Indonesia 2 - Dude, You're Harshing My Mellow

I just returned from the Governor’s “home.” A motor cascade led us and the whole time I stuck my head out of the bus window yelling, “woooooo, woooooo!” Now I have a big bruise on my face from a wayward palm tree.

Boy did I feel important – an Indonesia concert band was playing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” as we entered, and then a dance troupe performed for us followed by a choir, followed by a speaker, another choir, another speaker, another speaker, another choir, and another speaker, and finally the governor. There were only three awake at that time and I was not one of them. Sorry the pictures aren't great, but you get the idea.

The governor spoke eloquently about the love of God and Christ and how that is reflected in this gathering. I am always uplifted to hear a politician speak earnestly and honestly about their faith. You usually can tell when they are doing in – the shibboleth is not only in the words but in the way those words are said. It was and is a moment of vulnerability and honesty.

So on this trip I met:

An Anglican from Hong Kong

A Tazie Monk from France

Someone from New Zealand (I didn’t understand who he was with)

An Anglican (who was first a Baptist and then a Pentecostal) from Australia

An African Episcopal Methodist Bishop from Florida

A Lutheran from Brazil

Here is something that I have been noticing – we are a bunch of introverts! Well, not me, but everyone else. It is like pulling teeth to get people to open up and talk to me and I’m sure it isn’t the way I look. I removed my plastic fangs and fake extra-long fingernail just to be sure. It could be the big palm branch welt on my face.

I have been asking questions, lots of questions. That is how you get to know someone and find something to talk about, by asking lots of questions about that person. It usually makes that person feel pretty good about themselves as well to have all that attention. What I have been finding is that people have not been asking me lots of questions. I ask a question, get a one word answer, and that is it. It is like talking to a room of teenagers. I understand that a lot of it may be the language, but that excuse can only go so far. Some of it is that many of these people already know each other, have relationships from past events, and I can understand the reticence. Why share when you already have friends.

 I don’t have any friends 

---pause---AWWWW---pause---

so for the sake of survival I need to talk to people. But pity-party aside, we are here to break down walls between churches, especially between Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and the more traditional (boring) churches. Everyone will need to work, and that work will be hard for such walls to be broken. Yet once again the sin of complacency becomes a downfall for God’s work.

Ok, that was a little harsh so I’ll soften it up a bit. Until we are all willing to take chances as individuals and as denominations we will continue to spiral in our navel-gazing despair ignoring the movement of the Holy Spirit. Was that softer?

Indonesia 1 - What! No Icebreakers!

Here is part one for real. It counts this time because I finally made it to Indonesia, and I actually talked to other people from other countries and other churches. Let’s see if I can remember everyone I talked to:

The Lutheran(s) from Sweden

The Presbyterian from India

The Salvation Army person from London

The Dominican Nun from Chicago (that’s a foreign country, right?)

The Para-church Evangelical from North Carolina

The Methodist from Connecticut who works in NYC and (no big surprise), knows the Reverend Dr. Donald Anderson.

I also talked to a man in a purple shirt, which I guess means he is a bishop, and two other men dressed all in black. I’m told they are also bishops. All three are from the Middle East (one from Egypt) – I’ll make it a point to get to know them a little better in the week.

Tonight, very soon, we all are going to the Governor of Sulawesi’s home for dinner. It will just be a cozy dinner of the Governor, his family, and about 300 of us. I’ll say “hi” to him from all you Rhode Island fans of Sulawesi.

So far the conversation is fairly superficial, which is to be expected when people are just meeting. Maybe I’ll just start doing what I do and pushing ideas, queries, and wonderings. If you see me running from a bunch of angry bishops, Salvation Army chaps, Lutherans, and others on the news tomorrow night, you’ll know why.

I only got to take a couple of pictures on the ride to the convention center and the hotel. The area reminded me of La Romana in the Dominican Republic – clearly not overwhelmed with riches. Poverty is everywhere, and looks very similar everywhere you see it. The convention center looks nothing like the neighborhood.

I’ll try take more and more pictures, but I don’t want people to freak out and think I am a stalker… at least not yet anyway.

Christians of the World, Start Talking About Uniting and Stuff!

Next week I am going to be in Manado, Indonesia attending the Global Christian Forum. It goes without saying that I am very excited to be going to Indonesia for the first time. For some reason I missed the sixth grade bus trip to Jakarta and have never been able to go to the country made up mostly of islands (over 17,500 of them).

Not only am I excited to be going to Indonesia I’m also excited to participate in this conference. The purpose of this conference is to bring together Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and boring Christians like me and to talk about Christian unity. I have to be honest, for some time I thought the conversation about Christian unity had gotten pretty predictable, tepid, and banal. In my estimation, such efforts consisted of talking about the wonderful diversity we have at the table, how we are all concerned for the least of the world, and ho we can put aside our differences to help out the needy. Usually we end by sing some Phil Collins rip-off praise song, holding hands and looking off to the horizon with a glint in our eyes – isn’t it just great to be a Christian?

