The Church's Civic Duty?

The other day, after worship, someone referenced an editorial in the fine, fine Providence Journal by Julia Steiny about the current state of education. I have only been able to read the article briefly (gasp), but my understanding is that schools have to spend so much time focusing on tests, science, math, and language arts (painting with words?) that teachers no longer have the time to teach citizenship and civic duties. The lack of such an education leads to a lessening of society, a dwindling of respect, and knowledge of political process among other things. Such a premise may or may not be true (I do think she has a point), but that is not the point of this posting.

If schools are no longer able to teach civic responsibility, etc., then I wondered if that is something churches should teach, or at least inform people about. There are some factions of Christianity that already embraces this idea whole-heartedly. These are the people who tell the members of the congregation how to vote and who to vote for, will sing “God Bless America” and say the pledge of allegiance during worship. The home-schooled children who are brought up to be active participants in the political system in order to co-opt the system in the name of Christian Fundamentalism. They teach a certain kind of civic responsibility.

I disagree with the content of the message my more conserative, fundimentalist brothers and sisters push, but am not sure I disagree with the method. Churches are to be formative communities, shaping the grammar and worldview of the individual. There is a specific language or jargon to being a Christian, and part of the role of the community is to teach and shape the individual in that language. If we do not have a shared language, then we will not have a shared faith; it would be completely personal and private.

If this is the case, then is it not the responsibility of the church community to shape and inform one’s role as a citizen? We may say that the government should take care of the least of society (or at least some may say this), but why? As Christians we can turn to the prophets, or the teachings of Jesus, or other parts of the Bible and claim that as an authoritative source of our claim. Nonbelievers may have other reasons, philosophical or otherwise, and that will shape the actions and beliefs of those individuals. We vote for the person who will work towards the society that we embrace as a Christian. That individual does not have to be a Christian, but hold to some of the same ends (I recognize this opens up another can of worms, but one thing at a time). We read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with a particular lens, while others will have a different lens.

The challenge is walking that fine line of allowing our faith to inform our civic duties and imposing our views as they are informed by our faith on others. This is a challenge of post-modernity, embracing the idea that there is not one proper or appropriate way to view things.

With all of that said, I believe that the church does have a responsibility to teach civics and civil responsibilities from a faith perspective. We need to be careful that we always understand that the government is a flawed system and will never match up to the Kingdom of God, but it is what we have now, and we are living with it. Or, to put it in other terms, it is a mad, mad world and we are all living in it.

Pointing the Finger

The BP oil spill continues to devastate the environment. The economy continues to drag on and people continue to be out of work. The costs of healthcare continues to climb. Politicians continue to focus more on cutting each other down instead of helping people. So many things are going wrong with the world and we (the public) often finds ourselves asking who is to blame.

Take the oil spill. We want to know who is to blame for all of the destruction that is happening and that will continue to happen. We blame BP because it is their drill. We blame the producers of the rig. We blame the government agency for not providing proper oversight. We blame the president for not acting angry or swiftly enough. We blame our drive and desire for oil. We blame the super-sized cars eating up all of the oil. We blame Henry Ford for developing and selling the automobile. We blame Eli Whitney for developing the idea of interchangeable parts and mass production (say nothing of the cotton gin). We blame the dinosaurs for providing all the oil. We look for someone or something to blame.

So often when I work with the bereaved they look for answers. They want to know “why” their loved one died. They want to know the reason, the cause, and if possible the person to blame. It is as if they believe their grief will lesson if they can cast blame. The person will still be dead. The pain will still be there.

I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t look for a cause of the leak. We should do everything we can to be sure that someone of this nature never happens again. There is a degree of accountability that needs to be brought to question. Yet we cannot steep in the blame game. Humanity is broken and bad things happen. They happen because of negligence, greed, selfishness, or for no reason. What we need to do is to ask what we should do next. What should we do with such a tragedy?

When someone grieving asks me “why,” all I can say is, “I don’t know.” I don’t believe that God has a finely worked out plan that takes the lives of children and adults, that allows women to be raped and men to be dismembered. I don’t believe that God gives some people cancer and others are destined to die via a heart attack. I believe that bad things happen and we need to work to discern how to live after the bad things happen.

It is easy to just criticize and blame. It focuses our anger on someone. Yet if we believe that God has a well worked out plan, then in the end this is the doing and allowance of God. I didn’t know God hates the Pelican so much.

On the other hand, if we believe that life is a process, that God is working with us through this process then we constantly have to ask ourselves, what next? This is more difficult, but I believe truer to the nature of God and more honest about human accountability.


Theological ideas come from: Process Theology, John Caputo’s the Weakness of God, Pinnock’s The Openness of God, and as a straw man Calvin and Reformed Theology. Happy Reading!

Sharing Myself

Yesterday, after preaching, someone mentioned to me how the sermon was something she really needed to hear. I replied by stating that it was something that I needed to hear as well. The idea that the pastor needs to hear the very sermon that he or she is preaching may seem suspect to many. After all, how can we offer an answer if we are standing right next to those who are asking the questions? How can we be the voice of authority if we are also struggling with the people?

Such questions assume much. When I preach, I may “know” the answer (path, possibility, etc) intellectually, and yet at the same time I may not have embraced the answer (path, possibility, etc.) in my heart. I know what I am to do, but have not yet the strength or faith to do it. Lord, help my unbelief!

Perhaps most of the work we do is autobiographical. My dissertation is focused on Baptist ordination. Isn’t it interesting that I am an ordained Baptist pastor? My sermons often look at the presence of Christ in our lives. Isn’t it interesting that I often look for Christ’s presence in my life? My work is autobiographical (to a degree).

So I am assuming that my experiences, questions, and struggles are not private or unique. I am assuming that other pastors wonder what it means to be ordained. I am assuming that other people struggle spirituality as I do. I am also taking a risk, and making myself vulnerable to a degree. I am not sharing all of my issues directly, but I am inviting people into my thoughts and feelings.

I think we should all be honest about our work, however that manifests. Either we are expressing something of ourselves, or we are disingenuous with our lives. In the end, the last thing I want to be is someone who is aloof, with a superior attitude, and pretends to know all the answers. No one likes a know-it-all.

Withered Grass

Just finished reading Leaves of Grass. It is a very good collection of profound poetry. Now back to Harry Potter....