New Year's Resolutions

For 2010 I resolve that I will not climb any mountains.
I will move to Alabama,
and I will move my body.
I will exorcise the demon of sloth
and exercise the temple of God.


I will not read The Purpose Driven Life.
Nor will I be driven.
When someone says, "He was driven to drink," it sounds to me as if being driven is not a good thing. It sounds like someone has lost control of their own life. It smells of obsessive or compulsive behavior.
To be driven is to be in the passenger's seat.
I think we are supposed to be in control of our own lives;
to be in the driver's seat; to take responsibility for ourselves.


Jesus was not a driven person.
He kept saying, The hour has not come.
Meaning: The time is not right.
He was patient.
Waiting for the right time.
Not driven; not compulsive.


Instead, he was 'led' by the Spirit.
Not Spirit-driven, but Spirit-led.
A world of difference.
He drove out demons,
and was once 'driven' into the wilderness
by the Spirit.
But that was not the normal protocol.


Jesus was more Taoist than Aristotelian. 
He was an Eastern sage, not a Western philosopher.
More relaxed than driven.
More sought than ought.


I don't think Jesus had a purpose driven life.
I think he had a purpose led life.


Evangelicals (in general) are driven.
They make Jesus into a Western Type A personality.
But Jesus was never in a hurry.


Whereas... (above),
Therefore, I resolve in 2010 to remain
in the driver's seat,
and to drive s-l-o-w-l-y.
Led by the Spirit.
And the fruit of the Spirit is....
love, joy, peace, patience.... [Gal. 5.23]




##

Re: retirement

Retirement is a relatively new invention.
For most of human history
there was no such thing as retirement.


Folks used to work until the infirmity of age
got to them
and they couldn't
work no more.


Living with their extended family
on the farm,
they had someone to take care of them.


Then came industrialization.
Jobs away from the farm.
Workers' rights.
Pensions.
Social Security.


Urbanization.
People became mobile.
They left the farm
and took factory jobs.


When all of this came together,
retirement was invented.


Now retirement may have to be reinvented--
or at least modified.
The economic downturn
and the demographics of our time
may call for semi-retirement to be
the norm.


With the ability to work from home
with internet access,
retirement may become rehomement.


Retirement, vacations, and weekends--
all the result of changing technologies
and humanizing forces.


New ways of getting things done
and being human.
Human history is shaped by
evolving economic environments
and complexification of common life.


To retire means to have time to enjoy
God's creation
and to do something useful
that you didn't have time to do before.


To retire means that your occupation
no longer occupies all your time;
that you can give more time to your vocation.
Vocations have no vacations.
Our calling never hangs up.




##

Tired

I'm in limbo.   
Not yet officially retired until January 1.
On vacation.
Vacated my job.
My job is covered.
Still have a job.
But not on the job.
Almost retired.
Just tired.
I usually go back to work
to rest up from vacation.
But now--no work to go back to
to rest up at.
When I'm retired,
I'll have no vacations.
Nothing to vacate.
If I get tired from
retirement,
no job to go back to
to rest on.
No vacation to rest up from
since no job to vacate.


Retire.
Tires on cars.
Entire is everything.
Attire is what you put on.
Tired is no rest.
The rest of the story
is the entire truth.
When attired in truth
the rest is easy.
To tire easily is to 
desire to retire.
The tires rest on the road.
To retire is to go to bed
and get some rest.
To test your tires
is to look at tread
and check the air.
Ere I make you tired
with this tale,
I rest my case
just in case
you dread
a retread
on the way to
nowhere.

##

Melancholy day

This has been a melancholy day. My last day in my office; and saying goodbye to my staff. It hurts to leave people you care about. There has been a pleasant friendship among us. Delightful people they are. It's almost like leaving family behind.


Every time I leave a church I feel sad. I've spent part of my life there. I've invested my time, my energy, my skills, my prayers, and my emotional capital with a group of people who are trying to make life better in the context of Christian faith. 


It might sound silly, but I always walk around the church building and say goodbye to various spaces (e.g., sanctuary, office, parking lot, choir room, activities room); I think about what has happened in each space and thank God for people and events. My office is my work space. It is there that I have wrestled with Biblical texts; argued with God; prayed for the seriously ill to live; met with parishioners to hear their criticisms; talked with couples about to get married; met with grieving people to prepare a funeral. It's a sacred space. I said goodbye today.


We can't have life without leavings. Even if we live in the same place and work the same job, there are many leavings. But for us who do interim ministry, leavings are part of the ministry. We try to teach others how to say goodbye to former pastors and to parts of the church's history. We teach them to say goodbye to us. We're supposed to be good at it. But it's never easy. I have not yet let loose with the tears. But I've felt the dammed up damn tears waiting to gush forth.


I felt the heavy sadness today and told myself to get out of the basement and come upstairs and celebrate the achievements, the new friendships, the possibilities of the future, the soon-to-be proximity to family. But one thing at a time. I can't come out of the basement yet. These dear people deserve what I can give right now: my grief, a sign of my love for them.

Anticipating Retirement

"ANTICIPATING RETIREMENT"

I want it

I don't know what to do with it

Fear of emptiness 
Soon, the burden of filling it

Scary freedom

So much possibility

But no map

Ceasing is coming

Rest and restlessness

These are my thoughts

The real thing will have

a mind of its own

##

No comment

"It's socialism. It moves the country in a direction which is not good for anyone, whether they be young or old. It charts a course from which there will be no turning back." 
   [Senator Carl Curtis (R-NE), in 1965, opposing Medicare]


"The Act represents a step in the direction of Communism, bolshevism, fascism, and Nazism." 
   [The National Association of Manufacturers, in 1938, condemning a national minimum wage]


"Woman suffrage would give to the wives and daughters of the poor a new opportunity to gratify their envy and mistrust of the rich. Meantime these new voters would become either the purchased or cajoled victims of plausible political manipulators, or the intimidated and helpless voting vassals of imperious employers." 
    [President Grover Cleveland, in 1905, on why women shouldn't be able to vote]

God's Political Party

God the Father is a Republican, because Scripture says: "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." (NRSV) 

But Jesus is a Democrat because he didn't ride into Jerusalem on an elephant, but on a donkey. 