Well, apparently there is more to unity than this. Some people don’t like Phil Collins rip-off praise songs (gasp!) and prefer U2 rip-off praise songs. Some people don’t want to focus so much on feeding the least but instead of saving their souls (don’t get me started on the issue of the soul – I don’t want to get into the Hellenistic influence on Christianity leading to a dualistic view of reality, i.e. body vs. spirit thus showing that Tertullian was right – don’t get me started). Us boring Christians would like to respond to the soul-savers and say, “sure, we think that is important, but not on an empty stomach.” The reality is that we really do not do much towards that type of ministry which looks to gain conversions for Christ (and for bragging rights).

So these other Christians who like to jump and yell and get excited for Jesus go and save souls and their churches are growing like mushrooms under my kids’ slide after a rainy day. I’m not saying that numbers are everything, but maybe they are onto something?

I guess there is something more that needs to be said and I am excited to hear what that might be. I will do my best to avoid being boring (too late) and to contribute something to the conversation. I will also be excited to be in Indonesia. I am especially excited to be headed to Indonesia because right now I am sitting in a train headed to New Jersey.  

Keep an eye on this blog (keep the other on the podcast blog), and watch for updates. Maybe they will be interesting, maybe I will share a powerful revelation and epiphany that I have, or maybe I will spend the entire time in the hotel room curled up in a ball trying to recover from food poisoning/malaria/typhoid, or anything else. Regardless, it should make some great writing.

Postscript - The picture is me in the Singapore Airport after 26 hours of flight from Newark, New Jersey to LA, to Tokyo, Japan to Singapore. During that time I have read articles from the Atlantic, Harpers, Newsweek, and Christian Century. I have finished one book and I have watched 8 movies. I still have 5 more hours of waiting until I fly for 3 more hours and finally reach my destination. I haven't had a full night's sleep, I don't even know the difference between day and night. Don't I look like I'm ready to represent American Baptists? (Roy Medley, if you are reading this right now, aren't you wishing you asked someone else?)

A Nice and Comfortable Theology

I just read this interesting article from the World Council of Churches about harmful theology and helpful theology. It is a very good consideration of how destructive some theological ideas can be to those who are suffering. Read it, there will be a test! Just a thought - how does one turn or change theological assumptions of a community? It is like asking a community to change it's value systems, or basic conceptions of reality. I agree with the change in theological direction, yet wonder if it can be done. I think this is an important question because there are many churches and Christian communities here in the United States that practice their faith on what I would describe as harmful and destructive theological presuppositions. I know you want examples, but because this is an off the cuff post and initial reaction to an article, and I am feeling wussy right now I won't give in. Instead you can just think of the things you don't like and assume that is what I am talking about.

New Podcast Episode

For your listening enjoyment, episode 7 of Charley and my podcast is up, we focus on the difference between Sacraments and Ordinances, answer listener mail, and continue with "watcha reading." Check it out at 12enough.libsyn.com or on itunes at 12enough.

Now Everybody Hug and Pretend You Like Each Other

I have finally finished reading MacIntyre's After Virtue, and gosh darn it, I'm pretty proud of myself. I think I mentioned the book on the podcast and did not recommend it for the layperson, or even the unambitious undergraduate student. It is not an easy read. Actually, I am afraid that someone within those two categories will read it and find it very easy and I will feel stupid. So don't read it. It is too hard. It is beyond us all! Run in fear from the dreaded After Virtue.

For some information about MacIntyre's project, see my previous posts. There is to much going on for me to encapsulate in one snide blogpost, so I will pull out one aspect of the book that led me to think. As a community we need to be clear about our values, ideals, and identity.

Again, one of MacIntyre's major points of complaint is of individualism; the individual comes before the society. Thus there is not a sense of a common task or shared goals of a community, rather it is of individuals. "What is best for me?" comes before "What is best for the community?" This will lead to conflict within a community among individuals, or so claims MacIntyre. I tend to agree, because often what is best for me is that you not have that big piece of chocolate cake. Instead I should have it.

If only we had a sense of direction as a group of people, a community.

Might one suggest that the Church could have a sense of direction, a goal, a purpose? Maybe those writings in that Bible thingy and the ideas of that Jesus guy can give us a sense of direction and purpose. Maybe we can say, in light of our understanding of the Gospel as understood through Jesus Christ, what is best for our church community. Ah but it is not as easy as we would think for we in churches would have to actually talk to each other and come to some kind of agreement of our sense of identity and shared values in response to Christ. We would have to agree on things like baptism, mission, preaching, social witness, etc. Yes, we would have a sense of our identity as a community and might be better positioned to grapple with different issues. Yes, as a community we may have a sense of purpose, but what about my own personal, individual needs?

DC Trip part 5

Last Day with the Kids -

On the last day there was water. Lots of clear, chlorinated water. And in the water was one pasty white pastor and a bunch of kids kicking and splashing and bobbing around in life jackets (along with a number of other adults). The kids love swimming! It was an indoor pool but that didn't seem to matter. No sand or beach, but that didn't seem to matter. The kids just loved to swim, and it was a lot of fun.

We also did crafts, storytelling, and music with the kids which went well.

We had our final meal, our closing session where we didn't get to officially say good-bye, and that was the end of our adventure in DC.

