Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Spirituality or Politics?

The world of spirituality recognizes the presence of  divine spirit in all living things. That world leads to equality, justice and peace.

The world of politics recognizes that one side, one opinion, one set of values and one perspective is right. Any other is wrong. That world leads to divisiveness, degredation, sectarianism and segregation.

Pick in which world you choose to live. Then live in it.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Spirituality and Privilege

It was aired on NPR sometime on Sunday, but I cannot be sure of the time or the place that I heard it. I think that I was in the car with my wife, Lisa, driving down to Shiloh's 7:00 p.m. worship service on Sunday evening. It may have been after worship, however. I just can't remember.

I remember the comment, though. It was something like this, "The level of vitriolic anger and rhetorical divisiveness in our culture can be traced to one source. It's white power and privilege being stripped of its hegemony."

Wow! The speaker equates all the anger and divisiveness in our culture with whites who sense that they are losing their advantage over others. What had been taken for granted, claimed as a 'natural' position of privilege, is diminishing. As the culture grows more and more accepting of diversity of every sort, the 'natural' advantage of some over others diminishes and, eventually, disappears. The speaker claimed that this direction is frightening to those who have always held the advantage.

The concept is not new. We have seen the tendency throughout history, even during many of our own lifetimes. As cultures change, there are always factions of the population who see the change as a threat to their privileged position. In my own lifetime, I have seen the religious right (of every religion, by the way) respond negatively to the rise of diversity, acceptance and affirmation of those who differ from the privileged class. Theologies of privilege have grown around the fear of lost position, and culture has been demonized for the diminishing advantage of the former privileged class.

The culture in which we live is changing in ways that alter the foundations upon which some have built position and power. Of course, the changes also affect those who had been victimized by the systems under which we have lived. The course of the developing culture seems to be toward acceptance of diverse races, clans, creeds, religions, sizes, looks, practices and lives. If there had ever been a 'normal' person of power and privilege, that position is now no longer safely grounded in any particular description. The hegemony of certain types, kinds, clans, colors, races, origins, sexual preferences, opinions, values or traditions is disappearing.

The NPR speaker noticed that those who had been privileged are reacting with anger, hatred and violence. The sounds mark the death knell of white privilege and the rise of genuine diversity. It seems to me that this is not far afield of something that the spirituality of Christianity could easily embrace. I think of it as something that we might applaud. This is a positive cultural evolution. The vitriolic anger and rhetorical divisiveness call for cultural reversal. Those voices want the old privilege, position and power back.

Cultural evolution will not be deterred, however. This is becoming a diverse culture, wherein all persons are radically equal in nature. There is no more 'natural' advantage. There is no type, kind, clan or ilk that naturally deserved privileged position.

I believe that we could be celebrating this great good news instead of calling persons names, claiming political correctness run amok, diminishing persons for their opinions or values, or rejecting persons out of hand for their social and political stances. Maybe it has been counter to the presence of God's Spirit all along. Maybe culture is leading our spiritual evolution.  

Monday, September 12, 2016

Mini-Golf Outing

Several times over the past few years, people have asked about an event that runs alongside the Annual Shiloh Church Golf Outing that offers other than golfers an opportunity to participate. My response to these questions has always been the same: Go ahead and plan something. This year, thanks to the leadership of Karyn Sleppy and Casey Sierschula, Shiloh went ahead and did something new, and it was a huge success.

Shiloh's Annual Golf Outing was held in August, raising just over $13,000. Those funds will be used to meet the needs of local families through the upcoming holiday season. In a process that runs through the month of November, families from the community will apply for, be interviewed for, and be awarded funds. Last year, when we raised $10,000, we helped around 80 families. This year, we hope to help somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 families. The business community, personal and family sponsorships, direct contributions, and golfer participation made this kind of support possible.

Karyn and Casey thought that an alternative golf-related activity might allow others to take part in this important community service. Things began to take shape on a Sunday evening, when someone suggested that we do a mini-golf outing. The ladies picked up on the notion and began to make concrete plans. A sign-up sheet was put out, simply to see if people might be interested in participating. More than 50 people registered an interest in such an event. A date was set. Plans were made. Contacts took place. On Saturday, September 10, Shiloh Church held its first annual Mini-Golf Outing.

The event was attended by persons who ranged in age from 4 to over 80. Eleven teams of four persons each played 18 holes of miniature golf at Putter's Par-adise, in Englewood, while others enjoyed chips, dip and pizza on the Patio at T.J. Chumps. Alongside the mini-golf, Karyn and Casey planned a fifty/fifty "guess the number of tees" fund-raiser and an additional opportunity for direct support. The funds raised would join those of our other golf outing to support needy families through the upcoming holidays.

