chilled the soul. But. . .
What about the times when there seems to be zero hope, and God unpredictably intervenes and delivers someone from cancer or turns a battle on it's head or insinuates a breakthrough in medical research that saves millions of people from suffering? Then the warmth we feel seems healing and hopeful.
Or not. Usually when God provides such breakthroughs we take them for granted. We don't feel gratitude, we feel resentment that God waited so long.
The folks that prattle on about "the promises of God" usually take just those verses they want out of context and pretend they are inviolate contracts that God has made with people with the "right kind of" faith. What nonsense!
For people of faith, life is about adventure, uncertainty, despair, hope, and, through it all, a sense of agape' -- the profound, compassionated respect God gives to us and we are called to give one another. Often it's up to us to follow the lead of agape' and stomp out human trafficking, child prostitution, human slavery and the like. God really has given us the motivation and the tools.
What do you think? Leave a comment about the unpredictable ways of God and let us know.
I know, I know. The believer who prays and does not get the answer she/he has believed God would predictably give may feel as if the coldness of outer space has chilled the soul. But. . .
What about the times when there seems to be zero hope, and God unpredictably intervenes and delivers someone from cancer or turns a battle on it's head or insinuates a breakthrough in medical research that saves millions of people from suffering? Then the warmth we feel seems healing and hopeful.
Or not. Usually when God provides such breakthroughs we take them for granted. We don't feel gratitude, we feel resentment that God waited so long.
The folks that prattle on about "the promises of God" usually take just those verses they want out of context and pretend they are inviolate contracts that God has made with people with the "right kind of" faith. What nonsense!
For people of faith, life is about adventure, uncertainty, despair, hope, and, through it all, a sense of agape' -- the profound, compassionated respect God gives to us and we are called to give one another. Often it's up to us to follow the lead of agape' and stomp out human trafficking, child prostitution, human slavery and the like. God really has given us the motivation and the tools.
What do you think? Leave a comment about the unpredictable ways of God and let us know.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Sorry. Cannot Count on God. Really.
Who do you know who is absolutely predictable?
Your spouse? You always know what she/he will say, do, feel, be like in EVERY circumstance. Truly ALWAYS predictable.
Yeah. Probably not.
Congress? The weather? The economy? The Taliban? Texas?
Sorry. Not absolutely predictable.
We make laws and rules to increase the PQ (Predictability Quotient). Traffic lights, driving on the right side of the road (or left side in the British Isles). Requiring people to stop at stop signs and pull over for emergency vehicles add certainty to the predictability of life.
But it only adds. The total is never 100%.
People run stop signs, drive the wrong way on the freeway, and (from time to time) muck up our expectations of predictability.
I'm not saying God breaks the rules. But to the extent that Jesus is a person, fully human, Jesus cannot be 100% predictable. If Jesus is, in some sense, God incarnate, then God is not 100% predictable, either. Thus there are no magic formulae, no proper wave of the wand, no manipulated circumstances or proper tone of the voice to always know what God will do and when God will do it.
Get used to it. (Tune out the TV preachers BS -- they make claims they cannot back up, ever.)
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know
Monday, July 29, 2013
Institution or Organism?
"The church needs you," Pope Francis is quoted as saying. Of course, he said it in Spanish. But it raises a chasm of understanding to visibility, doesn't it?
When Jesus talked about the "church", just once, he seemed to see it as an organism, something that just "is" because a few people follow his lead by faith. Later New Testament writings continue the theme of the church as the "body of Christ" and the "people of God", for instance. It's organic. You are not so much "in" as an organic part of something simply by virtue of being "in Christ".
The church doesn't "need you", to sort of quote Pope Francis. The institution needs you. I suspect that Jesus did not have an institution in mind, ever. The church as institution is a human invention of timid, and sometimes power-hungry, humans.
The church that just "is" by virtue of something important is very different from the Church which seeks to wield power, has investment scandals, and denies this or that segment of humanity their full equality in status or service.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
What Would It Mean if . . . ?
Mulling over the discussion at Theology Pub last week got me to asking myself, "What would it mean if I was an atheist?"
Side note: early Christians were considered atheists because they only believed in one god, not the multitudes of god and goddesses most folks believed in. "Only one!?! What are you, an atheist?" exclaimed their acquaintances.)
If I considered myself an atheist it would mean . . .
among other things.
For me, I would also have to make sense of the significant times and experiences when something or someone (I think, "God") interrupted my life in ways of which I was conscious.
I'll continue to mull this over, but I find myself more inclined to think of myself, in Leslie Weatherhead's words, a Christian Agnostic.
What about you? What would it mean if you considered yourself an atheist? Leave a comment and let us know.
Side note: early Christians were considered atheists because they only believed in one god, not the multitudes of god and goddesses most folks believed in. "Only one!?! What are you, an atheist?" exclaimed their acquaintances.)
If I considered myself an atheist it would mean . . .
- I had to have a tremendous amount of faith
- I must find some kind of moral compass
- I had a fairly comfortable life (comfort for one person is discomfort for another, of course)
- I would find a way or several ways to handle despair when it broke down the front door
- I could find the time and energy to work out the "whys" of relationships
among other things.
For me, I would also have to make sense of the significant times and experiences when something or someone (I think, "God") interrupted my life in ways of which I was conscious.
I'll continue to mull this over, but I find myself more inclined to think of myself, in Leslie Weatherhead's words, a Christian Agnostic.
What about you? What would it mean if you considered yourself an atheist? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Expectations - First Installment in 2013
What expectations to people bring, if any, to their faith journey?
What expectations did you begin with when you began your faith journey?
How has that worked out? What is and has life been like in contrast to your early expectations? Are you still trying to make your reality conform to your expectations?
Leave a comment. Let us know what you expected and what you think now.
- I'm saved and that's all that matters.
- God will protect me from all harm, including disease.
- I have hard work ahead of me to prove to God that I am worthy.
- I have hard work ahead of me to prove to others that God loves me.
- I no longer have to think. The church/group/seminaries/TV evangelists have done the hard thinking. I can just coast now.
