A few weeks back, a member of the staff made an excellent suggestion, one that Shiloh will seek to embody in a new Bible @ Boston's feature. It is called Ask the Pastor.
Ask the Pastor will consist of formulating responses to the spiritual and theological questions of members and friends of the church and turning those responses into hour-long investigations of those questions. For instance, the first topic that the staff has received from a church member has been, "What is the significance of the concepts of Heaven and Hell and where did these concepts come from?" (sic)
Many recognize, of course that a theology of grace runs counter to our traditional understandings of Heaven and Hell. If grace is true, then eternal punishment makes no sense. If eternal punishment makes no sense, then eternal reward is up for debate. If grace is universally given, and if each person is saved in the Crucifixion, then eternal reward must be universal instead of conditional. It is derived, not from one's commitment, devotion or loyalty, but exclusively in the act of God in Christ. Grace is salvation accomplished for us and, as an extension, grace is embodied through us.
So what about Heaven and Hell?
This will be our topic of discussion , originally scheduled for Wednesday, November 26, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at Boston's Bistro and Pub, located at the corner of North Main Street (St. Rte. 48) and Dogleg Road (Westbrook Rd.). I am aware that this is the night before Thanksgiving, and that some of us may be traveling. I am therefore willing to change the date to a week earlier, though that coincides with the Holiday Bazaar. A week earlier than that would place the discussion on November 12. If I hear from enough of those who may be interested in the discussion, it is possible that we might change to that date, but I have to notify Boston's by the middle of October.
In order to submit a question for Ask the Pastor, simply place your question, in writing, in the offering plate on Sunday, email it to Carl Robinson at crobinson@shiloh.org or make a comment in response to this post on the Shiloh Facebook group site. Remember that comments are disabled on this account on blogspot.
We look forward to some lively discussion and some important information on pertinent issues. I sincerely hope that many of you will join us.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Structural Implications of The Church of Vocation
The bureaucratic church of the past, with its by-laws and constitutional boundaries, sees the developing church of vocation as too unmanageable, too unruly, chaotic. If everyone is empowered directly from God to engage in whatever ministry that person feels called to, just how is the church to manage the charismatic anarchy that ensues? Everyone running around doing what they discern as their call? Cray-cray!
The charge of the bureaucratic church is not without merit. In fact, bureaucracy and authority have been the ways that the church has managed itself since - and before - the time of Paul. Paul was an anomaly, you may recall. The Apostle did not know Jesus...never met the guy. His calling lacked the hands-on experience of the disciples, but rested, instead, in the power of the revelatory spirit. His calling was spiritual, charismatic, mystical. The mystic Paul countered the claim of face-to-face authority by claiming an equally sound spiritual insight. In response, Paul developed a theology of grace. That theology was later rejected as an organizing core principle of the late first century because grace was simply to unruly to institutionalize. Law and authority took it place in the concept of apostolic succession.
So, beginning as early as the the late first century c.e., the chaotic mysticism of Paul was rejected and a system of law and authority took its place. The early Christian Church was organized around law and authority, power and position. By-laws and constitutions spelled out succinctly who could be a member, what actions they had to take to maintain membership, the means of control and authority and rules for what boards and committees did and did not do. Sometimes, the rules might have allowed for how persons do things within or through the congregation that were not included in constitutions and by-laws. Rarely, that is. Normally, everything was set in proverbial stone.
The contemporary congregation finds itself at the cusp of a whole new way of thinking and organizing, however. If our churches are to be made relevant again in the developing culture in which we find ourselves, we are being forced to cede the organizational foundations of law and authority and open ourselves to organizing from the ubiquitous vocation of universal calling. We are challenged to return to pre-apostolic succession, when mysticism remained tolerable and grace was a core theological principle, to do the work that the ancients feared. We have to herd the cats of Christian spirituality.
There are three steps to the process that I can imagine:
1. Scrap the old thinking. Organizing around law and authority are things of the past, and they should be put there. This means scrapping constitutions and by-laws, along with rules about membership and activity.