Today (Saturday) we are packing to get back on the train and go home. It has been a long week. I think it is to soon to try to sum up what the week was about or like. That and the fact that I am still a little groggy and foggy is keeping me from writing something brilliant and insightful about the week. For now, find comfort in the idea that it was a good week for our group and hopefully for the kids as well.

DC Trip part 4

Day 4 with the kids

This day was another "ordinary" day kids, meaning we didn't have any field trips. Overall it was a good day. We went to a different park - a much older one with fountains, statues, and tall, old trees offering a good amount of shade. No swings, no playground, but still a better park. Just as I saw at the bowling alley, I saw how these kids act much older than they really are until they have an opportunity to be a kid and act their own age. When it came to feeding ducks, or watching water flow, or climbing statues, they are little children all over again. It is almost as if they are forced to repress their age appropriate urges in order to survive.

While at the park I played a game of football. For those who know me, this is a big deal.


The afternoon was rotations of music, arts, and storytelling. From what I heard those all went well. The younger children love crafts and music. The older kids are done with those things, so they were invited to help cook and they jumped right in. They loved working in the kitchen, and helping. One of the really young kids, one who caused trouble multiple times asked if he could was the dishes. Again, it was an opportunity to see them act as kids.

In storytelling I tried over and over to share the different path that Jesus walked. I am shocked at how many of the kids did not know about the story of Jesus or make the connection that he could have resisted his crucification but didn't. They need to hear the story of Christ, but not just the story of his death and resurrection and what that means to them. They need to hear the whole story of the different way Jesus lived, the way of peace, love, and acceptance, because then the cross will have that much more power.

I think that is probably one of the biggest challenges to being a Christian overall - you are called to live a different way than the way the world calls you to live. For those of us in more comfortable environments it is not as obvious, but for those people living in urban, poor, and violent situations, the counter-cultural nature of Christ is a very real path that leads to a very real life of persecution. Yet as I was telling the 10-12 year old kids on this day, the path of Christ leads to life. The other path leads to a very real death. Still, it is not an easy choice to make.

Finally, some of us went to look at some more monuments. The WWII monument is grand and powerful. Viet Nam is quietly powerful and tragic.

enjoy some more pictures:

DC Trip part 3

DC Trip - Day Two with the children.
"That's it, no more mr. nice guy!"
That was the mantra for the beginning of the day. Monday was a lot of chaos and by golly we would not tolerate such an experience on Tuesday. I'm happy to say that we did not have to put up with the crazy chaos, the insanity, or the angry retorts at the same level we experienced on Monday.
The day started with a nice long trip to the park, taking as much time as possible, and then playing standard park games - throwing stones at other kids, soccer in a small grassy area, and taking turns on the swings. There were two swings for about 20 kids so everybody got to take a turn. Isn't sharing fun? Aside from one violent outburst that made people cry, the day went pretty well.
On the way back I got to have a long conversation with one boy on why it is actually good to forgive people and walk away. He was sure that the best thing to do would be to get revenge no matter what. I don't know if I convinced him.
In the afternoon we had our rotations - music, art, and storytelling. For the first time kids sat still and listened to me! Now if I could only find something good to say. Overall the kids were good for everyone and it was a good day. For dinner I enjoyed Ethiopian cuisine with some of the other youth (see picture). At our return we saw a broken door leading us to think that maybe someone broke into the church. Everyone was very nervous except for me. I was so tired that I pretty much slept through the whole thing - not very helpful.

enjoy some pictures

Day three with the children - bowling.
On the third day there was a Metro ride, bowling, and no kids lost or hurt! At the bowling alley we saw the kids acting in a way appropriate for their age for the first time. It was good to see. The field trip made for an easier day over all and that was nice.

Later in the evening, at dinner we made silly faces trying to imitate one person in the group - I wont say who, but it wasn't me. His initials are J.D.C.

Overall it has been a very good two days. We have been trying to let the kids know that God loves them and that we love them. I don't think that is a message they often hear. I have been trying to teach Bible stories and am surprised at how much they do not know. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and I am very realistic and aware that we are only just starching the surface.

DC Trip part 2

Day 2 - started with worship. The music was grand. The preaching was great. A good time was had by all. NBMC is an ethnically mixed congregation with a predominately African-American style of worship. Hence the great music.

Following worship we were oriented. Apparently orientation here is when they tell you about all of the trouble kids, what they do that will push your buttons, and why you need to be a big meanie. Oh, and make sure they don't push each other on the train tracks when taking the subway.

With such lovely thoughts dancing on our minds we went to see some of the Smithsonians. Natural History! Air and Space! THe National Gallery of Art (not actually a Smithsonian, but close enough)! Hooray for free stuff.

The evening ended with Pastor Darin singing some throwback David Lee Roth song about Paradise with the cashier at a 5 Guys and a Burger place.

Day 3 - The adventure really begins.
Today we met the kids. I think they were very smart because they arrived in small spurts; one, two, or three at a time. We had the wonderful opportunity to connect with them via card games, but nothing for money.

