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.

Thoughts from a young college student

Occasionally I receive thoughts, e-mails and other communication. Here is a recent evaluation of one young college student’s own generation. It is  rather stream of consciousness. Seems like things have not changed much.

the need for change.

so being on your butt for over a week, with pretty much nothing to do will cause you to think. to think about dumb things, important things but just to think non-stop. so the major part of my thoughts this week is change.

my generation sees this need for change. we want something done. we want a revolution of love. but is my generation actually doing to create this change?

well let’s see, most of the people i know can’t get themselves out of bed before noon bc they stay up too late playing video games or creeping myspace, my generation is the generation that says ugh stick it to the man, no school, no jobs! BUT we need to be educated we need to get jobs to support ourselves. my generation is the one who claims to care about people but can’t seem to keep in contact with their so called best friends. my generation is the generation that hates to be preached to, hate for people to tell them hey ya know i see that your doing this maybe you should try not to but yet my generation yells and screams at people for their problems. my generation sits on the internet and text messages causing them to have this communication problem, where they can’t have normal conversations face to face with people. my generation disrespects their elders, my generation has come to believe that chilvarly is dead. my generation wants to be so different but they’re being the same as every other generation before.

i’m so tired of people talking about it. i’m tired of people complaining when they’re not doing anything.

if we’re going to have a change, freakin do the things necessary to create that change.

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.

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.

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.

When Others Face a Lack of Water …

Our oldest daughter sent a link this morning to water that promises to “make you good.” Rather than buy into this new form of “Jesus junk,” why not consider following the group who initiated the Advent Conspiracy. Send what you save this year during Christmas to help provide clean drinking water to those in need. Now, if any act will have a positive effect on you and me, it will be offering water in the name of Jesus.

Genocide takes many forms … some kill long before death

We still get questions about Darfur. Recently I wore my “Darfur” T-shirt out and received quite an interesting response. Once the significance for wearing such a shirt was explained the response was, “I did not know anything about that.” Our local paper, The Daily Oklahoman, carried a piece by Michael Gerson (though I had to find it online elsewhere) titled, A different kind of genocide. The short article is very hard to read, and not for the style but the content. The quotes that may compel you to read, then act -

“The idea is to destroy the entire community, so they can’t procreate anymore, for the race to disappear.” “If they were shot by a gun, you would call it genocide,” Mukwege says. “This is a different kind of genocide, which destroys women physically, emotionally over the years.”

Follow-up on Sad

I quickly posted a link to Leonard Pitts Jr.’s recent piece. Thinking through the implications of human cruelty related to the sad story of Megan I considered how impossible it is to determine the limits for another. In other words, I suspected some may be a bit self-righteous and think the words were written to Megan to be harsh but not “that harsh.”

The story illustrates the necessity to hold our words captive in deference to another. Or, practice what my mother often told we boys, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” I am reading my new friend Jim Palmer’s second book, Wide Open Spaces. My intention was to “blog review” review his book later this week after I had finished reading the book. But, something caught my attention as the Pitts’ article intersected Jim’s book in my mind.

Jim challenges us to think of others as made in the image of God. He suggests this helps us past off-putting appearances and opens us up to encounter another human being with the love of Jesus. One particular illustration follows,

To the guy ahead of me in line, the cashier may have been nothing more than a disheveled, overweight, ill-tempered woman who Tivo’s General Hospital and has questionable taste in eye shadow. To me, I looked past her frayed appearance and harsh demeanor and saw that she was never going to be any more perfect than she already was. She was created in the image of God, who is prefect love and absolute goodness; whatever imperfections she displayed had been forgiven in Christ and she was now the apple of God’s eye. So as I stood before her at the register, that’s the person I related to, not the disheveled and ill-tempered one. (p.16-17)

The shift in the relationship came in Jim’s framing of the “other” person. Looking past appearance and considering the long days cashier’s spend on their feet abiding incessantly demanding people who tire even the best of us, Jim saw her as a person made in the image of God. Engaging relationships from this vantage point lessens the demand for meeting another in order to extract something from the “other” and instead find common ground. We all can be disheveled and ill-tempered.

We cannot then determine the threshold for another when it comes to levels of cruelty nor should we even attempt them. Instead, we must consider others made in the image of God whether “awkward 13 year olds experiencing adolescence” or “disheveled, ill-tempered cashiers.” We may turn “sad” on its head if we can engage “others” as fellow human beings made in the image of God.

Sad

A twisted joke on a teen girl by Leonard Pitts Jr.

(HT: The Daily Oklahoman)

Consumers Make Friday Black for More Than Retailers

The fliers came in the paper yesterday offering the endless possibilities for any and all to help retailers improve their bottom line. In today’s paper an AP article noted how we consumers will also help plumbers to profits. From the article,

Clogged drains from plenty of grease are a problem as soon as holiday season starts, but the day after Thanksgiving is one of the plumber’s busiest. (a copy of the article is here)

This is not a call to avoid meals on Thanksgiving. And, certainly a little common sense when it comes to grease down drains could lower the post-Thanksgiving profits for plumbers. I simply found it interesting that on a day we often become gluttons our refuse may cause costly back-ups in our plumbing.

Maybe we could play out the implications of over-eating on our own human pipes (arteries) and other organs. If we suggest not putting grease down our drains to be common sense, then could we not note medical information calling us to a less sedentary lifestyle and more healthy eating habits may keep our pipes clean to be common sense too?

In the end, this short piece left me considering all the implications of a “Black Friday.”

Your thoughts?

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