The Idealogical Fix

Yesterday we wrapped up the first Educators and Clergy Conference titled, “Educators and Clergy, Working Together for Great Public Schools.” The final presenter was Dr. Tom Boyd. Passionate. Articulate. Inspiring. Challenging. I am certain others could add their own superlatives in response to Dr. Boyd.

Floyd Cox came up with his own working title for the event, “Teachers and Preachers Sitting Down for a Conversation.” The central feature of the two-day event was conversation. Round table discussions gave teams the opportunity to explore the implications of material a variety of presenters brought for consideration. Great conversations characterized the event.

Dr. Boyd noted we live in a day where the “idealogical fix” rules the day. The expression is much like the design of the Apple iPod. Designing a personal music player to avoid music pircay led Apple to develop a player designed for “one way” communication. Once music is put on the iPod it does not come off without losing it. Sure there are workarounds, but the hassle is great. The “idealogical fix” is the kind of experience where conversation is one way. No one is willing to talk if you do not already agree.

Many at the event wondered if presenters were not singing to the choir. Dr. Boyd noted the choir is the best place to begin. He humored us with the reminder some choirs are not very harmonious. So, with the choir we began. We began with those who agree on the need for conversation. Certainly there will be nuances that could create tension and even conflict. That is not all bad so long as we maintain the goal of conversation and avoid the idealogical fix. Admittedly this is hard for preacher types - we always think we are right about everything.

I am glad Bruce invited me to be on the planning team. I am grateful for the hospitality extended by Dr. Dottie Hager and the OEA team she assembled. May the conversations continue. May we work for great public schools.

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.

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.

My How Good This Advice Is

One of my favorite columnists has done it again. Leonard Pitts Jr. received a letter from a young writer from a school newspaper. It seems the young man wrote a piece that attracted some negative attention. David seeks advice from Leonard and we find the text of the reply in a recent column. One particular paragraph stood out as sound advice and even more apt description as to the way some engage issues, or don’t.

If you approach writing your column as I do mine, you see it as an attempt, not to hammer the other side down, but to persuade persuadable minds. Unfortunately, persuadable minds are an endangered species these days. You and I have the misfortune to live in a time and media culture when people think that the loudness of the argument matters more than the coherence of it, when threats and intimidation substitute for logic and reason, a time of made-up ”facts” and ideological ”truth,” a time when critical thinking is a lost art and ignorance is ascendant.

Those who spend even a little time filtering through conflicting parties would do well to note this advice in their own settings.

The Edge of the Inside … Pt.2

“A door keeper must love both the inside and the outside of his or her group, and know how to move between these two loves.” (Radical Grace, April-June 2006,p.3)

Theology is not merely shaped by academic environs. The most precise articulations often betray the complexity of practical applications. Thinking through my own personal journey as pastor of a local church I find the incessant battle to both care with those we fellowship and to love the world in the way of Jesus to be one that eventually leads some to choose one over the other. We either leave the church feeling the “institution” just does not get it or, we bunker down fearing even the slightest encroachment of the culture in which we live - often blind to the very accommodations we have been making for years.

When we settle on our preferred sensibilities we often create a cultural chasm so deep and so wide as to exclude the possibilities to love our neighbors, as often they do not share the same sensibilities. On the other hand when we summarily dismiss the church we seem to have adopted an idealism that eventually even omits us from any close approximation of what it means to be the people of God and give in to an odd fatalism.

In his article, The Edge of the Inside, Father Rohr suggests in the image of Jesus as the door of the sheepfold we often miss the “in and out and find pasture.” Our interest is primarily focused on “in.” The need to follow Jesus both in and out creates a better picture of how the transforming work of Jesus prepares us for following Jesus into the world. Rather than view the world adversarially, the picture Father Rohr paints connects the commission to the disciples to leave representations of security, “baggage,” as they were sent to face the hospitality and hostility of those in “other worlds.”

