I had been invited by a friend of mine to lead a congregation through the process of intentional revitalization, and was just beginning the opening presentation that I had, clandestinely, entitled, "Toward Christian Vocation." The opening sentences went like this:
In the age of the historical Jesus, and perhaps through the Apostolic age, with Paul, faithful followers of the way of Christ saw it as their vocation-in-life to complete the full realization of God's will on earth. 'Kingdom' was coming imminently, and it was their responsibility to complete its arrival. They did the work to which they had been called, and for which they had been empowered, by intentionally embodying the archetype that had been established in the ministry of Jesus Christ, in his Crucifixion and Resurrection. The Church that resulted, well after a theological shift to a delayed understanding of the coming of God's 'kingdom' on earth, went in a completely alternative ecclesial direction. Christian Vocation was narrowed and lost, except for a few who understood it as their professional calling. It is time that we return to a wider understanding of Christian vocation, embracing once again what it means to be faithful practitioners of the Way of Christ. Only by so doing does the Church of Jesus Christ have a hope of being relevant in the new cultural evolution in which we find ourselves.
I was less than ten minutes into my opening presentation and saw that, already, I had lost the gathered group of some fifteen congregational leaders. Each leader wore on her or his face that tale tell, polite, vacant disinterest that my colleagues and I see so frequently on Sundays. The deal had been struck. They, in patient and tolerant etiquette, would allow me to drone on about issues that they found absolutely no passion for seeing to fruition. Later, they would get to the work of growing their membership roles and balancing their budgets by doing things just differently enough that it would attract those non-churched millennials out there. I saw immediately that my presentation was too distant from their experience, too technical for their interest, and too 'churchy' for their practical needs. So, I began again:
I know that your interest here might well be limited to membership numbers and dollars pledged against a budget. I fully accept that you, as a congregation, are trying to figure out how you can do things that attract the huge population of church alumnae. You anticipate hospitality approaches, programmatic changes, leadership initiatives. You want to know how you might avoid doing the wrong things, those that we have been told pushed people away, and how to do them rightly, in order that we may lure them back. None of it works. Marketing does not work. Advertising does not work. Vacation Bible School or Sunday School curriculum is irrelevant. Worship approaches or hymnody selections do not matter. Style of dress that is tolerated is meaningless. People will tell you that they have left the church because of these. It is not true. People have left the church because there is no passion, no energy, no meaning and purpose. There is no sense of Christian vocation, ladies and gentlemen. If we are going to be relevant in the evolving culture, if we are going to survive at all, then we have got to recover a sense of our calling and empowerment!
There was a little more interest in those who formed the congregation's working group on revitalization. I paused here and welcomed questions. Most were along the lines of one asked by a woman, maybe 40-something, who had been a part of the church since birth. She asked something like this, "You mean that doing things better won't result in more members and more money? Just getting our name out in the community won't help?
Exactly. The entire formulae for being and doing church have to change if we are going to survive. The content of that change lies in the ancient/new recovery of Christianity as vocation instead of religious practice. It is similar, I think, to what some mean by being "spiritual but not religious."
The conversations were off and running. We formed small groups and asked them to discuss what they had tried, what courses they had followed, where they might think 'the problem' lies and how they saw solutions. They realized, of course, that the problem lies in a lack of vocational training and the energy that comes with calling and empowerment.
We were off on the process of recovering Christian Vocation in the congregation! So much fun!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Christian Vocation
I have recently been engaged in several high-level discussions about the future direction and purpose of the Church of Jesus Christ and have discovered a few things in the process. Some of these discoveries have been surprising to me. Others, well, not so much. A few have been downright shocking, however. This post to the Shiloh Insider highlights what I find to be the single most surprising finding from discussions about the evolving Church.
In each of the discussion settings in which I have found myself, I spoke about the single most dominant dimension that sets Progressive Church Theology apart from its traditional counterpart. In what I take to be traditional church theology, the purpose of the church is to serve its constituency, its membership. The aim of the church is to guarantee the salvation of those who rely on it for mediation or provision of a spiritual program that leads to personal, eternal reward instead of punishment. The Church exists and works for its members. After all, members pay the bills. They expect a product in exchange. That product is their own salvation. Members also expect the service of the Church, especially in times of the BIG THREE...hatch, match and dispatch. Members expect to receive from the Church whatever services they deem necessary to their spiritual well being.
The Church that follows this traditional (practical) principle had been formed through centuries of theological and social development. For a very long time, this is how Church worked. It centered around the needs of its membership and worked to meet those social, spiritual, practical, economic and political requirements. Fellowship groups formed around membership identity groups. Working groups served within congregations to meet the needs of the community of faith. This Church created an entitled and self-serving membership. It gave rise to generations that expected the Church to do something for them, entertain them, socialize them, train them up to be good people.
Through the centuries, the notion of a Church that calls and equips persons in Christian vocation all but disappeared. That theology has been rediscovered in the Progressive Church model. Persons who belong to Progressive churches have a sense of Christian Vocation. They are empowered to perform the work of Christ Jesus in the contemporary setting and called to embody Jesus' work through its own sacrifice and service. I have referred to this recently as our "representational incarnation." We are Christ's ongoing presence and continuing work in the world.
This is Christian Vocation. It is that to which we are called and that for which we are empowered. Persons do not join these congregations to enter into some spiritual quid pro quo, from which they benefit, but to engage, mind, body and soul in the work to which each is called and for which everyone is empowered. Persons live out the "representational incarnation" in the sacrificial ministry that each offers in the world to those whom they might benefit through their effort.It is not for the members, but for those in the community whom the members serve.
But people do not like the term "Christian Vocation." They want something softer and kinder, something that does not seem so very work-related. Yet, that is precisely the point. The ministry to which we are called in our "representational incarnation" is work. It is our life-work. It is that for which we are empowered and that to which we are called.
Progressive Church theology is vocationally oriented. It does not work if the Church fails in its vocational training. Shiloh has a strong grasp on this simple fact of Progressive theology. We know that we are called to serve, to work, to fulfill our representational incarnation by replicating Christ's sacrifice in, to, with, and for the communities that we are called to serve.
In each of the discussion settings in which I have found myself, I spoke about the single most dominant dimension that sets Progressive Church Theology apart from its traditional counterpart. In what I take to be traditional church theology, the purpose of the church is to serve its constituency, its membership. The aim of the church is to guarantee the salvation of those who rely on it for mediation or provision of a spiritual program that leads to personal, eternal reward instead of punishment. The Church exists and works for its members. After all, members pay the bills. They expect a product in exchange. That product is their own salvation. Members also expect the service of the Church, especially in times of the BIG THREE...hatch, match and dispatch. Members expect to receive from the Church whatever services they deem necessary to their spiritual well being.
The Church that follows this traditional (practical) principle had been formed through centuries of theological and social development. For a very long time, this is how Church worked. It centered around the needs of its membership and worked to meet those social, spiritual, practical, economic and political requirements. Fellowship groups formed around membership identity groups. Working groups served within congregations to meet the needs of the community of faith. This Church created an entitled and self-serving membership. It gave rise to generations that expected the Church to do something for them, entertain them, socialize them, train them up to be good people.
Through the centuries, the notion of a Church that calls and equips persons in Christian vocation all but disappeared. That theology has been rediscovered in the Progressive Church model. Persons who belong to Progressive churches have a sense of Christian Vocation. They are empowered to perform the work of Christ Jesus in the contemporary setting and called to embody Jesus' work through its own sacrifice and service. I have referred to this recently as our "representational incarnation." We are Christ's ongoing presence and continuing work in the world.
This is Christian Vocation. It is that to which we are called and that for which we are empowered. Persons do not join these congregations to enter into some spiritual quid pro quo, from which they benefit, but to engage, mind, body and soul in the work to which each is called and for which everyone is empowered. Persons live out the "representational incarnation" in the sacrificial ministry that each offers in the world to those whom they might benefit through their effort.It is not for the members, but for those in the community whom the members serve.
But people do not like the term "Christian Vocation." They want something softer and kinder, something that does not seem so very work-related. Yet, that is precisely the point. The ministry to which we are called in our "representational incarnation" is work. It is our life-work. It is that for which we are empowered and that to which we are called.