- I must think. I have to figure this all out or I'll make a serious, soul-threatening mistake.
- I can stop thinking. All I need to do it "feel" God.
- It's all about being a loyal church member now. That's my life.
- I can expect to be persecuted for my faith.
- I can expect to believe I am being persecuted for my faith whenever anyone disagrees with me or overrides me or disciplines me.
- I will become a more whole person, with fewer cracks (chasms) between doing, thinking and feeling.
What expectations did you begin with when you began your faith journey?
How has that worked out? What is and has life been like in contrast to your early expectations? Are you still trying to make your reality conform to your expectations?
Leave a comment. Let us know what you expected and what you think now.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Character, Integrity, Positions Taken and Sucking Up
I listen to people. Lots of people. Inside the churches, outside the churches, an many kinds of gatherings.
I have worked at many things to put food on the table, get my girls through college without debt, make lives more comfortable and be able to give to meet needs.
I observe. I wonder. I question.
Does "faith" care about character? Do intentions count as integrity? When someone takes a position on a theological point, who cares? Can you get by in todays employment world without sucking up? If you suck up, is it better to be seen to suck up, or to be sort of 'invisible' about it?
I listen to employers. I watch employers. Most employers say they want integrity and good character in their employees. But as I watch employer behavior I sometimes see a different stance: they want to be rubber-stamped, defended and agreed with. Not all the time, maybe, but. . . sometimes.
I listen to young people seeking employment. Few think character or integrity is important. They have learned in school and in part-time jobs that sucking up succeeds and if you can make the employer more profit by edging over the ethical line without seeming to, you will probably get a promotion (or good grade).
So many people looking for jobs and so few employment possibilities available How should people of faith advise these young folks as they begin what older people of faith have been at for some time?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I have worked at many things to put food on the table, get my girls through college without debt, make lives more comfortable and be able to give to meet needs.
I observe. I wonder. I question.
Does "faith" care about character? Do intentions count as integrity? When someone takes a position on a theological point, who cares? Can you get by in todays employment world without sucking up? If you suck up, is it better to be seen to suck up, or to be sort of 'invisible' about it?
I listen to employers. I watch employers. Most employers say they want integrity and good character in their employees. But as I watch employer behavior I sometimes see a different stance: they want to be rubber-stamped, defended and agreed with. Not all the time, maybe, but. . . sometimes.
I listen to young people seeking employment. Few think character or integrity is important. They have learned in school and in part-time jobs that sucking up succeeds and if you can make the employer more profit by edging over the ethical line without seeming to, you will probably get a promotion (or good grade).
So many people looking for jobs and so few employment possibilities available How should people of faith advise these young folks as they begin what older people of faith have been at for some time?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Character or Theology
We received an email from a friend who teaches English in another country. For her, teaching others is a 'mission', a way of serving God. I got to wondering as I was walking. . . 'What if she was hired by an overseas company to teach English to their employees? What would matter to them?"
Would it be her integrity? her honesty? her work ethic? her character?
Or would it be her theological position, or positions? Would that make her more or less important to them?
I have to wonder about things like this. When I was new in my faith journey, Christians emphasized character. Honesty, loyalty, showing up on time, accepting the 'unacceptable' people, and so forth. Then change came with radio and TV personalities emphasizing 'right' theology, 'right' positions on abortion, birth control and the like. And character seemed to fly out the door.
With the emphasis on "right theology" and "right social positions" more and more Christians seem to leave honesty, fairness, loyalty, trustworthiness, truth-telling and personal morality to the old fogies of their youth.
As an employee and as an employer I have struggled with this change. If a woman cheats on her husband, will she cheat on my work safety? If a man lies about a product in order to sell it, will he lie about his hours in order to receive pay he has not earned? If a salesperson is sent out with a "bottom-line figure" below which he or she must not sell a service, and sells it for less anyway because he wants the commission, must the employing business risk going out of business?
"Do to others what you would have them do to you" still makes good sense, and I think it expresses a strong faith in the God who values values.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Wisdom: What Does It Have To Do With Us?
- Street smarts.
- Savvy.
- Smart.
- "Knows her way around."
- Has learned from experience.
The Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the sacred writings of the Hebrew faith, gives a great deal of prominence to "wisdom". In one place wisdom is said to have either been part of creation, been a witness to creation, or been on a par with the spirit in achieving creation.
But it is 2013. What does wisdom have to do you you and me? The word sounds solid, ancient, and somewhat sleep-producing. I have never heard of someone "getting ahead" or being promoted because of her or his wisdom. Have you? Bill Gates didn't get rich by being wise, did he? Warren Buffet might actually be wise, but I have never heard that he made his money by way of wisdom. If a president has been dead long enough he may be called "wise", but examination of writings during his presidency suggest scheming, glad-handing, and scheming probably made it possible for him to achieve what he achieved. The recent film, "Linoln" comes to mind when I think of the reality of politics.
What is wisdom? The list opening this article might suggest a few contemporary ways to describe a wise person. Was Eric Hoffer, the longshoreman philosopher wise? He once suggested that the nations of the world should agree that they would never, never start a war until the leaders of each country planning the war personally chose and killed 50 children from the "enemy" country. Was that wisdom?
What do you think? What part does wisdom play in your life? What place does it have in the 21st century? What does Wisdom have to do with us?
Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
God - Three
Faith in God creates a double-minded reality for me. I think, on the one hand, God is interested in every human, is interested in me, and relates to me personally.
Then, on the other hand, I think of the immense universe in which we live, tinier than the smallest amoeba on the planet in size comparison to the universe. I think of the Being who/which brought this universe into reality and the possibility that other universes even bigger have also been created. How can this Being, God, want to relate to me, or you?
Double-minded, for sure.
I wonder about myself while I am wondering about God. I remember that when I am creating a large project, or managing something much bigger than I am, I don't have to wait until the end of the day to be either personal or a creator. I greet a worker by name, I listen to someone on the phone, I get a text from a child wondering if. . .