2. Adopt new thinking. How does the church embody personal and communal spirituality and how can it organize itself around vocation? Are there categories of service around which the church might organize the ministries that are reflected in the calls that comprise it? What would this look like? How can we imagine and create such a fluid structure? What the heck is a fluid structure?
3. Try it. Step into the unknown of structures that reflect the theology of grace instead of law and organizations that are built around vocation instead of regulation.
Shiloh is attempting just that in the outcome of its latest five-year plan. The congregation is re-organizing around grace and vocation. Our hope is that we are able to work the bugs out of what looks like unmanageable chaos to reach a point where we minister together out of our common call, by finding a place that honors the mystical/spiritual realities of individual call.
Join us in attempting to herd the mystical and spiritual cats, in order to return to relevancy within the cultural evolution that is taking place all around us.
The charge of the bureaucratic church is not without merit. In fact, bureaucracy and authority have been the ways that the church has managed itself since - and before - the time of Paul. Paul was an anomaly, you may recall. The Apostle did not know Jesus...never met the guy. His calling lacked the hands-on experience of the disciples, but rested, instead, in the power of the revelatory spirit. His calling was spiritual, charismatic, mystical. The mystic Paul countered the claim of face-to-face authority by claiming an equally sound spiritual insight. In response, Paul developed a theology of grace. That theology was later rejected as an organizing core principle of the late first century because grace was simply to unruly to institutionalize. Law and authority took it place in the concept of apostolic succession.
So, beginning as early as the the late first century c.e., the chaotic mysticism of Paul was rejected and a system of law and authority took its place. The early Christian Church was organized around law and authority, power and position. By-laws and constitutions spelled out succinctly who could be a member, what actions they had to take to maintain membership, the means of control and authority and rules for what boards and committees did and did not do. Sometimes, the rules might have allowed for how persons do things within or through the congregation that were not included in constitutions and by-laws. Rarely, that is. Normally, everything was set in proverbial stone.
The contemporary congregation finds itself at the cusp of a whole new way of thinking and organizing, however. If our churches are to be made relevant again in the developing culture in which we find ourselves, we are being forced to cede the organizational foundations of law and authority and open ourselves to organizing from the ubiquitous vocation of universal calling. We are challenged to return to pre-apostolic succession, when mysticism remained tolerable and grace was a core theological principle, to do the work that the ancients feared. We have to herd the cats of Christian spirituality.
There are three steps to the process that I can imagine:
1. Scrap the old thinking. Organizing around law and authority are things of the past, and they should be put there. This means scrapping constitutions and by-laws, along with rules about membership and activity.
2. Adopt new thinking. How does the church embody personal and communal spirituality and how can it organize itself around vocation? Are there categories of service around which the church might organize the ministries that are reflected in the calls that comprise it? What would this look like? How can we imagine and create such a fluid structure? What the heck is a fluid structure?
3. Try it. Step into the unknown of structures that reflect the theology of grace instead of law and organizations that are built around vocation instead of regulation.
Shiloh is attempting just that in the outcome of its latest five-year plan. The congregation is re-organizing around grace and vocation. Our hope is that we are able to work the bugs out of what looks like unmanageable chaos to reach a point where we minister together out of our common call, by finding a place that honors the mystical/spiritual realities of individual call.
Join us in attempting to herd the mystical and spiritual cats, in order to return to relevancy within the cultural evolution that is taking place all around us.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Educational Opportunities Abound
Shiloh Church takes the process of Christian Education seriously. The congregation engages in far more than Sunday School, though the traditional classes for all ages are offered every Sunday morning, from 9:15-10:15 a.m.
Included in Shiloh's Sunday morning schedule is a weekly opportunity to discuss the message/texts for that Sunday of the liturgical church year. Following the 10:25 worship service, usually around 11:45 or so, a group gathers in Shiloh's Omega Hall to converse. Such conversation is a usual feature of our weekly 7:00 p.m. alternative worship setting, by the way.Everyone is welcome.
Shiloh continues to offer twice-weekly Bible studies, where participants study together the texts that serve as the basis for that coming Sunday's worship. Following the Revised Common Lectionary, or by utilizing the church's newsletter, participants can study upcoming texts in preparation for each session. Sessions are held on Tuesday evenings, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. or on Thursday mornings, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. All sessions are held in the church's chapel. Again, as ever, everyone is welcome.