Breakfast, circle time, and then…chaos! Normally the kids go to the park in the morning but it was hot. Very, very hot. So we thought it might be better to bring them all into a big room and let them yell and scream and run and use our parachute. So far no fatalities so things were good.

After taking some kids to a different room to play soccer things settled down a bit and we were good until lunch.

Lunch - boxed government food. Need I say more?

Then frustration and an attempt in futility. Some of us were supposed to sing with the kids. Some were doing crafts. I was supposed to lead storytelling. But what happened was a lot of, "are you listening? Sit down. Stop calling her 'ugly.' Sit down. Are you listening?" and so on and so forth. Needless to say it was a little discouraging. But overall all, aside from the throwing of balls at us, the posturing and fighting between 5 year olds, and the random pouring of juice on the floor it was a pretty good day.

We got a wake up call telling us that this is not going to be anything like we thought. We were prepared for difficult, but need to amp up our game.

In the end, we still talked about Jesus. Told the kids that God loves them, and tried to get across the idea that there are other ways to live your life. Today we are going to try even harder to talk about Jesus, God's love, and the way of peace that we are called to walk. Everything else is secondary.

DC Trip part 1

Made it to Washington DC for our youth group mission trip. We are staying at the National Memorial Baptist Church

and will be working with a day camp all week. Right now it is pretty late, so I am not going to write much. I'm waiting for the church motion dictator to go off so I can turn it off. Apparently this is important, and if I miss this dogs will come out full steam, ready to attack and scare me into loving Jesus with all of my -----. So here I sit.

What have I learned so far. Well, seeing as how I just got here I guess I could say that I learned that the train is awesome, that subways are ok, and that it is hot. So hot that… (you fill out the rest).

Oh, and the escalators don't work and we had to climb up the Mt. Everest of escalators. Kinda hurt.

Also the kitchen smells, but that's not so bad. And finally, people are leaving Egypt on UFOs, or at that is what the guy on the corner was shouting.

Less Worship, More Voting!

Reflections on a Biennial

So I realized that the last post wasn’t very funny, and if I’m not funny then no one will want to read this and I’ll lose all of my readers and then I’ll lose my sponsorship, and then my children will have to go work in the factory for a penny a day so that we can continue to eat food (as opposed to eating non-food). I will do my upmost to make my reflections on the ABC Biennial humorous, or at least slightly amusing.

Here is one big take-away: worship services are long. I know my church folks complain about my sermons from time to time and I don’t heed their complaints to much, yet when you have one or two services every day the length starts to get very noticeable. Granted, the sermons, the music, the readings, and many other things were very good, but very long.

Another take-away: Puerto Rico is very hot and very cold. Outside it was muggy and warm. Inside the air conditioning was blasting. Maybe next time we should make sure our Biennial does not happen concurrently with the Penguin Convention.

One more take-away: don’t over-sell your point. Some of you may remember my post from the Biennial two years ago when the by-laws for the denomination did not pass. This year one person, a regional executive minister who is very unassuming, spoke fairly freely about the by-laws, the listening they did in the two years, and the changes that were made. There were statements made for and against and then the vote passed with 44 against around 500 for making 92% in favor of the motion. This is very different from two years ago.

What happened was they (the leadership of the denomination) did not force the sell and listened to representatives from churches. I suppose there is some kind of lesson that can be learned, but I refuse to listen to anyone who my think they know what that lesson might be.

Can Baptists do Theology?

Reflections on a Theology Conference

On July 23 and 24 I attended a Baptist conference on Theology in Puerto Rico. It was specifically for American Baptists.

It was refreshing to be able to talk openly and freely about being American Baptist from a theological perspective. I didn’t have to explain the difference between American Baptists and other kinds of Baptists, I didn’t have to explain terms like “soul freedom,” or “church autonomy,” and I didn’t have to talk in a fluffy, pastoral way about the importance of identity, credentials, or history.

Here is one basic take-away: we need to claim who we are, our identity.

All of the plenary speakers, Townes, Leonard, and Ramirez all spoke to the ideas of sharing stories, claiming history, and claiming a memory that looks to liberate narrative and symbols. So often our idea of what it means to be American Baptist is based on our memory from the past 50 years when we have more than 400 years to pull from.

Here is where I look smart – MacIntyre’s book, After Virtue, talks about the narrative of the community informing the identity and the virtues of the individual. The community has a story about moving towards the good (doing the right thing) and in those stories we find a continuity of virtues guiding actions. The individual has a history in the community and is shaped by his or her personal history as well as the narrative and history of the community.

We are Christians. We are Baptists. We are American Baptists. We have a story, an identity, and it is right to let them shape who we are and how we live.

Fluffy God-Language

It has been six full days that I have now been here in Puerto Rico. One would think that I have been having a great time, but I have been in meetings, bathing in the florescent lights and breathing the conditioned, forced air.

Even now I am sitting in a meeting. This is fun, fun, fun.

In the General Board meetings I am hearing again and again how the denomination has many issues, challenges, and difficulties before it. Churches are shrinking, giving has decreased, passion for the Gospel has diminished, and the denomination is spiraling in what seems to be a destructive cycle.