However, the Holy Spirit is an Independent, because the "wind/Spirit blows wherever it wants to" (Jn 3).

And we are the elect.

 

Tiger in the Woods

We thought we knew Tiger Woods. An all-American athlete; a soft-spoken role model; a generous and kind-hearted gentleman. But Tiger the man had a handicap that we didn't see in Tiger the golfer. On the golf course he had a powerful drive. But in his psyche he also had a powerful drive. The human sex drive is forceful enough to populate a whole planet.



Tiger's tragic troubles demonstrate how one aspect of our lives can be extremely disciplined while another aspect has no self control. Tiger became the best in one sport. At the same time his moral life performed poorly.


My purpose is not to judge. Each of us is vulnerable. We are all capable of moral lapses. But perhaps this high profile infidelity can help us be more aware of the ambiguity of our sexuality.


Unfortunately, many people grow up in religious traditions that give a mixed message. It goes something like this: 'Sex is a good gift of God. Don't use it!' Or another version: 'Sex is dirty; save it for marriage.'


Poor adolescents. They receive contradictory messages from every direction. Their parents (if they ever talk about sex), the church, the schools, the music industry, television, movies, and advertisers. Combined with the natural 'urge to merge' and explosive hormones makes getting through adolescence without screwing up very difficult.


We are sexual beings. We are sexually attracted to other sexual beings. That's how we are wired. It's not wrong to want to have sex with other people; it is simply natural. Men are aroused by women. Women are aroused by men. And some men are aroused by men, etc. Sexy ads work.


Religious education in regard to sex needs to strike a balance. We need to learn to affirm and appreciate our sexuality. We also need to learn to control our urges and behavior. There is a Tiger in the tank of all of us. It roars. But we cannot live by the laws of the jungle and still be moral persons. It behooves us to live by a higher law. Setting boundaries and being sexually active exclusively with our life-long partner is the wisdom that brings joy.


Sex is like fire. It can keep us alive and it can burn us. To learn to use fire properly and safely is a smart thing to do.


Mr. Woods could not see the moral forest for the curvy trees. I feel sorry for him. Let him be our teacher. Significant relationships are broken by careless behavior. We have to be as committed to our marriages as Tiger is to his golf game. We have to focus on what is important. We make vows. We give promises. We must practice follow through.


Tiger, Tiger, hear him roar.

Tiger, Tiger, see him cry.

Tiger, Tiger, see him score.

Tiger, Tiger, why, oh why?



##

Many rooms

People are complicated. We do a disservice when we describe someone as a 'bad person' or an 'alcoholic' or a 'criminal' or a 'conservative' or 'liberal.' Labels don't do people justice.


I like the words of historian David Blight as he describes President Lincoln's politics. Blight is writing a brief commentary on Lincoln's enigmatic letter to Horace Greely, written on August 22, 1862. Lincoln seems to talk out of both sides of his mouth in this letter, and historians use this correspondence to prove opposite points: either that Lincoln was out to end slavery or that he wasn't. Here is David Blight's comment:

Lincoln's multilayered temperament was a house with many doors. The Greeley letter, like few other works in Lincoln's writings, demonstrates how many choices we have in entering that house. (In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans, Bantam Books, 2009, p. 101)

Isn't that a better way to look at people? Aren't we all to some extent a 'house with many doors"?


When we look into the eyes of another person we encounter mystery. When we are open to the spirit of another human being, we soon discover a holy spirit that dwells there. Even after years of marriage we are still finding out who our spouse is. Like Abraham Lincoln, we all have 'multilayered temperaments.' Of course very few people rise to the level of greatness that Lincoln embodied. But each of us is a complex being.


Some people find that counseling or psychotherapy helps to strip away the layers of their personality in order to discover wholeness of being. We have rooms within the 'house' of our Self that we have never entered. Self-discovery is part of spiritual growth.


Interpersonal relationships are even more complicated. Truly getting to know someone is a process of revelation. You cannot really know me unless I reveal myself to you. Nor can I know you unless you reveal yourself to me. There are locked doors that can only be opened from the inside.


Every person you meet is a mystery. Developing a close relationship with another person is a sacred process. Knock softly on the door.


Don't too quickly pigeonhole people into categories. Let each individual reveal his or her self to you. Make space for that revelation to take place. Eugene Peterson says: "The question I put to myself is not, 'How many people have you spoken to about Christ this week?' but 'How many people have you listened to in Christ this week?'" [from The Contemplative Pastor] The ministry of listening opens up space for self-revelation.


Remember, each person has a multilayered temperament, and a house with many rooms. The same is true with God, for didn't Jesus say, "In my Father's house there are many rooms"? [John 14]


##

Hanukkah Songs?

Hanukkah Songs That Never Quite Caught On:

- Oy to the World

- Schlepping through a Winter Wonderland

- Hava Negilah - The Megamix

- Bubbie Yetta Got Run Over by a Reindeer

- Enough with those Gosh Darn Jingle Bells Already...Sheez!

- Matzo Man (by the Lower East Side Village People)

- I Have a Little Dreidel (the Barking Dog Version)

- Come on Baby, Light My Menorah

- Deck the Halls with Balls of Matzos

- Silent Night? I Should Be So Lucky

[submitted by leighli -- from the site: Beliefnet]

Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts is dead.

The healings finally ran out.
I'm sure Oral's ministry has helped many people.
I'm also sure that his ministry deceived a host of folks.
Anyone can stand before a large crowd and say, "Someone is being healed," -- and sure enough, some suggestible person will come forward and declare that their pain is gone or that they can now walk again.

The mind-body connection is a mysterious thing.
All some people need is for someone to tell them
they are getting better, and they will.
I don't call that a miracle,
but if you feel better, I won't take that away from you.