And I respond. If our Creator is bigger than we are, would this Being have any less capacity for the personal?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Then, on the other hand, I think of the immense universe in which we live, tinier than the smallest amoeba on the planet in size comparison to the universe. I think of the Being who/which brought this universe into reality and the possibility that other universes even bigger have also been created. How can this Being, God, want to relate to me, or you?
Double-minded, for sure.
I wonder about myself while I am wondering about God. I remember that when I am creating a large project, or managing something much bigger than I am, I don't have to wait until the end of the day to be either personal or a creator. I greet a worker by name, I listen to someone on the phone, I get a text from a child wondering if. . .
And I respond. If our Creator is bigger than we are, would this Being have any less capacity for the personal?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
When Is Faith Superstition?
"Step on a crack, break your mother's back."
"If I want it really bad, I won't get it."
"No one my ages gets that kind of job."
"I will pray in tongues to be sure my prayer gets answered."
"I believe the holy book 100% even if I haven't read it or don't understand it."
"I believe _________ [you fill in the idea or doctrine] so God must use me or bless me."
"I attend worship every week (or twice a week, or three times a week) so I must be an exemplary member of my religion."
"I don't believe in God, so I am probably damned."
What superstitions can you think of? When is silly belief mere superstition, and not faith? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
"If I want it really bad, I won't get it."
"No one my ages gets that kind of job."
"I will pray in tongues to be sure my prayer gets answered."
"I believe the holy book 100% even if I haven't read it or don't understand it."
"I believe _________ [you fill in the idea or doctrine] so God must use me or bless me."
"I attend worship every week (or twice a week, or three times a week) so I must be an exemplary member of my religion."
"I don't believe in God, so I am probably damned."
What superstitions can you think of? When is silly belief mere superstition, and not faith? What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Monday, June 3, 2013
God? -- One
Faith in God creates a double-minded reality for me. I think, on the one hand, God is interested in every human, is interested in me, and relates to me personally.
Then, on the other hand, I think of the immense universe in which we live, where we are relatively tinier than the smallest amoeba on the planet in size comparison to the universe. I think of the Being who/which brought this universe into reality and the possibility that other universes even bigger have also been created. How can this Being, God, want to relate to me, or you?
Double-minded, for sure.
Then the thought comes to me of a mega farmer. She/he strategizes, watches the futures markets, decides what to grow, sets plows to work, fencers to repair fences, tenders to care for animals being born, and personally works from before dawn to well after dark.
Coming in he greets his dog by name, she picks up a child and asks how school was, and enters into one personal relationship after another.
Big. Small. If a farmer can pull that off, maybe the Creator can also relate to you and to me personally.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Then, on the other hand, I think of the immense universe in which we live, where we are relatively tinier than the smallest amoeba on the planet in size comparison to the universe. I think of the Being who/which brought this universe into reality and the possibility that other universes even bigger have also been created. How can this Being, God, want to relate to me, or you?
Double-minded, for sure.
Then the thought comes to me of a mega farmer. She/he strategizes, watches the futures markets, decides what to grow, sets plows to work, fencers to repair fences, tenders to care for animals being born, and personally works from before dawn to well after dark.
Coming in he greets his dog by name, she picks up a child and asks how school was, and enters into one personal relationship after another.
Big. Small. If a farmer can pull that off, maybe the Creator can also relate to you and to me personally.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Friday, May 24, 2013
We Live As We Are
As I walked I thought about a church I pastored. The members had a notion of what church should be. One couple, for instance, bought the church a used pipe organ, because a 'real' church should have a pipe organ. We were part of a mainline denomination that is dying (and not slowly, either).
Speaking with a friend in the church we currently attend I mentioned being part of another church, one that (for awhile) embraced a new way of "doing church". This was the founding congregation of the "church unleashed" movement, and when we began attending it had eleven congregations meeting around Denver. The church mentioned in the first paragraph could not even keep itself meeting.
I thought, "we live as we are, and if we keep living as we are we never grow, never change, never tune in to the currents and shifts in the culture we are part of. So we die as we were.
How sad that churches which have so much to contribute to the world are dying because they will not re-vision the ways they can speak, act, organize, and serve. The temptation to conservative ways is powerful, but it always leads to death.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Speaking with a friend in the church we currently attend I mentioned being part of another church, one that (for awhile) embraced a new way of "doing church". This was the founding congregation of the "church unleashed" movement, and when we began attending it had eleven congregations meeting around Denver. The church mentioned in the first paragraph could not even keep itself meeting.
I thought, "we live as we are, and if we keep living as we are we never grow, never change, never tune in to the currents and shifts in the culture we are part of. So we die as we were.
How sad that churches which have so much to contribute to the world are dying because they will not re-vision the ways they can speak, act, organize, and serve. The temptation to conservative ways is powerful, but it always leads to death.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Sacred Ground
Really? What makes a place "sacred" or "holy"?
No one made pilgramages to the place Moses saw the burning bush. Or to the top of Mt. Sinai. If God was everywhere, surprising people again and again, then all ground it holy and all places have the potential to be "sacred" -- meaning no place is more sacred than another.
Choosing to believe that the so-called 'holy land' is more sacred than Berkeley, CA, or Littleton, CO, or Vaughn, WA may be a form of idolatry. Only God is 'sacred'. If God is everywhere, everywhere is sacred. If no place is special, all places are special, and pilgrimages are silly. Just go somewhere because you want to, not to make pilgrimage to a sacred place.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
No one made pilgramages to the place Moses saw the burning bush. Or to the top of Mt. Sinai. If God was everywhere, surprising people again and again, then all ground it holy and all places have the potential to be "sacred" -- meaning no place is more sacred than another.
Choosing to believe that the so-called 'holy land' is more sacred than Berkeley, CA, or Littleton, CO, or Vaughn, WA may be a form of idolatry. Only God is 'sacred'. If God is everywhere, everywhere is sacred. If no place is special, all places are special, and pilgrimages are silly. Just go somewhere because you want to, not to make pilgrimage to a sacred place.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Fanaticism in the Old Testament?