For the local pastor to find the center of his given fellowship’s preferred location leaves him susceptible to missing the needed “other” perspective. To do so may mean missing the occasion to bring hope to the world or care to the soul. It really is a both/and rather than an either/or. Living in that space is difficult. It is far easier to settle in one location and become an expert there. It is at this place I found the following paragraph insightful,

To live on the edge of the inside is different than being an insider, “a company man,” or a dues paying member. Yes, you have learned the rules and you understand and honor the system as far as it goes, but you do not need to protect it, defend it, promote it. It has served its initial and helpful function. You have learned the rules well enough to know how to “break the rules” without really breaking them at all - “not to abolish the law but to complete it” as Jesus right puts it (Matthew 5:17). A doorkeeper must love both the inside and the outside of his or her group, and know how to move between these two loves.

More in Pt 3 Read more

Diversity in the Church … Bragging on My Brother

Paul and I have a mutual friend who knows us but not so much. Competition is generally the nature of sibling relationships. Trent, Paul and me could certainly be competitive. Even to this day we feel the twinge whether we are playing golf or angling for the most trout. However, we have learned over the years to be secure in our own skin. We may trade the winner’s cup on the golf course but when it comes to fishing I lose to them both.

Sometimes viewing life with others as a competition regarding who is better gets in the way of valuing the other. We face these battles in our personal, profession and pastoral lives.

One of the fun things has been to share a vocational experience with one of your brothers. I am not sure of the relationship between the Ascol brothers, but Paul and I shared  conversations about theology while in college sharing a summer job. We continued those conversations while in Seminary when Paul lived with us for a couple of  years. With the advent of technology, we generally keep up with one another and our theological musings regularly.

Paul recently offered a series of posts on diversity in the church. Dwight McKissic was so struck by it he asked Paul to make a presentation for a meeting. Word out of the meeting was it was a home run. I am not surprised. Both of my brothers are home runs.

Read Paul’s posts here - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 

An Evening of Worship and Thinking About Waking Up

I met Brian at the very first National Pastor’s Convention in San Diego. Evangelism formed the nexus of his “breakout” during the conference. I can still see the image of the bridge in Central America after a recent hurricane. The photo taken by a National Geographic photographer captured in a photo image what Brian suggested our evangelism efforts had become - a bridge that did not connect people with the Good News. Brian would go on to write More Ready Than You Realize, his description of a way forward with the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Patty and I attended an “Advance” with Len Sweet who invited Brian and Grace to be the special guests. We spent a couple of days on Orcas Island. Beautiful. Thought-provoking. I will not forget Grace wrestling with the profound implications of thinking afresh about what it means to follow Jesus. The emotion was palpable. She voiced what many around the room were both feeling and thinking.

Since that time we have had a number of encounters over the past years since that retreat - Emergent Conventions, Emergent Gatherings, phone calls and e-mails. Despite the baggage that goes with “Emergent” and the regular criticisms, the deep appreciation for Brian’s honest wrestling with how Jesus may be Good News today stirs me more deeply than the rampant misunderstanding and label mongering that follows.

This evening and tomorrow I am in Dallas for Brian’s Everything Must Change Book Tour at Cliff Temple Baptist Church. I read an advance copy. I met Shawn and Nathan this evening, a couple of fellows from Frisco, TX. We enjoyed several planned “conversations” thinking about a segment of the meeting. We talkd about things we agreed with and those we thought may be over-simplifications. After all, those who attend these things are not automatons who hang on every word. Instead we have continued to think long and hard about issues raised and how we might bring the Good News of Jesus to bear on the world and among those with whom we serve.

My friend Ed loves to use the phrase, “money quote.” Well, one of the money quotes that has implications much broader than the context in which the comment came was, “We need to stop sub-contracting our brains to political parties.” Surely you may see where this quote could also go. Too many have been told what to believe - outsourcing as it were their very convictions to those either considered smarter, older, or deader (if that is a word). Contextualization demands we engage today, it is the eternal moment we live in that needs redeeming from ruin and to be found as it is lost - lost in any number of ways.

