Scratchings

Exceeding Your Reach

2012-02-01T22:44:00.000-05:00

I'm don't often comment on politics. It's a danger zone for pastors. More importantly we Christians, regardless of political leanings, too often confuse liberal or conservative causes with what God is doing in the world. We attach divine significance to elections or candidates when our best contribution would be a polite skepticism that reminds all parties that the Messiah is not running for office.

That said, the latest move by the Obama administration to require Catholic hospitals and other entities to provide health care coverage that violates church teaching has bothered me greatly. I don't share the Roman Catholic perspective on birth control. But I do share the concern that when the government drives a wedge between what the church teaches and what it's ministries can be coerced to do, then government has greatly overreached. Since when is government qualified to determine the difference between religious institutions that must left free of interference and religious ministries that can be compelled by the secular state? This isn't a Catholic only issue. When religious freedom is limited by government only to what one can think, then the practice of all religious believers is put at risk.

As Michael Gerson has pointed out, the administration's decision also reflects a certain view of liberalism. "Classical liberalism was concerned with the freedom to hold and practice beliefs at odds with a public consensus. Modern liberalism uses the power of the state to impose liberal values on institutions it regards as backward. It is the difference between pluralism and anti-clericalism."

The social teaching of the Catholic church was in many ways a support for the Obama administration's attempt to broaden the availability of public health care. This new rule will be experienced as a religious betrayal by those who supported these efforts, and in the end it is the public that will lose when Catholic health care institutions close their doors rather than violate their consciences.

Saying Goodbye To Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T20:51:00.000-04:00

It's hard to say enough about the accomplishments of Steve Jobs. I'm not really qualified to try. I'd rather ski than snowboard. I miss the sound of "records". I threw in with the PC crowd when we thought Apple was an eccentric flash-in-the-pan in the computing world. What would it really amount to?

But it was Steve Jobs who has defined the digital future and put it in palm of our hands. So when I heard about his death I was struck with by the irony of a man who defined our future dying at the hands of one our oldest enemies, cancer. The man who could see what none of us could, falls (to borrow the title of a popular book) to "The Emporer Of All Maladies."

If Jobs was anything he was a testimony to the incredible creative genius of what one person can do. And his passing is a testimony to what we can't do. Isn't that where we really live? Capable of so many great things, and incapable of a great many others. It's easier to believe that our lives are ours to define. Or to believe the opposite - that we are victims of forces beyond our control.

Like Steve Jobs we are incredible and vulnerable people, all at once. Maybe that's no accident or tragic flaw that we will one day overcome. Maybe that's at the heart of what it means to be human and the clue to why we are here.

Minneapolis: The Tone

2011-09-02T18:16:00.000-04:00

I returned from the Fellowship of Presbyterians gathering in Minneapolis about a week ago. Almost 2000 participants from 840 congregations came together to worship, and wrestle with the way forward in a badly divided denomination. I'll be posting some reflections over the next few days. If you're not a Presbyterian please be patient. I'll return to chasing after our non-denominational God soon.

The tone of the conference was set by one simple statement from the front: "We're not mad." In truth many participants were. But rancor over the PCUSA's doctrinal divisions over sexual practice was minimal. There was little effort to place blame. Instead there was a suprisingly practical, clear-eyed affirmation that for many a bridge had been crossed and there could be no return to Presbyterian life as it was.

I'm thankful for the tone. Many of us left our anger over the malaise and confusion of our denomination behind a while ago. There is instead a sadness mixed with commitment that we will not do the future as the denomination has done past. The attitude was summarized in the phrase "join where we can, differentiate where we must."

Because there was little room given to blaming and bickering there was much room given to problem solving. And because tentative solutions were proposed to our national divisions, there was perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of all: hope. Many of us left with the optimism that a way forward can be found. Not one way forward. Not one plan that will serve all churches struggling with deep discontent over their denominational identity. But a menu of approaches that will allow congregations to operate with something other than despair or incautious plans for departure. More on the menu in the days ahead.

Whatever else comes of the conference in the days ahead, it was for many a source of water in a dry time.

Minneapolis

2011-08-20T16:10:00.001-04:00

I've never been to Minneapolis. But I'll soon be there with 2000 other Presbyterians united by a common sense of discomfort. That makes the trip both a joy and a sorrow.

The joy comes in joining with like-minded Christians in an effort to find a way forward in the midst of difficult days for Christian denominations. We've been living with the problems - enormous losses of members, dysfunctional denominational structures, and theological infighting - for decades. There is a sense in which almost everything is up for discussion and potential change, and that's a good thing. It's hard not to be excited about time with folks who seems to share so much in common.