One of my New Testament professors in seminary told our class that if there really were someone going around bringing miraculous healings to people just like Jesus did, he would invite them to go over to the home for the blind and give all those people their sight back. But--he said--none of them ever do that.


I went to a healing service once and the preacher called me down front. I sat on the front pew while he took my feet in his hands and showed me that one leg was slightly shorter than the other. Then he prayed fervently for me and took my legs again and showed me that they were exactly equal.


Well. Later in my life I went to a chiropractor who sort of did the same thing, except he jerked my legs harder.

What I don't like about spiritual healers is that they lie.
They claim to have powers that they don't have.
They manipulate and take advantage of people.


When I was younger I used to listen to Pentecostal preachers on the radio. A common message was: Expect a miracle every day. If your life isn't filled with miraculous happenings, then there is something wrong with your faith. 
I know there are many people who want to hear that sort of thing.
They are looking for some sign of God's presence in their lives. They are looking for hope, and they will grasp hold of anything. There are enough of those kind of people around that evangelists and healers can make a nice living.


Unless we play fast and loose with the definition of 'miracle,' we shouldn't be expecting to see miraculous events often.
I know someone will say, "But I see miracles every day. Life itself is a miracle; love is a miracle; new medical treatments are miracles..." etc. Okay. But if by miracle we mean blind people suddenly see and the lame suddenly walk and the dead come back to life, well, don't expect that to happen.


Back to Oral...


He had the biggest ear lopes I've ever seen. Did you see them? 
And putting your hands on the TV -- well, that has gotten more difficult since remotes came along. We tend to sit farther away from the screen. And now with all these Big Screen TVs, we sit even farther away. I wonder if you can get healed by putting your hands on the computer screen.


It's in the quotidian that we find God.
In the ordinary.
Real spiritual living happens in the routine.
The Lord is everywhere--all the time.
God doesn't usually jump out at us like a Jack-in-the-Box.
The Holy One is more subtle.
I learned this from reading the parables of Jesus.
A sheep, a coin, a seed, yeast... a son, a farmer, a woman, a guest...
Even the wonderful healings and exorcisms that Jesus performed were parables--acted-out parables.


I'm suspicious of religious things that happen in big crowds.
It seems to me that small groups and less emotional settings
are more likely to produce authentic spiritual experiences.


I wish Oral's family God's consolation.
I also wish people would not get hooked into religion with big crowds, flashy music, and charismatic speakers. It reminds me too much of Adolf Hitler and his popularity.







 

Whether or Not

The traveling  business woman asked, "What kind of weather are we going to have here this week?" 

The custodian said, "The kind of weather I like."

The woman said, "How do you know it will be the kind of weather you like?"


He said, "Well, I have found out that I cannot always get what I like, so I have learned to always like what I get. Therefore, I'm sure I will like the weather that's coming."

I have learned to be

content

whatever the circumstances.

[Philippians 4.11]

Truman's gospel

Harry Truman was a true man of words. When being interviewed by Merle Miller he made some comments about his understanding of the Bible. He said he especially liked the Gospels and it interested him how "those fellas saw the same things in a different manner," and yet they were all telling the truth. He went on:

"I think that's the first time I realized that no two people ever see the same thing in quite the same way, and when they tell it the way they saw it, they aren't necessarily lying if it's different... And that is one of the reasons that when I got into a position of power I always tried to keep in mind that just because I see something in a certain way didn't mean that others didn't see it in a different manner. That's why I always hesitated to call a man a liar unless I had the absolute goods on him."

With those words Truman gives us a lot of wisdom in a nutshell. If we lived according to the Truman Truth about the diversity of perspectives, we could learn to live together in God's beautiful world with more harmony and compassion. The virtue of Tolerance is enhanced by the realization that people see the same thing in different ways. We even describe our understanding of the same God in different ways. People with different theologies may well be talking about the same God, just with different vocabulary or different cultural images.

I think it is significant--and inspired--that the Bible has four gospels instead of one; and that there are two creation stories instead of one in the first three chapters; and that 1st and 2nd Chronicles give a slightly different take on events that are already reported in Samuel and Kings. In other words, the very makeup of the Scriptures show us that God not only allows different perspectives, but values them.

Could it be that the Eastern view of religion and the Western view of religion are two perspectives that can learn from each other? Could it be that theology is bipolar, and we need both poles to have a wholistic experience of God?

Well, I'm going way beyond what Truman was saying. But the truth of differing perspectives is a major insight that has ramifications for politics, social relationships, ecumenism, and plain old courtesy.

My perspective cannot be the whole story. And neither can yours. We need to listen to each other.

Doctor visit

I went for my routine six-month medical checkup today. I seem to be okay. Blood pressure okay. Took blood. A little overweight. Need to exercise more. Need to watch what I eat. (Of course I always look at it.) 

Since we're in the digital age, the doctor used one digit to examine my prostate. (This is the male equivalent of a mammogram.) He takes a long time, telling me, "This is the right side of the gland that I'm touching now...And here is the left side..." I say, "Okay, that's fine, let's get on with it." 

I've been having some hip pain. I was limping for a couple of days, but now it's better. He gave me some patches to wear for the pain.


At one point he asked me when I had my last tenanus shot. I couldn't remember. He looked on my chart and said, "It was either 2000 or 2008--I can't read my writing." Now that was the first time a doctor has ever admitted that he can't read his own writing. 


My doctor is a very nice guy. He takes time to ask me about my life--what's going on. I made him blush today. I told him that I appreciated what he does--that doctoring is very important.

He thanked me. I thanked him. He washed his finger, and I left.



 

Tebow ‘s Bible Show

Tim Tebow cried crocodile tears after losing the SEC championship game to Alabama. (On second thought, those must have been alligator tears.) His tears streamed down over the Bible verse he had painted under his eyes.

For that game it happened to be John 16.33. I said to Pat as we sat watching, "Look, Tebow has a verse about 'overcoming' on his face." I wondered if it meant 'overcoming Alabama.' You never know what Bible verses written on a person's face means. I suppose your average football fan didn't realize that the Greek word for 'overcome' is Nike. Perhaps he was secretly advertising for a shoe contract.