One of the distinctive features of fundamentalism is the "all or nothing" attitudes they take. Christian fundamentalists stake the authenticity of a person's faith on that person believing everything the fundamentalist says is true, must be true, has always been true and will be true for eternity. Come to think of it, the Muslim fundamentalist, the Hindu fundamentalist the Jewish fundamentalist and the capitalist fundamentalist along with the anti-gun-control fundamentalist take on the same "all or nothing" attitude, although the everything differs between each type of fundamentalist. Even within a group, Christians (for instance) one person's demand is another persons heresy.
I don't insist on what I just wrote. I am not an "Al fundamentalist". But it seems pretty accurate today, May 7, 2013. We could disagree a bit and no one would be hurt.
I got to thinking about the un-thinking insistence by Christian fundamentalists that every word in the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Scriptures is exactly, precisely true. What if they are wrong?
I think they are wrong.
Suppose, then, that the record that says God, the LORD, Yahweh, commanded the Israelites to kill ALL the Canaanites was attributed to God by people of a fundamentalist persuasion. Or, perhaps by people who were crass, craven killers who wanted Hebrew people with a tendency toward fundamentalist attitudes to believe that God told them to be weapons of mass and total destructions. The Nazis of the decades after the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan, so to speak. "Kill everyone not like us. God said!"
What if genocide is always wrong, and our Creator never, never sponsors it?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I don't insist on what I just wrote. I am not an "Al fundamentalist". But it seems pretty accurate today, May 7, 2013. We could disagree a bit and no one would be hurt.
I got to thinking about the un-thinking insistence by Christian fundamentalists that every word in the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Scriptures is exactly, precisely true. What if they are wrong?
I think they are wrong.
Suppose, then, that the record that says God, the LORD, Yahweh, commanded the Israelites to kill ALL the Canaanites was attributed to God by people of a fundamentalist persuasion. Or, perhaps by people who were crass, craven killers who wanted Hebrew people with a tendency toward fundamentalist attitudes to believe that God told them to be weapons of mass and total destructions. The Nazis of the decades after the Hebrews crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan, so to speak. "Kill everyone not like us. God said!"
What if genocide is always wrong, and our Creator never, never sponsors it?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Where to Start
We attend a congregation which stresses "giving". It seems to work. The church keeps current, serves the community, invites and includes a wide representation of people, and grows their children and youth well. I wonder about giving, sometimes. . .
Does a person "give" because of commitment? Is that a place to begin? When I was young I was exposed to the value of giving ten percent of my income. I have continued to do so all my life, and although I have been nearly broke several times, I always had a quarter in my pocket. For me, starting with commitment makes sense.
I have friends, however, who start with the need for one or more tax deductions. If they have a good year in the market, or have sold property at a substantial profit, they look for a cause to give to. A worthy cause. Church, United Way, a food bank, American Cancer Society. . . there is no shortage of worthy causes to which to give.
I wonder, however, what kinds of people will stop giving we we revise our tax code, simplifying it, giving no deduction for charitable giving. Will medical research be crippled? Will churches close? Will Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, and other vital community programs become footnotes in history textbooks?
Where does it work best to start? From within, from cultivating a generous self, from sensing value in worthy causes? Or, from a sense of monetary self-interest?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Does a person "give" because of commitment? Is that a place to begin? When I was young I was exposed to the value of giving ten percent of my income. I have continued to do so all my life, and although I have been nearly broke several times, I always had a quarter in my pocket. For me, starting with commitment makes sense.
I have friends, however, who start with the need for one or more tax deductions. If they have a good year in the market, or have sold property at a substantial profit, they look for a cause to give to. A worthy cause. Church, United Way, a food bank, American Cancer Society. . . there is no shortage of worthy causes to which to give.
I wonder, however, what kinds of people will stop giving we we revise our tax code, simplifying it, giving no deduction for charitable giving. Will medical research be crippled? Will churches close? Will Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, and other vital community programs become footnotes in history textbooks?
Where does it work best to start? From within, from cultivating a generous self, from sensing value in worthy causes? Or, from a sense of monetary self-interest?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
An Eye For An Eye?
Many, many TV shows and commercial films are emphasizing revenge. They portray revenge, or vengeance, as a worthy response to being wronged. I wonder. How will that work for a person of faith in God?
First, does getting revenge make anything better? Usually not. Closure doesn't come that easily. Sure, it might put an evildoer away, or under six feet of dirt, but in the process does it turn the revenge-seeker into a monster like the wrongdoer? What we don't understand about the "eye for an eye" passage is that for primitive, near savage tribes people this was a limitation, not a permission. They would take a life, or the lives of a village, for an eye. Under the Old Covenent God was saying, "ONLY an eye for the loss of an eye. No more!"
(That makes the documented Civilian death from violence in the ten year Iraq war of 111,842 - 122,325 look pretty evil when compared the the few thousand that perished in the Twin Towers attack. Especially when you realize that Iraq had nothing to do with the Twin Towers attack.)
People of the Jewish faith have a limitation on the amount of revenge God permits. Christians have a more severe limit. "Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you," said Jesus of Nazareth.
Whew! That doesn't resonate with contemporary entertainment at all! It doesn't resonate with the right-wing church and evangelist movement either.
So, was Jesus just a crackpot, or are contemporary spokespeople for him getting it all wrong?
Leave a comment and let us know.
First, does getting revenge make anything better? Usually not. Closure doesn't come that easily. Sure, it might put an evildoer away, or under six feet of dirt, but in the process does it turn the revenge-seeker into a monster like the wrongdoer? What we don't understand about the "eye for an eye" passage is that for primitive, near savage tribes people this was a limitation, not a permission. They would take a life, or the lives of a village, for an eye. Under the Old Covenent God was saying, "ONLY an eye for the loss of an eye. No more!"
(That makes the documented Civilian death from violence in the ten year Iraq war of 111,842 - 122,325 look pretty evil when compared the the few thousand that perished in the Twin Towers attack. Especially when you realize that Iraq had nothing to do with the Twin Towers attack.)
