tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56706477727546099942024-03-26T22:49:44.966-04:00Breathing SpaceA blog about free faith in the spirit of Jesus.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.comBlogger849125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-16776220020121265642021-12-14T22:38:00.001-05:002021-12-14T22:44:33.631-05:00Outlandish Virtue: What Would You Name Yourself If You Were a Quaker?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlKWvIM6VwgexOpbgJcERrz1lHR9B7D_tF4vUHGFsjJQYnrW94h961qYM4SBJ3K8ju07eaoC_l3LidQwFKsJQwYZ8fr1s3rH8RC8IUf4N_q_HCyAzU0CK7GftOnngxNVN8-XZeVQh7N2mAzSv73Nc2N7GIJgDkaJzH5YyggamtP_GFTJRYbTZM9AmEBA=s1280" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlKWvIM6VwgexOpbgJcERrz1lHR9B7D_tF4vUHGFsjJQYnrW94h961qYM4SBJ3K8ju07eaoC_l3LidQwFKsJQwYZ8fr1s3rH8RC8IUf4N_q_HCyAzU0CK7GftOnngxNVN8-XZeVQh7N2mAzSv73Nc2N7GIJgDkaJzH5YyggamtP_GFTJRYbTZM9AmEBA=w508-h286" width="508" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In Diana Gabaldon's latest novel in the Outlander series, <i>Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone</i>, the Fraser family attends a Quaker meeting. There, they discuss the kinds of names Quakers choose for their children--names like Patience, Charity, and Prudence. Historically, Quakers named their offspring after virtues that they wanted the children to embody. In the book, they asked the question, <i>what would you call yourself, if you named yourself after a virtue?</i></span><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The apostle Saul (named after Israel's first king, a giant of a man) changed his name to Paul, which means "small." It seems that he wanted to offset his lofty call to ministry with a humble name.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Paul's friend Joseph changed his name (or had it changed for him) to Barnabas, which means "Son of Encouragement." It's no question what virtue he wanted to embody.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In the Hebrew Scriptures, God changed the name of Sarai (meaning "She who Strives") to Sarah-- "Princess." It seems she took her position as mother of a nation quite literally!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Not everybody has to change their name, to be named after a virtue. When I was young, I learned that my name, Gregory, means the nouns "Protector" and "Watchman," as well as the adjectives, "Vigilant" and "Fierce." I always took that to heart. Both as a pastor and now as a case manager, I have seen myself as a guardian of other people. So I didn't have to change my name in order to be named after a virtue. Knowing my name had a virtuous meaning was significant in my self-understanding. If I could pick any virtuous name, it would probably be exactly what it already is. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">So, what would you call yourself, if you could change your name to reflect any virtue? Would you be Piety, or Holiness, or Constance? Maybe Welcome or Assistance or Selflessness? If by changing your name you could shift your focus, what would you become? What Virtue do you hold most dear, and what would you do, to embody that character trait even more in your life?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I Peter 1:5-7 ESV says,"...Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love." <i>Make every effort</i>, Paul says. What if you placed your foremost virtue so prominently in your mind that it became as familiar to you as your own name? You become what you focus on the most, so pretty soon you would become that outlandish virtue, and it would become you. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jesus must have thought that names were important--so he chose to be called Immanuel, or "God With Us." Whether you change your name or not, the question remains--how do you want to be known? By living out your ultimate virtue, you create a legacy that will outlast you. If your goal is to be like Jesus, you'll want people to see a bit of God when they look at you.</span></div></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-51752852343058192312021-06-13T10:11:00.008-04:002021-06-13T10:44:14.481-04:00When the Wrecking Ball Hits Your Faith<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><b>"Hello, my name is Kevin Max, and I'm an #exvangelical." </b> That was the<a href="https://twitter.com/kevinmax/status/1393440477714788352?s=21" target="_blank"> tweet</a> from the DC Talk and now independent musician whose Christian music I've listened to since I was a teenager. In Max's debut as an <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/exvangelica" target="_blank">#exvangelical</a>, he announced that he is deconstructing his faith. (<a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/dc-talks-kevin-max-reveals-hes-an-exvangelical.html?fbclid=IwAR3mAmkHDg-QWiMGiZHMaoQgVHP8u4rUCKhymsS-U4nVJH-FJ19sYAYTeLo" target="_blank">Read more in this article from the Christian Post</a>.) In essence, the singer is demolishing what he's always been taught so he can rebuild his faith in a way that makes sense to him. (Cue the gasps from all the Sunday school teachers.)<br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span> <br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span>You might think that deconstructing is the absolute opposite of what a Christian ought to do. I mean, Jesus talked about the wise man building his house on the rock, not tearing it down. But <b>sometimes you've got to deconstruct something that's falling down, in order to build something stronger. </b>In the Christian Post article, Kevin Max discusses what no longer works for him--and the new faith he's found by tearing down what's broken. It seems these days, a lot of people are doing the same thing.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span>According to a <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup finding published in March of this year</a>, <b>membership in houses of worship in the United States has now dipped below 50%. </b> The article says, "U.S. church membership was 73% when Gallup first measured it in 1937 and remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century." For regular church attenders, this isn't shocking news. We have seen radical decline in our own churches, and blamed everything from Rock and Roll music to baseball. But maybe the change isn't from outside influences. <b>Many are beginning to deconstruct what they've been taught, because they've discovered the foundations are built on sand instead of stone.</b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybHL384cxiU-cphDpe_yrhNkNiy6KwuKpnrt9tzLDXJnxAicQYat5RvwDACWxal3aVh2FgMoZbpMUvlSyc70ha9OjKsMXSPmBOybeafO3YdNEQetjoDl5bnDG2JaBwG5fMDCW3_e381Zy/s1024/houseonthesand.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybHL384cxiU-cphDpe_yrhNkNiy6KwuKpnrt9tzLDXJnxAicQYat5RvwDACWxal3aVh2FgMoZbpMUvlSyc70ha9OjKsMXSPmBOybeafO3YdNEQetjoDl5bnDG2JaBwG5fMDCW3_e381Zy/w553-h311/houseonthesand.jpg" width="553" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: xx-small;">"House on the Sand (Matthew :7:24-27) (EXPLORED)" by Redeemed & Forgiven is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">As one body, Sunday school teachers clasp their hands to their mouths, aghast that their students may be questioning their catechism and Lifeway lessons. <b>We've been taught not to question, not to challenge what we've been taught--but what if that advice is more for control than anything else?</b> What if they are really just trying to keep you from deconstructing Potemkin's village?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span>Russian Empress Catherine the Great toured poverty-stricken Crimea in 1787. According to legend, the governor of that region, Grigory Potemkin, erected phony villages along her route, populated with happy, well-fed people who were actually brought in from central Russia. Though this story is dubious, today the term <i>Potemkin village</i> refers to any real or metaphorical facade, meant to deceive people into believing that things are better than they are. When my Sunday school teacher taught me not to question my faith, she was hoping that like Catherine the Great, I would ccontinue to see the shiny facade instead of the crumbling building underneath.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span>Many Christians never get beyond the "Sunday school answers" that they've been taught. I'm grateful to my seminary professors for encouraging me to think, question, pray, and investigate, rather than blindly accepting everything I learned at church. <b>Because not everything my pastors told me was true. </b> Today, it seems a lot of good folks are questioning religious assumptions they've held for years. They're realizing that they've built their house on sand instead of stone. But instead of waiting for the next storm to blow it down, people like Kevin Max are intentionally deconstructing their faith in order to build something stronger, and on a better foundation.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span>In Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV), Jesus says:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><i> “...Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”</i></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Mostly, I've heard it preached that the sandy ground represents the either doubt, or the unstable things of this world, while the solid foundation is a rock-solid belief system. But Jesus is clear that stability comes from <i>putting into practice</i> his teachings. <b>It's not about adherence to doctrines--it's<i> trying to live and love like Jesus</i> that prevents the crash. </b>Too many church leaders would have you believe that the solid rock is theology, but it's not. It's Jesus himself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of righteous-looking, religious things that feel like bedrock, but are really sand. Sometimes you've got to deconstruct the things that appear solid, in order to find the rot underneath.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPACJp-eT-7qJ5AVXMfhnBwFX7XHsfQ9cPvwSXXXhIk-HEuyAQ6Bt1iV0Z4WzvfMD1qZnhCY7lA3qHCi9eiPmMBh6-kQ03Gp-bFe8D-e_8-90hknJ8nDokKSeIZZ987J_kOncbZZXnubN/w564-h318/wreckedfaith.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="564" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11018968@N00/148825789" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Wrecking Ball"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-align: start;"> </span><span data-v-e1c1f65a="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-align: start;">by <a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11018968@N00" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Editor B</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-align: start;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPACJp-eT-7qJ5AVXMfhnBwFX7XHsfQ9cPvwSXXXhIk-HEuyAQ6Bt1iV0Z4WzvfMD1qZnhCY7lA3qHCi9eiPmMBh6-kQ03Gp-bFe8D-e_8-90hknJ8nDokKSeIZZ987J_kOncbZZXnubN/s1280/wreckedfaith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">People like Kevin Max are deconstructing things like:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Original sin;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The virgin birth;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Christian exclusivism;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Miracles (biblical as well as modern);</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The inspiration, inerrancy, or infallibility of Scripture;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The closed canon of the Protestant or Catholic Bible;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The existence of a literal hell, and the judgment of God that puts people there;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Penal substitutionary atonement;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Conservative teachings on "Biblical understandings on marriage, sexuality, and gender";</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Popular apocalyptic teachings from eschatological writings of the Bible;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The Church's participation in promoting racism, sexism, patriarchy, capitalism, slavery, genocide, and empire-building;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The Church's historical role as an exploiter of the environment, rather than a keeper of the earth.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I'm sure I've left out some important ones--but these will just get the wrecking ball swinging. <b>Maybe you've been struggling with some of these yourself. And, like Jacob, you've left the wrestling match with a permanent limp. </b>You've walked out of church and sworn never to come back. Or, you've remained in the church because of obligations or community, even though you're convinced you're not going to find what you need there. If that's so, let me encourage you. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>First, God loves you. </b> Maybe you still follow Jesus but no longer use the word "Christian." Or, you've been so hurt or confused that you don't know what you believe anymore. You might have found a different religion altogether. Perhaps you're "spiritual, but not religious." Regardless, I want you to know that God still loves you. No matter whether you talk about your Higher Power, or the Universe, or Ultimate Reality, or Buddha Nature, or Allah-- the God who is Love continues to surround you, embrace you, and enjoy your company. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Second, it's okay that you're deconstructing. </b>Better to do it now, than wait til the storm blows your house down. One of the best things I ever did was to go point by point through my denomination's statement of faith, and rewrite it accordintg to what I actually believe, rather than accepting what was handed to me. Once I tore out the rotten roof, floor boards, sheet rock, and even some of the studs, I found the strong foundation that remained, so I could build again. And so can you. It doesn't mean that you're lost--it means you're<i> thinking</i>. And God likes it when we use our brains.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><b>Third, </b></span><b>you're not alone.</b><span> Whether your faith is changing or whether you've given up on religion altogether, there are others who are either in the same spot, or who have been there before. There are people of faith to welcome and affirm you, who refuse to abuse, who are safe, who encourage. Seek out those churches, those safe people. Below, I want to give a few resources for you, if you're looking for some guidance or community.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>I'd love to talk with you! </b> Leave a comment, fill in the contact form to the right of this post, or email me at revgregsmith@gmail.com.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Read authors who represent the Emerging Church, a movement of openness and inclusion that values good questions over having all the right answers. </b>I suggest books by Brian McLaren, Greg Boyd, N.T. Wright, Marcus Borg, Carlton Pearson, Henri Nouwen, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Dan Kimball, Matthew Vines, Andrew Farley, Bruxy Cavey, John Pavlovitz, Doug Hammack, and Richard Rohr. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Talk with openminded people</b> who will listen nonjudgmentally and encourage your questions. Listen to those who have also deconstructed their faith, and built something stronger when they were done.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Leave spiritually abusive churches. </b>Spiritually abusive churches and leaders tell you what you MUST believe. They discourage free thought, asking questions, and exploration. For them, it's either their way or the highway. The best thing to do in this case is to choose the highway. Only by hitting the road can you take the journey to find the good foundation where you can build again.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Be prepared to experience grief. </b> <a href="https://davidhaywardcourses.com/p/how-to-survive-the-deconstruction-of-your-beliefs" target="_blank">David Hayward offers a course </a>in dealing with the sense of loss associated with changing beliefs, recognizing that while deconstruction is a healthy thing, it is also a painful thing. I hope you'll explore his entire website, as he makes deconstruction his full-time focus.. </span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Recently, I drove past a familiar restaurant where the management had posted a sign that read, "Closed for renovation." But behind the sign there was no restaurant--only a pile of rubble. Maybe your foundation is so bad that you don't need a reno project--you need a spiritual demolition. It's safer to tear it apart yourself than to wait til it's full of people and the storm knocks it down. <b>When the wrecking ball hits your faith, when you can strip it down to the ground and rebuild on a solid foundation.</b></span></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-2491016679157012742020-12-24T09:51:00.000-05:002020-12-24T09:51:00.871-05:00"Silent Night, Lonely Night: Christmas in Pandemic"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy1YDIuBdF-vN9ShlueL39J9mG6J138Y0seg0dQMWSjPdYo6wXYik7CRoNRfhLbZDbUm50Erzlx096XwzZVMES5YGM2VMSwQo7UrkatxgQtkb51ARLKwD4K0faDXlF3igTpSh2DJmNSk3/s1024/Silent+Night%252C+Lonely+Night+final+pic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy1YDIuBdF-vN9ShlueL39J9mG6J138Y0seg0dQMWSjPdYo6wXYik7CRoNRfhLbZDbUm50Erzlx096XwzZVMES5YGM2VMSwQo7UrkatxgQtkb51ARLKwD4K0faDXlF3igTpSh2DJmNSk3/w585-h329/Silent+Night%252C+Lonely+Night+final+pic.jpg" width="585" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Silver starlight descends with the snow as </span><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">aged hands light Christmas candles, </span><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">alone at home though her family is near. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Tears trickle with liquid love, reliving holidays past, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">with children and grandchildren gathered </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">in a cacophony of grownup laughter, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">baby's cries, childhood play, and teenage angst. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">But not this year. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";"><span style="font-size: large;">Now, she is alone in her silent night,</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">lonely night, lonely night.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Two doors down the dawn will come </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">to babies she will not see.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Little feet will race down stairs, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">delighted squeals above the sound of tearing paper.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">But not for her.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans"; font-size: large;">This year has taken many things from her:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">ability to travel, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">pure breath free from the filter of a mask,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">financial security,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">social stability.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">But the greatest toll is being alone </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans;">on this silent night, </span><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";">lonely night, lonely night.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Her mind reaches back to a couple, young, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">frantic in their need in that quiet Judean town,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">turned away from human dwelling,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">alone beneath the light of a single star.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Amid the agony of labor, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans;">a young woman pleads for her mother </span><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";">who isn't there.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Filled with desperation, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">a young man yearns for the steady hand of his father,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">nowhere to be seen.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">They, too, feel socially distant, isolated.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Silver starlight descends on angel wings as</span><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Joseph kindles his lamp in the stable </span><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">alone among beasts, though people are near. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Even shepherds keep their distance when they visit,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">faces hidden beneath their scarves,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">because they are called unclean.