Progressive Church theology is vocationally oriented. It does not work if the Church fails in its vocational training. Shiloh has a strong grasp on this simple fact of Progressive theology. We know that we are called to serve, to work, to fulfill our representational incarnation by replicating Christ's sacrifice in, to, with, and for the communities that we are called to serve.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Evolutionary Process
These were pretty high level discussions, one with an Association group that is working to redefine a portion of that Association's ministry and another with a national group that is attempting to locate a purpose for its organization. I had been hired to facilitate by the one, while I had volunteered for the other. In both cases, the groups were seeking a revitalization of purpose and meaning.
It is astounding to me that both conversations trailed down similar paths. If I were to try to condense the conversations, in search of their common elements, I would easily reach an outline for both:
1. Where the organizations have been may have served well in the past,
but we no longer relevant, practical or functional.
2. There is a need to redefine, retool, reshape the efforts, in light of two factors:
First being the cultural evolution in which we find ourselves. The second is
the need of ministry to adopt the new cultural patterns and evolve alongside
the culture that surrounds them.
3. While it is easier to simply keep doing the same old thing in different ways,
to do so is no longer honest in light of what we now know about our calling
and vocation-in-life.
So we dreamed. We imagined together. In an ideal world, what would this organization do? How would it work? What would its aims, values and guiding principles look like? Think big. Do not be afraid to shake the foundations upon which the organizational stability had always been based. Go ahead. Rock the boat! There are no wrong answers and no stupid suggestions.
We began to define together what the organizations might do and look like if their existence was based solely in the ministry of Jesus Christ, within the given context of each body. This turned out to be a greater challenge than anyone around the repspective tables assumed it might be. The suggestions challenged old values and traditional orinetations, even at one point suggesting that seeing the church as a family mighy serve as a roadblock to servanthood and evangelism. The groups were given permission to throw out traditional values and beliefs, to question, to dare to dream in alternative, creative and imaginative ways what it might mean to represent Christ Jesus in new and powerful ways.
In each case, what I relate here simply tells of initial sessions with the respective groups, one regional and one national. Both groups were energized. Both were enthused. Both want desperately to continue the process.
The process has local church applications, of course. When we get free enough to imagine alternative and innovative ways of expressing our vocation-in-Christ, the result is empowering, enthusing, exciting and energizing. The steps in the process are simple. Permission must be granted and received to think beyond traditional boundaries and values. Participants must be willing to dare to dream, to risk, beyond traditionally safe borders, what it means to represent Christ in, to and for the culture that is developing around us. Group process then takes over and remarkable, surprising, magical suggestions and ideas ensue. In my experience, this is the rule rather than the exception.
Where we have been and what we have done in the past is no longer effective. It is time to blaze new avenues of ministry and service, to re-imagine Christ and our representational incarnation. It is time to reshape our vocation...or to even speak in terms of a "Christian vocation." It is time for us to embody a different Christ differently in the church that represents him. It is time for us to evolve, like the culture around us is evolving.
It is astounding to me that both conversations trailed down similar paths. If I were to try to condense the conversations, in search of their common elements, I would easily reach an outline for both:
1. Where the organizations have been may have served well in the past,
but we no longer relevant, practical or functional.
2. There is a need to redefine, retool, reshape the efforts, in light of two factors:
First being the cultural evolution in which we find ourselves. The second is
the need of ministry to adopt the new cultural patterns and evolve alongside
the culture that surrounds them.
3. While it is easier to simply keep doing the same old thing in different ways,
to do so is no longer honest in light of what we now know about our calling
and vocation-in-life.
So we dreamed. We imagined together. In an ideal world, what would this organization do? How would it work? What would its aims, values and guiding principles look like? Think big. Do not be afraid to shake the foundations upon which the organizational stability had always been based. Go ahead. Rock the boat! There are no wrong answers and no stupid suggestions.
We began to define together what the organizations might do and look like if their existence was based solely in the ministry of Jesus Christ, within the given context of each body. This turned out to be a greater challenge than anyone around the repspective tables assumed it might be. The suggestions challenged old values and traditional orinetations, even at one point suggesting that seeing the church as a family mighy serve as a roadblock to servanthood and evangelism. The groups were given permission to throw out traditional values and beliefs, to question, to dare to dream in alternative, creative and imaginative ways what it might mean to represent Christ Jesus in new and powerful ways.
In each case, what I relate here simply tells of initial sessions with the respective groups, one regional and one national. Both groups were energized. Both were enthused. Both want desperately to continue the process.
The process has local church applications, of course. When we get free enough to imagine alternative and innovative ways of expressing our vocation-in-Christ, the result is empowering, enthusing, exciting and energizing. The steps in the process are simple. Permission must be granted and received to think beyond traditional boundaries and values. Participants must be willing to dare to dream, to risk, beyond traditionally safe borders, what it means to represent Christ in, to and for the culture that is developing around us. Group process then takes over and remarkable, surprising, magical suggestions and ideas ensue. In my experience, this is the rule rather than the exception.
Where we have been and what we have done in the past is no longer effective. It is time to blaze new avenues of ministry and service, to re-imagine Christ and our representational incarnation. It is time to reshape our vocation...or to even speak in terms of a "Christian vocation." It is time for us to embody a different Christ differently in the church that represents him. It is time for us to evolve, like the culture around us is evolving.
Monday, May 02, 2016
Open and Affirming Congregation
As the result of unanimous congregational vote on May 1, 2016, Shiloh Church United Church of Christ is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. The office is taking the necessary steps for the congregation to enact the UCC designation.
This should likely come as no surprise to any who know Shiloh Church. This is a welcoming, hospitable church. The ONA Statement simply reflects the work that Shiloh Church is already doing in our community and throughout the world. The statement that Shiloh adopted at its congregational meeting is clear:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates and welcomes diversity.
We recognize that we do not have to be or believe alike in order to
accomplish God's will on earth.
Shiloh Church celebrates your journey, your gifts, your talents, and your
calling, and invites you to bring to the Lord's Table your energy and
your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World"
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
Shiloh Church works unceasingly at welcoming every person. It is work at which Shiloh is not perfect. The congregation sometimes falls short of emulating the love of Christ, as each person falls short, but the lofty aim of reflecting Christ is ever before us. If we remain conscious of our actions and aware of areas of improvement, maybe Shiloh can be a congregation that sometimes approaches the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
There are opportunities to reflect Christ's love all around us. Some come immediately to mind. Shiloh's Front Porch Ministry is held in conjunction with our Farmers' Market, which is open each Saturday, from 8:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m., May through the middle of October. Your presence is all that is required. Come and join in open interaction with members of the Shiloh/North Dayton community. Eat, have a cup of coffee, share, learn and care for those who form our neighborhood. Weekly worship provides yet another opportunity for openness to others. Wear those name tags. Introduce yourself to persons whom you do not yet know, welcome strangers, engage in conversations that draw newcomers in, intentionally work at going out of the way to make someone feel comfortable and welcome. It can be exciting work. Join in the fun!
I pray that Shiloh lives up to the title of Open and Affirming, even surpasses its expectations, as we continue to minister in Jesus' name.
This should likely come as no surprise to any who know Shiloh Church. This is a welcoming, hospitable church. The ONA Statement simply reflects the work that Shiloh Church is already doing in our community and throughout the world. The statement that Shiloh adopted at its congregational meeting is clear:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates and welcomes diversity.
We recognize that we do not have to be or believe alike in order to
accomplish God's will on earth.
