No “Fat Tuesday” for these … they will always be with you …

The last Monday evening of each month you will find a group of young people serving. When it is very hot and when it is very cold they will be there. On the “Fat Tuesday Eve” they served. One of the men who helps coordinate our effort to feed the homeless, our Youth Pastor refers to them as “precious people”, noted the city of Oklahoma City is hoping to move these folks from the downtown area. He relayed some of the tactics employed.

Jesus said the poor would always be with us. Could it be they will be with us because we do nothing more than move them to more convenient places? Surely it could not mean they will be with us because we fail to hear his most basic call to “love our neighbors?” Doubtless Jesus meant we should go about our business of building cities and infrastructure so as to create more “exclusive” enclaves.

One of the ways we hope to instill the teaching of Jesus in our young people come from these very important “missional” practices. There are no complaints. We do not have to pull teeth. We are grateful to the folks at First Baptist Church Bethany for giving us the privilege of partnering with them. We pray the expression of the Kingdom of God has come to the least of these - and more than that, the Kingdom itself has come to them.

We reap what we sow … Grey’s Anatomy, the CP and the SBC …

If you have read for long you may know one of my favorite televisions series is Grey’s Anatomy. Some may find this odd for a pastor. Since the early days of this show I have been intrigued at the ways in which contemporary culture has been portrayed, critiqued and at the same time uneasily encouraged. Last night’s episode did not strike me as one of the best. However, the theme carried through on both obvious and subversive levels. In the words of “O’Malley”, “What did I do to deserve this (we reap what we sow)?” It could be argued much of the show carries this theme throughout. While many could not abide some of the themes, subjects and dialogue, it is good to know writers remain undeterred to press the theme of “reaping what we sow.”

For example, we cannot escape the ebb and flow of the relationship between “McDreamy” and Meredith. Their relationship began as a one night “hook-up.” Derek coming off a horrible experience of walking in on his wife’s infidelity and Meredith lonely. From there the story unfolds in a winding “Crash-esque” way. Apparently disconnected events become connected once the viewer puts pieces together. Now, Derek is making a go at reconciliation with his wife but there yet remains this unresolved romance with Meredith. Can a relationship endure infidelity? Is that not an age old human question?

Throw in Burke and Kristina living together, the clandestine encounters now a staple between Izzy and Alex and the often out of place O’Malley and it makes for an apt description of our culture. Many of our “culture warriors” may decry my infatuation with this show. I still find incredible themes running from episode to episode that offer interesting illustrations in the “real world.”

Grey’s is not fact but it is true. Life in our day does look much like the mess that is this series. And, we do reap what we sow.

When I read Marty’s post this morning and clicked the link to the Ethic’s Daily story referred to in the piece I could not help but think of last night’s episode of Grey’s and the recurring theme - “What did I do to deserve this (we reap what we sow)?” How dare I mingle such a show with the work of the SBC and the CP! Except it were a mess there may not be much reason for the connection.

Marty points to the BP article wherein the attempts to raise the awareness and participation in the CP. You can almost here the, “What did we do to deserve this?” Until it is acknowledged that we are where we are because we elected leaders who offered much less than stellar support for what may well be one of the greatest mission support cooperatives “EVER.” How is it that we came to this point? What did we do to deserve this?”

RANT WARNING!!!

I have regularly been told any consideration of alternate ways to support missions jeopardizes our missionaries. Is that not a guilt game? It is one I refuse to play. “What did they (missionaries) do to deserve this (the potential plunging support of the CP)? Nothing. That is, nothing more than to partner with a group whose leadership “took the CP for granted.’ Let’s rephrase that. “Ignored the CP.” I suspect (please dear reader understand this is my perception and I am not stating this as a fact) the truth is some of, if not all, these leaders used their displeasure with prior leadership (in the SBC) to send paltry percentages to the CP of the SBC. Now it has come home to roost. “What did we do to deserve this?” We ignored the one thing that brought us together (CP and Missions) when we elected our leaders. Why? Because we had to put forward “electable leaders.” Now we want to only elect leaders whose churches give 10% to the CP and we have the audacity to refer to it as the tithe of the church - talk about “extra-biblical.” Churches may well choose to give 10% to the CP but to suggest it the equivalent responsibility to tithing is a bit of a stretch if not manipulative.