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Tears trickle with liquid love, celebrating this present moment, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">grateful for what he does have:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">the warmth of a stable, the love of his wife,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">a newborn child,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">in a cacophony of stable sound, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">and it is enough</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">on this silent night, lonely night, lonely night.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Grandma's heart reaches to the tent city</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";"><span style="font-size: large;">surrounded by bustling town, </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";"><span style="font-size: large;">figures huddling beneath discarded layers </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Alegreya Sans";"><span style="font-size: large;">of thin tarpaulin, wet cardboard, and sodden clothes.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Turned away from human dwelling,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">alone beneath the light of a neon sign.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">A cacaphony of souls scream in the night,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">a bit of raucous laughter,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">others cursing ghosts of the mind,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">still more finding solace in strangers' arms</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">or the warmth and oblivion of a pipe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Silver starlight descends with visiting angels</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">who bear no gold, frankincense, or myrrh, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">but whose treasures smell like coffee,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">protect like masks and wipes,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">and feel like love.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">So Grandma puts on angel's wings, which look like PPE.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Leaving her warmth to join the Seraphim,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">she shares her manna of blankets and smiles.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">Keen ears listen to well-traveled stories from a safe distance</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">as hot tears warm her cheeks with liquid love.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">It's Christmas in pandemic, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">but change is in the air.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">The Star shines as it hasn't done in centuries,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">and hope for the nations wispers peace</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">to a weary and war-torn world.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">"No room at your inn," say the mandates from above.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">So Grandma takes her love outside</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">and gives,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">behind mask, at a distance,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">but gives,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;">on this silent night, lovely night, holy night.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Alegreya Sans; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-51337415692215678162020-12-19T18:32:00.001-05:002020-12-19T22:02:22.906-05:00"Racism in the White, Southern Church: A Pastor's Confession of Compromise"<span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"I hear you've been invited to preach at the Black church," the deacon told me. "Do you think that's wise?"</span><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Yes, this was a real conversation in a real church I served in Virginia. One of the great things about having been either a youth pastor or senior pastor at six churches is that when I talk about them, nobody knows which church it is. So there will be no names--but this really happened. This is the tragedy of a congregation and community in the rural South, where such things still happen...and the story of a pastor who still had a lot to learn. It's a story in which we learn that the color of compromise is yellow, and how cowardly some churches and pastors can be. I'll tell you more in a minute. But first...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKlGbNepN4jDGagvc5pgzONQCyp5Ke7jKUY6KTw_qa2fdp1aRLtPuoc8b2VAUPkLIyKV41NT3fG3f6ZUHIGkrb5NHS8zeA31vpoHVbxo6EIImCz3nte9RySc5k9Stz5SvYcKlvR0yDIG1/s500/51IqYVt7tdL.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="323" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKlGbNepN4jDGagvc5pgzONQCyp5Ke7jKUY6KTw_qa2fdp1aRLtPuoc8b2VAUPkLIyKV41NT3fG3f6ZUHIGkrb5NHS8zeA31vpoHVbxo6EIImCz3nte9RySc5k9Stz5SvYcKlvR0yDIG1/w316-h488/51IqYVt7tdL.jpg" width="316" /></span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I just finished reading <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Color-Compromise-American-Churchs-Complicity-ebook/dp/B07BB6R827" target="_blank">The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church's Complicity in Racism</a>.</i> Amazon's review says: </span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>"The Color of Compromise is both enlightening and compelling, telling a history we either ignore or just don't know. Equal parts painful and inspirational, it details how the American church has helped create and maintain racist ideas and practices. You will be guided in thinking through concrete solutions for improved race relations and a racially inclusive church....The Color of Compromise is not a call to shame or a platform to blame white evangelical Christians. It is a call from a place of love and desire to fight for a more racially unified church that no longer compromises what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality."</b></span></i></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jemar Tisby's book is a must-read for all followers of Jesus who want to understand the real history of brutal racism in the American church. The author goes beyond discussing aggressive forms of racism, and tackles the passive-aggressive prejudice that allows racism to exist and thrive. Tisby talks about the "go along to get along" attitude toward racism that does nothing more than perpetuate discrimination, even if motivated by a well-intentioned desire for unity in the church. I hope you'll get a paper copy that you can take notes in, underline, and mark up. It's definitely worth the read!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><i>"Do you really think that's a good idea?"</i> the deacon asked, piercing me with a gaze that said, "You<i> know</i> that you'll be in trouble if you do this, don't you?"<i> </i>That stern look also made me wonder if this deacon might be the <i>source </i>of the trouble, and if this "kind advice" might be more of a threat than a caution.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Bear in mind--I was not a novice pastor at this point in my career. So I knew that in a Baptist church, the pastor doesn't truly call the shots, and lives or dies professionally at the whim of the people. Neither was I a seasoned veteran, full of confidence and able to weather the storms of an angry congregation. So I did the only thing I could think of.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I compromised. Well, to be honest, I lied. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Compromise would imply a give-and-take. But in this case, all I did was take. I took back my promise, and broke my word. Or maybe the compromise wasn't with other people, but with my own beliefs, and my own character. In any case, it was one of the things I'm most ashamed of in my life, and I have told few people about until now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"I'm sorry," I told my friend, the pastor of the other church. "When I agreed to speak on that date, I forgot that I'd already booked that Sunday off with my family."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I'm sure he could see through my lie, but he also knew that I was so fragile at this moment that he let me get away with it. He simply said, "Well, maybe some other time."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">You have to understand the deep-seated racism in the rural South where I served. You have to know that integrated churches in that region are few and far-between. On page 52 of <i>The Color of Compromise, </i>Tisby says:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><blockquote style="font-style: italic; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Harsh though it may sound, the facts of history nevertheless bear out this truth: there would be no black church without racism in the white church."</b></span></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Yes, it's true that the African American church was formed by formerly enslaved people who left the Caucasian church of their own accord, to establish for themselves churches and denominations independent of their former enslavers. So it could be said that the segregation of the American church is due to the actions of Black worshipers. Yet, there would have been no need for these believers' mass exodus from white churches, had it not been for the racism of church leaders who forced congregants of color to endure continued submission in church roles. Realizing that segregated worship was the only way to find equality in the church, Black believers had left the white church in droves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In my time pastoring that little church, I had seen the racism of my own congregants. I had also built (what I believed to be) a friendship with the pastor of the local African American church. I visited them when I could, when their services fell at times when my own church had no meetings. I became known to the people of that congregation, and I felt I knew some of them. So the invitation came naturally, when that church scheduled it's anniversary celebration, marking a benchmark number of years since its founding. "It only makes sense that you speak at our church," the pastor had told me. "Since the ancestors of our church members had been former members of <i>your</i> congregation." I thought it made perfect sense, too, so I had accepted the invitation. But then I had caved, and lied, and damaged a friendship, at the slightest pressure from a racist deacon who may or may not have even been speaking for the others in my church. (And so what, if that deacon had been speaking for all of them?) Yes, the color of my compromise was as yellow as the cowardice in my heart. And I have regretted that decision from that day until now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Let me emphasize--I knew this decision was cowardly, even before I carried it out. I didn't "slip into sin"--I ran into this lie as if into the arms of a savior that would rescue me from a tight spot. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't see any way out. I thought it was the easiest way to keep my deacon and other church members happy, while saving face with the neighboring church that I had come to love, too. What I didn't realize was the rift that it would create, how guilt would prevent me from entering the doors of that neighboring church for another fifteen years--and how the face I was trying to save had ended up breaking relationships. What I didn't realize was the chasm it would create in my own soul.<i> </i></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jemar Tisby writes:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>[Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech] was August 28, 1963. More than fifty years later, how far has the American church come in terms of race relations? The “Whites Only” and “No Negros Allowed” signs have been taken down, but schools remain segregated. People of color are incarcerated at disproportionally hight rates. Black unemployment remains double that of whites. Most poignantly, churches remain largely segregated. The reluctance to reckon with racism has led to a chasm between black and white Christians in theology, politics, and culture. This chasm only makes it harder to productively communicate and take effective action around racial issues. (Pg. 192)</b></i></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I was still struggling with this chasm when, a few months later, another opportunity for the church and me to do the right thing emerged. I received a phone call from a bride-to-be who said she was looking for a church building to rent, for their upcoming ceremony. She explained to me that she was a member of a local congregation, but their facility was too small to handle the crowd she expected. "We've always driven by your church and thought how pretty it was, and we're wondering if it's available." I told her that I didn't make those decisions, that we had a committee that handled bookings of our facilities. I told her I'd talk with the committee and have them give her a call. I did just that, and once I had passed the job on to the committee chair, I thought nothing else of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Some time later, the chair called me back, her voice quavering anxiously. "Did you know that the couple is <i>Black?"</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I was glad that she couldn't see me rolling my eyes through the telephone, but I don't think I disguised my feelings as telegraphed through my own voice. "Well, first of all, you can't see what a person looks like through the telephone, so no, I didn't know that they were Black. But, second, so what if they are Black? Why does that make a difference? This is, after all, the twenty-first century."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">That ruffled her. "I...well, I... you don't understand," she said. "We don't rent our building to <i>their kind</i>. The committee is going to tell them no."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">That pissed me off. I knew very well that we did not have a discrimination policy, and that it was only the intent of the committee, or perhaps only the chair of the committee, to keep people of color out of our building. So I told her this had to be decided by the church at large.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">By the time our church business meeting came up, word had spread through the whole congregation that one of the things on the agenda would be a decision whether or not we would allow this particular couple to rent our building. People came with their proverberial guns loaded for bear. However, as we began to look into the date the couple had requested the use of our building, we discovered that the church already had a major event planned for that entire weekend. So it was decided that we would contact the couple and say that we were sorry, it was nothing personal, but the building simply wasn't available for their wedding.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">That pacified a few people, but it just made me even more angry. I had come to the meeting prepared to settle this matter once and for all. Instead, the missed opportunity to decide for inclusion seemed like one more nail in the church's racist coffin. So, at our next business meeting after that, I came to the church with a well-drafted nondiscrimination resolution that I wanted the church to pass. After reading the resolution and allowing time for discussion, I asked for the vote to be by show of hands. And, to my surprise, the resolution passed with only a few dissenting votes. What a cause for celebration!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In <i>The Color of Compromise</i>, Tisby writes:</span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></i></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>In the Bible, James 4:17 says, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them”…The church today must practice the good that ought to be done. To look at this history and then refuse to act only perpetuates racist patterns. It is time for the church to stand against racism and compromise no longer (Pg 212).</b></span></i></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I was so proud that my church had known the good that needed to be done, and then had the courage to act on its convictions. I was so delighted with the decision that I framed the nondiscrimination policy and nailed it to the wall in the sanctuary, in a spot where every passerby would see it. It was only later that I learned that not everybody who had voted for the policy actually agreed with it. When asked why they had supported it, one grumbler stated, "The vote was by show of hands--I wasn't going to be <i>publicly racist</i>."</span></p></div><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">And isn't that just the thing? The church doesn't want to be <i>publicly racist</i>. That's why the deacon took me aside in private to say I shouldn't preach at the Black church. That's why everyone breathed a sigh of relief when our building just <i>happened</i> to be unavailable for the wedding. That's why the few African Americans who have entered white churches in the South have done so with a sense of dread--not because of what's said to their face, but behind their backs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Don't get me wrong--overt, malicious racism in the church is rare, in my experience. But I have wondered why do-nothing members were nominated for deacon, when the Black deacon who had joined us from another church was never mentioned. I have had to explain why it's offensive when farmers refer to the migrant workers they employ as "<i>Our Mexicans," </i>(especially when some were from Honduras). And I have heard the loud silent gasps of the congregation when a person of color ascended the pulpit to preach in my place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Racism has been a pernicious thorn in the flesh of the Southern, white, evangelical church for a long time. I confess that when I was younger, I compromised my own non-racist beliefs to keep the peace. I didn't realize at the time that it's not enough to be non-racist. Only an anti-racist stance from church leadership can break the cycle of overt hatred and violence, as well as covert undercuts and bigotry. Ephesians 2:13-15 says:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><i><b></b></i></span></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace…</b></i></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br />Christians, if we believe that's true, then it's not enough to defend our perceived non-racism by proclaiming that we have Black friends. It's not enough that we try to be fair and equitable by declaring that "all lives matter," rather than singling out the significant pain of one particular group. Instead, we've got to come to terms with the systemic racism present in our society and in our churches. We've got to have courage enough to face our own racism, because it's there, whether we want to believe it or not. We've got to educate ourselves, and gain perspectives we've never had before (Jemar Tisby's book is a good start). And we've got to become proactive rather than reactive.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRf_H1FD4RbygBRb9TyGn3VhwvYJgAIz3hcLD-THHxxpWtkekBu-L9K8Udr5K6oKWjjROrAnhiRhwTLLGpF3wXYUqcr2UdXgp1hYluqORcGSzjQfrHWP_ffifRcMQJHDEGEQSRKjIElz_/s1280/Confession+of+Compromise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRf_H1FD4RbygBRb9TyGn3VhwvYJgAIz3hcLD-THHxxpWtkekBu-L9K8Udr5K6oKWjjROrAnhiRhwTLLGpF3wXYUqcr2UdXgp1hYluqORcGSzjQfrHWP_ffifRcMQJHDEGEQSRKjIElz_/w413-h232/Confession+of+Compromise.jpg" width="413" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Remember the old tradition of "testimony night" in many evangelical churches? In the absence of a sermon, church members would get up and tell their own stories of God's goodness. At testiony night, we heard tales of miracles, of broken relationships restored, and of blessings. But the ones that always moved us the most were the confessions. When a brother or sister stood up and said, "This is how I've failed, but this is also where I've learned, where God has given grace, and where I can do better." I think its time that we had testimony night. I've gotten the ball rolling, with my confession. Now, it's your turn.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><i> </i></span></p></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p></blockquote></blockquote></div><div><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></div></blockquote>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-90025566962946427652020-12-12T13:26:00.000-05:002020-12-12T13:26:00.159-05:00"Are You Religious?"<p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"Are you religious?" he asked me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"Damn, I hope not," I said--and I meant it. Because religious people are more concerned with the fact that I used that word than the fact that I instantly diffused any tension there might be in the conversation, in order to have a deep conversation about Jesus. But we didn't begin there--we started out talking about tattoos and whiskey, and how I, as a follower of Jesus can enjoy both of those things. He talked about how he'd been hurt by religion, and I assured him that God doesn't want us to be religious, anyway. God just wants our hearts. The problem was, it was an uphill conversation, because the church had convinced him that religion was all about putting on a righteous appearance, and looking down on people who didn't fit the standards of the Christian culture. So I told him a story...