The sorrow comes with the admission that we Presbyterian Christians are deeply at odds with each other; that's why we're meeting in Minneapolis. Many in our denomination wish we were not meeting. The PCUSA's recent decision to significantly alter its sexual lifestyle standards for pastors and other ordained leaders is the current flash point in a long history of discord. We may find it is the tipping point. There should be a certain sorrow and a certain fear, when a group of Christians is united by what it opposes among other Christians.

Still this meeting feels necessary to me. Without an attempt to name a positive future for Presbyterians at odds with the actions of their denomination, many churches will leave the Presbyterian Church USA even if they don't do it formally. They will simply become absent; no longer meaningfully connected beyond the denomination's initials placed inconspicuously on some piece of church stationary. When a church finds the connection to its wider denomination to be mainly demoralizing and divisive, no one is well served.

Join me in praying for God's guidance for the Minneapolis meeting. Emotions are high; and so are expectations. We need a word from the Lord of the Church.

A Little Encouragement

2011-08-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it helps to know God is pulling for you in a world that so often seems indifferent. I found this prayer from the Psalms to be a great help.

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desires of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.
- Psalm 20:1-5

Nose To The Tree

2011-08-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a few days of vacation at the beach. I would have liked a few more, but it was long enough to remember what I so easily forget: it's hard to see where you are going if you always have your nose pressed up against a tree.

We know the tree. The tree of anxious care. The tree of financial frustration. The job that makes you crazy, the personal relationships that get messy, the marriage that sputters instead of sparks, and so it goes - we've all got our trees. So we push a little harder and get angry when the tree doesn't budge. But the best way to get around a tree is to step back and consider what we haven't. There's usually another way.

An annual vacation is great, but it's not nearly enough to help you find your way through the forest. I always have to go back and relearn the first things. Step back from the tree daily. Step back from the tree weekly. Step back regularly and look for what you haven't seen. Ask God to correct our tunnel vision, and make a way out of our rut. Pray the prayer, read the Word, take the walk, breathe the air, and ask to see what we've missed. Find a friend (hire one if need be) and get some perspective.

Trees rarely move, but usually that's not the only option. Perhaps if I could remember that more often I'd spend less time picking the splinters from the end of my nose.

On Trying To Be Interesting

2011-01-03T21:20:00.001-05:00

My daughter, home from Pittsburgh, asked me to go to the Salvador Dali art exhibit at the High Museum the other day. (You remember Salvador Dali don't you...pointy moustache and melting clocks?) So I went. I went because she asked me to to go. And I went because I have this nagging memory of somebody saying that ministers should attempt to be interesting people. We should be able to talk about the real world that real people live in. We should not bore people who invest an hour or so a week in hearing what we have to say. I'm embarrassed to admit that I failed in the my attempt to become a more interesting person. I am a cultural illiterate. I don't have the slightest idea what Salvador Dali was trying to get across to the rest of us.

Now and then I would recognize something. Among the melting clocks and other strange images, I would catch a religious symbol here and there. What I didn't understand is how they fit into his view of the world.

So I left the exhibit not much smarter but a bit more sympathetic toward people who after hearing what I have to say don't have the slightest idea what I'm trying to get across. They recognize something here and there, but don't understand how that makes sense of their world. I don't believe I'm as weird as Dali, but Christian faith is a way of looking at things that is at its heart more art than science.

No easy answers here. Just the recognition that seeing things differently takes time. And that those of us who wish real people to see the world through the eyes of faith need prayerful patience.

The Price of Nice

2010-11-09T10:46:00.000-05:00

I've long been a fan of the careful thinking of Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary in California. He quotes a line from the Lutheran church historian Martin Marty, said some years ago:

People these days who are civil often lack strong convictions, and people with strong religious convictions often are not very civil. What we need is convicted civility.

Having passed through the most recent lessons in political incivility it's easy to cite the evidence. But Marty's quote explains more than the yuck factor of the recent elections. It names a dynamic that operates just below the surface in many Christian congregations. The fear of being thought "uncivil" stifles a lot creative disagreement and discussion that church needs to move forward. Most of us can cite a meeting where some fellow Christian "lost it" and said things they would come to regret later. But fearing that mistake we often limit ourselves to ideas and commitments that can't be thought of as anything but nice. We're stuck. We are so afraid somebody is going to say "something". On the other hand we are terribly afraid that somebody won't.

As we have hosted Christian-Muslim discussions in our congregation over the past few weeks I have felt the dynamic at work. There are those who are afraid that in the name of civility we will ask and say nothing of consequence. We'll never really talk about what scares us. And then there are those who fear above all else that we will appear intolerant.

Can we practice convicted civility or are the only options weightless convictions and shouting matches? It seems to me that one thing Christians could offer their communities is a way to talk about what matters that veers off neither cliff. That is, if we will learn to do it ourselves.