People of the Jewish faith have a limitation on the amount of revenge God permits. Christians have a more severe limit. "Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you," said Jesus of Nazareth.
Whew! That doesn't resonate with contemporary entertainment at all! It doesn't resonate with the right-wing church and evangelist movement either.
So, was Jesus just a crackpot, or are contemporary spokespeople for him getting it all wrong?
Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
But How About "Since Then"?
"In the beginning was the Word" says the first letter of John in the Christian New Testament. But how about since then? How about since the beginning?
I wonder if faith is only a little about "words" and a lot about behavior. I wonder if behavior should flow from words, and outvote words a thousand to one. For instance, the words of Jesus: "Love your neighbor as yourself" presumes that you have agape for yourself, and that you would extend that same profound, compassionate respect to your neighbor. So . . .
You have read, and maybe repeated, the words of Jesus. Can you manage to behave in a profoundly compassionately respectful way to the people you encounter each day?
If you are exercising the Muslim faith, and you routinely mumble the word "salaam", can you act in an actively peaceful manner toward people you meet each day?
Or, is it all words, empty, "full of sound and fury" as the playwright wrote?
What do you think? What about all the words used in the typical worship service, and the amount of congruent behavior that flows from those words? Leave a comment and let us know.
I wonder if faith is only a little about "words" and a lot about behavior. I wonder if behavior should flow from words, and outvote words a thousand to one. For instance, the words of Jesus: "Love your neighbor as yourself" presumes that you have agape for yourself, and that you would extend that same profound, compassionate respect to your neighbor. So . . .
You have read, and maybe repeated, the words of Jesus. Can you manage to behave in a profoundly compassionately respectful way to the people you encounter each day?
If you are exercising the Muslim faith, and you routinely mumble the word "salaam", can you act in an actively peaceful manner toward people you meet each day?
Or, is it all words, empty, "full of sound and fury" as the playwright wrote?
What do you think? What about all the words used in the typical worship service, and the amount of congruent behavior that flows from those words? Leave a comment and let us know.
Monday, March 18, 2013
The Ghost of God - 1
I wonder how many of us worship only the ghost of our god. The book of Genesis insists that humans, male and female, are created in the image of God. (That's scary, given how we are, but that is another topic.) I speak, however, of the image we have of God, or god, in our mind as opposed to the reality of our creator.
C.S. Lewis wrote once that most people pray to that "blob up in the corner of their room". They thought they were praying to God, but they had no understanding of the God who chose to reveal himself to humans. The ghost of god to whom they addressed their prayers was not real to them. An amorphous blob. No sharp edges, no hard surfaces, nothing to distinguish it from a vapor.
So here is a person who lives only for self, praying only that she/he will do well, be successful, have a good life or whatever, and ignores the aged, the poor, the invisible people around her/him. What god hears that prayer? Only a ghost of god, not the god who commanded agape' for others (enemies, neighbors, fellow followers of Jesus, etc.). That God, who chose to reveal at least a little of God-self, is ignored. She/he prays to a god-ghost, which doesn't actually exist. This ghost doesn't really exist in her/his imagination.
I assume that the Old and New testaments volumes help us get an accurate description of God as God is. Jesus reveals God better as God is. Not just the parts of Jesus we want to notice, but the whole of Jesus.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
C.S. Lewis wrote once that most people pray to that "blob up in the corner of their room". They thought they were praying to God, but they had no understanding of the God who chose to reveal himself to humans. The ghost of god to whom they addressed their prayers was not real to them. An amorphous blob. No sharp edges, no hard surfaces, nothing to distinguish it from a vapor.
So here is a person who lives only for self, praying only that she/he will do well, be successful, have a good life or whatever, and ignores the aged, the poor, the invisible people around her/him. What god hears that prayer? Only a ghost of god, not the god who commanded agape' for others (enemies, neighbors, fellow followers of Jesus, etc.). That God, who chose to reveal at least a little of God-self, is ignored. She/he prays to a god-ghost, which doesn't actually exist. This ghost doesn't really exist in her/his imagination.
I assume that the Old and New testaments volumes help us get an accurate description of God as God is. Jesus reveals God better as God is. Not just the parts of Jesus we want to notice, but the whole of Jesus.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Faith is Better that Superstition
I remember when his child was sick - very sick - and he began praying softly in "tongues". I understood his anxiety, his love for his child, his desire for the child to be well again. I hope you understand it, too.
In retrospect, however, I wonder at his lack of faith. He had called himself a Christian for decades. He had taught, he had led others, he had paid a price. "Why", I wonder, "did he lack faith in God and turn instead to magical thinking?"
Jesus of Nazareth was utterly clear: God loves you, God hears you, you do not need to badger God.. 'Vain repetition' is not only unnecessary, it implies that God does not hear you or love you.
But, you say, what if God doesn't dance to my tune? What if God doesn't heal my child? What if God has other plans?
Superstition and magical thinking responds: if I do something right, I can make god do what I want. I can coerce god. I can command god.
Maybe I coerce god by praying in tongues. Perhaps I command god by getting two or three others to "agree" with me in prayer. It could be that I make god do it my way by holding the correct doctrine.
I give up faith and take up superstition. I embrace magical thinking. Oh, and I avoid stepping on a crack. Wouldn't want to break my mother's back, now would I?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
In retrospect, however, I wonder at his lack of faith. He had called himself a Christian for decades. He had taught, he had led others, he had paid a price. "Why", I wonder, "did he lack faith in God and turn instead to magical thinking?"
Jesus of Nazareth was utterly clear: God loves you, God hears you, you do not need to badger God.. 'Vain repetition' is not only unnecessary, it implies that God does not hear you or love you.
But, you say, what if God doesn't dance to my tune? What if God doesn't heal my child? What if God has other plans?
Superstition and magical thinking responds: if I do something right, I can make god do what I want. I can coerce god. I can command god.
Maybe I coerce god by praying in tongues. Perhaps I command god by getting two or three others to "agree" with me in prayer. It could be that I make god do it my way by holding the correct doctrine.
