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.

Conversations between Clergy and Educators for Great Public Schools

“Bro. C” loved young people. For a good portion of his life he taught in a public school. He did not teach science, math or English. No, from his classroom on the south side of the “square” layout of Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, Brother Carpenter taught Bible History. He also pastored in Oklahoma City. I sat in Bro. C’s class. It was always full. Some students took the class thinking it would be an easy credit. Others took it understanding no one could quite contextualize Bible History like Bro. C.

Confusion reigns when it comes to religion and religious practices in public schools. Too often I have been told how prayer has been taken out of schools. State sanctioned prayer has been taken out of schools. Voluntary prayer is still permissible. In fact, the local school board sets the agenda on these matters. Generally, their decision reflects the majority opinion of the constituency of the given district. Some make decisions based more on fear of what “might” happen despite support for voluntary prayer.

However, partnering with schools transcends the permissibility of public prayer. Educators and Clergy need to form partnerships as the demands of education, serving a-risk students, helping frazzled parents and hoping to create opportunities that come with a solid education should be the dream of all. Our teachers are often underpaid and under-prepared for the discontinuous change created by the whims of our culture. Clergy are often fearful of lawsuits or worse, negligent to the needs in their own communities. The atmosphere distracts us from the kinds of investments and resources needed to partner for the good of students. Together we could do more than we can apart.

The Oklahoma Education Association supplied with a grant from the National Education Association will sponsor an upcoming conference, “Educators & Clergy, Working Together for Great Public Schools.” Teams from school districts from around Oklahoma and surrounding states will gather in Norman, Oklahoma to initiate conversations around the theme working together for students. We will hear stories from a number of people regarding their particular church’s partnership with local schools.

I have been privileged to serve on the planning team for this event and am excited about the possibilities. In our community we enjoy great relationships with our local schools. Our partnerships run along a number of lines. I hope the dream of the OEA comes to fruition - that these conversations will spur great relationships and conversations for years to come. If you are an educator or clergy within driving distance of Norman, Oklahoma, consider registering for this event set for March 25-26.

Glad Jordon and I survived …

Last October a group of us may have not made the best decision. Jordon points to a tragedy as an indication we may have put the novelty of the event ahead of better judgment.

A Sunday Morning with Larry Norman

In 1987, or 1988, Scott G. wanted to see if we could host a Larry Norman concert in Southwest Dallas. He worked hard. Scott secured Duncanville High School as the venue and the date was set. Not only would we get to host the “Father of Christian Rock” but we would host him at our church the following Sunday morning and share a meal at John G’s home after worship.

The concert was great. We wondered why we could not get a better crowd. Likely due to the fact that Larry did not get much air time on the “Christian” radio stations. It was hard, if not impossible, to find his stuff in stores, especially Christian bookstores.

Sunday came and it was time for Larry to sing. He arrived a bit late. He sang, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” Lunch was fun too.

I was saddened to read Larry went “somewhere beyond the sky.” I felt the same as Michael Spencer who wrote,

I love you, Larry. Family- many are praying for you. He really helped me see Jesus. That’s about as good as it gets.

Go over and follow the links to Spencer’s posts.

(HT:iMonk)

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.

Intersections - Epiphany and Sanctity of Life on Martin’s Day

Yesterday we celebrated the third Sunday after Epiphany and Sanctity of Life Sunday on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. These intersections created some personal reflections that surely showed up in the morning “sermon.” Today I find an illustration in the blog post of Emily Hunter McGowin.

Perhaps is it appropriate that I am posting this story on the day in the US that we celebrate the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 4, 1967, when speaking against the Vietnam War, Dr. King said, “I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor.” I hope that we can say the same.

And, for the executive fat-cats who watch while gross injustice plagues poor women and children in the developing world, I hear the words of Amos echoing in my head:

“You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”
- Amos 5:11-12

The revealing of Jesus marks a different understanding of life, what it means to be human and how we relate with the God who made us.

Dan Kimball on Shapevine

Tomorrow afternoon Lance Ford, co-Founder of Shapevine, will interview Dan Kimball. Surely one of the topics of conversation will be Dan’s newest book, They Like Jesus but Not the Church. Be sure to get over and register and listen in to the conversations taking place at Shapevine.

Icy Days

In Oklahoma you never know what the weather will bring. Our first ice storm of the season is leaving its mark. We are hoping it will leave soon and our power will return.
Trees bear the brunt as the extra weight stresses limbs and branches.
Here’s hoping to see more of this -

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