We were challenged to think what it would take, what action we may consider that would result in personal change. The one thing I am mulling at this late hour is an abandon to the way of Jesus that leads with passion and gentleness and respect. Put another way, thinking about the implications of Philip Yancey’s, The Jesus I Never Knew, and what Paul told me is that same theme on steroids in Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus, it is time to help people see more than a caricature of Jesus. More than what one Damah Film submittal referred to as, “The White American Jesus.” Leading in this vein will not come without a personal commitment to an abandonment to the way of Jesus that transcends the cultural box, or sub-cultural box, in which Jesus often seems trapped.

For those concerned by this post, this is not the place where the slippery slope gets me. It is not the place to suggest an abandonment of orthodoxy. Rather, it is a re-affirmation that to maintain orthodoxy without right practice is a hollow game leading people away from the transformative work of the Triune God. A game I gave up long ago.

Best Kept Secret … Needs to Get Out … Shapevine

My first encounter with Lance was via a conference call. We discussed the project on which he and Alan Hirsch collaborated. Shapevine added some key developers and the Beta period will be over soon. The value of the regular interviews along with the soon to be released features make Shapevine a one of a kind.

Today Lance will interview Ryan Bolger at 3:00 p.m. CST. I met Ryan a few years ago, in the early days of ETREK. What a great gift to students! Take some time and get over to Shapevine and help get the word out. You will not be disappointed.

Listening and relational learning

One of our favorite, and honest, phrases parenting our girls was, “There are two sides to every story.” Occasionally this was construed as either, ‘You don’t believe me,” or, “How come you won’t assume my position.” These interactions came during conversational moments where in relationship with our girls we were attempting to learn together in a way a particular event could be a moment of growth and maturity, even for we parents.

Frustration generally curbed or slowed all of our learning. We so wanted to be understood  that our only gauge for understanding was for the  “other” to “come over to  our side.” Our girls would on occasion feel as though their parents did not listen and we reciprocated with the same feelings.

This kind of impasse is often experienced in any number of relationships. What we must be careful of is asserting the “other” is immovable and thereby exhibits a flawed character. It could be the “other” listened but for a variety of reasons did not assume a posture of holding on to his or her position out of pride and belligerence.  It may well have been the “other” found merit in the “argument” presented and may have even moderated some elements of a position but nonetheless found confidence in the decision made.

Attempts to couch this experience in terms of antagonists limits what we may learn. In other words, it is easy to make ensuing conversations and descriptions part of an “us/them” framework. Doing so runs the risk of exhibiting both a lack of humility and an attempt to control and direct the “other.”

Pastoring often brings such a criticism when it is perceived a person is not “heard.” Listening in this context means the one casting an  accusation is more interested in “getting their way” than working toward understanding that may even result in disagreement but not the dissolution of the relationship.

Over this past several months I listened and learned from a group of students. Our conversations centered on leadership beyond power. The ways in which we exhibit power over the “other” often leads to a decline in powerful leadership after the manner of Jesus as each person is interested in “getting their way.” The subplot of the course found expression in the title, “Beyond Power: Leadership and Gender in a Flattened World.”

Students with differing views and perspectives made for an  interesting, even intense, first couple of days. Over the course of the semester learning from “others” took precedence over positions. This does not mean some fell pray to the proverbial slippery slope of giving up ground only to be come …. you fill in the blank. Instead, what ensued was a final two days together that exhibited just how those who differ can learn and love one another to a place of powerful learning - relational learning.

Creating an atmosphere where this may occur in all  relationships may result not in a particular hegemonic position, but a plurality that allows us to see in ways we otherwise would not. Our own confidences are refined as we embrace the “other.” Since we cannot “fully know” the position of learning from the “other” seems to be a better place from which to move forward in following Jesus and working with others to live what my friend John refers to as, “reconciled lives with God and with others.”

Petition and Conserve

Over the last few years we experienced drought conditions. Ponds dried up. Crops longed for water. We prayed. We hoped. This year we have set records in Oklahoma for rain. The Raleigh News & Observer carried an article on a move by several churches in North Carolina to not just call for prayer but also the need to conserve water.

Many issues we face today demand action. We are good at calling on people to pray. We must do better calling people to action.

(HT: The Daily Oklahoman)

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