RANT OVER!!!

I think there is a way forward together. It simply may require us to more honestly answer the question, “What did we do to deserve this?”

Humility … Prayers to keep us connecting to the humility of Jesus …

Bob Hyatt wrote this pieceafter reading the Liturgy of Humility.

(Thanks to Tommie for the pic.)

Prayer for Humility

From the desire to be esteemed,

Deliver us, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved by all…

From the desire to be honored …

From the desire to be praised …

Deliver us, Jesus.

From the desire of being preferred to others…

From the desire of being consulted …

From the desire of being approved …

Deliver us, Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated …

From the fear of being despised…

From the fear of suffering rebukes …

Deliver us, Jesus.

From the fear of being forgotten, ridiculed and wronged…

Deliver us, Jesus.

That I out of my riches may give to others in their poverty,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That I may know the depth of my own poverty

Jesus, grant me the grace to understand it.

That others may increase and I may decrease…

Jesus may it be.

Competing narratives … Dino does us a favor …

Life is contextual. We often speak as though we possess a great deal of objectivity. Occasionally we state the obvious influences in an attempt to work ourselves out of the subjective and into the objective. From our perceived position of objectivity we can make grand assertions as though we speak to some one about some thing authoritatively. We could call this the delusion of idealism. You know, the kind of posture wherein you take apart (deconstruct) something in hopes to find the essence. You strip it bear of all things considered periphery and look to live in the new found construct. The problem - we cannot complete the project because we ourselves are bound to our own context and some of the very influences we believe unimportant to consider may indeed be more important than we realize. Since we assume the position of authority, these blind spots become difficult if not impossible to see.

Take for example a recent post by my brother Paul. At the outset let me say I agree with him. We often talk about these very themes and issues. The reality of discovering the “enculturation” of the church leads many to the process of deconstruction in hopes of constructing something new out of something jumping, as it were, from the pages of the New Testament. The result is a form of ecclesial idealism. Maybe you have been or are there.

I recall an incident from college. The church to which we belonged experienced some rough times. An anonymous group designated itself, “The Committee to Restore (said church) to a New Testament Church.” Aside from the insidiousness of anonymity, it created the question for me, “Can we find such a church?” Now some years later serving a local church and taken part in my own periods of “deconstruction” and “reconstruction.’ I find it very difficult to think we can reduplicate what was surely embedded in a particular culture at a specific time and space. Is it realistic to think we can find that for which we look. Paul offers a couple of follow-up posts (here and here).

So, as I read a series of posts by Dino (#1, #2, #3), I thought this is at least one way forward for us. Can we address our own operative narratives and locate our stories in the narrative of Jesus? Certainly as Dino points out we will jettison competing cultural narratives like the American Dream. But, what other narratives of our own creation will compete for the narrative of Jesus?

Yes, I do realize the questions a post like this may well generate. But, in those dark nights of the soul, these questions come to me too.

Thanks Dino for sharing your story and the way in which the Story of God intersected you and how the narrative of Jesus re-creates your story.

Ascol posts, a battle ensues and IMonk (a.k.a. Michael Spencer) talks of contentions …

Last week Tom Ascol posted asking “What kind of person would make a good president of the SBC?” In the process a battle of sorts took place in the comment section. I do not recall ever seeing a blog post with nearly 300 comments (by the time you read this, there could be more though the commenting has slowed considerably at this writing). In many ways you might say a 16th Century debate came forward into the 21st Century. I am personally wondering how to articulate the difference between “Reforming Faith” (which seems to be the Reformation call - “always reforming”) and a “Reformed Faith.” (The rediscovery of a 16th Century expression of faith deeply contextual to that era brought forward with impunity into the present as though the Gospel of God had been hidden for 15 centuries.) I realize that last sentence and its accompanying parentheticals may bring both confusion to the reader and/or the charge of not understanding about that which I type.