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BmScRUq0lsQgWKT6FxtnWC6h3px6kHAOgVHQKW3pBnPHGzUYKdxdiJM_yl3NxieYmK40Lj0aS_QqJxWc6Fj34QwXpf-70oM9_-YBxlvAbmbcV7Vyo9-efY92d6P0zZ-_wqqUV_AiJEdI/s787/49OrdinarioA26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="508" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BmScRUq0lsQgWKT6FxtnWC6h3px6kHAOgVHQKW3pBnPHGzUYKdxdiJM_yl3NxieYmK40Lj0aS_QqJxWc6Fj34QwXpf-70oM9_-YBxlvAbmbcV7Vyo9-efY92d6P0zZ-_wqqUV_AiJEdI/w289-h446/49OrdinarioA26.jpg" width="289" /></span></a></div><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jesus said, “But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go. “Which of the two obeyed his father?”</span></i><p></p><blockquote><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">They replied, “The first.”</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins (Matthew 21.28-32 NLT).</span></i></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The man shook his head. "Yep, I've known a lot of Christians who said they followed Jesus, but you'd never know it."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"So have I," I said, "And I worked with them for years. I've also known a lot of people who were closer to following Jesus than some church folks were, even though they'd never call themselves Christians."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"That makes sense," he told me. "I've always thought life was about knowing that God is love, and trying to live like God. I never thought it was about going to church and trying to impress people by how good I am. Is that right?" he asked.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Giving him a fist bump, I said, "Damn straight."</span></p><p></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-84877996992120184272020-11-19T00:13:00.000-05:002020-11-19T00:13:28.762-05:00Bloom Where You Are Planted<div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9H1Vc5_3PcOd4Zfl272-D2m1i9e7PViyYNo8bh94YRgw4PcsbYWpzMy9A8GiK2IigxQZP7keBfiwJtiIWEf90pfTjzb25zrdUKANcOi7_jYejenj6OMPd__NbN0zA_H8GkiST0Z5-vzE/s960/122608788_371893547293907_2054930072078439420_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9H1Vc5_3PcOd4Zfl272-D2m1i9e7PViyYNo8bh94YRgw4PcsbYWpzMy9A8GiK2IigxQZP7keBfiwJtiIWEf90pfTjzb25zrdUKANcOi7_jYejenj6OMPd__NbN0zA_H8GkiST0Z5-vzE/w300-h400/122608788_371893547293907_2054930072078439420_n.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">This is the dumbest picture of me, ever! Not because I'm making a goofy face, but because of the stupid situation. When this picture was taken, I was on the U.S. side of the border, and my wife, Christina, was on the Canadian side. When she took the picture, we were separated by nothing more than an imaginary line, and COVID-19 restrictions that kept us apart. So we met at the border for a no-contact visit. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Being separated has been tough--and it looks like, for as long as Coronavirus is a thing, we're going to have extended periods of time apart. Pre-COVID, I used to live and work in Washington on weekdays and go to Canada on the weekends. Because of the mandatory fourteen-day quarantine in Canada, the new telework plan is to spend a month in Bellingham, followed by two weeks in isolation with Christina in Chilliwack--and to repeat that pattern until the border reopens for post-COVID travel.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZYpM30AraqnhqnxP2eTruQUaQE8sVpNLwcMm2Jzr3hT_S603il_5qu1W4mkxfd9X2fQ4urgKXkm-axG6TC0cTQB06MavzfxHIOg9rMYqUX8XpBksLEEuvn3SXnRCuRL4u3KLzqzW9CB2/s2016/122273852_665490171019428_246806050607077123_n.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZYpM30AraqnhqnxP2eTruQUaQE8sVpNLwcMm2Jzr3hT_S603il_5qu1W4mkxfd9X2fQ4urgKXkm-axG6TC0cTQB06MavzfxHIOg9rMYqUX8XpBksLEEuvn3SXnRCuRL4u3KLzqzW9CB2/w400-h300/122273852_665490171019428_246806050607077123_n.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Trailer in September, just after move-in<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"></span>While I feel most at home with Christina, these are my temporary digs in Washington. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest from Virginia almost two years ago, I rented a place from a little old lady, who passed away a few months ago. Since I could no longer live there, I took up residence in my 31-foot travel trailer, which is a comfortable size for one person (or two, who are very good friends). I've made these temporary acommodations as permanent as possible by ordering high speed internet at my RV site, getting a massive propane tank, and buying a generator in case I lose power in a winter storm. I also added insulation around the slide-out, and as a skirt around the bottom to keep out the chill. I'm learning how to live, and not just vacation, in an RV. All this back and forth, and temporary living, has taught me a thing or two about what "permanent" really means.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL0zYaA7lA6eN0bTaRvxSpbaiH0IPt2BeKxJlq2-VMgE0du3cxEF3eT5UmNbeBrMZiSiwaVQtaZ2erCrwgOmnd_bRWeNqkjWA88_2TbB8AnT1CY0UeOOFmt_kqxkoW_9zWRk5PeZ-meT7/s2048/20201114_113500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL0zYaA7lA6eN0bTaRvxSpbaiH0IPt2BeKxJlq2-VMgE0du3cxEF3eT5UmNbeBrMZiSiwaVQtaZ2erCrwgOmnd_bRWeNqkjWA88_2TbB8AnT1CY0UeOOFmt_kqxkoW_9zWRk5PeZ-meT7/w400-h300/20201114_113500.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trailer in November, settling in for the winter<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span>One thing that strikes me is that nothing is as permanent as it seems. <b>Everything is temporary.</b><i> </i>I could go to a couple different places with this. This could be depressing, if I focus on the very real fact that when we said "I do" last December, it means that we can <i>only </i>be together for fifty years or so before we die, if we're lucky. But instead of living that downer, I'd prefer to spin that on its head and say that in all the back and forth, in all the temporary living, <b>we've learned not to take anything for granted. </b> Sure, we'd rather be together full-time. And of course, we look forward to the time when my "permanent" residency is granted and we can be together for good. But for now, we take each day as a gift, and make the most of it. Not to diminish what other couples feel for each other, but I think that people who <i>can </i>live together full-time often take it for granted. It's just what's normal for them. But married couples who can't be together because of military service, incarceration, long-distance employment, border separations, or other reasons--these couples learn never to take their togetherness for granted. Which means that when they are together, they make the most of it, and <b>appreciate every moment.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Because I realize that everything is temporary, I also know that<b> I am a stranger and an alien, wherever I go.</b> The Bible reminds us that believers are sojourners while we're on earth (1 Peter 2.11-12), and that we're to be in the world but not of it (John 17.16). But unfortunately, many Christians have spent so much time looking forward to heaven that they have taken the license to mistreat the earth that is their current home. Instead, we need to say, "Because I'm only here a short time, I'm going to make the best impression I can while I'm in my temporary home." Living temporarily in Washington, I have realized that since I'm only in one place for a short time, I should keep my footprint small, and tread lightly so as not to disturb the balance of nature. But I've also learned to make the best positive impact on this community while I'm here. Just as a hiker "takes nothing but photos and leaves nothing but footprints," <b>I'm reminded to enjoy the beauty of my temporary home while I'm here, and leave it for other wayfarers to enjoy.</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I have also gained an<b> understanding and an affinity for all immigrants, refugees, vagrants, vagabonds, and those who are living moment-to-moment, uncertain as they wait for their future to unfold.</b> If you've always lived in the same place, generally had the same job, and never felt like there was a great big question mark attached to your status, you might not know what I'm talking about. While I'm far from the same condition as the homeless population that I work with 5 days a week, I've spent the past two years living temporarily, living in-between two countries. It's hard for people, far from their birth-home, to feel like they belong. But you learn to invest yourself in the place where you are, looking around instead of looking behind. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMt4OJr13pm7909MUH3BaEZG_iLEB-t4aGFxsZt0TiRRlNjMN_ZdG6MDhvAOdjx4ruScLiGaYfl_1W88zWerymEmx2SnpfVu-8bTwTQdrpwGAh2Z_EUND1XQ5Gooy9BxtYxiASSTvfqmE/w248-h320/Bloom.jpg" width="248" /></span></span></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Years ago, a cross-stitch similar to this one hung in a church where I served as youth minister. The grandma who made it probably had no idea the influence she would make on my life. For the past 27 years (give or take), it has reminded me that no matter how temporary a situation may seem, I need to invest myself in the community, in the people, in the world where I'm planted. Whether the present situation lasts a month, a year, or longer, I will thrive in this blessed moment--because it is a gift to treasure. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /><b>"Bloom where you are planted" is perhaps the best advice I could receive as a stranger, an alien, a traveler on this earth. </b>If you feel out of place yourself, I'd encourage you to put down roots, even if the soil is temporary. Settle in, and bloom. Because a seed that doesn't grow and bloom remains just a bundle of potential. But when you grow and flower where you're planted, you give life--and you help others smile along the way.<b> </b><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKMt4OJr13pm7909MUH3BaEZG_iLEB-t4aGFxsZt0TiRRlNjMN_ZdG6MDhvAOdjx4ruScLiGaYfl_1W88zWerymEmx2SnpfVu-8bTwTQdrpwGAh2Z_EUND1XQ5Gooy9BxtYxiASSTvfqmE/s724/Bloom.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"></span></div></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-83367051190776258872020-11-07T18:55:00.000-05:002020-11-07T18:55:08.092-05:00After the Election - "Now What" for Christians?<span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>Today, after the election, many Christians are asking themselves, "Now what?" </b>Prior to the vote, believers on both sides of the aisle declared that you can't call yourself a Christian if you vote for the opposite party. Many Evangelicals voted Republican, believing Trump to be God's anointed man for the presidency, and the defender of conservative family values. Yet many Jesus-followers supported the election of Joe Biden, believing their candidate to represent dignity and wisdom, as well as the love of Jesus for the outcast and the poor. Much as Confederate and American brothers prayed to the same God as they battled against each other in the Civil War, believers on both sides of this election claimed to be right. No matter whether your candidate won or lost the election, Christians across America are asking themselves, "Now what?"</span><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEeALgmd3uR3Pw-DYIISremQ_S7Z4fIgG6Sf-JU3a_Dac5b_8IGQfeT-QEj9iYQyZwpI0IA7TQf7N6wio6mF6QqzA0Omn9hD7TqF-xktSqtf4RlSPW0U8XBqNbbRgcsA5yOBhKSPqIklI/s1024/4295127227_e8e01b8d5f_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEeALgmd3uR3Pw-DYIISremQ_S7Z4fIgG6Sf-JU3a_Dac5b_8IGQfeT-QEj9iYQyZwpI0IA7TQf7N6wio6mF6QqzA0Omn9hD7TqF-xktSqtf4RlSPW0U8XBqNbbRgcsA5yOBhKSPqIklI/w400-h268/4295127227_e8e01b8d5f_b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The answer: <b>Act like Jesus.</b> But what does this mean? What would (or wouldn't) Jesus do, in the aftermath of a contentious election? If you, as a Christian, want to act like Jesus (which shold be the ultimate goal of every believer), what should (or shouldn't) you do?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>1. Don't gloat. </b>If your candidate won, it's fine to party, to celebrate, to cry tears of joy, to dance in the streets. After all, when the disciples told Jesus about their defeat of the devil's forces in His name, Jesus said:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;"><i>I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:18-20).</i></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jesus recognized, and even enjoyed the victory that his followers celebrated--but he encouraged them to focus on the good things to come in the future, rather than the demonic nature of their spiritual enemy. I believe Jesus would tell Christians who voted for Biden not to gloat, but to celebrate and look to a brighter future.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>2. Don't complain.</b> Many Evangelicals who claimed Donald Trump was God's choice for the presidency actually believed him to represent the character of Christ. Others saw Trump's racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, lies, and deceptions, but likened him to wicked biblical kings like Saul and Cyrus. Even though those biblical kings had their flaws, those Evangelicals claimed that God put them in office to accomplish particular things. Similarly, they believed Trump to be God's anointed, as evidenced by the fact that he won the election over Hilary Clinton. If you believed that Trump's election was evidence that God put him in office, then don't complain now--since, according to your logic, Trump's defeat ought to indicate that he lost God's mandate. So if your candidate lost, don't complain--just trust that if God chose Trump four years ago, God chose Biden in 2020.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OroyevlP4lEn6XdrImhoRl5rlosA30b6in2M3QeZ4KZGN1nSapGQommO-9vsnYmFIoqrKN3zav_XOl8UIfYjeN0o784qgQpLWMN_Ad28fTU-atbV5LUm6idRtSm9Ub0-d9sUxiNKoHLc/s1024/1389090304_57f18dffcb_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OroyevlP4lEn6XdrImhoRl5rlosA30b6in2M3QeZ4KZGN1nSapGQommO-9vsnYmFIoqrKN3zav_XOl8UIfYjeN0o784qgQpLWMN_Ad28fTU-atbV5LUm6idRtSm9Ub0-d9sUxiNKoHLc/w400-h300/1389090304_57f18dffcb_b.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>3. Love your enemies.</b> If you refuse to gloat or complain, that will go a long way toward acting in a loving way towards those people who you may have considered your political enemies. Besides loving them, Jesus told His followers to pray for those who persecute them. Do you feel like the other side has been absolutely horrible? Do you feel like they deserve to feel that way? Maybe you're right--but Jesus expects His followers to treat other people with the same grace that they have received from God. As in grace, God treats us better than we deserve, so believers ought to treat their enemies better than they deserve, as well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>4. Make peace.</b> These times have been so divisive, and have been filled with such hate and violence on both sides. Now is our opportunity to make peace. Jesus said, <i>"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God (Matthew 5:9)."</i> It's time to reach across the lines and take the hands (metaphorically, because--pandemic) of the people who see things radically differently from you. In Matthew 12:25, Jesus said, <i>"</i><i>Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." </i>These are tough enough times for the church, without the body of Christ being divided. We need the whole body, undivided, to do the work of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><b>5. Continue to Confront Evil. </b>Yes, God is love, but "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild" is just a song title. Jesus wasn't afraid to cast out demons, confront religious and civil authorities, or overturn the tables of economic corruption. The apostle Paul said, <i>"If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18)."</i> But sometimes it doesn't depend on us. Sometimes others bring the conflict, and other times the evil is so aggregious that Christians can't ignore it in good conscience. So, if you call yourself a follower of Jesus, continue to confront evil by opposing injustice. Stand in solidarity with people of color who are rising up, insisting that their lives matter. Become an ally for LGBTQIA+ folks, who have to fight for their most basic human rights. Defend the families of the poor, the alien, the stranger. As the prophet said, <i>"Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24)!"</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">For followers of Jesus, it's really important that we ask ourselves, <i>"Now what?"</i> Because the church has been so divided and divisive that the rest of the world looks at us and says, <i>"So what?" </i>So what, if you call yourself Christians, if you say you love your enemy, but don't even love your neighbor? So what, if you say you believe you've received God's grace, but won't even give it to others? So what, if you claim to have the answers that the world needs to hear, if you can't even get along with each other long enough to ask the right questions together? So, after the election, "Now what?" Don't gloat. Don't complain. Love your enemies. Make peace. Continue to confront evil. Because in the words of Galatians 5:6, <i>"the only thing that matters is faith working through love."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: EB Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Photo Credits:</div><div><br /></div><div><a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/38533509@N05/4295127227" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Fallen NJ Marine returns home"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span data-v-e1c1f65a="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">by <a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/38533509@N05" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">NYCMarines</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/12235658@N06/1389090304" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Athens, Alabama KKK (Ku Klux Klan) Rally and Counter-Protests September 2007"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span data-v-e1c1f65a="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">by <a data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/12235658@N06" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Gregory.Skibinski</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-e1c1f65a="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #e23600; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-SA 2.0</a></div></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-25973679999327736672020-11-03T10:24:00.001-05:002020-11-03T10:24:19.525-05:00A Different Path to the Voting Booth<p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">"Something told me go a different way," he told me, "and I started to--but then I turned around and went the same way I usually go. That's when I had the accident."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I could identify with my friend who told this story, because I've had similar things happen to me. Maybe it sounds familiar to you, too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Another friend told me that she was walking home from college night classes, going throught an inner city campus. Something in her spirit prompted her that she should walk a different route than she usually followed through the dark streets. She didn't think anything of it, until she arrived home to watch the 11:00 news. That night, along the street that she would normally have walked, and about the same time, somebody had been assaulted and mugged. I'm not saying that God saved her and didn't save the other person--that gets into some weird theological problems. But I am saying was that her own spirit was sensitive to the things the Holy Spirit already knew--and she chose to listen to this intiuitive voice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">I could give hundreds more examples, but I think you get the picture. You normally follow one path, and something tells you to turn aside and go a different way. Either you listen and things turn out well, or you don't listen, and disaster results.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In the Hebrew Scriptures, Moses was going along his merry way, tending his father-in-law's flocks, having no notion of being a national savior. He was just walking down a mountain road, minding his own business, when he saw a burning bush. The shepherd had to make a decision--to step out of his usual behavior and get spiritually curious, or to continue as usual. He said, "I must turn aside and see this strange sight (Exodus 3.3)." The rest is history.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVooxMCQzoPBwnjT7SjY8JKkZ2Uls4HMTqCFfVUUOKrSYtMlQ8f2A_Fb55LHfywqUyYf_RMPo1yHoLpI1j49s7whtnAuwyWrXKslwXLQTjDmOkNALo5jZtNJgbS8g8zRij7Wl1vSmJSkL/s441/822643p13567EDNMain16755shutterstock_82393207_300.