The conversation has been interesting because we look at the bottom line, the finances, and the structural/institutional challenges before us and things look dim. Yet on the other hand we are a religious organization/creature and we bring theological language into the mix again and again. Here are some of the things have I heard:

“There is a future for what God has promised us…”
“God tells us, do not be afraid…”
“The Holy Spirit is working with us…”
“The grace of Jesus is all we need….”
“God is still walking with us…”

These phrases suggest a sense of hope on the unrealistic. If one where to bring a business model with such phrases as justification for the risks taken as well as assurance that things would go well we would be laughed at. Yet we are a people of faith and we need to have one foot in the grace and faith of God through Christ.

It is not easy to hold onto passion and faith in these meetings. The lighting and the artificial air makes it difficult to hold to a sense of faith and God’s presence. That is the moment when the institution arises and the faith and passion dies.

This is what will kill us so it is important to hold onto our faith and to be unrealistic as best we can. Maybe one of those pie-in-the-sky statements about God holds some truth…
 

Loving the Living with Baptists in Puerto Rico

I have now been at the ABC/USA Biennial for two full days and here are my vitals:
I still have a pulse
I still love Jesus
I still love being a pastor
I still love being a Baptist
Vials are good. Things are going well.

I started by participating with the gathering of Baptist theologians and scholars. I heard a number of very good papers, and had the opportunity to share my own paper. I suppose at some point I am going to have to say something about all that, but not just yet. Overall, that was a very good experience.

The Biennial started in earnest on Friday afternoon with a sermon and presentation about missional church (a catchy term for something that has been happening for a long time), followed by a dinner hosted by the Unity Committee on which I sit, and then evening worship. All were good enough.

The highlight of the evening was the Morehouse College Glee Club. I have to be honest, there are not many times during worship experiences at these that I feel moved or connected, but this time I was. They were powerful, they were sincere in their singing, and they were f*ckin awesome! It was good to have a moment when I could let go of having a “convention” mentality and simply worship.

Today starts another day of Baptist hoopla. I am sure it is going to be just fine. But then again, I woke up with a headache and we are voting on the proposed ABCUSA bylaws. That does not bode well.

New Blog Link

Steve Harmon posted a very nice link about my dissertation on his blog, so in return for the favor I am putting the link to his site on the "blogs I like..." list.

Its a 3-Way!

Pentecost is here. We all know what that means: we get to focus on the Holy Spirit! Hooray! We know what else that means – the following week is Trinity Sunday. Fun, fun, fun!

I find it interesting that the Trinity, something that is held as a central part of Christianity, is something that is seldom taught in Protestant churches (I can’t speak for Catholics). More often than not I find parishioners struggling with the idea of the Trinity, not really understanding the need or necessity of such a convoluted doctrine. I have even had conversations with other pastors who suggest that the doctrine of the Trinity was a historical necessity but is no longer contextually, socially, or theologically relevant .

Every Pentecost I hear the whining and lamenting that we don’t spend enough time teaching the Holy Spirit but I don’t hear the whining that we lack the time and teaching about the Trinity. Yet I don’t think the majority of parishioners understand or appreciate the complex nuances in Trinitarian theology. What good is knowledge of the Holy Spirit without an understanding of the Trinity?

If pushed against the wall about having Jesus be God, then we must be polytheists, or have a hierarchy between God and Jesus taking away from the importance of the cross, or we need to have a Trinity of mutual indwelling. Or we can take away the divinity of Christ and things get very easy to explain except for the role and importance of the cross. The Trinity is important.

Of course I’m not just complaining about the lack of Trinitarian knowledge but theological, Biblical, and historical knowledge over all. We just happen to be coming up on Pentecost and Trinity Sunday so that is where my griping will lead. You will note that I am griping but not explaining the nuances and complexities of Trinitarian theology. Maybe next time.

If You Don't Go to Church Then You are Going To...

Down with church-shopping!

I say this for a couple of reasons. First, it just doesn’t do well for my self-esteem. I feel much better about myself when people visit my church and then stay there. You don’t need to go elsewhere, I have everything you need right here, so why keep looking? I guess it is ok when people leave other churches to check out my church, but otherwise I am against it.

Heh

A more serious reason why we need to be careful with church shopping and poor attendance is that when people jump from church to church they never become a part of a community. If someone is not a consistent part of a community than that person does not learn the values and virtues (and theology) of that community. That individual will not grow.

I have recently been engaged in a “conversation” on Facebook with a whole bunch of Baptist pastors concerning style and aesthetics of worship vs. theology of worship. Obviously a stodgy individual like myself will be for theology over anything fun, beautiful, or moving.

As I have been following the conversation and offering my humble thoughts from time to time I have noticed a theme suggesting the notion that in a well thought-out and crafted service the theology will be implicit. One need not lecture theological doctrine or force people to memorize creeds. The people worshipping will embrace the theology of the community, probably unknowingly, and will live out that theology.