Saying Goodbye

2010-08-09T19:50:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, my father died a couple of weeks ago. It was the end to a long battle with Parkinson's Disease that became very acute these last five years. Dad slipped away quietly with my mom and sister in the room. We remembered his life at a memorial service on Tuesday of last week in Richmond, VA.

I want to thank the many of you that took time to send cards and emails offering your prayers and support. The Westminster congregation did a wonderful job pastoring its pastor through some difficult days. It was so encouraging to see old friends after the service in Richmond and to hear stories of dad's life, many of which I had never heard before.

In the hardest times we are sustained by the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and presence of faithful friends and family who help to shoulder the burden and lighten the load. As I return to work I do it with both a heavy heart and a desire to get on with the work I feel called to do. I continue to seek your prayers for me and my extended family in the months ahead. There are still many good memories to ponder and tears to shed.

The Seduction of "Pomp and Circumstance"

2010-06-16T21:56:00.001-04:00

The season of graduation has come to an end, finally. For a few weeks each year life seems like nothing but transition. From preschool to college everybody is moving on to the next thing. As a pastor I get a ringside seat on what that looks like in people's families, including my own. Emotions churn close to the surface.

I used to live my life on "academic time" and it was a great comfort. Each year led to something new at predictable intervals, punctuated by a few coveted symbols of achievement - tassels moved, diplomas received, honors awarded. But at some point most of us run out of academic time. The transitions are less predictable, and the symbols of achievement less certain. "Pomp and Circumstance", instead of being background music for other people's success, sometimes kicks up different emotions. How many more new beginnings are there for me? Am I missing something? Should I be doing something about it? "Pomp and Circumstance" can be a seductive little tune.

I don't have a pat answer to the question. Feeling a little urgency about what you are doing with your life is not a bad thing. It may well be the nudge of God to take another step on the road to where you are called. But it can also be that age old temptation to believe that the answers can only be found where I am not. "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love." There is this deep need to take matters into our own hands, to move on, at least one more time.

At the very least we should question our urgency. Am I hearing the song of seduction, or the whisper of God? It can be hard to tell.

The Gift Of A Week

2010-05-07T11:57:00.001-04:00

One of the perks of being a Presbyterian minister is a week of paid study leave. Last week I spent a couple of day in Kansas City reflecting on life and ministry with a small group of pastors from across the country. I spent at couple of days at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship Conference in Atlanta focusing on the issue of how churches can reconnect with their neighborhoods. And I spend one day in a preaching seminar with Dr. Craig Barnes from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Yes, it's like drinking from a firehose, and I'm still swallowing. But the most help so far has come from a book I read on leadership during the week called Leadership On the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading, by Heifetz and Linsky.

The whole book is worth the read, but what really stuck with me is the need to understand what kind of change leaders are asking people to make, and how the nature of the change demands different kinds of leadership. The first kind of change is technical; we know how to do this whether it's changing the color of the carpet, balancing the budget or rolling out a new product. It may not be easy but we can figure out new methods, deal with criticism and move on. The other kind of change is adaptive; we really aren't sure how to change to deal with our circumstances. We'll have to learn some things that aren't in our current bag of tricks in order to do something we've never done. And most important we'll not only have to change methods but the hearts and minds of others in order to get to where we need to go. The truth is that most of us don't like to make adaptive changes and our most natural response is to resist.

So the real test of leadership is helping people go where, initially at least, they don't want to go. Forget other people for a minute; what about ourselves? Where do we need not to just "tweak" our lives but adapt them to a new reality? I find resistance and denial come easy and fast whether it's losing 20 pounds, moving across the country, or facing up to financial challenge. We'd rather not. Now multiply that factor by a few hundred folk and the challenge of leadership becomes clear.

There are ways to make the adaptive changes needed; that's what the book is about. But the first challenge is not to misunderstand what you are really asking other people to do, and what it will require of you to help them do it.

Emmaus: Faith On The Road

2010-04-19T22:40:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday I spoke to my congregation about recognizing the reality of the living Christ in the midst of the life of the church. It isn't easy! Disappointments and detours abound. This painting said something to me about moving from spiritual darkness to the discovery of God's presence on the journey of faith. It can be viewed with full credits at www.textweek.com, by referencing Luke 24:13-35. Enjoy.

A Great Day for Columbia

2010-04-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur Georgia installed Dr. Steve Hayner as its ninth president. If you're a Presbyterian Christian you should take notice. If you're not a Presbyterian Christian...well, I hope you'll take notice anyway.

In a wonderful irony, this most mainstream of institutional Presbyterian seminaries welcomed a new president who made it clear in his remarks that the job of the seminary is not to create ministers to prop up the institutional church. It is to create leaders for the church who can discern what God is doing in the world and guide the people of God to join Him. Those of us who know Steve know his personal commitments match his public comments.