IMonk (a.k.a. Michael Spencer) offers some thoughtful reflections in a series titled, “The Caner Contention.” He continues with - The Caner Contention II: Yes, There is a Problem, The Caner Contention III: Physician … Heal Thyself, The Caner Contention IV: The Future of a Missional Evangelicalism.

The Loss of Humanity … Who Will Stand for the Children? …

Baby boom! Our community of faith shares in the blessing of the gift of life. By the end of the day today we will have celebrated the safe arrival of three little ones in the last eight days and four in the last two months. These precious little ones came to mind as I read a quote on the front of Sunday’s edition of Parade Magazine that came in the Daily Oklahoman. The quote read,

No child is capable, emotionally or legally, of consenting to being photographed for sexual purposes. Thus, every image of a sexually displayed child - be it a photograph, a tape or a DVD - records both the rape of the child and an act against humanity. We must stop the hurt.

The article, “Let’s Fight This Terrible Crime Against Our Children,” written by Andrew Vachss, outlines the shift from child pornography as a hobby of pedophiles to a niche consumer industry spurred by the Internet that will generate several billion dollars a year. Vachss concludes the article with,

NOW THAT WE KNOW what child pornography really is, we can understand the monstrous danger it poses to children throughout the world. The question then becomes: What can we do? [He then lists five suggestions.]

First, we must raise the stakes. [a call to higher penalties]
Second, we must abolish the statute of limitations, both civil and criminal, on acts involving the production of child pornography.
Third, to further deter criminal syndicates, we must enact federal laws to allow the United States to sue on behalf of any as-yet-unidentified children depicted in seized child pornography.
Fourth, we must recognize that child pornography is an international crime.
Finally, we must acknowledge that a war cannot be fought without resources, and then demand that our legislators commit those resources.

I cannot help but picture Jesus with the children. When the disciples thought him too busy to engage the children, Jesus rebuked them and suggested, “the Kingdom is for such as these.” Eager trust marks the life of a child. For anyone to take advantage of children in any way treats them as less than human.

Vachss’ last paragraph,

Child pornography is a multi-victim crime and a mulitbillion-dollar business. We already know what children are “worth” to predatory pedophiles and criminal syndicates. Now is the time to show the world what they are worth to us.

Beyond proforma faith … private to public … out on the roof …

The gospel passage from the Revised Common Lectionary for today comes from Mark 2:1-12. Some may wonder what would possess a pastor to use the “Lectionary” living in a tradition generally disposed to selecting a text at random to exegete, follow on in a series centering on a particular subject, or verse-by-verse - book-by-book method for sermon preparation. I refer you to a piece by Chris Erdman. He also offers some great thoughts here. We began utilizing the Christian Seasons and the Lectionary nearly a year ago. (My tendency for more than fifteen years followed the pattern of my mentor who preached through a different book each service. For example, he may preach through Romans in the morning services and through Exodus in the evening services.) Weather forced us to cancel services and so I thought I would offer some thoughts on the text I we would have hosted this morning.

I remember growing up learning the story of the four who brought their friend to Jesus to be healed. Our Sunday School teacher re-created the story by making a cardboard house with a cut out in the roof through which we could let down a small cot/pallet. Fascinated by the distinct architecture that would allow such a feat kept enchanted us at the lengths to which someone would go to get a friend to Jesus. More than 30 years later, the story still intrigues me. Living in pitched roof houses with ceiling joists not to mention rafters or trusses distances us from the ingenuity displayed by the men in the story.

Mark, the gospel writer, unpacks his “thesis” statement, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” connecting important themes and illustrating through poignant contrasts. Last Sunday, Jason pointed out Mark’s distinction between healing and cleansing in the account of the leper near the end of chapter one. Cleansing the leper meant restoration. Exiled from family, community and the Temple meant a painful disconnect from life giving relationships.

