Pendulums, Spectrums and Slopes

Listening to a recent podcast left me thinking about pendulums. Tony Jones traveled to Denmark and Norway and was doing an interview turned podcast. During his introduction he noted the differences in the cultural relationship between church and state in Norway. Tony noted the difference between a social democracy and a liberal democracy. For instance in Norway the Lutheran Church is the State church. But in the United States there is no State church. The comparison helped crystallize something I have been thinking for some time. In fact, David and I were talking about this very thing a couple of weeks ago and the thoughts made their way into the sermon this past Sunday, the sixth Sunday of Easter.

Our particular denomination, during my formative years educationally and in terms of training, spent an inordinate amount of time with comparisons. Leaders regularly warned of the slippery trajectory taken by “other” denominations once making “liberal” concessions. Since we take great pains with local church autonomy and priesthood of believers, the rallying cry intended to attract the attention of individuals (churches and pastors) to join the movement keeping from leftward drift. This post is not about the particular doctrinal moves many suggested would lead to liberalism. Instead, this post intends to suggest we need to be honest about our particular spectrum as the pendulum inevitably swings and we worry about slippery slopes. Read more

An End to Calls for Violence

We know violence here in Oklahoma City. Saturday, April 19, will mark the thirteenth anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building. Planners of the recent “Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam” conference noted the location for the event (Oklahoma City University) and the topic discussed. “The topic of this conference is so profound and sobering because of its time and location. We are in Oklahoma City and it is April,” said Loye Ashton, chairman o religious studies department at the Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi.

Various speakers at the conference noted terrorism intends to undermine democracy rather than further a particular religion. Media often makes the connection in such a way readers/listeners come to believe the work of terrorism to be a tool to further a religion, in most cases Islam.

Imagine my own surprise when I read Martin Marty’s piece “Rod Parsley on Islam.”
Read more

Van Gogh and Old Women

Brenna recently wrote a post referencing Len Sweet’s Soul Salsa. One of Len’s chapters contains a reference to Van Gogh’s painting of the Church at Auvers. My interest in Van Gogh was piqued reading Len’s reference to Van Gogh in Soul Salsa a number of years ago. I have continued to grow in my interest and reading of Van Gogh. I have a large framed print of The Church at Auvers hanging above my computer desk. I have used this piece a number of times in speaking occasions, including sermons.

Some time back I purchased Dear Theo: The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh edited by Irving Stone. The work is an edited collection of Vincent’s letters to his brother Theo. It is quite a fascinating read.

In the very first letter he notes,

“If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere.

He proceeds to describe his newly planted garden. In an interesting turn to talk about love. He writes, “No woman is old.” Read more

Accepting Unacceptable Behavior

Conversations often take unexpected turns; especially when the subject is one’s life story. Predictable left the building long ago. Some things do not change. Listening to parents talk about their children brings few surprises. Our children are grown, at least they think they are. We learned not to be too surprised by anything when they were younger. Growing up meant adjustments and not just on the part of the children in the family. Hearing stories today reminds us of experiences shared not long ago. Despite the lack of surprise when it comes to young people, I am still occasionally taken back by the stories I hear from adults.

A series of recent stories reminded me of an incident Patty and me encountered in Colorado late last summer. We grabbed dinner before we would take in a play. Nearing the end of our meal a young family came into the restaurant. They seemed to be enjoying their meal as we left. Overcast and cool we decided to sit in the car and read as we waited for time to enter the theater. Not long the young mother and her youngest son emerged from the restaurant. The young boy was obviously in trouble. He shouted as his mother. He threw rocks. A number of people walked up and down the sidewalks and witnessed the manner in which this young boy treated his mother. She exercised incredible patience.

An older gentleman had been observing the incident. He may well have been a grandpa. Evidently he endured enough of the public spectacle. He spoke from across the street telling the mother she allowed unacceptable behavior. Many parents prefer not to spank their children. Parents must still decide how to provide discipline and enforce acceptable behavior. Methodologies may well be diverse but at some point a child must learn what is acceptable. Clearly this behavior was not.

Rather than focus on the behavior of the child the connection to these recent stories centered on the one who accepts the unacceptable behavior. Somewhere along the way someone in authority or power likely convinced another their behavior, the one in power, was somehow acceptable. Sadly in the narratives I listened to the behavior that had been accepted left the person accepting treatment less than human. The effects have been devastating.

The bright spot in these stories have been the experience of redemptive relationships. A husband, a friend, another family member, a church committed to cultivating these redemptive relationships alter the narrative; the stories are changing. Slowly but surely unacceptable behavior is shunned in favor of the experience of being fully human.

We who follow Jesus must advocate for redemptive relationships where people are treated as human beings, never less.