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVooxMCQzoPBwnjT7SjY8JKkZ2Uls4HMTqCFfVUUOKrSYtMlQ8f2A_Fb55LHfywqUyYf_RMPo1yHoLpI1j49s7whtnAuwyWrXKslwXLQTjDmOkNALo5jZtNJgbS8g8zRij7Wl1vSmJSkL/s320/822643p13567EDNMain16755shutterstock_82393207_300.jpeg" /></span></a></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I<span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond";">n</span><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond";"> the New Testament, Saul of Tarsus was on a different road, to Damascus. As a religious zealot, he'd found it his duty to persecute this new sect of Christians--and he was on his way to do just that. Then God spoke to him out of a blinding light, and changed his life. Saul realized that he'd misunderstood Jesus all along, and that the good he thought he'd been doing was not only harming God's people, but caused God pain as well. So he changed. Yes--he changed. Right there in the road, he decided to take a different path.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Today, as you're on your way to the voting booth, I invite you to listen to the voice of God. Ask God what you should do when you cast your ballot. This is such an important election--it's too important to just vote the way you have always voted, or to select a candidate because your family and friends are all doing the same thing. Ask Jesus what He thinks about the candidates--and which candidate most embodies the love of Christ. Then, vote the way the Spirit leads.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">This may mean taking a different path from the way you've always gone. You may end up voting for a party you've never voted for. You could end up voting against a candidate you supported in the past. But remember--this isn't about staying stubbornly in the rut you've worn for such a long time. It's about taking a different path, if that's what God sets before you. You may never know the disaster that you avoid, by deciding to go a different way. Like Saul, you may lose friends because of the change you make. But deciding to follow Jesus, rather than following what the religious leaders tell you to do, will make all the difference. It will set you, and this nation, on a path of greatest adventure--one in which not only America, but the world can be blessed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Today, as you vote, I pray that you'll be willing to change the direction in which we've been headed. Listen, religious people, to the voice of Jesus, who says, "It's me that you've been persecuting."</span></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-18812455466670596332020-09-20T13:28:00.002-04:002020-09-20T14:00:38.693-04:00"If I Were a Rich Man"<span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">One of my favourite movies of all time is <i>Fiddler on the Roof.</i> I always wanted to play Tevye in a stage production, throwing my hands in the air and singing, "If I were a rich man." Most of us can identify with the dreams of the poor milkman, who yearns to be be wealthy--because he doesn't believe he has enough. "One day, I'll have more," we say, "and things will be better then."</span><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">But how would it be, if we were simply graeful for what we had?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">As God's people wandered in the desert, they dined on manna every day--food that they didn't have to work for, that miraculously appeared each morning. Much like Bubba Gump's shrimp, they could have it any way they wanted it. Mana burgers, boiled manna, stewed manna, manna creole, fried manna, steamed manna--the list goes on. But they weren't content with the menu that God provided. They began to sing, "If I were a rich man." "If I only had more, I'd be able to do so much more!" But, because they didn't have what they wanted, they grumbled until God gave them what they asked for. Meat on the menu. Quail came down from the heavens, blanketing the earth and providing so much meat that the people never wanted to see another squab kebab. God taught them to be grateful by giving them too much of a good thing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In the New Testament, Jesus tells the parable of a wealthy landowner who hired workers for his fields, some in the morning, some at midday, and some in the evening. At the end of the day he paid them, and they were surprised that they each received a full day's wage. Instead of being happy for those who received what seemed like charity, those who worked a full day grumbled at the unfairness of their pay. What they probably failed to realize was that they were chosen in the morning due to their physical fitness to work a full day in the hot sun. Those who were were hired in the evening were most likely disabled people waiting on the roadside for charity. He hired them to spare their feelings by giving them the opportunity to do light work for a short time, for the same. The employer decided to expect "from each, according to their ability," and pay "to each, according to their need." But this seemed unfair to the more capable workers. When they complained, their employer simply reminded them that it was his money, to give as he pleases. Jesus told this story to illustrate that we don't always appreciate God's fairness, because our mindset has to do with merit, but God's big idea is grace.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwlwQbzBzZhDmoL5NUQ1KhvIs4I6JKEUGmMPxw5hDTdnq9kAej41VJ60zLieNKg0d_RRU16ViE49h7xfBCHgkelFLmH73cuWuEZNbXIQu3uPRO-IPJsr1XNVCB9ZrEFHz-NWoTjY19pU2/s779/vineyard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="779" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwlwQbzBzZhDmoL5NUQ1KhvIs4I6JKEUGmMPxw5hDTdnq9kAej41VJ60zLieNKg0d_RRU16ViE49h7xfBCHgkelFLmH73cuWuEZNbXIQu3uPRO-IPJsr1XNVCB9ZrEFHz-NWoTjY19pU2/w479-h307/vineyard.jpg" width="479" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Cormorant Garamond";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Both of these stories focus on the ability to receive from God whatever blessings the Lord wants to provide, without grumbling that we don't have more. Instead of singing Tevye's song, we might do better to live the apostle Paul's words to his young friend Timothy. "Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6.6)." If you're curious what you'd do if you were rich, it's probably the same as you're doing now. If you're stingy now, you'd probably hoard your wealth if you were rich. If you're generous now with what you have, then if you were wealthy, you'd most likely be like the landowner who shared with those in need. With contentment comes generosity, and the idea that people don't receive God's blessings because they deserve them, but because a gracious God wants to provide for people.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Today, I pray that you'll practice gratitude for the belessings you have received--not because you deserve them, but because God is good. I pray, too, that you'll desire good things for others--not because they deserve them, but because a good God wants to provide for all. And maybe ask yourself how you, who have been blessed, may share your manna, quail, and pay with those who are still waiting by the road.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-90077741033048622502020-09-13T12:39:00.001-04:002020-09-13T12:42:17.103-04:00How "Getting Them Saved and Baptized" is Killing the Church<p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Az6HrxdKnbUj1XUtEsMvpKYEpdlvTmkGXBCPggFT7WkT7gB-Lmzc0tGCwemhc_-RNzPWdDiiBp-ZZC8Hci9cSna180xvAr_Bmqcyq6-8hhVnMvq_Z4ybRX6FGepj8cojHD7OLshkQqSy/s259/277.bmp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="259" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Az6HrxdKnbUj1XUtEsMvpKYEpdlvTmkGXBCPggFT7WkT7gB-Lmzc0tGCwemhc_-RNzPWdDiiBp-ZZC8Hci9cSna180xvAr_Bmqcyq6-8hhVnMvq_Z4ybRX6FGepj8cojHD7OLshkQqSy/w405-h243/277.bmp" width="405" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">I'll always regret baptizing 10% of our kids in VBS that year. Yes, that's right--keep reading.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">That hot summer stands out to me in sharp relief, because in some ways, it represented the highlight of this evangelical (at the time) pastor's missionary fervor. It ws my second summer at the church, and I'd been there long enough to make visits to most of the families, endear myself to the children, and begin to make a difference in their lives. Ours was a patriotic small town, so on the Fourth of July we used our award-winning parade float to hand out candy and invitations to all the kids in town. Since we planned our VBS for the week after this annual advertisement opportunity, we had a record number of kids at church that year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">At VBS, we hit 'em hard with the gospel, which sounded good to the initiated at the time, but in retrospect has the wierd ring of: "For God so loved the world that he made a hell where he plans to burn most people in eternal conscious torment. But God loves Christians best--so if only you'd become a Christian, you get to escape being tortured by the God who loves you." This is not the article where I discuss a better view of heaven and hell--suffice it to say that whatever you believe about the afterlife, scare tactics with children are definitely not cool.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">If we offered a terrifying message on the one side, we offered tremendous reward on the other side. Every time a child prayed the Sinner's Prayer, we brought them to the front of the church and applauded. They got a free gift award Bible. And a couple months later, we had a big celebration where they all got to take a swim in the river and get baptized. And they all knew how proud their families would be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">So that summer, fifteen children gave their lives to Jesus. And the church celebrated. But what happened next?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">Well, some of those kids continued attending the church, were nurtured and discipled, and today are young men and women of faith. I'm still pretty happy about that. These defining moments of spiritual growth are so important--and in no way am I suggesting that the Sinners Prayer and baptism weren't meaningful in their lives. But just like this article isn't about heaven and hell, this article also isn't about the ones who remained in church and practice their spirituality today. This is about the other ones. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">The truth is, the majority of those kids are no longer attending that or any church at all. One reason is that our church leaders never followed up. We were more focused on the celebration, on the number of baptisms we could report to our denomination, than we were interested in fostering the spiritual growth of young people and their families. It was all about "getting them saved and baptized" as the end goal, and not about discipling young believers. It was all about making converts, because a pastor or a short-term VBS staff can do that--but it takes a long term commitment to make disciples. And as one pastor, I couldn't keep up. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">You may ask why it didn't seem important to anyone else to do that followup work. If you believe in individual salvation defined as going to heaven when you die, based on faith that's expressed when you pray the Sinner's Prayer and when you get baptized, and if you cling to "once saved, always saved," then you become obsessed with evangelism and tend to de-emphasize discipleship. It's easy for church members to place all the responsibility for evangelism on their pastor (we pay him to preach, don't we?), without taking on the burden of teaching your children yourself. So it's up to the pastor to evangelize them, but not up to the church as a whole to train young believers in their faith. Oh sure, we had Sunday School, for those families that were proactive enough to bring their children. But those classes simply reinforce a teaching that all you need to do is "accept Jesus". After that, you sit back, relax, and see how you can convince your pastor to preach more evangelistic sermons so others can join the club. And when that's what it's all about, then once you get saved and baptized, there doesn't seem like a lot to keep you involved. So you eventually outgrow the church. Do that often enough, and the church begins to die.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">Another reason "getting them saved and baptized" is killing the the church, is the extreme emphasis placed on <i>personal </i>salvation. While Catholic, Orthodox, and mainline churches focus on salvation as <i>part</i> of a <i>communal </i>experience, evangelicals elevate personal salvation and personal relationship with God, over the communal experience. The result can be deep spirituality, yes. But The side effect is often a disconnect from community. Personal faith is too easily divorced from believers seeking wisdom together, sharing the joy and pain of others, investing in the life of the larger body and those within it. I'm not negating the need for personal faith, but with the way evangelicals often emphasize personal salvation as "getting saved and baptized," it becomes easy to say, "I can worship God just as well on my boat as in the church." And it's even easier to abandon a church when things go wrong. So while personal faith is good, when we define the end goal as "getting saved and baptized," we create a sense of been-there-done-that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">I can't tell you the number of times parents and grandparents have said to me, "Don't you think it's about time we got little Johnny <i>done?" </i>And, by that, they mean that once the kid is baptized, they can quit worrying that their offspring might spend eternity burning in the lake of torment. Getting them <i>done</i> means taking out a fire insurance policy. And once they have that policy, neither Johnny nor his family really needs to be in church anymore. And this is killing the church.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">Still another reason why an emphasis on "getting them saved and baptized" is killing the church, is that there seems to be a disconnect between "being a Christian" and actually acting like Jesus. Once you're saved and baptized, and you've got your ticket to heaven, then you can turn around and be a racist, sexist, ableist, who hates LGBTQIA+ folks. You can who support putting children in cages because their parents are undocumented, and you can refuse to wear a mask because you care more about your convenience more than you love your neighbor. You can do all these things because, as far as you're concerned, being a Christian is all about getting saved and baptized. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">The thing is, the younger generation sees this hypocrisy of white evangelicals, and has had their fill of it. They're leaving the church in droves, because "getting them saved and baptized" requires nothing of a person, morally. It was saved-and-baptized white evangelicals who enslaved Africans, who burned crosses on front lawns, and who uphold white supremacy today. Saved-and-baptized Christians have contributed to the fact that LGBTQIA+ youth are <a href="https://truecolorsunited.org/our-issue/" target="_blank">120% more likely to experience homelessness than other youth</a>, and why <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/40-percent-lgbtq-youth-seriously-considered-suicide-past-year-survey-n1233832" target="_blank">40% of LGBTQIA+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year.</a> Saved-and-baptized Christians promoted the doctrine of expansionism which has killed and oppressed countless indiginous people. These same saved-and-baptized people support politicians whose personal lives and political decisions are the OPPOSITE OF CHRISTLIKE. They hail these politicians as heroes, simply because they support the political agenda of the elite. And the world is catching on, that when the goal of religion is "getting them saved and baptized," you can do whatever you want and still call yourself a Christian.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">This kind of evangelism is killing the church. Unless we act like Jesus, we demonstrate to the world that our faith is useless. Unless we vote for the things that our loving, embracing, healing Jesus would vote for, we show our young people that it's really all about power politics and not about caring for our neighbor. We can have all the Vacation Bible Schools we want, lead them in the Sinner's Prayer, dunk them in the water--but if we don't lead by example and teach them to act like Jesus, they're going to see the church as meaningless, and they'll leave. That's why I'll always regret baptizing so many kids that year--because we've failed to teach them to act like Jesus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;">This generation is smart. They know hypocrisy when they see it. They can tell if you're trying to scare them out of hell and into heaven. They can tell if your idea of God is a violent dictator in the sky who likes to torture his own creation. They can tell if your life reflects the idea that religion is all about fire-insurance, and has nothing to do with living and voting as Jesus would. So, Christian, if you don't want to kill the church, maybe it's time to de-emphasize "getting them saved and baptized," and start prioritizing Actual Jesus. Because it'll kill the church if you keep talking like you're going to heaven, while you're making hell on earth for the "least of these."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Quicksand; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-36697869901029274082020-08-30T20:46:00.000-04:002020-08-30T20:46:23.626-04:00How I Got Myself in Trouble for Preaching the Wrong Gospel<p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6R-8qaHDVZsYEz_xPSUBPTa4DxAPBf9S6CoBrjLH8pVM2JQSiZy5t2inpRwVg5kM_bjWDfwfv4ByhwlZ6xfhDkKZ0D6WJ5SZC6DRqjAuxPulhG-1Qcu1upSBMHzOZReY7Sjo7AYKM0r43/s1024/2985875981_6fa47cbdda_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6R-8qaHDVZsYEz_xPSUBPTa4DxAPBf9S6CoBrjLH8pVM2JQSiZy5t2inpRwVg5kM_bjWDfwfv4ByhwlZ6xfhDkKZ0D6WJ5SZC6DRqjAuxPulhG-1Qcu1upSBMHzOZReY7Sjo7AYKM0r43/w328-h218/2985875981_6fa47cbdda_b.jpg" width="328" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">My church member crossed her arms and said, "You're preaching the wrong gospel!" For those who know me, that may come as a shock--because I was raised in a Southern Baptist church, went to a Baptist seminary, pastored evangelical churches for 26 years, and towed the line. Except when I didn't. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">But when I didn't, it was never because I abandoned the Gospel of "How to Get to Heaven When You Die." It was becuase I preached the FIRST Gospel first. Oh, I believe the Gospel that talks about receiveing Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. I never gave up on that. In fact, that was a highlight of my preaching (where, in a Baptist church, the pastor MUST include an invitation to the altar every Sunday morning). But where I got myself in trouble, where I got accuesed of preaching the wrong gospel, was where I focused on Jesus' first priority--that of liberation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">When Jesus began his ministry, he didn't wander the country declaring himself to be the savior and the only means of reaching heaven. Contrary to evangelical belief, that wasn't the primary focus of his ministry. Instead, he primarily preached, "The kingdom of heaven is near!" He taught his disciples to pray that God's will would be done on earth as perfectly as it's done in heaven. In other words, Jesus' first focus was on transsforming people's lives TODAY and IN THIS PLACE, in such a way that life on earth resembles life in heaven. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">As long as I preached the gospel of "How to Get to Heaven When You Die," I did alright. People came forward, gave their hearts to Jesus, got saved, and mostly went back to living the same as they did before. But when I preached the first message of Jesus, two things happened. First, people were challenged to live different. Second, I got myself in trouble. I learned that if I was going to preach like Jesus, I should be prepared to get crucified.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">So...what was this dangerous message? It was the same as the message that Jesus preached in the Nazareth synagogue, where he opened the scroll to Isaiah 61 (NIV) and read:</span></p><p><br /></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> because the Lord has anointed me</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> to proclaim good news to the poor.</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> to proclaim freedom for the captives</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> and release from darkness for the prisoners,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> and the day of vengeance of our God,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">to comfort all who mourn,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">to bestow on them a crown of beauty</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> instead of ashes,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">the oil of joy</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> instead of mourning,</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;">and a garment of praise</span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: large;"> instead of a spirit of despair.</span></i></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">After Jesus read that scripture, and declared that he had come to fulfill it, the good religious people in his hometown got so upset that they tried to throw him off a cliff. What's so upsetting about these words? Why did they get Jesus in so much trouble, and why did they get me crucified right along with him?