I give up faith and take up superstition. I embrace magical thinking. Oh, and I avoid stepping on a crack. Wouldn't want to break my mother's back, now would I?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Farce or Force?
The smiling salesman who sells you a used car claiming it has been inspected, claiming it is in great condition, claiming good thins about it knows that there is no oil in the differential case and that it will seize up in a hundred miles or less -- is he a hypocrite? He claims to be an honest man, but is not.
I think he can be described as a hypocrite. What do you think?
The person with a serious drinking problem who is working to stay sober -- is she or he a hypocrite? This person attends meetings, takes one moment at a time, and sometimes takes as drink. But she or he is trying a new role, a new identity, and new persona. When is a person a hypocrite, and when is a person someone who is trying to change?
Jesus of Nazareth is quoted in Luke 12:1 as saying, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." He uses the metaphor of "yeast" to signify hypocrisy as something alive, self-promoting, self-generating. Given the ease with which the lying salesperson gets better and better at deceit, and given the difficult path of the changing person with a drinking problem, I think the salesperson deserves the description of "hypocrite", and the person struggling to be sober does not.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
I think he can be described as a hypocrite. What do you think?
The person with a serious drinking problem who is working to stay sober -- is she or he a hypocrite? This person attends meetings, takes one moment at a time, and sometimes takes as drink. But she or he is trying a new role, a new identity, and new persona. When is a person a hypocrite, and when is a person someone who is trying to change?
Jesus of Nazareth is quoted in Luke 12:1 as saying, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." He uses the metaphor of "yeast" to signify hypocrisy as something alive, self-promoting, self-generating. Given the ease with which the lying salesperson gets better and better at deceit, and given the difficult path of the changing person with a drinking problem, I think the salesperson deserves the description of "hypocrite", and the person struggling to be sober does not.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Interpreting Scripture
Last Sunday Joe kicked the Lenten season off with a sermon about Jesus being tempted. As the Scripture was read I had a sudden "aha" experience. It was not about temptation. It was about listening to Scripture with understanding.
If you have a somewhat traditional background in the Christian church you have learned that Jesus either went or was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and was tempted by the devil. Right?
But as I listened I understood that the last temptation was Jesus being on the high point of the Temple in Jerusalem. What if. . .
What if it took the best part of forty days to wander through the wilderness and up the hill to Jerusalem and into the Temple and up to the highest point. There were not buses, cabs, cars, trains or helicopters. Traditional interpretation is comfortable with Jesus being physically present and hungry in the wilderness, and being tempted to "do a miracle" and turn one or more the rocks nearby into a loaf of bread. Traditional interpretation is mixed about being taken to a high point to see "all the kingdoms of the world", but some interpreters accept the idea that Jesus somehow found himself on a very high ridge or mountain (perhaps Mt. Sinai?).
From where he was baptized in the Jordan river, out to the wild places, wandering up a mountain, and then back across the Jordan and up to Jerusalem could have taken forty days or thereabouts. Right?
Side note: scholars generally accept that the number "forty" means a long time, not necessarily exactly forty years or forty days.
I question my own understanding even more, now, having seen the possibility that Jesus may have actually gone to more than just the wilderness. Maybe he went to a high point on the Temple in Jerusalem as well.
I'm not sure what this means, but it makes the story seem more real to me. A guy was in spiritual and mental turmoil and trekked here and there trying to make sense out of hearing that Voice.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
If you have a somewhat traditional background in the Christian church you have learned that Jesus either went or was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and nights and was tempted by the devil. Right?
But as I listened I understood that the last temptation was Jesus being on the high point of the Temple in Jerusalem. What if. . .
What if it took the best part of forty days to wander through the wilderness and up the hill to Jerusalem and into the Temple and up to the highest point. There were not buses, cabs, cars, trains or helicopters. Traditional interpretation is comfortable with Jesus being physically present and hungry in the wilderness, and being tempted to "do a miracle" and turn one or more the rocks nearby into a loaf of bread. Traditional interpretation is mixed about being taken to a high point to see "all the kingdoms of the world", but some interpreters accept the idea that Jesus somehow found himself on a very high ridge or mountain (perhaps Mt. Sinai?).
From where he was baptized in the Jordan river, out to the wild places, wandering up a mountain, and then back across the Jordan and up to Jerusalem could have taken forty days or thereabouts. Right?
Side note: scholars generally accept that the number "forty" means a long time, not necessarily exactly forty years or forty days.
I question my own understanding even more, now, having seen the possibility that Jesus may have actually gone to more than just the wilderness. Maybe he went to a high point on the Temple in Jerusalem as well.
I'm not sure what this means, but it makes the story seem more real to me. A guy was in spiritual and mental turmoil and trekked here and there trying to make sense out of hearing that Voice.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Continuing the Farce Off Stage
One of the reasons many people do not embrace a life of faith, or a life lived in an organized faith community, is the problem of hypocrisy. I think the biggest issue is when a "leader" or authority figure teaches or proclaims one kind of behavior as proper, righteous, law-abiding and either fails herself to live that way or condones that sort of behavior in certain others. The "certain others" may be seen as "pets".
The word hypocrisy has in its root meaning the idea of play-acting. The hypocrite is acting a role that is not his or her authentic self. Think of the actor playing Romeo, a callow youth. But the actor may be older, happily married, and inclined to suicide at all. The actor is simply, in the best sense of the word, a hypocrite.
But think of the preacher or priest who vigorously denounces homosexuality but who indulges himself in homosexual relationships, or condones certain friends who practice homosexual behavior, often as predators. This preacher or priest is a hypocrite in the worst sense of the word.
Such people may be among the high priesthood of civil religion, acting as senators, representatives, generals, admirals and such. They presume to write laws constraining you and me in the name of righteousness and are arrested for drunk driving, caught in restrooms soliciting sexual encounters they publicly condemn and so forth.