Our winning team, "The Bald and the Beautiful," was made up of Jay, Dawn and Makenzie McMillen, along with the 'uncomfortably coiffed' Todd Fisher. Jay also tied with Bob Schultz for individual medalist honors, completing the course in 45 strokes. Our highest scoring team was "Rawr!" That team featured 4 year old Ora Sherwood, who finished with the greatest individual score. Ora named the team as well.

The success of the event was multi-layered. Everyone had fun in what was a genuinely inter-generational event. A server at Chumps won the fifty/fifty "guess the number of tees" event, and people came to just watch. We actually raised some money. The mini-golf outing will join its $400 plus dollars to the $13,000 from the other golf outing to support needy families, who are the real winners in our outings.

Thanks to the leadership of Karyn and Casey, Shiloh had a great deal of fun and raised funds to support needy families. If you have an idea for a program, project, event or activity at, through or from Shiloh Church, simply float the idea and start planning it. Great things happen when persons answer the call to action by taking initiative for innovative ministries, missions, activities, programs or projects. Let the community help you in answering that call to action.  

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Language Problems

I received a complaint that followed Sunday's 10:25 message, one that I had heard in a completely unrelated context recently. It seems that some of my language left some people confused and frustrated. I apologized, of course, and tried to explain my use of the terms. But the person who complained was having none of it. She turned and stormed away.

The terms in question were 'discipleship" and "apostleship." The complaint was, "Why do you use terms that no one understands and that, for all anyone knows, mean exactly the same thing?" The other recent complaint was voiced over my use of the term "evangelism" to refer to everything the church does beyond its own doors. I used the term in a proposed judicatory organizational structure. One of my colleagues suggested that the term was too "churchy" and did not carry any connotation of mission or outreach.

Wait. What? Since when does "evangelism" fail to refer to mission or outreach? And since when do "discipleship" and "apostleship" mean the same thing? I work hard to use words carefully, to which even the most ardent protectors of the language can attest. In each case, I believe that I used the terms correctly and with distinct purpose.

Evangelism is everything that those who are called and equipped by God's Holy Spirit do to share the "good news" of Jesus Christ. It includes mission ministries, foreign and domestic, work for justice and peace, prophetic declarations, simple acts of service and assistance, even advertising and marketing. The Church's evangelical work is simply to articulate Christ Jesus in whatever context one finds one's self.

Discipleship is the act of sitting, figuratively at least, at the feet of Jesus, learning, listening, adhering to his teachings. It is letting Jesus care for and about us. It is to be an object of his sacrifice, understanding ourselves as saved by him, led by him, and ever faithful to his example. Through faithful discipleship, we tie ourselves to the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is the Christian indicative. We are disciples of Jesus Christ.

Apostleship is distinct from discipleship. Whereas discipleship is indicative to the Christian identity, apostleship is its imperative. With discipleship, we sit at the feet of Jesus and learn. In our faithful apostleship, we are compelled outward, through the power of God's Holy Spirit, to represent Jesus Christ in what we say and do. We are sent ones, empowered ones, equipped ones, called ones. As communities of called and equipped persons, we represent Jesus Christ in the world.

There is a deeper issue here, however. Religious language, even in its proper and concise usage, is a tremendous problem. The language has been usurped by those who have used the terms as bludgeons or bayonets, to divide the good from the bad, those who are going to Heaven from those who are going to Hell. To use the terms today is risky and open to pretty wide misunderstanding. I find this both sad and challenging. It is sad because we, meaning the alternative Church movement, have allowed some to use our language as weapons against others. It is a challenge because we, again the Progressive Church of Jesus Christ, need to locate and use new terms, in new ways, for very old purposes.

This past Sunday, I attempted to equate discipleship with belief. It remains vital to the practice of the Christian faith. Apostleship, I attempted to say, is the set of actions to which we are called and for which we are empowered. Ironically, perhaps, one can perform faithful apostleship without ever having been a faithful disciples. Discipleship that takes place without an accompanying apostleship is simply philosophy or metaphysics, and accomplishes nothing in the world.

So, what are we called to do in the world? Evangelism, of course.

Rats! There I go again.

We are called to represent Jesus Christ in all that we say and do. I am sorry that the language was confusing. I will continue to work at stating the faith in a more concrete and secular set of terms.