I wonder if Jesus intended for us to write his words on our face. I've heard of wearing your religion on your sleeve. But on your face? I kinda think that painting Bible verses on one's face trivializes the Bible. It also takes the verse out of context, which is always dangerous.


As far as I can tell, Tebow is a great guy. He's obviously a great athlete. He seems very sincere about his faith. And I don't want to make fun of him in any way. But…I think he was setting himself up for a big fall. And I don't understand the connection between using the Bible as makeup and one's prowess as an athlete.

The theology of football is not my area of expertise. Did Tebow expect God to help the Gators win? Did he think God was on his side? Did God let him down? Did the devil make him throw that interception in the fourth quarter?


Jesus, being a good Jew, would not have played a game with pigskin. Nor would he play on the Sabbath (Saturday). So, I'm not sure Jesus was involved in the game. Now don't get me wrong. I think God helps us do our best, whether at sports or anything else. Seeking excellence is a good thing. But I don't think God really cares which team wins the SEC championship or the national championship. Although if Bear Bryant is in heaven, he might have some pull.

Bono & the Psalms

Bono (of U2) grew up in Ireland with a Protestant mother and a Catholic father. He said the Protestants had the better tunes and the Catholics had the better stage-gear. Seeing how the Catholics and Protestants were killing each other, he soon rejected institutional religion. 

But he didn't reject God. Parts of the Bible spoke to him in a personal way. In the book Revelations: Personal Responses to the Books of the Bible (Cannongate Books, 2005) he says, "My religion could not be fiction, but it had to transcend facts. It could be mystical, but not mythical and definitely not ritual."

Being a musician, Bono especially liked the Psalms. He could relate to David the musician. And he particularly resonated with the Psalms that are like Blues music. 

As his band was finishing up their third album War, they needed one more song. Bono suggested they compose a piece using Psalm 40. He saw Psalm 40 as suggesting the triumph of grace over karma. So they made up song based on the thought of Psalm 40, and threw in a little of Psalm 6 ('How long?'), and finished the album.

Bono reflects on the question from Psalm 6 -- 'How long?' He says, "I had thought of it as a nagging question -- pulling at the hem of an invisible deity whose presence we glimpse only when we act in love."

Bono's take on the Biblical religion is not exactly orthodox. But he connects with certain portions of it. U2's music has been known for speaking up for justice in the world. I'm confident that Isaiah and Micah and Hosea and Amos would appreciate the way Bono and his band proclaim the prophetic truth with a hard beat. And Jesus, being a fan of Isaiah and all the prophetic voices of Scripture, would also enjoy a U2 concert. 

The institutional church sometimes does not appreciate the way the Lord works through secular means, especially the arts. Artists can get rowdy. They might overturn tables and do even worse. God works in mysterious ways. He can use U2 -- and me too -- and you too.


##

Moral Clarity

I've just finished reading an intellectually stimulating book: Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists by Susan Neiman. The author is an American philosopher who has taught at Yale and Tel-Aviv University, and is currently director of the Einstein Forum in Berlin.

A fascinating part of this book for me is Neiman's discussion of Abraham. She talks about the 'two Abrahams' -- the Abraham of Genesis 18, and the Abraham of Genesis 22.

In Genesis 18 Abraham bargains with God for mercy on the people of Sodom. Abraham thinks it is not fair to destroy everyone in the city just because some of them are unrighteous. That would not be justice, says Abraham. In other words, Abraham has an idea of Justice that trumps the intention of God. Instead of simply going along with God's plan, this Abraham uses his reasoning powers and his idea of justice to argue with God. This is the Enlightenment Abraham.

In Genesis 22 Abraham obeys God without any question, even though God's command is very unreasonable. Because God is telling Abraham to kill his son Isaac. This is the religious (fundamentalist?) Abraham. Unquestioning. Not raising rational arguments.

Neiman suggests that these two passages from the Bible give us two different moral paradigms. One is about submissive to the irrational; the other is about questioning authority and trying to make sense out of the world.

Christian theology (as in Aquinas) tries to keep the two together: divine revelation and reason, not one or the other. However, as I read the Bible I find it necessary in some places to reject the so-called divine commands as unreasonable. There does seem to be a higher Common Sense (or what theology calls Natural Law) that sometimes clashes with parts of Scripture. We all know this. That's why we read the Bible selectively. We select the parts we agree with and ignore the rest. All of us do this.

Neiman goes so far as to say, "Any ethics that needs religion is bad ethics." Well. I think what she is doing in her philosophy is building a moral ethic on 'good religion,' not religion in general. Even though some of her statements will seem sacrilegious to Christian readers, I'm in sympathy with her agenda. Especially with so much fundamentalism around these days, we need to lift up the Abraham of Genesis 18. Neiman also uses the Book of Job as an example of the 'good religion' that risks questioning God. 

Moral Clarity has sections on the values of Happiness, Reason, Reverence, and Hope. There is a section on Heroes that exemplify authentic moral life. I especially found useful the section on the relationship between realism and idealism. 

As an American I am drawn to the morality behind the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Some things do seem to be 'self-evident.' Abraham took the self-evident notion of Justice and argued with God. And God gave in. Which must mean that Abraham was right.




##


 

As I Am

I have come to affirm paradoxes as expressions of deep truth. Jesus taught with paradox, such as: She who saves her own life will lose it."

It is the paradox taught by Carl Rogers that has kept me going:


              "The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."

It was during my college years that I first read the works of Carl Rogers, the father of humanistic psychology and client-directed therapy. His central dogma sounded strangely like the hymn I had sung 10,000 times--"Just As I Am." But the message from Rogers came through more purely, without the accompanying contradiction of 'God loves you just as you are, but you're never good enough' type of judgment. Carl Rogers preached the gospel to me in psychological terms that began to help me travel in the direction of self-acceptance. 