I’m still plowing through MacIntyre’s After Virtue and just read the following statement which is apropos:

…morality is always to some degree tied to the socially local and particular and that the aspiration of the morality of modernity to a universality freed from all particularity is an illusion; and second that there is no way to possess the virtues except as part of a tradition in which we inherit them… (third edition, 126-127)

So here is the kicker. If we are not a consistent part of a local tradition, engaged in the practices on a regular basis, then we will not know or understand the morality/theology of that community. To shop around, or have spotty attendance is a decidedly a-theological move that will lead to an atrophy of faith. Yes, people will enjoy the spectacle of worship from time to time, but the grammar of the community/faith will never be learned.

So go to church, damnit! Preferably mine, but if you must, find some other one, make a commitment, and try to get there on a regular basis. Unless, of course, you are happy with your less then mediocre relationship with Christ.

You're Not Going to Like This

I am sure that there are a million plus blog posts, commentaries, and thoughts on this subject, and I don’t like to be a part of the popular stream. Yet something about the very recent news of Osama Bin Laden’s death has moved me and I feel that I should write something for the three or four of you that read this.

It is more about the reaction than anything else that moves me. So I am writing a reaction to a reaction.

What I would like to offer is a Christian response to this news. This is not a flag-waving-country-loving-yellow-ribbon-patriotic response, but a response that comes out of the life, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In a word, I grieve. I grieve because with the death of Bin Laden something is lost. It is not that I am lamenting the absence of Bin Laden on this planet. He was someone who was very twisted, who was full of hatred and blind because of his rage. I am lamenting the loss of the possibility of reconciliation.

This is what the cross is about, humanity being reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is assurance of our reconciliation and such reconciliation should be shared through humanity. We are called to reconcile our hurts, wounds, and pains with each other and with God.

Maybe you say that such a call for reconciliation is only among Christians, but I will look to such parables as the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son as examples of taking the outsider in. If all people are God’s children, and if all are divine in the eyes of God, then there was a potential for grace in Bin Laden. Yes, he is responsible for some of the most heinous actions in current human memory and he needed to be held accountable for such actions but death takes away the potential for reconciliation.

Perhaps some of you feel that such reconciliation was impossible, but so was the resurrection and we have been celebrating that for two weeks now.

I’m not blaming the military – from what it sounds like, they did what they could to capture him and the level of engagement made a live capture impossible. I’m not blaming the government for it is a system that works on a different set of values and morals than we do. I don’t think there is anyone I can or should blame. What I am doing is lamenting the jubilation that many people, people who profess to be Christians, are embracing.

We live in a broken, violent world. 9/11 was a horrific symptom of that brokenness. The violent death of Bin Laden is a symptom of that brokenness. So as a Christian I cannot rejoice or celebrate on this day but grieve the violence, the hatred, and the loss of hope that we all find ourselves apart of.

May God’s kingdom come, and may it come soon.

Your Kinda Basic Sorta Standard Easter Post

I suppose I should write something about Easter and resurrection and stuff since it is that time of year. I recently heard another pastor say that the person/revelation of Jesus as the Christ was so powerful that for the disciples his presence was always felt even after Jesus’ death. So in a sense that Christ’s presence is always felt he rose again. A real resurrection probably did not occur.

Hmm…

How does one preach such an idea on Easter? Does one preach that the idea of Jesus beat death and the values of Jesus were continued past his life? Instead of saying, “Christ is risen,” we can yell, “the presence of Christ continues with us,” and the response will be, “in such a way that we are led to believe that Christ rose from the dead.” Powerful stuff.

I was raised in a liberal context, studied liberal theology, and understand this line of thinking but I cannot follow that path. Such an idea, to me, takes power out of the resurrection and does not make Jesus that much more different than other greats in our history. Beyond that, such a way of looking at the resurrection does not put power in God’s hands. This is power of hope over despair and forgiveness over sin. Now I am not ascribing to an atonement theology (gasp!), but instead one that assures me that no matter how much I fall, God will not let me go. God can break through any barrier I produce in my life.

So for me, in order to embrace the hope, grace, and life, Christ did rise, he had to rise from the dead.

Now I do not believe that faith and truth need always intersect; I turn to the Bible as an authoritative source of my faith but I do not believe everything in the Bible to be true (double gasp!). So I do not know if the resurrection of Jesus really happened, but that is not important. What really happened and what I believe may or may not be the same thing. What I believe is that Christ did rise from the dead and I won’t waste my time with archeological digs, historical documents, and the like. I’m not a Biblical scholar, I’m a theologian and my place is in the realm of ideas. What I will spend my time on is thinking what the resurrection means to me, to others, to churches; what does it mean that Christ did raise from the dead. My liberal friend is looking for a way to connect truth with faith assuming a resurrection is not possible – this is not a healthy road to walk.

I know, this truth and faith dichotomy does not make much sense, but the truth is I cannot prove God exists, I cannot prove that there is grace, I cannot prove that Jesus is God incarnate, so I need to rest in faith in order to hold to these beliefs.

So by now I should have ticked off the liberals, shocked the conservatives, and confused the empiricists and the realists. Truth is held by the community my friends, sit with that and have a happy Easter.

Podcast!