Shiloh Church celebrates your journey, your gifts, your talents, and your
calling, and invites you to bring to the Lord's Table your energy and
your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World"
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
Shiloh Church works unceasingly at welcoming every person. It is work at which Shiloh is not perfect. The congregation sometimes falls short of emulating the love of Christ, as each person falls short, but the lofty aim of reflecting Christ is ever before us. If we remain conscious of our actions and aware of areas of improvement, maybe Shiloh can be a congregation that sometimes approaches the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
There are opportunities to reflect Christ's love all around us. Some come immediately to mind. Shiloh's Front Porch Ministry is held in conjunction with our Farmers' Market, which is open each Saturday, from 8:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m., May through the middle of October. Your presence is all that is required. Come and join in open interaction with members of the Shiloh/North Dayton community. Eat, have a cup of coffee, share, learn and care for those who form our neighborhood. Weekly worship provides yet another opportunity for openness to others. Wear those name tags. Introduce yourself to persons whom you do not yet know, welcome strangers, engage in conversations that draw newcomers in, intentionally work at going out of the way to make someone feel comfortable and welcome. It can be exciting work. Join in the fun!
I pray that Shiloh lives up to the title of Open and Affirming, even surpasses its expectations, as we continue to minister in Jesus' name.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Final Proposed Open and Affirming Statement
The organizing group, named by the congregation's president, Rick Holmes, established a process for Shiloh's Open and Affirming status, named workshop leaders and tailored an initial proposed ONA statement. The process was simple. Those who were interested were invited to attend Wednesday evening sessions at Boston's throughout April. On the first three Wednesdays, we presented issues that comprised the open and affirming stance and began working on proposed statements. On the fourth Wednesday, the working group narrowed the potential field of proposals to the top four. Those gathered voted. The highest single vote-getter was adopted as Shiloh's proposed ONA statement. The group edited the version selected.
As it turns out, the final proposal reflects much of that which was proposed by Shiloh's organizing group. The congregation will vote on the proposed statement at its specially called meeting this coming Sunday, May 1. Here is the final proposal:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ welcomes and celebrates diversity.
We recognize that we do not have to be or believe alike in order to
accomplish God's will on earth.
Shiloh Church celebrates your journey, your gifts, your talents, and your
calling, and invites you to bring to the Lord's Table your energy and
your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World"
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
On behalf of the organizing committee and the working group, I want to urge you to be at Sunday's congregational meeting. to vote on establishing this statement as Shiloh's official ONA Statement. Remember, too, that the congregation will be determining a financial path for the remainder of 2016.
See you there!
As it turns out, the final proposal reflects much of that which was proposed by Shiloh's organizing group. The congregation will vote on the proposed statement at its specially called meeting this coming Sunday, May 1. Here is the final proposal:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ welcomes and celebrates diversity.
We recognize that we do not have to be or believe alike in order to
accomplish God's will on earth.
Shiloh Church celebrates your journey, your gifts, your talents, and your
calling, and invites you to bring to the Lord's Table your energy and
your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World"
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
On behalf of the organizing committee and the working group, I want to urge you to be at Sunday's congregational meeting. to vote on establishing this statement as Shiloh's official ONA Statement. Remember, too, that the congregation will be determining a financial path for the remainder of 2016.
See you there!
Monday, April 25, 2016
Open and Affirming Statement
Whew! The process of adopting Open and Affirming status at Shiloh Church has been fascinating, fabulous and enriching. The great good news is that there has been almost no reluctance to the idea of registering as an Open and Affirming congregation in the United Church of Christ. The less great good news is that the process has been daunting. Imagine thirty people in a room, over four weeks, attempting to establish a statement for this congregation's Open and Affirming status. It has been a wild ride. More than thirty versions have been offered, whole or in part. Phrases and words have been parsed to the nth degree. This coming Wednesday, April 27, we will narrow to a single statement. That statement will then be offered to the entire community at its May 1 congregational meeting.
The other great good news is that it matters far more how Shiloh behaves as an open and affirming community of faith than it matters what we say about ourselves in a statement. The congregation could adopt the best statement ever uttered. Without being reflected in actions and behaviors, those would be only fancy words and pretty ideas. I am confident, then, that the statement is secondary to what Shiloh Church already does. We welcome people. We accept people as they are. We affirm one another, including those who are with us for the first time.
We have narrowed our consideration to four options. I have run the four by friends of mine. One is an attorney, who assures me that all four options reflect what we may intend. Another is a transgender person, who, while having a preference, sees merit to all four statements. Yet another is a person who opposes the Open and Affirming stance. He hated each of the proposed statements. Shiloh must be on the right track!
The process on Wednesday night will work simply enough. As persons arrive at Boston's Bistro and Pub, starting at 6:00 p.m., each will receive a copy of the four options. They will be asked to vote for one option. The option with the highest number of votes will be selected, edited and adopted to be brought before the congregation on May 1. Please arrive early in order to: 1. get a seat and 2. get food/beverage before our 6:00 start time.
Here are the four options and the process:
OPTION 2
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
OPTION 3
OPTION 4
The other great good news is that it matters far more how Shiloh behaves as an open and affirming community of faith than it matters what we say about ourselves in a statement. The congregation could adopt the best statement ever uttered. Without being reflected in actions and behaviors, those would be only fancy words and pretty ideas. I am confident, then, that the statement is secondary to what Shiloh Church already does. We welcome people. We accept people as they are. We affirm one another, including those who are with us for the first time.
We have narrowed our consideration to four options. I have run the four by friends of mine. One is an attorney, who assures me that all four options reflect what we may intend. Another is a transgender person, who, while having a preference, sees merit to all four statements. Yet another is a person who opposes the Open and Affirming stance. He hated each of the proposed statements. Shiloh must be on the right track!
The process on Wednesday night will work simply enough. As persons arrive at Boston's Bistro and Pub, starting at 6:00 p.m., each will receive a copy of the four options. They will be asked to vote for one option. The option with the highest number of votes will be selected, edited and adopted to be brought before the congregation on May 1. Please arrive early in order to: 1. get a seat and 2. get food/beverage before our 6:00 start time.
Here are the four options and the process:
Shiloh
Church United Church of Christ welcomes and celebrates diversity.
We recognize that we do not have to be or
believe exactly alike in order to accomplish God’s will on earth.
Shiloh
Church celebrates your journey, your gifts, your talents, and your
calling and invites you to bring to the
Lord's Table your energy and your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World."
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
OPTION 2
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ is an open and affirming
community that loves and welcomes everyone, no matter where you are from, what
you’ve done, how you live, whom you love, what gender you express, how much
money you have, how you look or what you do.
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
OPTION 3
Shiloh
Church is a place where you will experience the love of Christ, where we, like
him, are accepting of all people (even those to whom the doors of the Church
have not always been open).
OPTION 4
Shiloh
Church United Church of Christ works unceasingly at reflecting the love of
Christ by welcoming and affirming everyone, however, wherever, whoever you may
be.
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
The Process:
1. Narrow to the
single best option.
Each person will vote on the best option, without editing. Only the single
highest vote count will be considered.
2. Edit the selected
option.
Whatever option is selected will be edited.
3. Selecting the
Statement.
The Open and Affirming Statement will then be sent to the congregation for
consideration at its specially called meeting on May 1.
4. Congregational
vote. The congregation will act to adopt the Open and Affirming Statement of Shiloh Church, amend it, or turn it down.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Open and Affirming
Shiloh Church is an interesting place to do ministry. If you read last week's "Shiloh Insider," you read that Shiloh is breaking new ground in a number of very important ways. The congregation is moving boldly forward in its witness to the radical acceptance and love of Christ Jesus, and to community action that articulates that love to all people. If you missed it, you can go back and read that post. It is free! It is entitled "Shiloh Breaking New Ground."
A shovel full of that new ground lies in becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ. As noted last week, Shiloh considered registering as ONA as early as 2002, but rejected the move. The leadership did not think that the statement was wide enough in scope to encompass Shiloh's radical welcome, as it was targeted to only particular populations. The leadership believed that such radical welcome should be extended to all people, no matter who, what, where from, how they may live, with whom, what challenges they may face, how they look, economic or political values, opinions or practises, shape, weight.... The list is never-ending.
Current Shiloh leadership decided that 2016 would be a right time for the congregation to reconsider the Open and Affirming status, especially since congregations are now challenged to write their own ONA Statement. So, Shiloh leadership began the process of designing a process and shaping a statement.