Bible @ Boston's is being offered by Shiloh throughout the month of September. Our curriculum is based on the cultural evolution of the past fifty years and the church's response to it. It is entitled: Theology of the Progressive Church Movement: From a Church of Law Toward a Church of Vocation. Sessions are held each week, Wednesday evenings, from 6:00 -7:00 p.m. at Boston's Bistro and Pub, located at the corner of North Main Street (St. Rte. 48) and Dogleg Rd. (Westbrook). Food and drink are available for purchase.Guess what? Everyone is welcome.
I am also currently teaching a session of the University of Dayton's Life Long Learning Institute, in course entitled "At the End: The Revelation to John from Historical/Critical Perspective." This is the fourth series that I have led at UD and I am thoroughly thrilled with the response to that population's response to the modified Historical/Critical Method that we teach. Those sessions will run from September 15 through October 20, every Monday morning, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Participants need to have membership in the University of Dayton's Life Long Learning Institute in order to attend and there is a cost per enrollment quarters. Fliers can be found on the Library table, located near the Copper Room, or by contacting UDLLI.
I am also currently developing a class for SONKA's Affiliates for Education, formerly the Association's Lay School. Now located at United Theological Seminary, SONKA's Affiliates for Education offer high-level classes for those who are interested in pursuit of calling, whether lay or professional. I am writing a curriculum for Introduction to Old Testament, which will include both an overview of the literature and a survey of theological developments. Persons can apply for participation in SONKA's Affiliates for Education by contacting the SONKA office, or by accessing the Association's website, www.sonkaucc.org.
We sincerely hope that the people of Shiloh, and any interested parties from our community, take part in the rich educational opportunities that Shiloh offers. Learning together, we are Living the Word by Serving the World.
Included in Shiloh's Sunday morning schedule is a weekly opportunity to discuss the message/texts for that Sunday of the liturgical church year. Following the 10:25 worship service, usually around 11:45 or so, a group gathers in Shiloh's Omega Hall to converse. Such conversation is a usual feature of our weekly 7:00 p.m. alternative worship setting, by the way.Everyone is welcome.
Shiloh continues to offer twice-weekly Bible studies, where participants study together the texts that serve as the basis for that coming Sunday's worship. Following the Revised Common Lectionary, or by utilizing the church's newsletter, participants can study upcoming texts in preparation for each session. Sessions are held on Tuesday evenings, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. or on Thursday mornings, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. All sessions are held in the church's chapel. Again, as ever, everyone is welcome.
Bible @ Boston's is being offered by Shiloh throughout the month of September. Our curriculum is based on the cultural evolution of the past fifty years and the church's response to it. It is entitled: Theology of the Progressive Church Movement: From a Church of Law Toward a Church of Vocation. Sessions are held each week, Wednesday evenings, from 6:00 -7:00 p.m. at Boston's Bistro and Pub, located at the corner of North Main Street (St. Rte. 48) and Dogleg Rd. (Westbrook). Food and drink are available for purchase.Guess what? Everyone is welcome.
I am also currently teaching a session of the University of Dayton's Life Long Learning Institute, in course entitled "At the End: The Revelation to John from Historical/Critical Perspective." This is the fourth series that I have led at UD and I am thoroughly thrilled with the response to that population's response to the modified Historical/Critical Method that we teach. Those sessions will run from September 15 through October 20, every Monday morning, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Participants need to have membership in the University of Dayton's Life Long Learning Institute in order to attend and there is a cost per enrollment quarters. Fliers can be found on the Library table, located near the Copper Room, or by contacting UDLLI.
I am also currently developing a class for SONKA's Affiliates for Education, formerly the Association's Lay School. Now located at United Theological Seminary, SONKA's Affiliates for Education offer high-level classes for those who are interested in pursuit of calling, whether lay or professional. I am writing a curriculum for Introduction to Old Testament, which will include both an overview of the literature and a survey of theological developments. Persons can apply for participation in SONKA's Affiliates for Education by contacting the SONKA office, or by accessing the Association's website, www.sonkaucc.org.