Getting Resurrection Wright

Michael Spencer does it again. Precise, pointed and helpful. I am nearing the end of N.T. Wrights Surprised by Hope. If you have not picked this one up read iMonk’s review, order your copy and get to reading.

Partnerships and Collaboration - Better Public Schools

This evening the first Educators & Clergy Conference sponsored by the Oklahoma Education Association got underway in Norman, OK. The time invested in planning and preparation proved valuable as the evening was both inspiring and challenging. Who could not be excited about getting together with a group of people who share a common dream to invest in students and communities? What’s more, we should discover the realities that churches and schools “can” partner. There is no need for the adversarial role painted by misunderstandings about the “separation of church and state.” The primary challenge will come in overcoming fear by learning appropriate boundaries for a healthy relationship. Educators face the reality of doing more than ever and being blamed for outcomes they really cannot control.

I am excited about the possibilities.

Glimpse of the Relief for the World

Early this morning I boarded the treadmill. The on board computer offers a variety of ways to measure progress. One readout I watch is “distance.” My goal is at least 2 miles of cardio. The other display I watch is “time.” I like to get my two miles, walking and jogging, in about 30 minutes. Since my workouts have been irregular Monday mornings present something of a “shock.” My body pays careful attention to the time knowing relief is in sight.

The promise of Messiah offered hopeful encouragement for people given to watch for his coming. Relief would soon come. Jesus’ sojourn brought relief to a variety of human suffering. Some found release from the pain of illness, disease and broken bodies. Others were set free from oppression be it demonic or cultural. People came from all around to find relief. The King had come and gave a sign and foretaste of life in the Kingdom of God.

Sin is insidious. Its effects are felt, as Scot McKnight notes, in all of our relationships - self, others, God, and the world. Sins personal and systemic keep us all in need of relief from the its presence.

Kester Brewin offered a poem to signal indicators of the kind of relief brought in the Resurrection of Jesus. The reference may be to the giving up of Jesus by the earth which could not hold him, but the implications reach far and wide. Thanks Kester for the thoughts.

It wasn’t so much that
the stones couldn’t hold him.
More that they refused to.

All had been silent, struck dumb by deathly silence, but
“All down here is petrified but him” they cried out,
as he said they would.
“He could no more be made fossil relic by us than
the sun that melts and sublimates”

Don’t think it was some angel.
That morning,
the earth opened itself,
and gave him back.

Happy Easter.

“We Just Go to Church.”

We shared an interesting conversation in Bible Study this morning. Jim Henderson suggests a potential shift in metaphor helps reshape our understanding of disciple-making (a.k.a. “Evangelism”). Often we do not make adjustments based solely as a result of argument. We need an accompanying picture - a new metaphor.

In the course of our discussions Mike told of a conversation where he was describing what we do in our “Wednesdays Are for Others.” One response he got, quite profound, noted, “We just go to church.”

If the Church is a sign and foretaste of the Kingdom of God then there must be more going on than “just going to church.” Yet, too many suffer from the need for a new metaphor. In fact, when Church is a place you go rather than who you are, we miss the people Jesus loves the most, to borrow from Jim Henderson.

It is very easy to talk about “others” as “lost.” Conversations most helpful turn on what Henderson describes as “missing.” Questions abound for us to engage others regarding what may be missing in their lives. It will not happen without relational connection. It is far easier to stand aloof, at a safe distance, and declare what another is. We risk missing those who are missing when we fail to work from a position as fellow human being than from a posture of insider, something smacking of elitism. Nothing reeks worse  than spiritual arrogance.

Despite the tendency toward polarities - either/or - we really need the combination of declaration/announcement and relational engagement. We need the metaphors of both Luke 4 and Luke 19. We mustn’t need to choose between the two.  It really must be more than, “We just go to church.”

Learning from Practitioners

Cold milk. Tepid milk just does not do the job. Warm milk and Oreo cookies offers no real enticement for me. Growing up, and to this day, I like my milk cold. Refrigeration is a great modern amenity.

In college I worked summers as a part of a “Pull and Clean” team for Sears. We would receive a list of jobs each morning. Generally a “technician” had been out to service a window unit air conditioner. During the “cottonwood shedding season” it was not uncommon for the condenser coil to be plugged, often looking matted by the floating “tree lint.” Equipped with a wire brush, cleaning solvent, and a hose, we would clean these air conditioners. Soon they were cooling like new.

Equating refrigeration with milk was easy. Connecting refrigeration with air conditioners took learning a new vocabulary. “Refrigerated air” became part of our lexicon. Over time we learned from these “technicians” dust and lint found in any home could inhibit airflow around coils of refrigerators and freezers. Special brushes helped clean the lint and restore these appliances to good working condition. Central A/C units often needed this same maintenance procedure.