Then there was that other 'Rogers'--Fred Rogers, known as Mr. Rogers. He too taught the truth of 'I like you just the way you are.' Mr. Rogers (the Reverend Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister) spoke to children. But the child in each of us heard what he said. His weird, sing-songy, effeminate voice and mannerisms could easily get in the way of some folk. But his authenticity swept away any doubt in my mind. Mr. Rogers became another evangelistic for me--beckoning me on toward self-acceptance.

In college and seminary I came upon the theologian Paul Tillich. His sermon on 'Acceptance' drove home the truth. "We are accepted, even though we are unacceptable. Accept your acceptance!" Again, the paradox of the gospel came to me forcefully through his theology. Tillich added the transcendent element to the message. He said the acceptance he spoke of was an acceptance that came from beyond us. Like the good Lutheran that he was, he emphasized the 'alien righteousness' that comes from God.

Accepting ourselves as we are--and accepting others just as they are--is a paradox of grace. It is an acceptance that enables change and growth.

Paranoia about Muslims

There was an article in the Dayton Daily News the other day about a panel discussion at United Theological Seminary. One panelist was Rabbi Brad Hirschfield. I've written before about his book You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. 

 During the discussion he said, "There are more people dying in the name of religion today than since the Crusades." 

Religion is of two kinds: healthy and sick. It's the sick religion that motivates peoples to kill or hurt other people in the name of God. There are sick forms of Christianity, just as there are sick forms of Islam.

I'm concerned about all the paranoia about Muslims that I read on the internet. People are always forwarding stuff to me that's written by who-knows-who about how the Muslims are going to take over our country, and how all Muslims secretly hate America and Christians. Yes, there are extremist Muslims who follow a sick version of Islam just as there are extremist Christians who follow a sick, violent version of Christianity. But there is also a healthy version of Islam, which is open to Western culture and modernization. Too much generalizing about the sick version of religion gives all religions a bad name.

Rabbi Hirschfield said, "A fanatic is anyone who thinks they are 100 percent right about 100 percent of reality 100 percent of the time." He went on to say, "There's an important difference between being deeply committed to your point of view and being fanatical." 

I agree. As a Christian I am committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But that doesn't mean that I can't learn from an atheist, a Buddhist or a Muslim. They might understand something that I don't. I bear witness to my belief, but I also listen to how God has impacted the lives of people in other religions, or how reality impacts an atheist.


I know there are a certain number of people in the world who are exploiting parts of the Islamic scriptures in order to impose their will on others--many of whom honestly believe that Western Culture is leading people away from God and holiness. But let's keep things in perspective. Muslims will not 'take over' America unless Americans elect Muslims to office.We give too much credit to extremists and too little credit to Americans if we pass on scenarios like these.



The forwarded emails I receive from 'Christians' just fuel the flames of hatred. Fearful and fanatical Americans scare me. Their lack of tolerance and their exaggerated claims do not make us safer. 

The problem is that we don't have Muslims who are friends or co-workers. The best thing we Christians could do is to make friends with real Muslim people in our towns and cities. Get to know them. Listen to their concerns about their children's health and education.Watch them love each other. Observe them working for the good of society. See them bow down to pray. Learn about their experience of God. See them as real people, not caricatures. A group from a church I served took a tour of the mosque north of Cincinnati and was able to listen to real American Muslims and ask questions and learn about their beliefs.



Rabbi Hirschfield said, "Anyone who loves faith [I would say 'loves God'] needs to figure out how to use faith to heal the polarization and address the fanaticism." 


It's one thing to be concerned about extremists and take precautions. It's another thing to paint a whole population of people with a broad brush and bear false witness.


Muslims interpret their scriptures in different ways just as Christians do. Only a small portion of those who practice Islam read their scriptures as the extremists do.

suicide among pastors

This is not a comfortable topic, but it needs to be heard. 
Pastors get depressed and feel the pressure of the pastorate.
Sometimes they feel trapped.

Every session or personnel committee needs to have some way of regularly checking in with pastors to listen to their personal needs. 

This article from the Presbyterian Outlook magazine brings insight into this topic. Read and learn. 

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december poem

i can't believe it's already december.
i seem to remember
being in short sleeves
then seeing falling leaves
only yesterday;
perhaps i've lost my way
of discerning time's velocity
or there's trouble with my brain's viscosity.


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Vivens homo

In the year 185 A.D., Irenaeus of Lyons, a bishop, wrote his treatise Against the Heretics. It contained these famous words: 

           Gloria Dei vivens homo.

Translation: "The glory of God is a human fully alive."

 Gregory Wolfe, writing in Image (Fall 2009), takes up this ancient Christian saying and asks why we find it so hard to affirm our humanity. He quotes Walker Percy who said, "We don't coincide with ourselves." 


For some reason we humans tend to try and be something other than human, an attitude which is sinful. But when we affirm the Christian belief that God became human, shouldn't that make us appreciate our humanity? Wolfe says, "We don't look at the incarnation rightly. We see it as the divine descending, perhaps condescending, to the human level--as if Jesus had to hold his nose while taking human form."


Every year at Christmas we have the opportunity to like ourselves again. The God who became flesh is the God who likes human beings. Christmas is about the Incarnation, and incarnation is about being 'carnal.' Not sinfully carnal, just factually carnal. Fleshy. 


God blessed flesh when he entered it. Flesh and spirit mesh in Christ. 


Being authentically human is good. Christmas is the doctrinal Day that celebrates our contingent existence. Don't ever apologize for being human. Celebrate it.

 

Hand-written Bible

There is a Bible being auctioned off on eBay right now. The current bid is over $6000. No, it's not an ancient Bible, it's a new one. Completely handwritten. Over 31,000 people hand wrote one verse each.

The publishing house Zondervan which publishes the NIV (New International Version) is behind the project. A team of people traveled to 90 cities in 40 states over a nine month period, finishing in June of 2009. All kinds of people volunteered to write a verse. There were two original copies made, and one is being auctioned off. But you can buy a printed copy for $100 on their site ('Bible Across America') or from Amazon.com.