As most of you are likely aware, the process consisted of several steps: 1. Create an ONA Statement that reflects Shiloh's radical welcome; 2. Engage interested persons in intentional dialogue around the issues of welcome and hospitality; 3. Vote as a congregation on the ONA Statement and issue. Rick Holmes, Shiloh's president, established a working group. That group designed a process that included Bible@Boston's discussion sessions throughout April and a congregational vote on May 1. The group arranged for presentations and discussion of the proposed statement. It drafted a proposed statement.
Some may be surprised to find that the issue has not been debated. The ONA Statement certainly has, however. It seems as though radical hospitality and welcome are not issues at Shiloh, but how to state that welcome may be. The original proposed statement looked like this:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates diversity.
We celebrate who you are as much as we celebrate who we are.
We recognize that we may not be or believe exactly alike.
To accomplish God's will on earth,
God relies on each of us to respond to God's call in our own ways.
We invite you to bring to the Lord's Table your talents, your gifts,
your energy, and your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World."
ALL ARE WELCOME HERE!
The response has been interesting. Alongside some grammatical suggestions, the group has received no fewer then ten alternative versions of this statement. Those suggestions range from full-page litanies to one-sentence declarations. Several suggestions have been made as well. One such suggestion is that the original statement carries too strong a "we/you" tone and could be stated in a much more inviting manner. Another suggestion is that the congregation adopt a statement that lists, at very least, those of the LBGTQ communities. Yet another is that we phrase it ala Dr, Seuss. In the spirit of compromise, I was asked to take the suggestions and versions and attempt some consensus and communicate it here and on Shiloh's Facebook group. So here goes. This is my best attempt at a complete compromise of proposed statements and suggestions:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ welcomes and affirms all persons,
whatever the gifts, talents, energies, capabilities, uniqueness and life-styles
persons bring to the Lord's Table.
Persons are valued and embraced at Shiloh Church,
where each joins with others in reflecting Christ by
"Living the Word by Serving the World."
I invite you to make comment on Shiloh's Facebook page, where we can work together in further shaping a statement that genuinely expresses Shiloh's openness, radical welcome and warm hospitality. We will continue dialogue around issues of welcome and acceptance this Wednesday, April 20, at Boston's Bistro and Pub, from 6-7:00 p.m. Amy and Linda DeCamp will present on issues of life-style acceptance, after which we will continue our discussion of the proposed ONA Statement(s). We will finalize the ONA Statement on April 27, again as part of Shiloh's Bible@Boston's program. I hope that you join us.The vote on becoming an ONA congregation will take place on May 1.
A shovel full of that new ground lies in becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ. As noted last week, Shiloh considered registering as ONA as early as 2002, but rejected the move. The leadership did not think that the statement was wide enough in scope to encompass Shiloh's radical welcome, as it was targeted to only particular populations. The leadership believed that such radical welcome should be extended to all people, no matter who, what, where from, how they may live, with whom, what challenges they may face, how they look, economic or political values, opinions or practises, shape, weight.... The list is never-ending.
Current Shiloh leadership decided that 2016 would be a right time for the congregation to reconsider the Open and Affirming status, especially since congregations are now challenged to write their own ONA Statement. So, Shiloh leadership began the process of designing a process and shaping a statement.
As most of you are likely aware, the process consisted of several steps: 1. Create an ONA Statement that reflects Shiloh's radical welcome; 2. Engage interested persons in intentional dialogue around the issues of welcome and hospitality; 3. Vote as a congregation on the ONA Statement and issue. Rick Holmes, Shiloh's president, established a working group. That group designed a process that included Bible@Boston's discussion sessions throughout April and a congregational vote on May 1. The group arranged for presentations and discussion of the proposed statement. It drafted a proposed statement.
Some may be surprised to find that the issue has not been debated. The ONA Statement certainly has, however. It seems as though radical hospitality and welcome are not issues at Shiloh, but how to state that welcome may be. The original proposed statement looked like this:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates diversity.
We celebrate who you are as much as we celebrate who we are.
We recognize that we may not be or believe exactly alike.
To accomplish God's will on earth,
God relies on each of us to respond to God's call in our own ways.
We invite you to bring to the Lord's Table your talents, your gifts,
your energy, and your uniqueness, to join with ours in
"Living the Word by Serving the World."
ALL ARE WELCOME HERE!
The response has been interesting. Alongside some grammatical suggestions, the group has received no fewer then ten alternative versions of this statement. Those suggestions range from full-page litanies to one-sentence declarations. Several suggestions have been made as well. One such suggestion is that the original statement carries too strong a "we/you" tone and could be stated in a much more inviting manner. Another suggestion is that the congregation adopt a statement that lists, at very least, those of the LBGTQ communities. Yet another is that we phrase it ala Dr, Seuss. In the spirit of compromise, I was asked to take the suggestions and versions and attempt some consensus and communicate it here and on Shiloh's Facebook group. So here goes. This is my best attempt at a complete compromise of proposed statements and suggestions:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ welcomes and affirms all persons,
whatever the gifts, talents, energies, capabilities, uniqueness and life-styles
persons bring to the Lord's Table.
Persons are valued and embraced at Shiloh Church,
where each joins with others in reflecting Christ by
"Living the Word by Serving the World."
I invite you to make comment on Shiloh's Facebook page, where we can work together in further shaping a statement that genuinely expresses Shiloh's openness, radical welcome and warm hospitality. We will continue dialogue around issues of welcome and acceptance this Wednesday, April 20, at Boston's Bistro and Pub, from 6-7:00 p.m. Amy and Linda DeCamp will present on issues of life-style acceptance, after which we will continue our discussion of the proposed ONA Statement(s). We will finalize the ONA Statement on April 27, again as part of Shiloh's Bible@Boston's program. I hope that you join us.The vote on becoming an ONA congregation will take place on May 1.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Shiloh Breaking New Ground
Shiloh Church is breaking new ground in accepting and affirming persons who have traditionally been excluded, rejected, subtly, and not so subtly, judged and criticized. Several recent events witness to the fact that Shiloh is charting some previously unexplored territory.
In March, Shiloh held its third annual Black History Celebration. Out of that series of events has come Shiloh's new Task Group for Racial Issues. This group, headed by Justin Sierschula, will recommend to the congregation and community direct actions, behaviors, programs and projects that improve racial relations in, to, and for the congregation, neighborhood and community. The initial meeting of this task group will take place on Monday evening, April 18, starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Shiloh Chapel. If you would like to participate in this group's work, contact Justin or Carl Robinson.
This past weekend, Shiloh conducted its sixth same-gender wedding. Dale and Jerry Engel were married here on April 9, in a wonderful ceremony and a great celebration. It should be noted that, of the six such weddings conducted, the average length of relationship has been over 25 years. These are people whose relationships have enhanced the meaning of marriage. It is much harder these days to get differently gendered couples to the altar, let alone the difficulty of keeping persons married. While there has been significant turn around in the statistics, still about 37% of first marriages end in divorce. The energy, enthusiasm and obvious joy that same gender couples have brought to the altar, since last year's Supreme Court decision to force States to legalize such marriage rights, has been palpable. I have officiated at each of these ceremonies and can tell you first hand that each same-sex married couple celebrates in a very different way than those who had been granted marriage rights all along. It is thrilling to see a revival of the joy of marriage!
Also this past weekend, Shiloh Church hosted a summit on transgender issues. This event broke new ground in two ways. Firstly, it broke new ground for the transgender community. Shiloh received a number of telephone calls from members of the transgender community who wondered if it was safe for them to discuss their issues in context of a church. Would they not be opening themselves to the kind of rejection and ridicule that they have historically faced in relationship with religious organizations? Secondly, the event broke new ground for the radical welcome and acceptance that might be exhibited by religious communities. The speakers, and the ensuing panel discussion, brought the crowd to new heights of openness and honesty about the transgender community. Can such a discussion take place in a religious context? Can we be so frank in the church? Sunday's event was a sign for both communities that we can indeed love, accept and affirm one another.
Wait, we are not yet done. Also on Shiloh's agenda this season is a discussion and determination about the congregation's Open and Affirming Status within the United Church of Christ. The congregation entertained the proposed status as early as 2002, but rejected it on the grounds that it was not a universally applicable statement. It did not welcome all persons. Shiloh's interpretation may have kept the congregation from opening itself to persons in the community who may have been seeking an ONA congregation, gone to the UCC national website, and seen that Shiloh was not so designated. Therefore, the leadership of Shiloh Church determined that it is time to revisit ONA standing.