The story of the paralytic presses us to consider more than a”proforma” faith. Today we suffer from expressionless faith; something little more than formality. Poll after poll illustrates little personal difference between those claiming faith in Jesus and those who do not. This in itself offers a staggering critique of both the message and the method declaring the Gospel of God today. Too many quickly dismiss any value in deconstruction. We spend too much time offering apologies to our critics that we find little time to be “self-critical.” Yet, if we consider the condition we are in we cannot help but underscore the need for something beyond a private faith with little reflective transformation.

Consider the possible conversations the five men must have had prior to attending the newly forming “church’ in Capernaum. We know Jesus’ home was Nazareth. How is it we now find it in Capernaum? Could this be the creation of a new “household” of faith? could Jesus be the One? What does it mean, “When Jesus saw their faith?” Some believe this refers to the four men. Others think it applies to the five. What exactly did Jesus see?

Read more

Slippery on the hill …

I am often asked about the name of our church. Questions about “hills” and “snow” in Oklahoma raise realistic questions as to the origin of the name, “Snow Hill.” We may get a couple of snows a winter and only occasionally more than an inch. We have some small “mountains” in Oklahoma but nothing when compared to the Rockies.

Our church does sit on what is considered a “hill” in northeast Grady County. So, early this morning when it began to sleet and drop freezing rain - yes, our meteorologists here in OK distinguish between the two - we knew we might have to cancel services. By 7:00 a.m. our parking lot was glazed and sand trucks were working the highway. We value our opportunities for corporate worship but thought safety the better judgment this morning.

We will look forward to next week.

The high road … will the IMB Trustees take the road less traveled? …

Many of us who pastor understand the humbling effects of a necessary apology. People who attend our churches expect near perfection when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Some enter relationships with gregarious ease while others engage people a bit more reservedly. The former can come off plastic, the latter reclusive; the former overly friendly the latter standoffish. It is difficult for people to abide other’s tendencies. The context of personality makes for the interesting sharpening of iron by iron(people by people). Invariably people on either extreme and those in the middle of the spectrum come to conflict with other ministers or members.

The recent news out of the IMB information clearing house notes the Executive Committee of the IMB Board of Trustees will move to rescind a previous decision to recommend Wade Burleson be removed as an “elected” member of the IMB Board. Many of us hoped the IMB would make such a decision. The lack of substantive illustrations to support the charges of “gossip and slander” or the revised “broken trust and resistance to accountability” should have signaled concern by any observer. One of the major issues rests on to whom must the Trustees give account. Chiefly the Trustees must give an account to the body electing them to service. Since our SBC agency boards are not self-perpetuating, the Trustees must be accountable to the Convention. We would expect substantiation of charges to come in any termination of a staff position and so would require such in this case.

We now understand the impulse move came as a systemic deadline approached. The Board only had three days to notify the SBC Executive Committee of its intention. [See Wade’s recent post.Also here.] Many of us can sympathize with impulsive decisions. We have all made at least one. We certainly want to be forgiven our too quick decisions. A close read of Wade indicates any but a vindictiveness regarding the manner in which he has been treated. He has taken personal attacks - persistently referred to as arrogant. Some of us believe, many who know Wade personally, this construal stems from a failure to understand the issues for Wade rest on principle rather than an attempt to subvert the work of the IMB Board to accomplish his own agenda which indeed would be arrogant.

I am admittedly just one member of a very large denomination. Yet, in light of the course taken since November by the IMB Board, it is my conviction the high road for the Board would be expressed in not simply undoing what has been done. Rather, in an attempt to stand before the world an illustrate the kind of response to an error in judgment, the Board should apologize publicly to Wade. This should not be seen as the request for punitive action but rather since a brother has been injured by unsubstantiated charges representing impulsive action running ahead of good judgment, the Board should acknowledge the misstep.

For months the Board pled with Wade for an apology without demonstrating his error. The action of the Board is acknowledged to have been rash for fear the matter would drag on until 2007. It would have been far better to have handled this matter in the manner it appears will be taken from this point forward. To hide behind the lack of an established policy to handle these matters is to ignore the Scriptural illustration for handling conflict described by Jesus.

May the IMB Board take the high road, a road not oft traveled, and extend an apology to Wade and let the world see how brothers walk together for the good of the Kingdom and the blessing of the world.