This gives me an idea for a unique Christmas present. Why not take up your pen and hand-write one of the gospels for your child or grandchild? Writing out Scripture by hand is a good spiritual practice. It slows us down and puts us into the sacred writings in a personal way. Another possibility would be to make your own version. Put the words and message of a gospel in your own words. Paraphrase each passage using your own way of saying it. Keep the meaning the same, of course, but use your own wording.

The words and thoughts of the Bible are powerful. The Word of God is "the sword of the Spirit." (Eph. 6). Watch out--don't get hurt.

Allitt’s book

American history has been influenced by many personalities, and movements. How many of these are you familiar with: Federalists, Whigs (Edmund Burke), Jeffersonians, Southern Conservatives (John Taylor, John Randolph, John Calhoun, James Henry Thornwell), Northern Conservatives (Henry Clay, Daniel Webster) the post-Civil War Lost Cause conservatism, Capitalist Conservatives (William Graham Sumner), the mugwumps (James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton), early 20^th century Traditionalists (Brooks Adams, Henry Adams, Ralph Adams Cram), the New Humanism (Irving Babbitt, Paul Elmer More), the Southern Agrarians (Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, Albert Jay Nock), modern Intellectual Conservatives (Richard Weaver, Russell Kirk, Walter Lippmann, William F. Buckley, Brent Bozell, Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, Michael Novak, George Will), Libertarians, Neoconservatives (Jeane Kirkpatrick, Bill Kristol), Paleoconservatives (M. E. Bradford, Thomas Fleming), the Religious Right (Phyllis Schlafly, , Francis Schaeffer, Jerry Falwell), the Economic Right (Friedrich von Hayek, Milton Friedman, Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan).

 

And how about these influential books/authors: The Law of Civilization and Decay by Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adam by Henry Adams, The Road to Serfdom by Hayek, Ideas Have Consequence by Richard Weaver, The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk, The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater (actually written by Brent Bozell,
Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom, Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder, Beyond the Melting Pot by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And of course there were many other books—going back the Federalist Papers, Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France.

 

Now, how many of these journals have you seen or read: Triumph, National Review, The Public Interest, Commentary, Southern Partisan, Chronicles of Culture, Reason, The New Criterion, Weekly Standard, First Things, The American Conservative, American Spectator, The National Interest, Dartmouth Review.

 

Do any of these institutions ring a bell: Cato Institute, Young Americans for Freedom, Hoover Institute, the Moral Majority, the Rockford Institute, the Center on Religion and Society, the Olin Foundation.

 

All of the above people, institutions, journals and movements are covered in Patrick Allitt's book The Conservatives: Ideas and Personalities Throughout American History (Yale University Press 2009). Allitt is professor of history at Emory University.

 

I recently read Allitt's book and came away understanding more about the intricacies of conservatism in our country. Part of the strength of this book is the way it shows the diversity of 'conservatism' in American history. Various conservative groups had intramural fights; conservative thinkers disagreed with each other; conservative movements split over emphases.

 

Interesting themes among some of these movements have been: a negative attitude toward egalitarianism and democracy; the love of elitism and hierarchies; the support of authoritarian leadership; the distaste for immigrants.

 

I believe conservatism in its less extreme forms has been helpful in reminding us all of the 'law of unintended consequences' which builds on a notion of 'original sin'; that is, keeping in mind the evil propensities in human nature. Conservative thinkers have also taught us the usefulness of old traditions and customs—and the need for stability.

 

Both conservatives and liberals like to use texts for their own purposes. The President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, asserted that God was on their side, helping the southern army defeat the invaders. He quoted Jeremiah's words:

 

Then the Lord said unto me, out of the North an evil shall break forth upon the inhabitants of the land, and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee. (Jer. 1.14)

 

After the Civil War was over there appeared the 'Lost Cause Conservatism.' The ideology of White Supremacy arose, the KKK was formed, and southern writers declared that just like Jesus, the South had been crucified. Southern culture, in their minds, had been temporarily defeated, but would rise again. (Don't we all claim to have God on our side?)

 

Allitt begins one chapter with this thought-provoking statement: "Think of the Civil War as a conflict between two types of conservatism." Lincoln's conservatism was in the tradition of the Whigs—a conservatism that wanted to 'conserve the Union.' At the same time the Southern Conservative slaveholders were trying to conserve their way of life with its aristocracy and unpaid labor.

 

America needs conservatives and liberals. As these two points of view clash with each other in civil intercourse a balance is struck. The dialectic of differing views keeps democracy healthy. As long as extremists are held at bay, good conservative thinkers give our culture stability and point us to foundational matters.

 

Myself, I'm part conservative and part liberal. Sometimes the liberal part of me needs to pay attention to the conservative part of me, and vice versa. Conservative writers like George Will, David Brooks, and William F. Buckley help me think through issues. Their civil tone and well-reasoned arguments feed my brain. Much of the time I disagree with their conclusions because our assumptions are different. But not always.

 

As a coincidence, just as I was thinking about writing this blog post, I read an article by the same author in The Christian Science Monitor (November 15, 2009) about Sarah Plain's popularity as she begins a book tour for Going Rogue. In his article, Allitt refers to some of the history of conservatism in America and places Palin in the populist sector of conservatism. His conclusion is that the Republican Party, in order to regain its power, needs to stick with the intellectual sector of the party. He speaks of the "intellectual dignity that it sacrificed in the McCain-Palin campaign."

 

Too bad politics now depends on the TV image rather than on brains. However, we were lucky to get both in Obama.

The Skeptical Bible

In the Sunday lectionary the Book of Job comes up only twice every three years, and Ecclesiastes only once.  Why are these books not very popular with the lectionary committee? Could it be because they are the skeptics of the Bible?


The Book of Job questions the tradition belief that God rewards the faithful and punishes the unfaithful. It portrays life to be more complicated than that. It undermines the 'system' of thought that makes things simple.