Hypocrites such as these really turn people off. Well, they turn me off.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
The word hypocrisy has in its root meaning the idea of play-acting. The hypocrite is acting a role that is not his or her authentic self. Think of the actor playing Romeo, a callow youth. But the actor may be older, happily married, and inclined to suicide at all. The actor is simply, in the best sense of the word, a hypocrite.
But think of the preacher or priest who vigorously denounces homosexuality but who indulges himself in homosexual relationships, or condones certain friends who practice homosexual behavior, often as predators. This preacher or priest is a hypocrite in the worst sense of the word.
Such people may be among the high priesthood of civil religion, acting as senators, representatives, generals, admirals and such. They presume to write laws constraining you and me in the name of righteousness and are arrested for drunk driving, caught in restrooms soliciting sexual encounters they publicly condemn and so forth.
Hypocrites such as these really turn people off. Well, they turn me off.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Faith?
I received this in an email recently:
MT. VERNON, TEXAS, WHOREHOUSE SUES LOCAL CHURCH OVER LIGHTNING STRIKE
Diamond D's brothel began construction on an expansion of their building to increase their ever-growing business. In response, the local Baptist Church started a campaign to block the business from expanding -- with morning, afternoon, and evening prayer sessions at their church. Work on Diamond D's progressed right up until the week before the grand reopening when lightning struck the whorehouse and burned it to the ground!
After the cat-house was burned to the ground by the lightning strike, the church folks were rather smug in their outlook, bragging about "the power of prayer."
But late last week 'Big Jugs' Jill Diamond, the owner/madam, sued the church, the preacher and the entire congregation on the grounds that the church ... "was ultimately responsible for the demise of her building and her business -- either through direct or indirect divine actions or means."
In its reply to the court, the church vehemently and voraciously denied any and all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise.
The crusty old judge read through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply, and at the opening hearing he commented, "I don't know how the hell I'm going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, that we now have a whorehouse owner who staunchly believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that thinks it's all a bunch of horse manure!"
The story raises some of the real issues in the American church. We don't really want our prayers answered if "answered prayer" costs very much.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
MT. VERNON, TEXAS, WHOREHOUSE SUES LOCAL CHURCH OVER LIGHTNING STRIKE
Diamond D's brothel began construction on an expansion of their building to increase their ever-growing business. In response, the local Baptist Church started a campaign to block the business from expanding -- with morning, afternoon, and evening prayer sessions at their church. Work on Diamond D's progressed right up until the week before the grand reopening when lightning struck the whorehouse and burned it to the ground!
After the cat-house was burned to the ground by the lightning strike, the church folks were rather smug in their outlook, bragging about "the power of prayer."
But late last week 'Big Jugs' Jill Diamond, the owner/madam, sued the church, the preacher and the entire congregation on the grounds that the church ... "was ultimately responsible for the demise of her building and her business -- either through direct or indirect divine actions or means."
In its reply to the court, the church vehemently and voraciously denied any and all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise.
The crusty old judge read through the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply, and at the opening hearing he commented, "I don't know how the hell I'm going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, that we now have a whorehouse owner who staunchly believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that thinks it's all a bunch of horse manure!"
The story raises some of the real issues in the American church. We don't really want our prayers answered if "answered prayer" costs very much.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Where . . . ?
The "where" question may help us with other questions. Thinking in terms of the Christian faith, I wonder where people were standing when Jesus made his way to the banks of the Jordan river seeking his cousin, John. Where, for instance, was his mother standing? Maybe in town, maybe some miles away . Where was Simon, soon to be renamed "Peter" standing? Where was Andrew standing?
Were some people who became important to Jesus crowding right up front? Others who became important to Jesus mixed into the crowd? Way to the back. Some, maybe, sort of interested but part of some other crowd or interest?
Where were you standing when questions of faith began to pester you? Where are you standing now? Have you been standing since questions of faith began, or have you been moving, shifting, walking, leaping, shifting positions?
It's not enough to ask, "Where do you stand?" in fact, that's a particularly useless question. It implies stasis, death, stagnation. Where were you standing implies history, and implies that you might not be standing there now. Where ARE you standing suggests a point on your pilgrimage, but not the final goal of a life well lived.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Were some people who became important to Jesus crowding right up front? Others who became important to Jesus mixed into the crowd? Way to the back. Some, maybe, sort of interested but part of some other crowd or interest?
Where were you standing when questions of faith began to pester you? Where are you standing now? Have you been standing since questions of faith began, or have you been moving, shifting, walking, leaping, shifting positions?
It's not enough to ask, "Where do you stand?" in fact, that's a particularly useless question. It implies stasis, death, stagnation. Where were you standing implies history, and implies that you might not be standing there now. Where ARE you standing suggests a point on your pilgrimage, but not the final goal of a life well lived.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
What if . . . Three
What if the First Something Church of Somewhere sent people on their way with a blessing, making no attempt to recruit, or raise funds, or in any way "snag" them? Two positive caveats come to mind.
First, most of us need a positive community for our faith to grow, our hope to endure tough times, our love to mature.
Second, the community won't be there for the next person, or next generation, or need if some folks don't stick around to create a positive, vigorous base. That next person might be a spouse, that next generation might be children of the seeker, that next need might be in a friend.
So, there is some reason to recruit people whose particular search has met with success.
On the other hand, there are a couple of abusive caveats to consider.
One, folks already in the community or on the staff of the First Something Church may be stuck in a felt need to maintain the institution. William Stringfellow once said in my hearing that whenever a church seeks justice, hope, or other positive outcome and succeeds it should celebrate for two weeks and then begin opposing whatever the success is. Because, he said, the success gets institutionalized and becomes part of the "principalities" that are demonic death-carriers. Most successful churches need not apply. They are already there.
Second, institutions lose sight of the mission to offer hope, spiritual value, opportunities to explore and begin to tell people how it is and should be. They fail to evoke growth and try to force growth.
Yes, there is a place for recruiting, but the intent can be deadly.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
First, most of us need a positive community for our faith to grow, our hope to endure tough times, our love to mature.