The process will include four consecutive Wednesdays in April at Boston's Bistro and Pub, 6-7:00 p.m. The first session was held this past week, with JoAnne Orihood presenting on the theology of hospitality and Rick Holmes offering a proposed statement of welcome and affirmation. This Wednesday, we are thrilled to offer the insights of Jill and Karyn Sleppy, who will speak on openness to persons of a range of disabilities, limitation and challenges, both physical and mental, and how Shiloh might offer hospitality to these brothers and sisters. Rick Holmes will then continue our discussion of Shiloh's proposed ONA Statement. That statement currently reads:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates diversity.
We celebrate who you are as much as we celebrate who we are.
We recognize that we may not be or believe exactly alike.
To accomplish God's will on earth...
God relies on each of us to respond to God's call in our own ways.
We invite you to bring to the Lord's table
your talents, your gifts, your energy and your uniqueness,
joining with ours, in "Living the Word by Serving the World."
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
Each of these avenues of ministry and mission breaks new ground in Shiloh's openness and the congregation's radical welcome to persons in our community. Join us in reflecting Christ's love by taking part in each of these initiatives. See you at Boston's!
In March, Shiloh held its third annual Black History Celebration. Out of that series of events has come Shiloh's new Task Group for Racial Issues. This group, headed by Justin Sierschula, will recommend to the congregation and community direct actions, behaviors, programs and projects that improve racial relations in, to, and for the congregation, neighborhood and community. The initial meeting of this task group will take place on Monday evening, April 18, starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Shiloh Chapel. If you would like to participate in this group's work, contact Justin or Carl Robinson.
This past weekend, Shiloh conducted its sixth same-gender wedding. Dale and Jerry Engel were married here on April 9, in a wonderful ceremony and a great celebration. It should be noted that, of the six such weddings conducted, the average length of relationship has been over 25 years. These are people whose relationships have enhanced the meaning of marriage. It is much harder these days to get differently gendered couples to the altar, let alone the difficulty of keeping persons married. While there has been significant turn around in the statistics, still about 37% of first marriages end in divorce. The energy, enthusiasm and obvious joy that same gender couples have brought to the altar, since last year's Supreme Court decision to force States to legalize such marriage rights, has been palpable. I have officiated at each of these ceremonies and can tell you first hand that each same-sex married couple celebrates in a very different way than those who had been granted marriage rights all along. It is thrilling to see a revival of the joy of marriage!
Also this past weekend, Shiloh Church hosted a summit on transgender issues. This event broke new ground in two ways. Firstly, it broke new ground for the transgender community. Shiloh received a number of telephone calls from members of the transgender community who wondered if it was safe for them to discuss their issues in context of a church. Would they not be opening themselves to the kind of rejection and ridicule that they have historically faced in relationship with religious organizations? Secondly, the event broke new ground for the radical welcome and acceptance that might be exhibited by religious communities. The speakers, and the ensuing panel discussion, brought the crowd to new heights of openness and honesty about the transgender community. Can such a discussion take place in a religious context? Can we be so frank in the church? Sunday's event was a sign for both communities that we can indeed love, accept and affirm one another.
Wait, we are not yet done. Also on Shiloh's agenda this season is a discussion and determination about the congregation's Open and Affirming Status within the United Church of Christ. The congregation entertained the proposed status as early as 2002, but rejected it on the grounds that it was not a universally applicable statement. It did not welcome all persons. Shiloh's interpretation may have kept the congregation from opening itself to persons in the community who may have been seeking an ONA congregation, gone to the UCC national website, and seen that Shiloh was not so designated. Therefore, the leadership of Shiloh Church determined that it is time to revisit ONA standing.
The process will include four consecutive Wednesdays in April at Boston's Bistro and Pub, 6-7:00 p.m. The first session was held this past week, with JoAnne Orihood presenting on the theology of hospitality and Rick Holmes offering a proposed statement of welcome and affirmation. This Wednesday, we are thrilled to offer the insights of Jill and Karyn Sleppy, who will speak on openness to persons of a range of disabilities, limitation and challenges, both physical and mental, and how Shiloh might offer hospitality to these brothers and sisters. Rick Holmes will then continue our discussion of Shiloh's proposed ONA Statement. That statement currently reads:
Shiloh Church United Church of Christ celebrates diversity.
We celebrate who you are as much as we celebrate who we are.
We recognize that we may not be or believe exactly alike.
To accomplish God's will on earth...
God relies on each of us to respond to God's call in our own ways.
We invite you to bring to the Lord's table
your talents, your gifts, your energy and your uniqueness,
joining with ours, in "Living the Word by Serving the World."
YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
Each of these avenues of ministry and mission breaks new ground in Shiloh's openness and the congregation's radical welcome to persons in our community. Join us in reflecting Christ's love by taking part in each of these initiatives. See you at Boston's!
Tuesday, April 05, 2016
An Alternative Map
The Bible study group was incredulous. Now, other terms may well be used for the group's reaction, maybe terms like dumbfounded, shocked, frustrated, scandalized, or, my favorite, gobsmacked. The verbal reaction ranged from "huhhhh?" to "whaaa'aaaat?"
The context for the disturbed Bible study reaction was the simplicity of the Resurrection message of Representational Incarnation. (I know, it sounds complex. But it isn't at all. Bear with me a moment.)
Jesus' ability to fulfill that to which he was called was a combination - the details of how that combination works exactly depends upon which of the Gospels one is reading - of incarnation and the power of God's Spirit. The combination may be called Jesus' Incarnation. He is embodiment of God's will. For my spiritual friends, Jesus is perfectly reflective of the spiritual realities of the universe. In him, one perceives the absolute best of humankind, when and how empowered by the Spirit.
Jesus lived out this Incarnation in Galilee, where he was a teacher of alternative paths and a practitioner of the healing and egalitarian arts. He continued the work by going to Jerusalem, sacrificing himself for the sake of those who were rejected, excluded, poor, lame, infirm, menstruating, in bondage to the evil forces of empire and human institution. He died as a sacrifice, to the benefit of every living thing, past, present and future, of every kind, in every place, of every description. Jesus' Incarnation was articulated in sacrifice, giving up one's self for the sake of others.
It is in Jesus' sacrifice that all humanity is unified. It is in his Incarnation that all witness to the archetype of faithfulness...sacrifice self for the sake of others.
Jesus is raised from the dead. His Incarnation is not defeated in death. It lives on, even after his ascension. This Incarnation is representational, however. As often as persons go out of their way for others, sacrificing time, talent, energy, attention, effort, even money, they witness to the Incarnation, becoming themselves an embodiment of God's will. They become one with the Spirit of the universe. Our acts do not "bring Jesus." Instead, they "are Christ," an expression of Incarnation. They articulate Incarnation, according to the archetype of Crucifixion/Resurrection.
Jesus' Incarnation is wrapped up and delivered as often as a person sacrifices self for the sake of others. This is salvation, that we live together in a world where persons live in relationships that are formed incarnationally.
In short, humanity can, if it will, live in the idealized life-style that we have called "kingdom." If we pardon the language of the empire and the patristic nature of the term, representational incarnation is all about establishing kingdom on earth. The relationships, so established, represent the best of human nature and reflect, represent and embody Jesus' Incarnation.
It is that easy. Salvation comes when persons represent Christ in relationship with others, every other and all others. God's will on earth is fulfilled and persons become at one with the spiritual forces of the universe. Kingdom comes when our systems and our culture support, reflect, and express these relationships. The process is personal. Its affect and effect is foundational. Its outcome is cultural and universal.
The problem is that we have much to unlearn. Recapitulation is possible only insofar as we are willing to alter the religious, social, economic, political and relational systems under which we have lived. A new world is directly around that corner. It lies just over that precipice.
It is time to turn the corner. It is time to jump!
The context for the disturbed Bible study reaction was the simplicity of the Resurrection message of Representational Incarnation. (I know, it sounds complex. But it isn't at all. Bear with me a moment.)