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">When I said that the poor couldn't afford healthcare, I got called a communist. When I said that the captives and prisoners who needed to be freed might be children who are in cages, they said I was supporting illegal immigration. When I said that the brokenhearted might be LGBTQ folks who have been hurt by the church, they said I didn't believe the Bible. When I said strangers and foreigners (read "people of color" when the church is all white) should be welcome, they said I was just trying to change things. When I said that the day of God's vengeance was more likely going to fall on religious people than the folks we hate, they said I was crazy. They said I was preaching the wrong gospel.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">The right gospel, according to the good religious folks, was "How to Get to Heaven When You Die." And I didn't disagree with this message--so I preached that sometimes, too. But it wasn't Jesus' primary point. And it wasn't mine, either. The problem with preaching ONLY the "salvation message" (as understood in the ticket to heaven way) is that it's too easy. It doesn't involve doing anything but believing a doctrine, getting baptized, and trying your best to act as holy as the next guy. It doesn't really demand any social change. It certainly doesn't involve working to help the poor, the broken, the strangers, the foreigners, the outcast, the other. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In contrast, Jesus' Gospel was <i>mostly</i> about that. More than anything else, Jesus was about helping people. He healed them. He restored them socially. He honored them when they had been ostracized by their neighbors. He fed them when they were hungry and defended them when they were condemned. He saved them, not just so they could go to heaven when they died, but so they could live a better life here and now. And that's the tough gospel--because if I follow Jesus like that, it's going to cost me something.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">In over a quarter century of church ministry, I can't tell you how many times I got in trouble for preaching the wrong gospel. As long as I talked about Jesus' blood and streets of gold, they were happy. As long as I told them how Jesus makes THEIR lives better, they were happy. But when I told them that Jesus requires them to BE better, to DO better to their neighbors, strangers, and their enemies, it was the "wrong" gospel.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond; font-size: x-large;">Jesus told his listeners, "Love God and love people. If you do this, you've fulfilled the law and prophets." In other words, if you do this, all the rest is commentary. But if you really love God you'll show it by the way you love people. Loving them isn't just an emotion--like the way you feel when you listen to a musical artist and say, "I just LOVE him!" No, loving God means loving those who are made in the divine image. And loving people means actively working for their good. It means opposing injustice that stands against their good--especially those who are weakest. And if that's the wrong gospel, I suppose I'm guilty. But I don't mind. Jesus was guilty, too.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond;">Photo Credit: </span><a data-v-3d26efba="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/92024986@N00/2985875981" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Infrared All Saints church Sharrington Norfolk"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-3d26efba="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-3d26efba="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/92024986@N00" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Brokentaco</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-3d26efba="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-29139658050926003582020-08-25T10:23:00.002-04:002020-08-25T10:27:34.248-04:00Autopsy of a Christian Leader<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Another Christian leader has fallen. Some will condemn. Others will defend. Still more will celebrate. What's the best way that believers can respond when we witness moral failures among our leaders--among our members? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Certainly, appropriate measures must be taken. Decisions must be made about this leader's career. Firing or resignation is inevitible--but that's not the point. I want to talk about the possible stance that the average Christian is going to have, when news like this comes out.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">One position is to attack. Attackers will spotlight hypocrisy, point fingers, and gloat. They will celebrate the downfall. Attackers will outline faults and flaws and failings, because they take joy in watching the demise of someone they dislike.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Another position is to defend. Defenders can take several approaches. Some will make excuses for their beloved leader, explaining why it's somebody else's fault. Others will downplay the offense, using the passive voice and saying, "mistakes were made." Still other defenders will employ the counter-attack, biting at liberals and secular society like a dog in a corner. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNa0P8XJ9OZ0WpPqw1OULbdokRjOxyLdOUn9iDEnubaTBpeujloIh70tVycfqPnFk4fxhPE_4XGNlZtsDQs3vs2NjH7tV5JPFSs_b1aUkSMULjm8tHJSopDIjEiH1IgpcqMivPslsD5iC/s1024/autopsy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNa0P8XJ9OZ0WpPqw1OULbdokRjOxyLdOUn9iDEnubaTBpeujloIh70tVycfqPnFk4fxhPE_4XGNlZtsDQs3vs2NjH7tV5JPFSs_b1aUkSMULjm8tHJSopDIjEiH1IgpcqMivPslsD5iC/w410-h273/autopsy.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">But, what if, instead of attacking or defending, we simply did an autopsy? What if we drew a chalk line around the body, examined the evidence, cut open the remains and tried to determine what caused the downfall? There's a way to both respect the body on the one hand, while pulling out the entrails with the other, eager to find the cause without either condemning or defending the man. This is the way of love.</span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, in an odd way, it can be said that a medical examiner <i>loves</i> the person they are examining. They treat the body with utmost care, not wanting to damage anything that mustn't be touched except for the sake of finding the truth. They search out the facts of the case, not only so that justice can be done, but so that those who grieve might have answers. And in the hopes of learning something so that such falls might be avoided in days to come. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">In the days following a Christian leader's moral failure, attackers and defenders line up and spit at each other across social and theological lines. But perhaps there's a third way--neither one of making excuses nor derisive comments. The third way is to treat the fallen with care, treat the situation as the grave thing that it is, and respectfully make the first incision. Because you won't find anything worthwhile in snide remarks or useless defenses. But finding the truth might just set us free--so that this can be laid to rest, and so that the things we learn from this might shape a better future.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span>*Photo credit: </span><a data-v-10477ab3="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/26582481@N08/2723869508" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"autopsy tables"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-10477ab3="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-10477ab3="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/26582481@N08" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">reallyboring</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-10477ab3="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></span></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-14475728688345384912020-08-14T20:35:00.000-04:002020-08-14T20:35:13.022-04:00Why I Can Apologize Even When It's Not My Fault<div><span style="font-size: x-large;">With a painful, screwed-up face, Fonzie says, "I was wrrrrrrr...... I was wrrrrooooo......" But no matter how hard he tries, Fonzie can never quite say he was wrong. The audience laughs, but apologies are no laughing matter. They make the difference between pain and healing, war and peace. All too often, we get so stuck on being right, that we make it more important than being loving.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you're like me, you were taught to apologize when you say or do something hurtful. There are many variations on this. Some believe they should ask forgiveness only when they've done someting intentionally mean. I used to be one of these--but I learned that I can do loads of damage without meaning to. So I expanded my repertoire to include those inadvertent things that may cause people harm. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Others beg pardon for their very existence. Most likely because when they were young, they had a stern authority figure who made them feel guilty about everything they did. When people are made to say sorry, some become too apologetica, while others resist apologizing altogether. Nothing they do is wrong. Oh, they may say something conciliatory like, "I'm sorry you were offended," but that's not a real apology. It has all the form but none of the substance, and it only makes peace with someone who's not really listening.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">So, what makes for a good apology? I saw a sign that said, "Proper apologies have three parts. 1. What I did was wrong. 2. I feel badly that I hurt you. 3. How can I make this better." I might add that a good apology also promises to make an effort not to make the same mistake in the future.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S1x4lCSneZQBnUzVM5aZvzIYvAEaHMUbLWxV7rZvaa6pvLXsHNGGGOlXGzFPj5kzjVckAdHq4XFyg2lZwhCunqFm89J2FGKkJhsEQiTcbrgOdKwcmVhVdiohDEaadYPrMdxLutNvjfxL/s1024/5347801344_8cd7831fdf_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="765" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9S1x4lCSneZQBnUzVM5aZvzIYvAEaHMUbLWxV7rZvaa6pvLXsHNGGGOlXGzFPj5kzjVckAdHq4XFyg2lZwhCunqFm89J2FGKkJhsEQiTcbrgOdKwcmVhVdiohDEaadYPrMdxLutNvjfxL/w306-h410/5347801344_8cd7831fdf_b.jpg" width="306" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Up to this point, most people would agree with me. This is how your mama raised you. But a lot of folks have a tough time dealing with the idea of initiating reconciliation if they weren't the one in the wrong. They say, "I'll forgive them once they apologize to me!" But Jesus said, <i>"If you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God (Matthew 5:23-24 NLT)." </i> Notice, he didn't say, "you suddenly remember that YOU have something against SOMEONE." He specifically painted a scenario where someone else believes you to be at fault. So Jesus puts the responsibility for reconciliation on my shoulders--regardless of fault. Apologies aren't simply for when I know I'm wrong. They're also for when someone else thinks I'm wrong. So I can apologize even when I don't believe it's my fault.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">How do I do this? In the course of any disagreement, misunderstanding, argument, or altercation, if I genuinely look at what has transpired, I can find something that I did wrong in that moment. So my apology might not be "my point in the argument was wrong," if I thought I was right. That would be dishonest. But it might say something like, "I'm sorry that I handled that poorly. I allowed it to become an argument. I believe this so passionately, but that doesn't give me the right to act the way I did. I know that I let my anger get out of hand, and that hurt you. I'd like to apologize, and tell you that I'll communicate better in the future." That kind of apology is completely real, but it doesn't say that my position was incorrect. So this is an example of how I can apologize when someone is hurt by something I said, even if I feel my position was right.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">But what if someone is hurt by a perceived offense, that not only did I not intend, but that I don't believe I actually did? If I admit to the offense, isn't that wrong? First, I might want to consider that the other person might be right. I don't think I yelled (for instance)--but maybe I did. Maybe their perception was more accurate than mine in that moment. Second, even if I didn't yell, if I behaved in a way that made them FEEL that they were yelled at, I probably did something wrong. Third, I might consider that when I take the blame for something I didn't do, I'm actually acting like Jesus.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God made Jesus, who never sinned, to become sin itself, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. In this view of what Jesus did on the cross, Jesus exchanged his sinlessness for our sin, taking upon himself the name of sinner. In his book <i>Cross Vision</i>, Gregory Boyd explains that God values relationship so much that God is willing to be misunderstood, for the sake of reconciliation. Isaiah 53:4 (CEV) gives us a key word that we usually miss--so my emphasis is in bold print. "We in turn <b>regarded</b> him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted." It's not that Jesus WAS stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. It's not that he WAS guilty, or even (as so many churches teach) that God treated him as if he were guilty (which wouldn't be either justice or mercy)--but that Jesus allowed people to view sin in him, even though he was innocent, so that he could demonstrate the gentle, non-retaliatory, and self-sacrificial love of God.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">So, if I'm going to be like Jesus, I'm going to quietly receive it when someone gets in my face and spits and screams, "You blanketyblank, you did this to me!" Instead of returning insult for insult, I'm going to expose my back to be scourged, as it were. I'm going to stretch out my arms to be crucified. I'm going to allow that person to view me as guilty, even if I don't think I did anything wrong (and even if I'm certain that I'm right). Why? Because this is what Jesus did--for the sake of reconciliation.</span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I can do this on a personal level, when a friend or a stranger believes I've wronged them. I can allow them to perceive me as guilty, without feeling the need to defend myself. I can apologize for the the things I did that may have made the matter worse, even if I can't in good conscience apologize for my stance on an issue. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I can also do this on a corporate level. When a person of color, who has experienced not only personal trauma but historical and racial trauma, recounts to me the things that my ancestors have done to oppress his people, I am more than willing to apologize for what my people have done. I have done this many times, with many individuals, and you'd be amazed at how peacemaking it can be. It doesn't mean that I feel I am personally responsible for the behavior of slave traders and conquerors from generations past--but it means I regret their horrible actions, and will do whatever I can to heal hurts that may have stemmed from those atrocities. It means I'm willing to put relationship above my personal fragile defensiveness, enough to say, "I'm sorry." </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Now, I realize that many of you were made to apologize to people when you were kids, even if you didn't feel you were at fault. Some of you may have become overly apologetic, while others may stubbornly refuse to make amends. Maybe it's triggering for you, if I tell you that you should do this. So instead of asking you to follow suit, I will only tell you the blessing that it has been for me, to be willing to lay my back open to the scourgers, to take the blame for something that may not even be my fault. Because, at the end of it all, there is resurrection, reconciliation and restoration. Maybe it's not just because I've moved to Canada, that I'm able to say I'm sorry. Instead I think it's because I want to be just a little bit like Jesus.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Photo credit: <a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/72794895@N00/5347801344" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"fyi"</a><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-53d63e5d="" face="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/72794895@N00" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">zappowbang</a></span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></span></div></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-33756489265672056922020-08-12T10:22:00.000-04:002020-08-12T10:22:07.210-04:00"When It's Hard to Be Still" - Ps 46:10<div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">Do you have a tough time sitting still? When I'm at work, I find I have to get up and move around all the time. In my home office, I have a stand-up desk on one side and a sit-down table on the other side, with an adjustable bar stool to adjust between the two heights. Frequently--just because I have a hard time sitting still--I get up, leave the office, and take a walk around the house. It's hard for me to be still.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">That's why I practice being still almost every morning, in contemplative prayer and meditation. Using breathing techniques and the repitition of sacred words, fingering through prayer beads (which help me move a little while being still), I practice inner silence. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">In Psalm 46:10, the Lord says, "Be still, and know that I am God."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvrDibe2MT17zlEZj5q9fjK1hiLcUjMh7bwOuBc5QUJAbBeXvsHZXqh8YvEh5sAIMwhWvlIJQplbXJG4v4xxozrIeu-mw1YWlS9GXOBXw1PPGTWjjQQRYDr8ulFWtCILxVRxXFnTjymm8/s1024/16150145593_f9ea772852_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1024" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvrDibe2MT17zlEZj5q9fjK1hiLcUjMh7bwOuBc5QUJAbBeXvsHZXqh8YvEh5sAIMwhWvlIJQplbXJG4v4xxozrIeu-mw1YWlS9GXOBXw1PPGTWjjQQRYDr8ulFWtCILxVRxXFnTjymm8/w410-h299/16150145593_f9ea772852_b.jpg" width="410" /></a></div> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Not long ago in meditation, the mantra I repeated was simply the two words "Be still." And here's what came to mind: that word "still" has a lot of meanings, and the phrase "be still" can have a lot of applications.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Be still" means to quit moving.</b> It means, literally, to let your body relax, to feel your own breath and heartbeat, to quit fidgeting. This is important in many types of meditation.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>
"Be still" means to be calm or tranquil, as in still water.</b> Just as still water has no current or ripples, a still mind allows itself to simply rest in God's presence, and to reflect God's image.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>
"Be still" means to utter no sound. </b>It means to cease filling the mind and the mouth with extraneous words and thoughts. When my vocal cords and brain cease forming words, the Word of God can finally speak.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>
"Be, still" (with a comma) means to abide, continually.</b> It means to remain. It means to just exist in this present moment. To just be, despite all that's going on. It means to just be, nevertheless. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Finally, (I'm taking a little latitude) "To be a still" means to be a distillery.</b> It means to be like a whiskey still, filtering out the contaminants of the world and allowing God's truth to ferment inside me until it becomes somethiing good.</span></li></ul><div><br /></div><div>So, when it's hard to be still, I recommend literally meditating on what those two words mean. Sit, and be still with those two words. Let them ferment inside you--then taste, and see that the Lord is good.</div></span>
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<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: small;">Photo credit:<a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25852981@N04/16150145593" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Briksha"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-53d63e5d="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25852981@N04" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">andrewscater</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC 2.0</a></span></div>
Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-26166223188340953132020-08-11T17:10:00.000-04:002020-08-11T17:10:49.708-04:00It's OK to NOT go back to your church during COVID...or after.<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Churches are opening up during COVID--but it's okay NOT to go. I know what you're thinking--how could a pastor say that? I can say that BECAUSE I am a pastor. It's in my heart to care for people. No, I'm not currently serving a church, and many may discount what I say because I don't have "skin in the game" in terms of making sure that the institution keeps running. But I served churches for over a quarter century and I still pastor people's souls--so here's why I say that YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK right now.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Maybe you're immunocompromised, or you have family members who are, and you don't want to risk infection. Maybe you're not immunocompromised, but you realize that you regularly come into contact with other human beings--and Jesus has put so much love in your heart for them that you'd like to save their lives,if possible, by not becoming an asymptomatic carrier. Whatever your reason, it's okay to NOT go back to your church during COVID.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Now, I know, there are a lot of intrepid souls out there who value church gatherings to the extent that you're willing to risk your own health for the sake of your own worship experience, for the sake of participating in fellowship and service. I get that. Many churches are opening during COVID for the benefit of the people who feel just that way. I'm not saying you shouldn't go. What I'm saying is that if someone is telling you that you need to go, no matter the risk, you should consider THEIR motive.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtco2gj37f7iJ4Lqx3Q3s2xrsHW0hCwqkX6nRP59jOBjyprNhCWUsnsXrU45oJl_G3Z5Azso2dmW4piWY1yTYpUCBW_w7DhKIxhN5J516HiYoQKbfBdHDop96zsxZa79BwnCowe226Cn-r/s1024/14281864189_0000b444bd_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtco2gj37f7iJ4Lqx3Q3s2xrsHW0hCwqkX6nRP59jOBjyprNhCWUsnsXrU45oJl_G3Z5Azso2dmW4piWY1yTYpUCBW_w7DhKIxhN5J516HiYoQKbfBdHDop96zsxZa79BwnCowe226Cn-r/w410-h230/14281864189_0000b444bd_b.jpg" width="410" /></span></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">There are a few false messages going around that are telling you that you need to go back to church.</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">1. "<b>Jesus died for you---you should be willing to die for him." <i> </i></b><i>Wait--what??? </i>Yes, I've actually heard pastors say this in relation to COVID. While I do believe that there's a time and place for martyrdom, this is not it. Maybe God will one day call you to enter the pearly gates through the martyr's path, but that would involve a person or persons murdering you for the sake of your faith--not falling victim to a disease that doesn't care what your religion is. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">2. "<b>The church could die unless we open back up again</b>." No doubt whoever says this is thinking about the church's bottom line. They're thinking about money. Because It's true that some churches will see a drop in giving due to COVID-19. Many Christians forget to give their tithes and offerings when they're not physically present in the building, and don't generally make it up once they return. It's also true that your church has expenses that don't go away, simply because they're not having services. Salaries still neeed to be paid, as do mortgages, et cetera. But your church can trim its budget to all but the bare essentials during this time. Maybe this is the time your church needed, to reexamine its priorities. In any case, if your pastor or anybody else says they need to reopen church in order to bring in the money, this is a clear indication that they HAVE reexamined their priorities, and PEOPLE'S LIVES are not the priority. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">3. <b>"Church is too important to give up, because it's an exercise of your freedom." <i> </i></b><i>Really??? </i> Did you actually hear what's embedded in those words? If that's your reason for going to church, then you've placed exercising your freedom as the top priority, as the end goal--and you've made churchgoing simply the means to the end. If you've elevated the flag to this position, you've diminshed the cross. Your exercise of your freedom isn't worth causing someone else to get sick and die.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">4. <b>"Fellowship, worship, and giving are so important that you need them for your spiritual health." </b>Okay--to me, this is the best argument for going back to church during COVID. But it still doesn't convince me. It's true that church on YouTube and small group through Zoom aren't quite the same as participating in them live. But they're not so bad, and they're a whole lot better than risking your life or someone else's. Our ancestors have had to put up with a lot more hardships than having to use awesome technology to keep in touch with people during a pandemic. We can do this!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">If someone has used any of these arguments to convince you that you MUST go back to church during COVID, then you've got to examine THEIR motives, and wonder whether they've placed their own desire for you go return to church, over your own physical needs. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">After you wade through other people's motives, it's tiime to examine your own. You might think that worshiping together is worth YOUR risk of getting sick. But what about the risk of you infecting the oldest member of the church--somebody's grandma who's well-loved? Are you willing to risk getting her sick? I hope that you'll give this some consideration before you return to church during COVID. Time and time again, the Bible encourages Christians to put the needs of others over our own desires. Maybe living out your faith means staying home just a little while longer.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's okay not to go back to church during COVID. It's also okay not to go back to your church after COVID is done. No, I'm not saying you should give up church altogether. But I am saying that maybe during the pandemic, you've been checking out a few other churches through their Zoom meetings, YouTube videos, or other online resources. If your church has handled this oubreak poorly--if the leadership has shown that their first priorities are church finances or defiantly exercising freedom--then maybe it's time to find a different church. It's okay for you to spend this time that God has given you to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider whether you should return to the same congregation, or find another one. Because Proverbs 13:20 says, <i>"Those who walk with the wise grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you feel like maybe you shouldn't go back to church just yet, here are a few ideas to BE the church, even if you don't GO to church:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">Start a small group of like-minded believers and meet in the park where you can socially distance.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">Find a service project that you can do with other people. Instead of a worship-service, think about what service-worship would look like.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">Connect with other people using social media. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you have extra time on your hands during COVID, call your pastor and ask how you can volunteer.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you're concerned about the church's budget, conider increasing your giving during this time of financial pinch.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Remember, the church isn't a building where you meet--it's a group of people who follow Jesus no matter where they are. Just because you don't return just yet, that doesn't mean you aren't faithful. It just means you're giving yourself, and others, a little bit of breathing space.</span></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58235065@N03/14281864189" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Church_2"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-53d63e5d="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58235065@N03" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">planetirony</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-53d63e5d="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-55117135672923038882020-08-08T21:09:00.004-04:002020-08-09T10:40:41.456-04:00Dear Former Church Members (If the Shoe Fits)...<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dear Former Church Members (whose congregations I once served as pastor),*</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Some of you, with notes of pity or disdain in your voices, have told me, "You've changed." Well, this is true and untrue at the same time. Let me explain.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In some ways, it may seem to you that I've changed because you never knew ALL of what I believe. Because in Southern Baptist churches, where the pastor is employed by the individual congregation rather than by the denomination, every single church member considers themselves the pastor's boss. This means that Baptist pastors know all too well that they can't put all their cards on the table--whether those cards are political, theological, or social. When you have a hundred bosses at each church you serve, it keeps you on edge. Did you know how much you (if the shoe fits) kept me on edge, trying to make you happy while I was serving you?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Because we constantly walk a tightrope, many Baptist pastors (including myself) have learned to keep their opinions about politics to themselves, because if their opinion differs from that of their church members, their jobs might just be on the line. That's because unfortunately, American Christians often confuse political opinion and religious belief. So if many of my Republican church members knew that sometimes I vote Democrat, it could have been professionally disastrous. So I kept my views quiet. Now, when I voice my political opinion, you say I've changed. To which I respond--yes, I've changed in that I've learned that now I can actually be like everybody else and express my political opinion. Isn't that a good thing?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">You also say I've changed because I've begun expressing theological opinions that are different from yours. To which I ask--why did you assume I believed the same as you, anyway? The beauty of being Baptist is that we believe in the doctrines of the Priesthood of the Believer and Soul Competency. This means that freedom and individuality is honored in churches--at least, it's supposed to be. But that has been pretty rare in Southern Baptist churches for the past 40 years or so. Instead, conformity is preferred, and anybody who differs must certainly be wrong. Because of the current climate with so much intolerance for difference, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">many Baptist pastors try to keep everybody happy by keeping the main thing the main thing, without trying to get sidetracked by issues that AREN'T 100% central to salvation message (where salvation is defined as going to heaven when you die because you accepted Jesus as your savior). Pastors know that if they're growing spiritually and trying out different theological ideas, they'd better not let anybody know about it. Best to just tow the line. But now that I'm no longer pastoring your church--I feel freedom to express myself and hopefully let you know that it's okay for you, too, to stretch your wings and fly beyond the expectations of the fundamentalists around you. You say I've changed. Yes, I have. I'm soaring.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztCK69msS5czyMtiVNDaGmOhun-wxnN15Et-kXD3HAnH3fdLYfaYDAXPokNE9KYJV4xWyIiS4uoWrOdiE1fwCQXMI5Hwo5IYwclC5yHmfBEebETq5IbRZxsIE55pObGI5RwSY6EHLXgXo/s1024/butterfly+coccoon.jpg" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztCK69msS5czyMtiVNDaGmOhun-wxnN15Et-kXD3HAnH3fdLYfaYDAXPokNE9KYJV4xWyIiS4uoWrOdiE1fwCQXMI5Hwo5IYwclC5yHmfBEebETq5IbRZxsIE55pObGI5RwSY6EHLXgXo/w320-h240/butterfly+coccoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">You say I've changed in my position on social issues. Well, that makes sense. You didn't know about my political mind, and I couldn't share my deepest spiritual thoughts with you, so it's no surprise to me that you're shocked when I express my opinions on social issues and they're different from yours. Since I'm divorced and remarried, I've had to really evaluate my views on marriage. With several LGBTQIA+ people in my family, of course I believe in supporting their rights. You'd believe so too if you knew how many of them are in your family. And if you don't know how many there are, it's because you've shown them that they can't trust you enough to come out. You say I've changed when I support Black Lives Matter--but that's only because you assumed my views on race were the same as yours. Have I changed? You bet--now that you're not my employer, I have freedom to tell you exactly how I feel. Which just might be (gasp) different from you.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">So yes--I've changed. In a lot of ways. If you've known me since I was a young pastor--maybe in my 20s or 30s--you did actually know a more conservative man. I began to change a lot in my viewpoints about ten years ago. In some other ways, maybe five years ago. So if you knew me back in the day, then yes--I've changed in my opinions, perspectives, and views from when you knew me. But I've changed because I'm open to life teaching me new lessons, because I'm open to God's spirit which still calls me to grow. An active faith means an adapting one. Honestly, if YOU haven't changed in the past 10 years, it's probably because you're not growing. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">But let me tell you the ways in which I have NOT changed. In ministry and in life (yes, those two can be separate things), I have always tried to be motivated by love. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">No matter how my family has been formed, I have always tried to love unconditionally and with my whole heart. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">I have always been frustrated by "Christians" whose faith has functioned more to exclude people than to include people. I have always tried to read the Bible through the lens of the Spirit of Jesus, which is more important than tradition. And I have always tried to be instrumental in leading people to the many types of salvation that Jesus offers. In these ways, I have remained constant.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Christian friend, it bothers me that you've looked at me with pity or disdain and said, "You've changed"--as if change is a bad thing. It bothers me for your sake--not for mine. I mean, in't CHANGE 100% the content of the Gospel message that I preached over 26 years of ministry? This is the meaning of the word REPENT. When we're going in the wrong direction, it takes humility before God to faithfully and honestly consider our own mistakes, to turn around, and grow towards God. Change is also the core of the Christian message, when we understand it in terms of transformation. This is what the resurrection is all about. It's about being like Jesus--letting God transform me, like a gnarly old caterpillar coming out of a cocoon, now with legs and beautiful wings, ready to fly. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">So have I changed? I hope I have--and I'm glad you noticed.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">With love,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Greg</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p>*If you're one of my former church members who isn't upset that I've changed, then it's because you're one of the good ones, who recognizes that all people grow, and your former pastor has grown as well. So this is one of those "if the shoe fits, wear it" kind of articles. If you're offended by what I've written, then this probably was, in fact, written for you.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztCK69msS5czyMtiVNDaGmOhun-wxnN15Et-kXD3HAnH3fdLYfaYDAXPokNE9KYJV4xWyIiS4uoWrOdiE1fwCQXMI5Hwo5IYwclC5yHmfBEebETq5IbRZxsIE55pObGI5RwSY6EHLXgXo/s1024/butterfly+coccoon.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztCK69msS5czyMtiVNDaGmOhun-wxnN15Et-kXD3HAnH3fdLYfaYDAXPokNE9KYJV4xWyIiS4uoWrOdiE1fwCQXMI5Hwo5IYwclC5yHmfBEebETq5IbRZxsIE55pObGI5RwSY6EHLXgXo/s1024/butterfly+coccoon.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: </span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a data-v-f9823d66="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/19406267@N00/4572082376" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Butterflies!"</a><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-f9823d66="" face="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-f9823d66="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/19406267@N00" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Manue@PrettyKiku</a></span><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-f9823d66="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "source sans pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><p></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-84221585710348514532020-07-24T17:39:00.000-04:002020-07-24T17:39:08.365-04:00Tenderfooted, Tenderhearted People<div class="separator"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="georgia" size="5"><br /></font></div></div><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu023Pw3Jq4spOv_jvmrcSRES5zUg4EwniKbjsRYO5jHcGiwhcJ7QAgMRNgF8sdYLcrYUUlL49Fe_uddtOJxjie6F3VE6QCXcnuB4p88Y3Sg7gyaKvPSDPPoGfzcCXaRdFFwsP662amZl9/s1024/bare+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu023Pw3Jq4spOv_jvmrcSRES5zUg4EwniKbjsRYO5jHcGiwhcJ7QAgMRNgF8sdYLcrYUUlL49Fe_uddtOJxjie6F3VE6QCXcnuB4p88Y3Sg7gyaKvPSDPPoGfzcCXaRdFFwsP662amZl9/w320-h212/bare+feet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></font></div><font face="georgia"><font size="5"><span style="background-color: white; color: #54595d;"><div>It's summer--time for bare feet in the grass, on the sand, and soaking in the water. But you don't want bare feet on gravel, hot pavement, or (for Die Hard fans) on broken glass. Barefooting is great in certain situations, but not in others--because even folks with calloused feet hurt themselves from time to time. </div><div><br /></div><div>A tenderfoot is a person with unusually soft soles on their feet. The term is also used to refer to a person who is new to a job or an organization. It used to refer to people who were new to living on the frontier--city slickers who were used to wearing shoes all the time. They would be called "tenderfoot" until they had literally developed callouses on their feet, or until they had become figuratively calloused to frontier life.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, I think a lot of people are tenderfooted when it comes to conversational skills. It seems these days it's difficult to discuss things we hold dear, without being offended or hurting other people's feelings. Recently, somebody commented to me about how we're taught not to discuss religion or politics--but what we really need to be taught is how to have a civil conversation. We need to learn how to be sensitive to the feelings of others--and how not to have fragile feelings ourselves.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we walk this earth, it's easy to get our feet cut by the sharp comments of others. One solution would be to cover the whole earth in bubble wrap--but that could be suffocating, couldn't it? Shantideva, the eighteenth century Indian scholar, said maybe you could cover the world with leather so that you could walk more safely. But...</div></span></font><font size="5"><span style="background-color: white; color: #54595d;"><div><br /></div><div><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><i>"Where would there be leather enough to cover the entire world? With just the leather of my sandals, it is as if the whole world were covered. Likewise, I am unable to restrain external phenomena, but I shall restrain my own mind. What need is there to restrain anything else?"</i></blockquote></div></span></font></font><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE0QNPYGXFZaBBl20Otp0tK1g35blESz9Ejk0iqmXco0wNsL333WzWxecSHJ5NdFg2Y6cDtqvG-MHFSsKTohZ-WCsmrFypJY9OFoC3HiIqeHVh3T7_NZ4-xpcY8OuwAF19dBu3cnwbrDA/s240/sandals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOE0QNPYGXFZaBBl20Otp0tK1g35blESz9Ejk0iqmXco0wNsL333WzWxecSHJ5NdFg2Y6cDtqvG-MHFSsKTohZ-WCsmrFypJY9OFoC3HiIqeHVh3T7_NZ4-xpcY8OuwAF19dBu3cnwbrDA/s0/sandals.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #54595d;"><br /></span></span></font></div><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;">I can't cover the world--but I can cover my feet. This means that while it's impossible to make the world a softer place, it is possible to protect my heart and mind. What's the leather I can use to cover my tender feet? It's called LOVE. By putting on love, I can keep my tender heart safe, and protect others as well. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT) says:</span></span></font></div><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;"><br /></span></span></font></div><div><span class="text 1Cor-13-4" id="en-NLT-28630" style="background-color: white;"><span class="versenum" style="display: inline; line-height: normal; position: relative; top: auto; vertical-align: text-top;"><font face="georgia" size="5"><i></i></font></span></span><blockquote style="text-align: center;"><i><font face="georgia" size="5"><span class="text 1Cor-13-4" id="en-NLT-28630" style="background-color: white;">Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 1Cor-13-5" id="en-NLT-28631" style="background-color: white;">or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text 1Cor-13-6" id="en-NLT-28632" style="background-color: white;">It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. </span><span class="text 1Cor-13-7" id="en-NLT-28633" style="background-color: white;">Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.