We sincerely hope that the people of Shiloh, and any interested parties from our community, take part in the rich educational opportunities that Shiloh offers. Learning together, we are Living the Word by Serving the World.
Monday, September 08, 2014
Childhood Memories
I learned late yesterday afternoon of the death of one of my two best childhood friends. There are as yet no details, except for the fact that his death was by his own hand.
This is the second time that a member of my graduation high school class, the Bremen, Indiana class of 1979, committed suicide. More poignantly, this is the second person that I played with as a child, who lived in my neighborhood, who I loved and who I will miss, took her and his own life. The first was Dawn Marburger. Now Tracy Cather.
I do not know the details of Dawn's death. She lived in California. I saw her at our 25th class reunion, the only one that I have attended. I had lost touch with her. Despite Facebook and other available social media, I had also lost touch with Tracy.
Tracy's death comes on the heals of his father's passing and the break up of Tracy's long-term relationship with his partner.
I wonder if the pressures and stress of being gay in our culture had anything to do with his eventual suicide. If so, we should be ashamed of ourselves. Political or religious stances are evil when they contribute to the death of someone so talented and valuable. Such stances are evil when they contribute to any person's rejection, diminishment, or depersonalization.
Dawn suffered in some of the same ways. While I do not think that she was attracted to persons of the same gender - after all, she was my first real kiss - I know that she suffered greatly with body image and bulimia. Despite being a beautiful woman, she never felt comfortable in her own skin.
Our culture is killing people. The pressure that we place on one another is leading to depression, deep seeded frustration and disenchantment, to hopelessness and desperation. It is leading to suicide at an alarming rate among Baby Boomers.
The Revised Common Lectionary texts for this past week included Paul's lesson from Romans, to simply "Love One Another." In the act of loving one another rests fulfillment of all the laws. More than that, however. In loving one another lies mutual support and compassion, acceptance and sincere respect, wherein we see persons as more than tools for our political or religious posturing.
Who is to say? Perhaps if we were able to live in love, just maybe Dawn and Tracy might still be with us. I mourn their loss. I grieve for them and regret their pain.
It may sound naive, but is it not time that we pursue love of one another? We have lost far too many already.
This is the second time that a member of my graduation high school class, the Bremen, Indiana class of 1979, committed suicide. More poignantly, this is the second person that I played with as a child, who lived in my neighborhood, who I loved and who I will miss, took her and his own life. The first was Dawn Marburger. Now Tracy Cather.
I do not know the details of Dawn's death. She lived in California. I saw her at our 25th class reunion, the only one that I have attended. I had lost touch with her. Despite Facebook and other available social media, I had also lost touch with Tracy.
Tracy's death comes on the heals of his father's passing and the break up of Tracy's long-term relationship with his partner.
I wonder if the pressures and stress of being gay in our culture had anything to do with his eventual suicide. If so, we should be ashamed of ourselves. Political or religious stances are evil when they contribute to the death of someone so talented and valuable. Such stances are evil when they contribute to any person's rejection, diminishment, or depersonalization.
Dawn suffered in some of the same ways. While I do not think that she was attracted to persons of the same gender - after all, she was my first real kiss - I know that she suffered greatly with body image and bulimia. Despite being a beautiful woman, she never felt comfortable in her own skin.
Our culture is killing people. The pressure that we place on one another is leading to depression, deep seeded frustration and disenchantment, to hopelessness and desperation. It is leading to suicide at an alarming rate among Baby Boomers.
The Revised Common Lectionary texts for this past week included Paul's lesson from Romans, to simply "Love One Another." In the act of loving one another rests fulfillment of all the laws. More than that, however. In loving one another lies mutual support and compassion, acceptance and sincere respect, wherein we see persons as more than tools for our political or religious posturing.
Who is to say? Perhaps if we were able to live in love, just maybe Dawn and Tracy might still be with us. I mourn their loss. I grieve for them and regret their pain.
It may sound naive, but is it not time that we pursue love of one another? We have lost far too many already.
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