Jesus' ability to fulfill that to which he was called was a combination - the details of how that combination works exactly depends upon which of the Gospels one is reading - of incarnation and the power of God's Spirit. The combination may be called Jesus' Incarnation. He is embodiment of God's will. For my spiritual friends, Jesus is perfectly reflective of the spiritual realities of the universe. In him, one perceives the absolute best of humankind, when and how empowered by the Spirit.
Jesus lived out this Incarnation in Galilee, where he was a teacher of alternative paths and a practitioner of the healing and egalitarian arts. He continued the work by going to Jerusalem, sacrificing himself for the sake of those who were rejected, excluded, poor, lame, infirm, menstruating, in bondage to the evil forces of empire and human institution. He died as a sacrifice, to the benefit of every living thing, past, present and future, of every kind, in every place, of every description. Jesus' Incarnation was articulated in sacrifice, giving up one's self for the sake of others.
It is in Jesus' sacrifice that all humanity is unified. It is in his Incarnation that all witness to the archetype of faithfulness...sacrifice self for the sake of others.
Jesus is raised from the dead. His Incarnation is not defeated in death. It lives on, even after his ascension. This Incarnation is representational, however. As often as persons go out of their way for others, sacrificing time, talent, energy, attention, effort, even money, they witness to the Incarnation, becoming themselves an embodiment of God's will. They become one with the Spirit of the universe. Our acts do not "bring Jesus." Instead, they "are Christ," an expression of Incarnation. They articulate Incarnation, according to the archetype of Crucifixion/Resurrection.
Jesus' Incarnation is wrapped up and delivered as often as a person sacrifices self for the sake of others. This is salvation, that we live together in a world where persons live in relationships that are formed incarnationally.
In short, humanity can, if it will, live in the idealized life-style that we have called "kingdom." If we pardon the language of the empire and the patristic nature of the term, representational incarnation is all about establishing kingdom on earth. The relationships, so established, represent the best of human nature and reflect, represent and embody Jesus' Incarnation.
It is that easy. Salvation comes when persons represent Christ in relationship with others, every other and all others. God's will on earth is fulfilled and persons become at one with the spiritual forces of the universe. Kingdom comes when our systems and our culture support, reflect, and express these relationships. The process is personal. Its affect and effect is foundational. Its outcome is cultural and universal.
The problem is that we have much to unlearn. Recapitulation is possible only insofar as we are willing to alter the religious, social, economic, political and relational systems under which we have lived. A new world is directly around that corner. It lies just over that precipice.
It is time to turn the corner. It is time to jump!
Monday, March 28, 2016
Medical Care Industry
A person that I know was diagnosed with a general category of illness by her primary care physician and recommended to a specialist for a more targeted diagnosis and course of treatment. In order to prepare for meeting with the specialist, the primary care physician removed from her medications that might have impacted the specialist's findings. Unfortunately, the specialist was not able to see her for two months from the initial doctor's visit. In the meantime, her symptoms worsened, as did her pain and the detrimental effects of having to wait for treatment. She wound up in the emergency room of the local hospital where she lives, barely able to walk, in severe pain, unable to eat more than a few bites of any food, seriously dehydrated and in immediate need of medical care.
This is all too typical a story, and it points to a system that is increasingly inefficient, economically driven, detrimental to patients and dangerous for those who are suffering, sometimes unnecessarily so. Ask around. The tales of medical woe are all around us.
An employee in a local company found, under the Affordable Care Act, medical insurance for herself and her children that was both great quality and much more affordable for she and her company than any that they had found previously. When the policy was to be renewed, a year later, the insurance carrier had been sold to another company. Her premiums increased four-fold, the deductible, both personal and family, was increased significantly and her co-pays went through the roof. The company saw an increase, even over what they had previously paid. They were forced to end her employment and to manage without that position.
Who is to blame, here? Is it doctors? Is it medical conglomerates? Is it insurance companies? Is it an entire industry? What, exactly, is broken and how do we fix it?
In the case of the woman mentioned earlier, the one who wound up in the e.r. instead of receiving the kind of prompt and attentive care that would have treated her illness, she needed one test to determine a more detailed diagnosis. The primary care physician failed to order that test, though it is a common one that is ordered by this physician every day, especially for persons who are over 50. He referred instead of ordering that test. The emergency room doctor was shocked that the test had not been performed. In his defense, the primary care physician was pressured to move people along and through the system, refer to specialists if at all possible, and increase the daily log of patients seen in and through the office.
In the case of the woman who lost her job, primarily as a result of her increasing medical insurance costs, it is clear that the company that underwrote her initial policy was a short-term speculative institution that was designed to make its money, sell its policies, and barter itself on the open insurance market. Tremendous amounts of money were made...millions. The business practice harmed people, however. Perhaps the larger carriers, those who swallowed up the smaller underwriters, consider the damage done to persons as collateral to their profit margins. In their defense, their stock holders have been experiencing greater returns on their investments.
It is this, I think, that is broken. Medical care has become an industry instead of a service. The economic bottom line determines the extent and the efficiency of care. Money, profit and return on investment have replaced excellence in care and timely treatment. The patient has become a commodity, a source of revenue, a product.
Do not misunderstand. I know and respect a great many medical physicians. They do their best. They care about their patients. But they are increasingly limited by a system that is primarily concerned with dollars instead of people.
How do we fix the problem? A number of years ago, I was involved in community dialogues around the issue of health care. The medical community wanted those dialogues to focus on medical issues, like fitness and preventative care. The few participants from the community wanted to know what we could do about the mounting commodification of patients and the economic injustice that is inherent in a capitalistic industry. There was no mediation, no cooperation, no compromise. The medical community wanted to talk about advancements in medicine while the public wanted to discuss the increasing depersonalization of the system. No dialogue took place. Each community talked past the other.
In its current state, I am increasingly convinced that there is no easy fix. Money is the pathology of the medical care industry. It is ill. It is not working at anything approaching an optimal level. But what are its alternatives? What are we to do?
I have none of the answers. Do you? If you do, or if you want to pursue this conversation, please post to the Shiloh UCC Facebook page. I want to hear from you.
This is all too typical a story, and it points to a system that is increasingly inefficient, economically driven, detrimental to patients and dangerous for those who are suffering, sometimes unnecessarily so. Ask around. The tales of medical woe are all around us.
An employee in a local company found, under the Affordable Care Act, medical insurance for herself and her children that was both great quality and much more affordable for she and her company than any that they had found previously. When the policy was to be renewed, a year later, the insurance carrier had been sold to another company. Her premiums increased four-fold, the deductible, both personal and family, was increased significantly and her co-pays went through the roof. The company saw an increase, even over what they had previously paid. They were forced to end her employment and to manage without that position.
Who is to blame, here? Is it doctors? Is it medical conglomerates? Is it insurance companies? Is it an entire industry? What, exactly, is broken and how do we fix it?
In the case of the woman mentioned earlier, the one who wound up in the e.r. instead of receiving the kind of prompt and attentive care that would have treated her illness, she needed one test to determine a more detailed diagnosis. The primary care physician failed to order that test, though it is a common one that is ordered by this physician every day, especially for persons who are over 50. He referred instead of ordering that test. The emergency room doctor was shocked that the test had not been performed. In his defense, the primary care physician was pressured to move people along and through the system, refer to specialists if at all possible, and increase the daily log of patients seen in and through the office.
In the case of the woman who lost her job, primarily as a result of her increasing medical insurance costs, it is clear that the company that underwrote her initial policy was a short-term speculative institution that was designed to make its money, sell its policies, and barter itself on the open insurance market. Tremendous amounts of money were made...millions. The business practice harmed people, however. Perhaps the larger carriers, those who swallowed up the smaller underwriters, consider the damage done to persons as collateral to their profit margins. In their defense, their stock holders have been experiencing greater returns on their investments.
It is this, I think, that is broken. Medical care has become an industry instead of a service. The economic bottom line determines the extent and the efficiency of care. Money, profit and return on investment have replaced excellence in care and timely treatment. The patient has become a commodity, a source of revenue, a product.