Well the Podcast is finally online. Again, you can check out the blog at 12enough.blogspot.com
Hear the Podcast at itunes - 12enough
or link to the website: 12enough.libsyn.com

I'm Right Because I Can Yell Louder!

There are a couple of things I could comment on – maybe the brouhaha about painting pink toenails on a boy. My 5 year old has had purple fingernails for the past week, at his request, so I guess I am an abusive parent.

I’ve been looking at the idea of creation and the Kingdom of God in the New Testament, but that is old hat.

My sister gave a very powerful testimony at a church last week showing the power and theology of and in narrative.

But I think I will talk about close-minded liberals.

This past weekend another one of my sisters (not the testimony giving one) got married. It was a different ceremony than I am used to, a lot of emphasis on Ephesians 5 and the idea that the husband is the head of the household. My response: if that is what they want then good for them.

I shared this with the local clergy group the other day, noting that it was not my theological or liturgical cup of tea but not condemning it when one pastor asked me if there was a place from where I could make theological objections (or something like that). I think he was pushing my passive acceptance of the patriarchal model of marriage. After some conversation I asked him and the others if they thought such a marriage could be considered Christian; all (not including the Rabbi, she abstained) said no. One person proceeded to describe such a model for marriage as evil. They all said that they would not allow such a marriage to occur in their church.

Here is the thing. These people are very passionate about marriage equality and a Christian acceptance of gay marriage. There is a lot of complaining about those “conservatives” who will not open their minds and accept gay marriage as a very Christian act. That is all fine and good, but how can they then say that a different model of marriage, which many other Christians embrace, is not Christian and even evil? How is their close-minded approach to one view of scripture any different from the “conservative” approach? Something doesn’t smell right with this.

Ok, here is where we have some fun. I’ve started to read After Virtue by MacIntyre. I’ve only read the first three chapters but from that much I have found that he is working hard to convince the reader that the major approach of morality ethics today is one of emotivism. Very, very basically this approach says that truth is subjective but presented in an objective way. His example, “This is good,” really is “I experience this as good and want you to do the same.” MacIntyre is claiming that our morality is based on such a subjective, experiential approach. So what I encountered with my liberal colleagues was a response steeped in emotivism even as they would claim that their response was scripturally and theologically sound.

So the moral is: don’t be so sure of yourself because you are probably wrong.

New Post and Podcast

Well, the podcast is coming soon, but there is a post on the related blog: 12enough.blogspot.com

read and enjoy!

Guns n' Jesus

I couldn't think of anything good that rhymed with "roses"


Check this out, I’m going to connect gun control and the Lord’s Supper. Ready?

I read today in a past Christian Century (March 8, 2011) that a number of states are considering laws to make it legal to bring a gun to places of worship. It is no surprise that many pastors are for these laws and many pastors are against these laws. What I found interesting is that those who spoke against such laws used the same reasoning that others use for allowing guns in public spaces. People could get hurt. There may be a lot of confusion. Cops wouldn’t know who the “bad guy” was. Don’t bad guys wear a black turtleneck and a robber mask (or ski mask)?

No one said anything about the theological implications connected with having a gun in church. What does it say when we feel that as we pray to and worship Jesus we think it is important to have armed guards around us, protecting us? Perhaps we are missing the irony that as we look to Jesus, who did die on the cross, we can handle the piece strapped to our thigh. Yes, it is a good, a very good statement to allow guns in church. It says a lot about our trust in God and our commitment to Jesus (note the dripping sarcasm).

I have also been thinking about inclusion and the Lord’s Supper for a theological group I’m in (Rhode Island Baptist Theological Circle – second oldest in the country!). One of the issues that come up with inclusion is uniformity of belief. If we have different people believing different things can we all continue to gather around the table? Put aside all of your trans-con-omni-theology of the elements and enjoy the glory of a Baptist approach for a moment with such a question.

While we say it is a memorial act, there is a communal aspect to the act as we gather around the table. In the ritual of the Lord’s Supper I would argue that there is a moment that we are all experiencing the kingdom of God in our actions, if we all hold to similar beliefs. These beliefs are broad (believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior), but important to bind us as a community. Now, if someone feels that a gun is a necessary part of the worshipping community I think they are missing a large part of the idea of the kingdom and the Lordship of Jesus Christ and will not be full in communion with others at the table. Guns (or any weapon for that matter) have no place at the table of the Lord.

Granted I have made a number of theological leaps in this post, but that is the joy of blogging. It was pretty impressive how I went from gun control to the Lord’s Supper, wasn’t it?

Body Sculpting

I have started to till the land for my garden and I am a little sore. It is almost as if my body is protesting the work and telling me to just get in the car and drive to the grocery store. There are vegetables there ready for the picking.

We are victims of and servants to our bodies. This is in part the argument that Hervé Juvin makes in his book The Coming of the Body. In the introduction Juvin states, “…that body has established itself over and above our individual and collective choices. It has taken power,” (ix). Our longevity of life, our emphasis on appearance, our values focused on health and the way we treat our body are all relativity new innovations, or so Juvin states. We are free to chose our own skin color, our hair color, our sexuality, and the way we look – the body has demand our focus and attention.