</span></font><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></i></blockquote><span class="text 1Cor-13-7" id="en-NLT-28633" style="background-color: white;"><font face="georgia" size="5"><i></i></font></span></div><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;"><br /></span></span></font></div><div><font face="georgia" size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;">Love is a power that heals the cuts and bruises made by others. It also guards your tender feet and heart so that you won't be so easily offended by people--because you'll be walking with them in Jesus' sandals instead of your own shoes. No, you can't cover the world in leather so it won't cut you. But when you cover yourself in love, God will give you angels to help you, "lest you dash your foot against a ston[y hearted person]." This means you realize that you can't change the world, but you can change yourself. You can't cover the world, but you can cover your heart and mind with love. And by doing so, you'll be able to be tread lightly among tenderfooted people, and have your heart protected, at the same time.</span></span></font></div><div><font size="5"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;"><br /></span></span></font></div><div><font size="1"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #54595d;">Photo credit: </span></span><a data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/78569511@N02/9945254175" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"Bare feet"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-5ffe52ab="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/78569511@N02" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">zhang_yiwei</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #363636; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</a></font></div><div><font size="1">Photo credit: <a data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65356909@N00/5707016839" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">"002-365 footwear"</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> </span><span data-v-5ffe52ab="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;">by <a data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/65356909@N00" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">cukuskumir</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif;"> is licensed under </span><a class="photo_license" data-v-5ffe52ab="" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #ed592f; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Source Sans Pro", sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></font></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-80980982276605560582020-07-18T20:25:00.000-04:002020-07-18T20:32:32.263-04:00How to Have Conversations with Other Humans<div class="separator">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">During COVID-19, have you forgotten how to talk with other humans? No, really--that's a serious question. If you've been quarantining, working from home, unemployed, flattening the curve, and living inside your bubble, then chances are, you've had a smaller circle of people that you're talking with lately. Social distancing isn't just staying six feet away--it's also keeping extended families apart, friends away, and made coworkers just another face on Zoom. All this isolation can make you lose your "people skills." Social media may be your primary form of communication these days. And, based on the way folks interact on those platforms, it seems all our social skills have taken a nose-dive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Add to that, the fact that it's election season for Americans. This has increased tensions between friends and family members who may see things from different perspectives. It seems that people have forgotten how to have civil disagreement these days. So, maybe we need a refresher on how to have conversations with other humans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes it's not WHAT is said, but HOW things are said that make the difference between a broken relationship and a healed one. I'd never suggest that you abandon your cherished opinions, but perhaps with the right OARS, we can paddle through the rough waters of difficult conversations.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj257PxzOc-ZEyZmNYnRGQIbyac-uEdIYlKHemKnwaj4P3rcEYLxy7zTSkoq5Xfbjj_xsKQB9cvRE7aWty0GbDQ9Zxqk9ieLk_EztbHcu3tL-VdNCv0A2vqWk3LL7ZwUT-cQsMTCsclvKdy/s1023/oars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt=""Paddle" by ArnelGenterone is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0" border="0" data-original-height="1023" data-original-width="575" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj257PxzOc-ZEyZmNYnRGQIbyac-uEdIYlKHemKnwaj4P3rcEYLxy7zTSkoq5Xfbjj_xsKQB9cvRE7aWty0GbDQ9Zxqk9ieLk_EztbHcu3tL-VdNCv0A2vqWk3LL7ZwUT-cQsMTCsclvKdy/w220-h391/oars.jpg" title=""Paddle" by ArnelGenterone is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0" width="220" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In William Miller and Stephen Rollnick's counseling technique called </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivational_interviewing" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Motivational Interviewing</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">, practitioners utilize four key skills, called OARS. These OARS aren't just skills for counselors--they're just good communication skills for humans to have conversation with one another. The acronym stands for Open-ended questions; Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Open-Ended Questions</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instead of asking "yes" or "no" questions that invite only a simple answer, try asking questions that really elicit a detailed response. You'll learn more from the other person if you can get them talking. You might try questions like:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"What would it look like if _______?"</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"What do you think about_______?"</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Yes" or "no" questions can make people shut down instead of opening up. A good conversationalist uses open-ended questions instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Affirmations</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Affirmations are more than compliments--because they're true. Affirmations are not flattery--they are observations and appreciations about a person or their perspective. When you give someone an affirmation, it makes them feel built-up, and it encourages them to continue the conversation. You might try:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"You really seem to value ________."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"You're really good at_________."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"I'm impressed that you___________."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Everybody likes to talk with somebody who appreciates them. Just make sure your affirmations are sincere, because flatter will get you nowhere in a genuine conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Reflections</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People want to know that they're heard. And you need to know that you're hearing them correctly. If you didn't understand them, you want to know that, too, so that they can clarify anything you misunderstood. You might use phrases like...</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"It sounds like you're saying_________."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"It seems like____________."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"If I'm hearing you right, _______________."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When you reflect back to somebody what you think you're hearing, you can make sure that you understand them. They can also know that they're being heard. And people who feel heard want to keep on talking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Summaries</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whether it's at the end of a conversation, or at a turning point in a conversation, it's useful to summarize what someone has been talking about. Summaries are kind of like reflections, but they are geared toward what comes next. They make good transitions--either shifting toward the end of the conversation or moving to a different topic. Summaries look like:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"We've talked about ____. What else is important to you?"</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"From our conversation, I've learned ____ and ____."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"I'm glad we've established________."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Summaries help you maintain your focus in a conversation. An unfocused chat may be fine sometimes, but true understanding takes intention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In times like these, when isolation makes you lose your "people skills" or when political tensions threaten the loss of friendships, it's important to practice good conversational skills. Talking is more than just speaking--it's listening. It's asking good questions. It's paddling skillfully through an interaction so that you enjoy the journey, see the scenery of another person's soul, and hopefully come to understanding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo credit 1: <span style="text-align: center;">"Talking on the edge in Zurich"</span><span style="text-align: center;">by Alexandre Dulaunoy is </span><span style="text-align: center;">licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo crecit 2: "Paddle" by ArnelGenterone<span style="text-align: center;"> is licensed under </span><span style="text-align: center;">CC BY-NC-ND 2.0</span></span></div>
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Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-50706651632412845832020-07-11T12:47:00.013-04:002020-07-18T17:57:53.828-04:00"Icebergs Ahead! But Don't Be Afraid.""I'm not prejudiced," he said, "because I like rap music, Mexican food, and Asisn art. Right? I mean, I even have black friends, and my church did a mission trip to work with the Indians (American or South Asian, I can't remember which). I was raised not to see color, to treat everybody as equal, and I raised my kids that way, too. So I can't be prejudiced. Pass that label on to somebody else--maybe that guy over there with his head shaved, flying the Swastika. Yeah, that's what prejudice looks like--right?"<br />
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Most good people would hope that this is true. But if we take a closer look, we just might find that deep inside, all of us have picked up a touch of prejudice somewhere along the way.<br />
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Now, as soon as I say this, I know some of you will get defensive. I'm not talking about black versus white. I'm talking about prejudice on all cultural levels. So please--take a look at this pretty picture and then hear me out.<br />
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The Cultural Iceberg depicts two levels of a person's culture. Floating on top is Surface Culture: those aspects of a person's culture that can be easily discerned by others who are not in the same culture. These are things such as food, flags, festivals, fashion, holidays, music, performances, dances, games, arts and crafts, literature, and languages. When a person sees another culture, these are the things that they see on the surface. A person may enjoy aspects of another culture that float above the surface, and therefore they may deem themselves to be "not prejudiced." <br />
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But look beneath the surface, and you see the more massive level of Deep Culture. You may enjoy another culture's restaurants, for example, but have a hard time grasping elements of their Deep Culture. You may judge them, consciously or subconsciously, based on these things.<br />
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Deep Culture involves communication styles and rules. This includes facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, personal space, touching, body language, tone of voice, handling and display of emotion, and conversation patterns. When I was eighteen, I was walking with a dear male friend in a shopping mall. Having recently come from Palestine, he reached over and took my hand as we strolled together. I understood the social norm in Arab culture, but my teenage prejudice and homophobia kicked in, and I immediately dropped his hand. Imagine how foolish I sounded as I tried to explain to him how my cultural and sexual fragility required that I reject his gesture of friendship! <br />
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Deep Culture involves notions of courtesy and manners, friendship, leadership, cleanliness, modesty, and beauty. An example of this would be white culture's frequently equating blondness with beauty. I mean, in jokes and music, all they have to say is, "this blonde walked into the room," and everybody just knows she's gorgeous. Poor brunette white women! And (given this reference) too bad for beautiful women of color, who apparently don't measure up! This isn't something people think about, or even notice on a surface level. It's hidden, beneath the surface of our conscious minds. And it can be a source of prejudice.<br />
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Deep Culture involves concepts of self; time; past and future, fairness and justice; roles related to age, sex, class, family, etc. You may not consider yourself racist, but you may judge somebody from a different country as rude based on their flexibile schedule keeping. You may not think you're prejudiced, but you may think that someone of a different culture is overreacting to unjust situations, becoming more incensed where you might be more reserved. You might not consider yourself racially biased, but you might say that people of another culture are "immoral" because they don't have the same sexual or romantic values as your culture.<br />
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Deep Culture involves attitudes towards elders, adolescents, dependents, rule exceptions, work, authority, cooperation vs, competition, relationships with animals, age, sin, and death. I grew up in a home with two generations: parents and children. Across the road from us lived a family from a different culture, with four generations in the home. I thought that was weird because I didn't understand either the economic necessity or the generational togetherness that they enjoyed. Because I viewed things from my own cultural standard, I labeled their experience as "less than" my own. I wouldn't have considered myself prejudiced--I played with those same kids. But I didn't "get" their family structure, and subconsciously judged them for it.<br />
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Deep Culture involves approaches to relgion, courtship, marriage, raising children, decision-making, and problem-solving. When I was growing up, a family in my church hosted a foreign exchange student from Thailand. They told him that as long as he lived under their roof, he was going to attend church. They believed that theirs was a missionary effort to save his soul, but they couldn't see how their demand potentially violated his own beliefs and culture. I was so proud of my Baptist dad for taking him to the Buddhist temple, which was hours away! That showed real cultural sensitivity.<br />
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In our society, on the surface, there's an overarching message that we're not supposed to be prejudiced--that we should judge someone "not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This sounds good--and it was a wonderful message by Rev. King, and pertinent for its day. But we need to be very aware that it's not just the color of someone's skin that we judge. We can be raised "not to see color," but have cultural biases that judge the content of people's character based on Deep Culture that lies beneath the surface. </div>
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When you realize that the differences between you and the other person aren't flaws in their character, but distinctives of their culture, you can be more embracing and less prejudiced. The fact is, everybody has a certain amount of cultural bias. The trick isn't eliminating it completely, but recognizing it for what it is, and then being willing to suspend that judgment for the sake of relationship. Everybody is prejudiced. We all pre-judge, based on differences. But if we embrace differences as interesting and valuable, rather than threatening, then maybe we can pre-judge other folks as friends rather than enemies. Yes, there are icebergs ahead--but don't be afraid. We can navigate this.</div>
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Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-12997223133896700982020-07-08T10:27:00.002-04:002020-07-08T10:27:35.686-04:00Blessed are the Pacifiers?<span style="font-size: large;">If you're readying this, then by now you should have outgrown pacifiers. Everybody knows it's bad for your teeth, and I cringe every time I see a full-fledged child (not a baby) with a pacifier in their mouth. And, did you know that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQTWPGW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01MQTWPGW&linkCode=as2&tag=baby07d1-20&linkId=8z0btdlpaylnef98vb07kh5qq0143ly9">you can buy adult-sized pacifiers on Amazon</a>? What is this world coming to?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," he didn't mean pacifiers. Yes, it's true that both of these words stem from the Latin word <i>pax</i>, meaning "peace." But there's a vast difference between the two. When he said this, he knew that his listeners lived under the <i>Pax Romana</i> (Peace of Rome), a system of oppression that brought about peace through domination and oppression. So he had to make sure his hearers understood the difference beween people who make peace, and people who are pacified, or who pacify other folks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A pacifier is something you give a baby, in order to keep them from crying. You're "peacifying" them for your own good, so you don't have to hear them scream. In this sense, it's not really peace at all--but simply the absence of noise. A pacifier is something you give a hurting or hungry baby--to shut them up. My Scottish foster sister used to call a pacifier a "dummy-tit," which is a nipple for dummies who don't know the difference between a piece of plastic and the real thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," and that's a different thing altogether. Peacemakers are NOT pacifiers. They don't throw out platitudes to keep people happy. Instead of saying, "Can't we all just get along?" real peacemakers do the hard work of actually listening to the cries of their hurting neighbors. Instead of saying, "You're hurting? I'm hurting too--let me tell you about my pain..." (a tactic designed to shut the other person up), real peacemakers simply sit and listen. Whether they agree with the story that the other person tells or not, they make sure that the really hear their neighbor, and make sure that their neighbor knows they're heard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've gotta admit--pacifiers are easy. When I was raising babies, I gave them all pacifiers. But pacifiers are something we should outgrow. Once a kid is old enough to talk, the pacifier should come out of their mouth. Kids need to quit using them--and adults need to quit trying to give them to young people who are fully capable of conversation. Because real dialogue is better than a pacifier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Are you having trouble in your marriage, and this message is hitting home because you realize you've been a pacifier instead of a peacemaker? Have you been troubled by racial injustice, but you've been unable to really deal with the seismic weight of actually dealing with it--so you've been saying "all lives matter" rather than sitting down to listen to stories of black pain? Have you been changing the topic every time a friend brings up a difficult conversation, because you just don't want to deal with it? Jesus blessed the peacemakers because their courage to have a conversation leads to the kingdom of God manifesting in the lives of hurting and hungry people. I hope you'll have the guts to be a peacemaker, rather than a pacifier--that you'll take the time to listen.</span>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-29879860658588147532020-06-25T19:10:00.001-04:002020-06-25T19:10:02.983-04:00Songs that Shaped Me: "Make Mea a Channel of Your Peace"<div><font size="5">Probably my greatest hero is<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi"> St. Francis of Assisi.</a> The son of a welthy merchant, he abandoned his privilege to embrace the underprivileged of society. He embraced the preople that others believed were the most untouchable, and loved those deemed the most unloveable. The little friar of Assisi has been called the most Jesus-like of all the Catholic saints. The famous Prayer of St. Francis (which may have been written by a follower instead of by Frandis himself) illustrates the gentle and humble spirit of the man:</font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Lord make me an instrument of your peace,</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Where there is hatred let me sow love.