Ecclesiastes has some nice passages, like 'For everything there is a season...' But the author is basically unorthodox. He doesn't seem to believe in an afterlife, saying that humans are no better than dogs in that regard. His eschatology is: When you're dead, you're dead, and that's it. Period. So, we might as well 'eat, drink, and be merry.' He keeps saying, 'Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.' Which is to say: It's all futile. Not your Easter Sunday Sermon text.


Alice Camille calls Job and Ecclesiastes the "two minority reporters" of the Bible (U.S. Catholic magazine, August 2007, p. 39f.) Job in its original form was probably edited to make the story come out better (a prologue and epilogue added on). Ecclesiastes almost didn't pass the rabbis' test for inclusion in the canon. But there they are. In our Bible. Making us think. Asking serious questions about faith. Skepticism has its place in the conversation about faith. We have to ask honest questions. We can't place our faith in make-believe truths. Pious platitudes and pithy promises are pernicious. 

I like the title of Camille's article that I referenced above. It is: "Don't Believe Everything You Believe."  

I read a lot. But my reading is slow compared to Nina Sankovitch. She started last October reading a book a day for a year. That's right--everyday for a year she read a book. And--the next morning she wrote on her blog a brief review of the book she had read the day before. Wow.

During this project she decided not to read any book she had read before, and not to read more than one book by any author.Obviously she didn't have a job.

Most people concerned about education in our country say that one of the most important things parents can do is to read to their children when the children are young. Get them into the habit of reading. Show them how books can be fun. And set an example. Children who see mothers and fathers reading books regularly will see how important it is.

Nina's reading project seems extreme, but stirs my imagination. However, how many books one reads is not as important as how one reads. Actually, in the Christian tradition, there has been an emphasis on slow reading. We might call it meditative reading. The Christian name for it is lectio divina. This ancient method of reading Scripture is seeing a revival in our time. There are many books out now about this spiritual discipline.

Here's the way it works. There are four steps. First, lectio: choose a Scriptural passage and reading slowly...meditatively...read out loud...savor the words. Second, meditatio: choose a word or phrase from the reading and quietly mull it over in your mind...repeat the word or phrase slowly over and over...let it sink into your heart. Third, oratio: talk to God about what is happening in your meditation...listen to what God is saying to you...ask God what he/she is saying to you through this passage. Fourth, comtemplatio: now just rest in God's presence...let go of thinking or analyzing...just be with God.

You don't get much reading done this way. You can't read through the Bible in a year doing this. But you get more out of what you read. This is a prayerful way to read Scripture. It's a way of letting the Bible read you.

So, Nina accomplished a great deal in her reading. She challenges us all to be more committed to our reading habits. But there's more than one way to skin a catologue of books.

A list of the books she read, her reviews, and more can be seen at her site. 

Methodist Pastors' Quandry

The United Methodist Church has a problem. As you know, the Methodist Church is episcopal in polity (it has Bishops); and pastors are appointed to congregations by the Bishop (and his/her cabinet). Unlike Presbyterian pastors, the Methodist guys and gals don't worry about having a place to go next; they are guaranteed a placement. We Presbyterians use the free market system. We have to go out and find our next job -- apply, interview, preach, and all that. But our lucky Methodist sisters and brothers just wait around until the Boss tells them where to go (so to speak). But now, the Methodist system is getting saturated because of declines in membership in the congregations. Too many pastors, not enough churches. What to do? This is a problem.The Catholic Church has the opposite problem: too many churches, not enough priests. They got nuns, but none can be priests. I feel sorry for my Catholic brothers (priests) who have too many parishioners to keep up with. And I feel sorry for my Methodist brothers and sisters who don't have enough parishioners to give them a job. Throughout my pastoral career I've often wondered if I would be able to get a job after finishing one pastorate and beginning to look for another. Of course in our system the pastor is not supposed to say anything publicly about looking for a new church; it's none secretly so that you don't become a lame duck. You have to go to interviews and communicate with Pastor Nominating Committees on the sly. Then--when you have been sure you have a new call--you tell your church that you're leaving. That's one thing I've liked about being an interim pastor--I could upfront about my contract and the need to begin to find another church. I've often been envious of the Methodists in this regard. They don't have to market themselves. Their system takes care of them. But now it appears that they are running into the supply-and-demand reality. If I really believed in comprehensive predestination I wouldn't worry about any of this. But since I only believe in partial predestination I've worried about job continuity over the years. I've been lucky. I've never been without a pastoral job. Maybe 'luck' is providence. Maybe not. Anyway, I'm looking for a part time pastoral position in Alabama soon. So far, no luck. (Or no providence.)

[see article about the Methodist dilemma at this site] 

Belgium Waffle

Not long ago I went to Bob Evans and ordered a Belgium Waffle. When it came I was surprised at how little it was. You used to get a Belgium Waffle and it covered the whole plate--even lapped over it a little. But this waffle was the size of a big saucer. You've probably noticed as I have how so many food items have gotten smaller. You buy a bag of potato chips and it looks like a nice size bag, but when you open it--poof--all this air comes out; they have filled it with air to make it look bigger than it is. And so many things are packaged that way today. They want you to think you're getting more than you actually are.

That made me think about the church. (No, not preachers with hot air.) I wondered if we in the church are offering people more than we actually deliver. Do we preach a gospel that promises that people with faith will always be happy and peaceful? Well, it isn't so. Faith does not ward off troubles and suffering and gloom. Bad things happen to good people. And good things happen to bad people. And arbitrary accidents happen to everyone. Do we 'package' the Biblical message in such a way as to make it seem more than it is? 

Jesus said: Peace I leave with you--my peace. Not the peace that the world gives. That's it. There is a difference between the peace that the world gives (which everyone is looking for) and the peace that Christ gives. Christ's peace is a deeper peace. More profound.

It is there (and real) even when you don't feel peaceful. Even when you're depressed. Even when you are an emotional wreck. Christ's peace is a reality, not a feeling. It is a status, a relationship, a truth, a foundational reality. Christ's peace is not full of empty air. It is substantive. Feelings are fleeting. They are like birds that flit from tree to tree. But God's peace is unchanging; solid; like a rock. And beyond understanding or explanation. So, I will stop.