Second, the community won't be there for the next person, or next generation, or need if some folks don't stick around to create a positive, vigorous base. That next person might be a spouse, that next generation might be children of the seeker, that next need might be in a friend.
So, there is some reason to recruit people whose particular search has met with success.
On the other hand, there are a couple of abusive caveats to consider.
One, folks already in the community or on the staff of the First Something Church may be stuck in a felt need to maintain the institution. William Stringfellow once said in my hearing that whenever a church seeks justice, hope, or other positive outcome and succeeds it should celebrate for two weeks and then begin opposing whatever the success is. Because, he said, the success gets institutionalized and becomes part of the "principalities" that are demonic death-carriers. Most successful churches need not apply. They are already there.
Second, institutions lose sight of the mission to offer hope, spiritual value, opportunities to explore and begin to tell people how it is and should be. They fail to evoke growth and try to force growth.
Yes, there is a place for recruiting, but the intent can be deadly.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
What If . . . Two
Suppose the First Church of Something realized that some people only come to find hope, or faith. That's all.
Suppose the First Church of Something checked in with attendees, and found ways to learn if they had found what they came for. It would mean a process quite different from singing three hymns, learning what the liturgical year colors are, and listening to someone speak.
[My God! Al. Don't tell me you want these attendees to say anything to anyone! What are you thinking?]
But suppose. . . suppose that John or Mary or Achmed found hope and thus had no further perceived need to keep attending. Suppose the First Church of Something found a way to send him or her on the way with a blessing and a sense of fulfillment. The church had done it's job.
No financial pleas. No attempt to recruit. Just acceptance and respect.
Would that be enough? Wat it enough for Jesus to walk through towns healing and teaching and then moving on?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Suppose the First Church of Something checked in with attendees, and found ways to learn if they had found what they came for. It would mean a process quite different from singing three hymns, learning what the liturgical year colors are, and listening to someone speak.
[My God! Al. Don't tell me you want these attendees to say anything to anyone! What are you thinking?]
But suppose. . . suppose that John or Mary or Achmed found hope and thus had no further perceived need to keep attending. Suppose the First Church of Something found a way to send him or her on the way with a blessing and a sense of fulfillment. The church had done it's job.
No financial pleas. No attempt to recruit. Just acceptance and respect.
Would that be enough? Wat it enough for Jesus to walk through towns healing and teaching and then moving on?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
What If Church. . .
What if a church organization like, say, the First Something Church of Somewhere, came to a realization that some folks come to find faith. Or to find a relationship with God. Or to find hope. Or to begin a relationship with Jesus.
What if a church realized that when John meets Mary, or Abu meets Miriam, or whoever, they do not usually attend the place they met every week so they can develop and deepen their relationship. Stay with me here. Suppose Achmed meets Miriam at a family gathering of some sort. Their eyes meet, they are interested in each other. They live in the United States of America, or France, or somewhere in England. They arrange to get together and get acquainted. Do they always meet at a gathering of that family?
No, not usually. They may meet in one of their homes, or go to a movie together, or join friends and go dancing. They are not "stuck" with always meeting, once a week, or twice a week, at the place they first met.
Still with me? Suppose John or Achmed or Miriam comes to the First Something Church of Somewhere and meets God, or meets Jesus. Must this person keep coming back to church to get acquainted with God? Is this the only location where the relationship can develop?
Of course not. So, suppose instead of trying to gather more givers, the First Church of Something regularly sent people out to develop their relationships? Suppose instead of trying to get bigger, the church tried to do its work, even at the risk of fading away?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
What if a church realized that when John meets Mary, or Abu meets Miriam, or whoever, they do not usually attend the place they met every week so they can develop and deepen their relationship. Stay with me here. Suppose Achmed meets Miriam at a family gathering of some sort. Their eyes meet, they are interested in each other. They live in the United States of America, or France, or somewhere in England. They arrange to get together and get acquainted. Do they always meet at a gathering of that family?
No, not usually. They may meet in one of their homes, or go to a movie together, or join friends and go dancing. They are not "stuck" with always meeting, once a week, or twice a week, at the place they first met.
Still with me? Suppose John or Achmed or Miriam comes to the First Something Church of Somewhere and meets God, or meets Jesus. Must this person keep coming back to church to get acquainted with God? Is this the only location where the relationship can develop?
Of course not. So, suppose instead of trying to gather more givers, the First Church of Something regularly sent people out to develop their relationships? Suppose instead of trying to get bigger, the church tried to do its work, even at the risk of fading away?
What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
What if Jesus Trusts Us?
In my last post I wondered with you: 'Did Jesus Cop Out?' Today I'd like to think about one way of understanding his stance.
Marx and Lenin tried. The monastic movement tried, at least for awhile. So far no workable solution to widespread poverty has been found. Even our capitalistic experiment in the United States of America has failed, although for awhile it breached various boundaries between classes, giving people a chance at a better economic life. The crazies on the right are destroying that today, in late 2012, however. The cheaters on the left destroy trust, and without trust capitalism cannot function for long.
What if Jesus trusts us in every generation, every economic setting, every weather-related catastrophe, to devise methods that work for awhile.
What if his comment, "The poor you shall have with you always" simply recognizes an ongoing problem, assigns no blame, and leaves you and me to find solutions again and again throughout history?
What if we live up to his trust in us and do our part?
Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
Marx and Lenin tried. The monastic movement tried, at least for awhile. So far no workable solution to widespread poverty has been found. Even our capitalistic experiment in the United States of America has failed, although for awhile it breached various boundaries between classes, giving people a chance at a better economic life. The crazies on the right are destroying that today, in late 2012, however. The cheaters on the left destroy trust, and without trust capitalism cannot function for long.
What if Jesus trusts us in every generation, every economic setting, every weather-related catastrophe, to devise methods that work for awhile.
What if his comment, "The poor you shall have with you always" simply recognizes an ongoing problem, assigns no blame, and leaves you and me to find solutions again and again throughout history?
What if we live up to his trust in us and do our part?
Leave a comment and let us know what you think.
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