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Where there is injury, pardon.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Where there is doubt, faith.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Where there is despair, hope.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Where there is darkness, light.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">And where there is sadness, joy.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">O divine master grant that I may</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Not so much seek to be consoled as to console;</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">To be understood as to understand;</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">To be loved as to love</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">For it is in giving that we receive-</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">And it's in dying that we are born to eternal life.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Amen.</div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sE9std-lwXQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="sE9std-lwXQ"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>This prayer has been a go-to for me when I find myself in emotionally trying times. I've found it particularly helpful when I've dealt with people who are unloveable or difficult, or those who tend to bring out the worst in my own personality. Sometimes (gasp!) I can be impatient and self-centered, prone to anger when challenging people knock me off my emotional balance. When I'm in a situation like this, I'll step aside and quietly pray this prayer. Or I'll pray it when I know I'm about to deal with a difficult person. </div><div><br /></div><div>This prayer is unique because instead of praying FOR peace, it asks the pray-er to BECOME peace, or at least to become an intrument of peace. It takes the focus off of me and helps me to put the focus on the other person, so that I'm more interested in them than I am in myself. </div><div><br /></div><div>In <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/buber/">Martin Buber'</a>s book<i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thou-Trans-Kaufmann-Martin-Buber-ebook/dp/B0051I4YT4">I Thou</a></i>, the Jewish philosopher and theologian talks about treating people as people, rather than treating them as objects like we so often do. Instead of engaging people in "I-It" relationships, Buber recommends treating people "I-Thou." To me, the Prayer of St. Francis inspires this kind of interaction.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of my favorite songs, <a href="https://hymnary.org/text/make_me_a_channel_of_your_peace">"Make Me a Channel of Your Peace," </a> was written by Sebastien Temple in 1967. Based on the Prayer of St. Francis, it inspires me to not just hope for peace, or even to work for peae, but to literally become a channel of God's peace. I offer it to you today, and hope you'll be a channel of peace, too.</div><div><br /></div></font></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-27378520957882312272020-06-20T14:43:00.000-04:002020-06-20T14:43:29.401-04:00Songs that Shaped Me: "The Summons"<div><font size="5">So the story goes, no sooner had my parents arrived home from their honeymoon, than the draft notice was on the door. Dad was going to Vietnam. When he received his summons, he had to go. Acccording to <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/conscription#:~:text=The%20initial%20act%20required%20all,dissolved%20after%20World%20War%20I.">History.com</a>, conscription of soldiers goes back thousands of years, and provisions for the draft were made under the Code of Hammurabi, in ancient Babylon. When you receive the summons, you have to go.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">On the first day of seminary, students went around the room, telling the story of their call to ministry. Most pastors have a "call story," about how they felt that God summoned them into church work. Some told about being the children or grandchildren of pastors, and how ministry "ran in the family." Others said that the idea of being a pastor completely blindsided them--that they felt like their were drafted against their will. However we came to ministry, all of us felt called--summoned by God. When I went to seminary in 1994, <i>The Summons </i>was still a new song (by church standards, anyway). Its words made a huge difference in my understanding of calling. The lyrics seem to come from the heart of Jesus himself. </font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font size="5"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o469PRLdbHU" width="320" youtube-src-id="o469PRLdbHU"></iframe></font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">As a pastor, I received these words as my charter for ministry. So much that I made the song a key feature of more than one installation service at churches that I served. The summons remains--to go where I don't know, to let Christ's love be shown, and to grow in Him. To leave my self (ego) behind in order to care for both cruel and kind people, to risk the hostile stare for the sake of love. I received the summons, like my hero St. Francis, to kiss the leper clean--along with everyone who's on the fringe of society for one reason or another. Since Jesus said to "love your neighbor as yourself," this also means loving who I am. So self-exploration, self-knowledge, and self-love are important in order to do ministry. Not a love of ego--but the kind of self-assurance that allows me to reach out to others for their good, even when I risk getting my hand smacked for it. The summons of Christ calls me to use the faith I've found to reshape the world around. This is the essence of ministry--to not leave the world the way I found it, but to make it better. This applied to church ministry, and to the social work that I do today.</font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font size="5">This summons is not just for me, or for pastors in general--it's a draft notice for all believers. You've been chosen, selected especially to be who you are--to show love to a broken world and re-form it by the power of love. If you're a Christian, I pray that the words of The Summons will resonate in your heart, and become your charter as well. If you're not a Christian, then you could hear these words from the voice of Love, as if Love were specifcally calling you to follow (because I believe Love does).</font></div><div><font size="5"> </font></div><div><font size="5"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you come and follow me</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>If I but call your name?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you go where you don't know</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And never be the same?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you let my love be shown,</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you let my name be known,</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you let my life be grown</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In you and you in me?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i><br /></i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you leave yourself behind</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>If I but call your name?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you care for cruel and kind</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And never be the same?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you risk the hostile stare</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Should your life attract or scare?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you let me answer prayer</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In you and you in me?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i><br /></i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you let the blinded see</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>If I but call your name?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you set the prisoners free</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And never be the same?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you kiss the leper clean,</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And do such as this unseen,</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And admit to what I mean</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In you and you in me?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i><br /></i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you love the 'you' you hide</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>If I but call your name?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you quell the fear inside</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And never be the same?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Will you use the faith you've found</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>To reshape the world around,</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Through my sight and touch and sound</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In you and you in me?</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i><br /></i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Lord, your summons echoes true</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>When you but call my name.</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Let me turn and follow you</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>And never be the same.</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In your company I'll go</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Where your love and footsteps show.</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>Thus I'll move and live and grow</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="5"><i>In you and you in me.</i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="1"><i><br /></i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="1"><i>Copyright: </i></font></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font size="1"><i>Words: 1987 WGRG, Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 3DH (Admin. by Wild Goose Resource Group), Music: David Peacock - The Jubilate Group (Admin. by Hope Publishing Company)</i></font></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-43567363588957625932020-06-07T18:45:00.000-04:002020-06-07T18:45:07.194-04:00Songs that Shaped Me - "Who Killed Davey Moore?"<span style="font-size: large;">I was pretty young when I realized that I had blood on my hands. I learned that lesson from listening to Pete Seeger's version of Bob Dylan's song, "Who Killed Davey Moore?" The song is about an American boxer named Davey Moore, aka "The Little Giant" because he was only five feet, two inches tall. On March 21, 1963, Moore fought cuban boxer Sugar Ramos. After losing the bout, he conducted post-fight interviews. Later that evening, he complained of headaches, passed out, and died four days later. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/mar/25/davey-moore-boxer-death">(Click here to learn more)</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can watch the fight footage, hear the song, and read the lyrics in the following video. At 2:36, you can see where Moore falls after hitting the base of his skull on the rope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Dylan's song, the referee says he's not to blame for Moore's death. If he'd stopped the fight before its end, the crowd would have booed. The crowd says it's not their fault--they just came to see a good fight. The manager denies blame, stating that if Moore was sick, he should have said. One by one, the gambling man, the sports writer, and Moore's opponent Ramos deny culpability. Dylan ends the song with the question, "Who killed Davey Moore? How come he died, and what's the reason for?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">By ending with a question, Dylan leaves us, the listeners, to ponder the answer. When we listen closely, we hear the </span><span style="font-size: large;">singer's message: Yes, we all killed Davey Moore. Not one of us is innocent--we all have blood on our hands. We're part of a system that glorifies violence, and pays a premium to promote people's pain. The referees among us who might stop the fight, think instead about the disapproval of the bloodthirsty crowd. Those whose job it is to promote the violence seem to thrive off its proliferation. The media benefits from sensational stories. And we the people--we just came to see some sweat. Yes, we are the crowd. We are the manager. We are the writer. We are the opponent. So when Dylan asks his question, he leaves us to say, "Maybe it's me?" This song shaped me at a young age, because it made me realize that my hands aren't as clean as I think they are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Jesus told his disciples that one of them was going to betray him to death, they asked the same question. "Lord, is it I? Maybe it's me--am I the one?" Instead of pointing fingers to find someone else who's more to blame, they each had the wisdom to ask what part they might have to play in such violence. Maybe it's time for us to do the same.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this violent world we're a part of, it's easy to say, "It's not my fault--it must be yours." We point to unjust lawmakers, crooked cops, biased media, or politicians who try to use conflict to their own advantage. And maybe they share some of the blame. But what if we did the harder thing and asked, "Lord, is it I?" What if, instead of trying to take the splinter out of our brother's eye, we pried the log out of our own eye first? What if we realized we're all part of a system, a society, that's sick, and that we all have blood on our hands? What if we all were honest and said, "I killed Davey Moore." And then what if we had the courage to change--ourselves and the system--so nobody like him would need to die again?</span><br />
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<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-44774081273323443812020-06-03T22:22:00.000-04:002020-06-03T22:22:07.129-04:00Songs that Shaped Me - "We Shall Overcome"<span style="font-size: large;">In times like these, we need a song. A song to unite those who believe in equity, justice, liberation, and freedom for all people. But not just any song. We need a song that unites not only those who labor today, but a song that reminds us that we stand arm in arm with co-laborers from every generation that has spoken out against oppression. So, the song we need isn't today's song, but one from generations past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this series, "Songs that Shaped Me," I'm sharing music that not only made a difference in my life, but songs that might shape you, too. Let's hear Pete Seeger as he sings:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We Shall Overcome" is a song for all who are peacefully protesting against police brutality and against systemic racism on all levels. It is a song for Pride Month, inspiring people to join hands be proud of themselves, their friends, their family members who no longer need to remain in closets in order to be safe. "We Shall Overcome" is a song for all who hope for a more loving, more welcome, more affirming world. It's a song that shaped me. If you're younger, maybe this song is new to you. If you're older, it might take you back to different times, when we were passionate about equality. It's a song of peaceful protest, not a song of violence. It's a song that recognizes history's hurts and today's trouble, and looks forward to the promise of peace.</span>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5670647772754609994.post-18801766175507956452020-05-28T21:34:00.000-04:002020-05-28T21:38:25.544-04:00Songs that Shaped Me: "When Christians Sing That Nazi Song"<div class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Did you ever go to church and hear a Nazi song in the worship service? Yeah--me neither. Or, at least, I never thought of it as a Nazi song when I was a kid. But when I was a teenager, I was surprised to find that one of my most beloved hymns was also the national anthem of the Third Reich. Maybe you've sung this song as well... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, "We are Called to Be God's People" is one of the songs that shaped me as a child, for two reasons. First, it is a musically amazing Austrian hymn by Franz Joseph Haydn. The English lyrics by Thomas Jackson inspire Christians to understand their calling to live in unity, share hope, to work for God's glory, and shed light in the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are called to be God's people</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Showing by our lives His grace</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One in heart and one in spirit</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sign of hope for all the race</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let us show how He has changed us</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And remade us as His own</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let us share our life together</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As we shall around His throne</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are called to be God's servants</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Working in His world today</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Taking His own task upon us</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">All His sacred words obey</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let us rise then to His summons</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Dedicate to Him our all</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That we may be faithful servants</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Quick to answer now His call</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are called to be God's prophets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Speaking for the truth and right</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Standing firm for godly justice</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Bringing evil into light</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Let us seek the courage needed</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Our high calling to fulfill</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">That we all may know the blessing</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Of the doing of God's will</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I absolutely loved singing this song in church on Sundays. Its message genuinely shaped the way I view our calling as Christians. But this song shaped me in another, more painful way as well. Back in the mid to late 1980s, a dear old lady named Vida Savkovich, had a terrible time whenever we sang my favorite hymn. She told our pastor that if we continued to sing it, she would have to leave the church. That's because every time we sang it, her PTSD kicked in and she was a child watching Hitler's tanks roll through her country. Yes, I found that one of my favorite hymns was also the Nazi national anthem. Its opening words say, "Deutschland, Deutschland, over everything / Over every other land," and Vida was retraumatized every time she heard it. Thanksfully, our pastor and music minister listened to her plea, and struck the song from our church's repertoire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Think my church's leadership overreacted? That they made too bit a deal of her pain? Listen to what this German vlogger has to say:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So even Germans (who have some sense) say you should avoid the first verse of that song, out of respect to others and out of a desire NOT to bring up painful feelings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"We Are Called to Be God's People" is a song that shaped me in two ways. First, it helped me to understand our calling as the people of God. Second our congregational experience of the song taught me to be sensitive to the feelings of others, who may be offended by something that I might view as perfectly wholesome, beautiful, and theologically correct. It taught me that just because something is right, that doesn't make it good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Vida's story has impacted the way, as a pastor, I have tried to deal with other songs that involve hints of racism, traces of emperialism and violence, or sexist language. This song that shaped me also made me aware of how much our musical choices affect young and old people who hear them. It's important that the church listen to the theology in its music, and make sure it's communicating truth. We need to be aware of the subtle social messages that are coming through in our hymnody and worship music. And we need to be brave enough to ditch the songs that need to be cut.</span></div>
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Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11380565318840188783noreply@blogger.com0