The Belgium Waffle was smaller than I expected,

but it was good.

Well, anything with syrup on it is good.

Christians that are too nice

The blog post below brings up an important discipline that is sorely lacking in some churches. Where did we ever get the idea that we are supposed to be nice instead of being truthful?

Isn't telling falsehoods wrong? Shouldn't falsehoods be challenged? The blog is entitled Church Discipline 101. 



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Killing Giants

Killing Giants

a sermon by wayne mclaughlin

***************************************************

Text: 1 Samuel 17. 4-8, 32-49

2 Corinthians 12.6-10

November 8, 2009

Memorial United Presbyterian Church

Xenia, Ohio

******************************************************

Stories are sometimes mutli-leveled; that is, they can be read and understood on more than one level. Many Biblical stories are that way too. This morning's story about David and Goliath is a case in point. We could just read it as a historical event. It would then say something to us about David—his bravery, his skill, his faith. It would say something to us about Israel and the way God helped Israel defeat its enemies. But in order for the story to speak to us in any relevant way, we have to put ourselves into the story and see what happens has that ancient story comes alive within each of us, and among us. I'm going to provide some doors into the story so that we can enter and experience it for ourselves…

Part I – "If the armor fits, wear it."

"Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, 'I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.' So David removed them." [1 Sam. 17. 38-39]



How many of us have tried to wear the personality of someone else?

How many of us have tried to be someone else,

rather than ourself?

Have you ever had problems with self-acceptance?

I have struggled all of my life

to simply accept who

and what

I am.

There have been times in my life

when I have tried to wear someone else's persona.

I have thought: I'm too introverted to be a minister…

Ministers are supposed to be extroverted, back-slapping, story-telling, charismatic conversationalists who can inspire people and close the sell.

That's not me.

Many times I've prayed, "Lord, are you sure you didn't make a mistake calling me into the ministry? Or did I not hear you right?"



It's like the farm boy who one day looked up in the sky and saw a large cloud in the form of the letter "P." He immediately knew what that meant. It meant "preach." God was him to be a preacher. So he left the farm and became a preacher. One Sunday he was telling his congregation about how the Lord had called him through that cloud. As the parishioners went out the door that Sunday, a woman shook his hand and leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I think it meant 'plow.'"

What I have learned over the years

is what David seemed to know immediately—

that I cannot be someone else.

And that's okay.



For me, self-acceptance was taken place

with the context of a larger Acceptance

which we Christians call the grace of God.



What about you?


  [I have been trying to wear....              ]




 

Part II – "A tall order"

Goliath was tall—"six cubits and a span." [NRSV]

That's tall, isn't it?

Well, maybe; what in the heck is "six cubits and a span"?



Some translations say Goliath was six and a half feet tall; others say he was nine feet tall.

It depends upon which Hebrew manuscripts you follow.

The standard text indicates 9 feet; the Dead Sea Scrolls have

6 ½ feet tall.



Unless people were really little back then,

I think we'd have to go with 9 feet tall, wouldn't you?

Actually, I don't really care.



In David's eyes, Goliath was really BIG.



We all face giants, don't we?

We come up against problems and situations

that loom large

on the horizon of our life.

What are some of the "Giants" that we face?


  [The giant that I face right now is....                ]

Part III – "About to get stoned"

David picked up five smooth stones from the wadi.

The wadi? (The river bed.)



David knew what his resources were.

He reached down and got them.

Five smooth stones.



Sometimes we have to reach down.

Sometimes we have to reach up.

Sometimes we have to reach out.

Some times we have to reach deep within.

God has given us the resources we need

to meet the challenges that come our way.

Let's name some…



    Other people, prayer, inner strength,

         friends, family, the church, our own wisdom,

                imagination, government resources,

                       social agencies, dreams, the Bible,

                                          literature, medicine, etc.



[Resources that I have available to me...                ]




 

Part IV – "Get ready, get set, go!"

The story says in verse 48: "When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine."


Sometimes the worse thing we can do is nothing.

The solution to being stuck is to move.

Our natural inclination when we face a Big Problem

is to run the other way.

But what we need to do is what David did—

to face the Giant,

and meet it head on.

What is it that you are running from today?

What is it that you have been afraid to face?

Take a moment and decide what first step you will take

toward meeting the challenge that faces you….


[The step that I am going to take is....             ]


 

Part V – "With God nothing is impossible"

The story of David and Goliath is really a story about God.

The key to this story—the punch line—is verse 47:

    "…that all this assembly may know

    that the Lord does not save by sword

    and spear; for the battle is the Lord's,

    and the Lord will give you into our hand."



The battle is the Lord's….

God did not kill Goliath without David;

and David did not kill Goliath without God.

Throughout the Bible we are told that

we are meant to live in partnership with God.

We need God's help.

And in some sense—God needs our help.

That's the way God has set it up.



We make a mistake when we think we can

do everything on our own.

We are not meant to live that way.

We need God.

On the other hand,

we are mistaken if we think God is going to

do everything for us.

God has given us responsibility for our lives.

It's the heresy of "either/or" that gets us in trouble.

It's a matter of balance.

Are you leaning too far one way or the other?


    Too much dependence on yourself?

    Too much dependence on God?


  [I am not depending enough on.....              ]


  

Last Thoughts

David and Goliath.

An old story.

A story about David.

A story about Israel.

A story about God.

A story about you and me.



The bigger they are, the harder they fall.


Did you notice that David picked up five stones?

Why five?

You only need one to do the job.



Maybe David wasn't sure.

Maybe he thought that he might miss the first time,

and the second time, etc.

Maybe his confidence in himself and in God

was lacking.



David—lacking faith?

Well, he didn't pick up just one stone.



Let's tell the truth—we're all like that.

Sometimes we don't believe in ourselves.

And sometimes our faith in God is small.

But, like David, we can go on and do what has to be done.



The important thing is to take the first step.

Move toward the giant.




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