I think Juvin has a point and it is a good one. I do think we focus on our bodies. Our bodies are an economical commodity and a marketplace all of its own. Yet on another level I wonder if we focus on our bodies enough.

We control and shape our bodies so much that they are no longer real. Our bodies are fabricated. What if we went for a day or two without deodorant and just dealt with the smell? What if we spent time writing letters with a pen and paper (gasp!) and allowed our arm to get sore? What if we sat through a worship service and listened to the music (good or bad) and the sermon (good or bad) and let our cheeks grow numb? What if we accepted our impending baldness and the growing softness of our belly? Then the body will still be a part of our lives, but not in the same way.

Juvin does make this point that we have controlled our bodies to a point where suffering and pain are seen as completely negative and void of any redeeming values. He calls us to suffer with our bodies, if only for a little bit. I agree. So, you can stop suffering through this blog post and get off your butt and walk to your next thing. Go outside and get dirty and then don’t shower. Write me a letter about how much you hate writing letters. But please, keep your deodorant!

So Tell Me, How Does It Feel?

How do you talk about spirituality or sacramentality with Baptists? It is not an easy thing to do because so many Baptists were brought up understanding a spiritual moment as the climax in the sermon leading into the altar call, or that one private moment of conversion, or listing to the Gathers sing. It is a very narrow view of spirituality and spiritual moments. I would argue that we have a deeper spirituality that can be seen in many aspects worship, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, ordination, and other aspects of Christian life. Although we don’t like to use the word, “sacramentality” because it sounds to Catholic and we certainly don’t want to be seen as popish, it does look to a deeper, more developed view of an awareness of God’s presence in the world. Finally, thanks to Schleiermacher and his caustic liberal agenda, the topic itself tends to be so individualistic that it can be difficult to speak of spirituality on a communal level.

Rather than addressing spirituality directly it may be better to address it from different angles. Perhaps if one were to talk about spirituality as it is perceived in the sermon, the Lord’s Supper, ordination, etc., one would have various avenues to follow towards this central question. This is what I am going to try to do, to look at one part of Baptist life at a time and then to look at the spirituality of each part of life.

Not an easy task, not a short project, but one that should have solid depth.

So next I will look at William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience to get ideas on how one might articulate the spiritual experience in a Protestant/Baptist experience. Stay tuned, and keep singing, “Just as I Am” until you are ready to come forward and accept Jesus into your hear.

Be Careful What You Say

I just read a very articulate and interesting article by Miroslav Volf in The Christian Century (March 8, 2011) titled “Allah and the Trinity.” In this article Volf carefully responds to a number of objections Muslims traditionally have concerning the Christian Trinity pointing out that a large part of the problem is a misunderstanding of Christian doctrine. As he states, “The Qur’an’s objections do not address normative Christian beliefs about God.” I’m not going to get into the specifics of Volf’s article but instead urge people to read it. What I do want to point out is how important it is for people to be careful with their words when describing what they believe or ascribe to.

For example, Volf makes the point that there is a difference between stating “God was Christ” vs. “Christ was God.” The first suggests that God is a creature and the second suggests a sense of incarnation in the fully divine and human nature of Christ. It is a subtle but very important difference.

Our speech is so often very, very sloppy (myself included). We often spout out ideas without thinking over syntax and grammar and make statements that at best misrepresent ourselves and at worse lead to another round of crusades. This is why not only it is important to study our theology, but (and it pains me to say this as a Baptist) we should study the language of the early theologians, current theologians, and of the creeds. They contain statements that were carefully thought out and that hold great depth of meaning.

Maybe we like to put things in our own words, and that is fine. Just be sure that what you are saying is as accurate as what tradition offers if not better.

Afterthought: We need to take the grammar of Christianity seriously (hooray for Lindbeck, McClenden, and Wittgenstein), and we need to learn our history. I am not advocating for a liturgical use of creeds in Baptist life.

Keep it Short

A couple of things going on. The good Rev. Charley Eastman and I are going to be hosting a podcast starting in April. This is a part of my continuing effort to be as narcissistic as possible through the internet. Podcast name is 12enough, website is 12enough.com (it is not up and running so prepare for a let down), and the e-mail is 12ecast@gmail.com. We will also have a Facebook page. I will post something when the first episode is released – topic is Stryper and the Contemporary Christian Music world.

I’m slogging through Hervé Juvin’s The Coming of the Body. It is a good book that makes some alarming observations on today’s Western society and draws some even more alarming conclusions about the observations.

Working on a sermon series concerning spirituality and the arts. Last week we did music and this week it is the Fine Arts.

Finally, during the podcast Charley noted that my posts were a bit on the long side. Of course I will not change my blogging habits to please the masses, but maybe I will try to keep things a little more succinct.

So… this is probably long enough for now, but in case you wanted something meaty to chew on, here is a quote from Juvin’s book:

“The deprived and suffering body has become our performing one, a body for pleasure and an endless initiation into all the joys of living. And this body, its rhythm and its lifespan, are going to overturn our relations with money, our patrimony and provision for the future, as they have already overturned our relations with work, as they have already transformed our identity, our difference … and as they continue to do.”