Do not misunderstand. I know and respect a great many medical physicians. They do their best. They care about their patients. But they are increasingly limited by a system that is primarily concerned with dollars instead of people.
How do we fix the problem? A number of years ago, I was involved in community dialogues around the issue of health care. The medical community wanted those dialogues to focus on medical issues, like fitness and preventative care. The few participants from the community wanted to know what we could do about the mounting commodification of patients and the economic injustice that is inherent in a capitalistic industry. There was no mediation, no cooperation, no compromise. The medical community wanted to talk about advancements in medicine while the public wanted to discuss the increasing depersonalization of the system. No dialogue took place. Each community talked past the other.
In its current state, I am increasingly convinced that there is no easy fix. Money is the pathology of the medical care industry. It is ill. It is not working at anything approaching an optimal level. But what are its alternatives? What are we to do?
I have none of the answers. Do you? If you do, or if you want to pursue this conversation, please post to the Shiloh UCC Facebook page. I want to hear from you.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Happy Birthday to Me!
For the first time that I can remember, Maundy Thursday falls this year on my birthday, March 24. I turn 55. Holy crap! I turn 55 this year!
Every time a person who attends our Sunday evening "Discovery Time," alternative worship, celebrates a birthday, the gathered community sings and the person is asked to say what she or he wants for her or his birthday. While I used the occasion last evening to secure leadership for two upcoming positions in the life of the congregation, I admit that what I actually want is directly related to the date of my birthday this year, March 24, Maundy Thursday.
I wish that we could take seriously the sacrifice made for us. I wish that Christ's sacrifice meant more for us in the course of our everyday lives, especially in these ways:
1. Self-Worth: Jesus died for humanity, to defeat the twin powers of sin and death. Each of is is rendered good enough, acceptable, loved and treasured by this sacrifice. We can stop trying to earn the acceptance of self and others, stop proving ourselves good enough, lovable, valuable and important. We are invited to embody the sacrifice made on our behalf, by living full, abundant, giving, generous, virtuous lives. Our self-worth is not determined by some standard of behavior, level of affluence, position, power or fame. It comes with the assurance that we are worthy of the sacrifice that is made on our behalf, in the very fact that it has been made on our behalf.
2. Universal Impact: The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is made, not just for those who will believe or behave rightly but for everyone. It is therefore universally applied. It happens to every person, in every place, throughout time. Who is more powerful than God? Despite what we hear, no one is able to undo what God has accomplished. No one can reject the basic human worth that is established in Christ. No persons, no matter how flawed, weak, sinful, ugly, angry, hateful, excluded, rejected, victimized or despised is outside of the worth that is established in Christ. Every person is included. Every person is saved. If not, then Christ's sacrifice is conditionally applied. Conditional application of Christ's sacrifice makes no sense.
3. Unity: If every person's basic human worth is established in Christ's sacrifice, then all of humankind is united, innately, under the umbrella of Christ. We are one. There are no intrinsic distinctions or divisions that set one apart from another. All those divisive forces around us have been created by those in positions of power in order to protect them and secure their hegemony. The Church of Jesus Christ has too often been caught up in protecting itself against some imagined threat to its power and position instead of loving persons for whom Christ sacrificed. All who embrace Christ are called, equipped, empowered and sent to embody the unity that Crucifixion represents. It is necessary for us to work for the sake of all of our brothers and sisters, and to ensure that none is victimized, oppressed, excluded or rejected.
4. Human Potential: If humans were to live in the unity created in Christ's sacrifice, then the ideal is possible. Human community comes from mutual respect, honor and love. If every person is innately worthy of Christ's sacrifice, and if every person is undeniably equal to every other, then how could we refuse to demand justice and fairness for every one of us? Humans can create together an ideal community of mutual respect, honor and love. The only reason that we have failed to do so at this point in human history is that we reject #1, #2, and #3 above.
So, for my birthday, that falls this year on Maundy Thursday, March 24, I wish that we could take seriously the sacrifice that is made on our behalf, on the behalf of every person, and that unity would result. From that unity, I wish that we could live out the potential of shaping ideal human community. I am told that the belief is naive and silly. I am told that it is impossible. I am told that people can never function from a position of such unity. Whether or not you believe in Christ Jesus, or practice a spirituality that is in any way related to him, is this not a healthier life-style for each of us? Is this not a more productive legacy for us to establish? I can think of no cogent reason to delay or to declare the attempt ill-fated before we even begin.
That is what I want for my birthday!
Every time a person who attends our Sunday evening "Discovery Time," alternative worship, celebrates a birthday, the gathered community sings and the person is asked to say what she or he wants for her or his birthday. While I used the occasion last evening to secure leadership for two upcoming positions in the life of the congregation, I admit that what I actually want is directly related to the date of my birthday this year, March 24, Maundy Thursday.
I wish that we could take seriously the sacrifice made for us. I wish that Christ's sacrifice meant more for us in the course of our everyday lives, especially in these ways:
1. Self-Worth: Jesus died for humanity, to defeat the twin powers of sin and death. Each of is is rendered good enough, acceptable, loved and treasured by this sacrifice. We can stop trying to earn the acceptance of self and others, stop proving ourselves good enough, lovable, valuable and important. We are invited to embody the sacrifice made on our behalf, by living full, abundant, giving, generous, virtuous lives. Our self-worth is not determined by some standard of behavior, level of affluence, position, power or fame. It comes with the assurance that we are worthy of the sacrifice that is made on our behalf, in the very fact that it has been made on our behalf.
2. Universal Impact: The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is made, not just for those who will believe or behave rightly but for everyone. It is therefore universally applied. It happens to every person, in every place, throughout time. Who is more powerful than God? Despite what we hear, no one is able to undo what God has accomplished. No one can reject the basic human worth that is established in Christ. No persons, no matter how flawed, weak, sinful, ugly, angry, hateful, excluded, rejected, victimized or despised is outside of the worth that is established in Christ. Every person is included. Every person is saved. If not, then Christ's sacrifice is conditionally applied. Conditional application of Christ's sacrifice makes no sense.
3. Unity: If every person's basic human worth is established in Christ's sacrifice, then all of humankind is united, innately, under the umbrella of Christ. We are one. There are no intrinsic distinctions or divisions that set one apart from another. All those divisive forces around us have been created by those in positions of power in order to protect them and secure their hegemony. The Church of Jesus Christ has too often been caught up in protecting itself against some imagined threat to its power and position instead of loving persons for whom Christ sacrificed. All who embrace Christ are called, equipped, empowered and sent to embody the unity that Crucifixion represents. It is necessary for us to work for the sake of all of our brothers and sisters, and to ensure that none is victimized, oppressed, excluded or rejected.
4. Human Potential: If humans were to live in the unity created in Christ's sacrifice, then the ideal is possible. Human community comes from mutual respect, honor and love. If every person is innately worthy of Christ's sacrifice, and if every person is undeniably equal to every other, then how could we refuse to demand justice and fairness for every one of us? Humans can create together an ideal community of mutual respect, honor and love. The only reason that we have failed to do so at this point in human history is that we reject #1, #2, and #3 above.
So, for my birthday, that falls this year on Maundy Thursday, March 24, I wish that we could take seriously the sacrifice that is made on our behalf, on the behalf of every person, and that unity would result. From that unity, I wish that we could live out the potential of shaping ideal human community. I am told that the belief is naive and silly. I am told that it is impossible. I am told that people can never function from a position of such unity. Whether or not you believe in Christ Jesus, or practice a spirituality that is in any way related to him, is this not a healthier life-style for each of us? Is this not a more productive legacy for us to establish? I can think of no cogent reason to delay or to declare the attempt ill-fated before we even begin.
That is what I want for my birthday!