It's a window on our times to see an ecclesiastical institution throw its best party for someone who believes the institution can't save us. It's also a very hopeful sign. Many of us who lead mainstream churches are only too aware of the entrenched problems of denominational Christianity in our day. Fresh leadership is needed to guide us through difficult times in the North American church while older forms of "doing church" wither away and new expressions are being born.

Dr. Hayner is the right kind of leader for the times. May God prosper his ministry at Columbia.

Judge Not

2010-04-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

Judge not, lest ye be judged. Exceptions however will be made if you are judging Tiger Woods. The subplot of the Masters this week in Augusta has been how do you receive a disgraced champion, and is redemption a possibility.

It is a testimony to our stubborn and innate sense of right and wrong that people can still be aghast at somebody else's serial affairs. And it creates a conundrum since culturally we're supposed to be well beyond judging what others do in their private lives. What's a respectable place like Augusta to do? We see an airplane toting banners referring to Tiger's sins (until the plane was mysteriously grounded for its lack of taste}. More tactfully we hear reporters asking other golfers if there is any "awkwardness" around the clubhouse. It seems wrong to notice. It seems wrong not to.

What's more interesting to me though is the talk of redemption. Will the public forgive Tiger the error of his ways? Most commentators say absolution is available for the price of some really stellar rounds of golf. It seems special gifts will buy you special grace. Tiger should grateful he's not a truck driver. The public might not be so willing to forgive.

We're curious people. We can't ignore transgressions we aren't supposed to notice. And having noticed them
we aren't sure how to price forgiveness. It's awkward.

Almost Easter

2010-04-01T11:22:00.000-04:00

It's almost Easter. Secular media displays its annual interest in the life of Jesus. The marshmallow chicks and chocolate bunnies have reappeared. And for a change the weather is really nice in Atlanta. The daffodils are blooming, the trees are budding, and the sun is shining. You can feel the spring optimism in the air. Easter, the annual reaffirmation of life, seems within our reach.

Soon the twice yearly visitors will return to church in search of the familiar affirmation that Jesus is risen from the dead. I'm not going to play the grumpy preacher at this point and shoot down the impulse that swells attendance one Sunday a year. I simply want to distinguish between "almost Easter" and "Easter". "Almost Easter" sees life after death as a doable thing. The resurrection of Jesus is simply evidence of what we already know happens as winter turns to spring, and flowers rise from dark soil. We are happy to be along for the ride.

"Easter" is something else. It is not obvious. It doesn't even seem likely. And you have to "opt in" to the Easter experience. When Martha stands in front of her brother Lazarus' tomb with Jesus, the optimism of "almost Easter" recedes. Lazarus is four days dead. But Jesus raises a different possibility: Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?

The possibility being offered is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and we are challenged to "opt in" by faith into that reality. Is the annual optimism of "almost Easter" enough to carry us? Or are we ready to believe our way into a far different understanding of life?

Don't Know Much About Healthcare

2010-03-26T10:56:00.000-04:00

Like most of us I'm still learning what's in the healthcare bill. But the debate around it has made at least one thing clear. The only thing in the middle of road is roadkill. Listen to the rhetoric and you'd think this isn't a debate between Republicans and Democrats, but Libertarians and Socialists. The extremes of the political spectrum are so energized other possibilities seem impossible or immoral.

As one who must think and act as a Christian that bothers me. The church is so easily seduced (and used) by one pole or the other. The personal responsibilty concern of the Republicans and the communitarian concern of the Democrats are each found in a gospel centered ethic for human life. When we lend our voices too readily to the partisan discussions it usually results in a distortion of the gospel. And we disappear into the rhetorical intolerance of our times.

What's better? Fewer public pronouncements by religious leaders and more local involvement in meeting people's healthcare needs in the name of Jesus Christ. I'm always surprised by how much creative energy is released for meeting human need when the effort is liberated from the bondage of the politics of the moment.

Bleached Out

2009-08-22T19:09:00.003-04:00

"Jesus lived the ordinary life of the men of His time, in order to sanctify the ordinary lives of the men of all time. If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives."

- Thomas Merton

I was confessing to an adult education class that life can look a little bleached out for pastor when Sunday's just a memory. We speak sacred words, read from sacred texts, often stand in the midst of sacred architecture, and then comes Monday. Of course those men and women struggle with the same sort of thing. They know better than I do the challenge of reconciling a life that looks like ordinary time most of the time, with that one day a week when religion takes the center stage.

Merton simply says true spirituality is locating God in the midst of life. How simple, and how hard. More often than not a believer is one who has outfitted a comfortable corner of his or her life for God, leaving most of it not unlived, but unexamined.

It takes a change of mind to see the ordinary stuff of life as the staging ground for the presence of God. And much of the time we lack the patience for the pursuit.

So here's to enjoying the meal, savoring the sunset, or sitting out under the stars until we learn to see something of the glory among them all.