On our own we knew the effects of refrigeration. We did not understand how it worked until a practitioner/technician helped us understand the process. Seeing things from a different perspective often opened us up to learn ways we were not familiar with and shed notions that really did not fit.

Ernest Goodman writes a blog titled, “Missions Misunderstood.” He is a practitioner, a technician. Ernest has learned an important reality. When it comes to missional and churches partnering relationships matter - a great deal. In fact, after years serving in Western Europe as a missionary, he is convinced the way we (Southern Baptists) do missions (in our churches and mission sending organizations) inherently keeps churches at a safe distance and our missionaries safely accountable to organizational structures rather than the sending churches. You may read Ernest’s thoughts at Missions Misunderstood.

The Edge of the Inside Pt.3

Ever coach? Quite a few years ago I was “drafted” to coach high school girls basketball. Experience? Played a little. Love the game. Still play on occasion. Maybe the Superintendent thought I possessed the right temperament. He did not see my mentor grab me around the neck years before informing me, “I will be the only one getting technical fouls here.” I was the “youth pastor.”

Years later I reflect on that experience. We won our district. We went on to get impaled by a well-oiled machine. We could do nothing to stop the onslaught. Our little band of freshmen and a couple of upperclassmen could not hold up under the barrage. I learned some things about life. I learned some things about the life of a coach.

Only a couple of times have I spoken at a School Board Meeting. On each occasion I remarked the job was thankless. Everyone in the stands can do better. Talent is really not a requisite, “My child will be the next (fill in your favorite hoop star here).” Aside from the fact that basketball takes both talent and sense, every parent believes the next all everything lives in a room in their house. I think my favorite line used was to assert, “I share the experience of a coach, everyone is an expert in my field.” I recently learned a couple of our local coaches will be opting for other vocations. Pressured? Likely.

It is hard for me to be critical of a coach having shared the “inside.” Sure, coaching is about proverbial “x’s” and “o’s.” But coaching is about much more. Sometimes coaches must not only advocate for their players, they must also be critical. The line is fine between the two. Walking that edge is a must.

Pastoring presents the same vocational setting. We advocate for members. We must also be critical from time to time. Some may object to the word critical and replace it with perceptions of judgmental. Really the better word may be critique. We must make honest assessments. On larger scales we must look at how things are or are not working with eyes intent to honesty lest we break the 9th commandment on ourself, and yes even our church. And let’s don’t begin considering our denomination.

Father Rohr helps when he writes,

All of these situations [Jesus wanted searchers more than settlers, prophets more than priests, honest journeys more than gatherings of the so called healthy. He had been taught well by his own Jewish exodus and exile.] are describing the unique and rare position of Biblical prophet - he or she is always on the edge of the inside. Not an outsider throwing rocks, not a comfortable insider who defends the status quo, but one who lives precariously with two perspectives held tightly together - faithful insider and the critical outsider at the same time. Not ensconced safely inside, but not so far outside as to lose compassion and understanding. Like a carpenter’s level, the prophet has to balance the small bubble in the glass between here and there, between yes and no, between loyalty and critique. The prophet must hold these perspectives in a loving and necessary creative tension.

Today it is very difficult to walk that line be you a coach, a parent or a pastor. Too much leaning one direction and the prophetic is jeopardized. Misunderstanding abounds. We live between the tensions of, “If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it,” and answering the question, “Do I look good in this dress?” One binds us with silence and the other promotes deceit.

I have made criticisms of “old patterns.” Some have construed this as the pastor has come to some new enlightened position. And accompanying sentiment becomes, “We cannot follow for God has not told us.” I contribute to a blog which people misunderstand the same calls for accountability. Often I and others are told it better to just leave. However, the call is to abide both places - inside and outside - at least for me.

Father Rohr closes his article,

These prophets critiqued Christianity by the very values that they learned from Christianity. Everyone one of these men and women was marginalized, fought, excluded, persecuted, or even killed by the illusions they exposed and the systems they tried to reform. It is the structural fate of the prophet. You can only truly unlock systems from within, but then you are invariably locked out.

When you live on the edge of the inside, you will almost wish you were outside. Then you are merely and enemy, a pagan, a persona non grata, and can be largely ignored or written off. But if you are both inside and outside, you are the ultimate threat, the ultimate reformer, and the ultimate invitation.

My choice of the title for this blog reflects a growing self-awareness of the need and value for the prophetic position helping people understand exodus and exile, grace and mercy, love and forgiveness, and yes, the inside and the outside.

Thanks for reading.

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