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
From the Planting to Harvest
Sooooo, Shiloh's annual Black History celebration is in the books. Here are some outcomes:
Shiloh has distinguished itself as a place where hospitality and flexibility trump (forgive the use of the term) orthodoxy and traditional practises. If for no other reason than this, our Sunday celebration was a tremendous undertaking. It genuinely was a tremendous worship experience, featuring as many community participants as it did our own friends and members. We sang and heard great gospel music, participated in liturgical dance, heard a powerful message, stood in a circle and held hands as a community as we sang "Let there Be Peace on Earth." The meal that followed the service was fabulous. Thanks to all who provided food, staffed the kitchen and dining room, and just helped out in so many ways.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place that is unafraid of broaching difficult issues.The Sunday presentation, made by Rachel Collopy, of the University of Dayton, was a keen insight into white privilege. The presentation asked, "Were our ancestors hard working and deserving of our respect?" The answer is "Absolutely!" Then, "Did they benefit from a system of advantage and privilege?" The answer is, "Absolutley!" I learned much from Doctor Collopy's presentation and deeply appreciate her style and class.
In Monday night's Dialogue on Race Relations, Shiloh continued to face some difficult issues. What can we do, as persons in community and as persons of a church, to improve race relations? The small group began with four areas of interest, each of which had surfaced at our August Dialogue on Race Relations. In each area, the group brainstormed concrete approaches that may function as faithful response to the challenge. These are difficult social, personal and inter-personal issues that Shiloh is willing to address.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place of action. Shiloh does more than talk about issues. We attempt to deal with them, to address them and to resolve them. As an outcome of our Monday Dialogue, Shiloh will be forming an implementation Task Group, whose task is practical and meaningful ministries, missions and programs that apply directly to issues of inclusion, hospitality, justice and peace. The outcome of the work of this group will be direct action, whether in the congregation, through it, or participation with existing groups, like LEAD, that engage in direct community action.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place of building relationships. The Friday night event featured Terrence Grimes, an educator and musician, who taught the gathered crowd about Negro Spirituals and Gospel music. The participants varied in race, age and background. New relationships were formed and new interests pursued. The same tone continued throughout the weekend. Sunday's worship and program brought various communities together. The Monday Dialogue included a mix of races, ages and backgrounds. As with the Sunday events, the mix of Shiloh to community was about 50%.
Shiloh built relationships. We faced tough issues. We planned to see from our discussions direct action which may affect our communities, improving the race relations of the Dayton area. Shiloh's impact may be important for the Dayton community. It may not. The potential of Shiloh's celebration of Black American contributions to the family of God may die on the vine, never coming to fruition. It depends on you and your support, your prayers, your involvement and your actions. You can impact the outcome by planning now to join Shiloh's Task Group on Race Relations at its meeting on Monday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. Let's do something important and meaningful for our community! Come and contribute!
Shiloh has distinguished itself as a place where hospitality and flexibility trump (forgive the use of the term) orthodoxy and traditional practises. If for no other reason than this, our Sunday celebration was a tremendous undertaking. It genuinely was a tremendous worship experience, featuring as many community participants as it did our own friends and members. We sang and heard great gospel music, participated in liturgical dance, heard a powerful message, stood in a circle and held hands as a community as we sang "Let there Be Peace on Earth." The meal that followed the service was fabulous. Thanks to all who provided food, staffed the kitchen and dining room, and just helped out in so many ways.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place that is unafraid of broaching difficult issues.The Sunday presentation, made by Rachel Collopy, of the University of Dayton, was a keen insight into white privilege. The presentation asked, "Were our ancestors hard working and deserving of our respect?" The answer is "Absolutely!" Then, "Did they benefit from a system of advantage and privilege?" The answer is, "Absolutley!" I learned much from Doctor Collopy's presentation and deeply appreciate her style and class.
In Monday night's Dialogue on Race Relations, Shiloh continued to face some difficult issues. What can we do, as persons in community and as persons of a church, to improve race relations? The small group began with four areas of interest, each of which had surfaced at our August Dialogue on Race Relations. In each area, the group brainstormed concrete approaches that may function as faithful response to the challenge. These are difficult social, personal and inter-personal issues that Shiloh is willing to address.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place of action. Shiloh does more than talk about issues. We attempt to deal with them, to address them and to resolve them. As an outcome of our Monday Dialogue, Shiloh will be forming an implementation Task Group, whose task is practical and meaningful ministries, missions and programs that apply directly to issues of inclusion, hospitality, justice and peace. The outcome of the work of this group will be direct action, whether in the congregation, through it, or participation with existing groups, like LEAD, that engage in direct community action.
Shiloh distinguished itself as a place of building relationships. The Friday night event featured Terrence Grimes, an educator and musician, who taught the gathered crowd about Negro Spirituals and Gospel music. The participants varied in race, age and background. New relationships were formed and new interests pursued. The same tone continued throughout the weekend. Sunday's worship and program brought various communities together. The Monday Dialogue included a mix of races, ages and backgrounds. As with the Sunday events, the mix of Shiloh to community was about 50%.
Shiloh built relationships. We faced tough issues. We planned to see from our discussions direct action which may affect our communities, improving the race relations of the Dayton area. Shiloh's impact may be important for the Dayton community. It may not. The potential of Shiloh's celebration of Black American contributions to the family of God may die on the vine, never coming to fruition. It depends on you and your support, your prayers, your involvement and your actions. You can impact the outcome by planning now to join Shiloh's Task Group on Race Relations at its meeting on Monday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. Let's do something important and meaningful for our community! Come and contribute!
Wednesday, March 09, 2016
Black History Celebration
This extended weekend, March 11-14, is Shiloh's annual celebration of Black American history. The events are many and varied, and we hope that members, friends, strangers and guests join us for the celebration.
The events begin on Friday, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. with a spirituals/hymn sing, where Terrence Grimes will lead the gathered crowd in stories and songs. More than just a group gathered for the singing of old hymns, Mr. Grimes will provide education about the stories that accompany the old spirituals. He will also highlight musical trends that have helped shape the musical history of America,
On Saturday, March 12, from 12:30-2:30 p.m., fourteen displays that highlight events and people from black history will be available to the public. These displays include soldiers, political figures, athletes, toys, memorabilia, dolls, fashion and heroes, past and present, who have helped to shape on ongoing dialogue on equality and civil rights.
Sunday, March 13, is a highlight of our celebration. At Shiloh's 10:25 a.m. service of worship, Rev. Robert Jones will provide a message entitled, "Thinking and Acting Beyond the Box." The service will include spirituals, liturgical dance, a special choir piece, and a very special ending, with people in a circle around the perimeter of the sanctuary, singing "Let there be Peace on Earth." The service will be followed by a special meal, held in Shiloh's Omega Hall. Bring a dish to share with ten people. Meat, table service and drinks are provided. After the meal, participants will remain in Omega Hall to join in a slide presentation and conversation around privilege, led by Rachel Callopy, from the University of Dayton. This is a high level presentation and discussion, and you will not want to miss it.
On Monday, March 14, Shiloh will host a number of local school systems, whose students will view the displays, share a meal, and make musical or artistic presentations on black history. The program itself will take place at roughly 12:15 p.m. in the sanctuary. The public is invited to attend.
I am proud of Shiloh for hosting this grand series of events. It is recognition that black history is American history. It is everyone's story. It is our story. In some congregations, caucasians might plan to stay away from a black history celebration that takes place in March, or one that is so extensive, or one that extends worship by about an hour. But Shiloh registers its embrace of diversity by involving itself fully in each of these events. Our celebration of black history is certainly an indication that Christ is at the core of this congregation's practice.
Unless there is truth to the rumors of members and friends who are boycotting the events. In that case, everything I just typed is untrue. I am sorry.
The events begin on Friday, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. with a spirituals/hymn sing, where Terrence Grimes will lead the gathered crowd in stories and songs. More than just a group gathered for the singing of old hymns, Mr. Grimes will provide education about the stories that accompany the old spirituals. He will also highlight musical trends that have helped shape the musical history of America,
On Saturday, March 12, from 12:30-2:30 p.m., fourteen displays that highlight events and people from black history will be available to the public. These displays include soldiers, political figures, athletes, toys, memorabilia, dolls, fashion and heroes, past and present, who have helped to shape on ongoing dialogue on equality and civil rights.
Sunday, March 13, is a highlight of our celebration. At Shiloh's 10:25 a.m. service of worship, Rev. Robert Jones will provide a message entitled, "Thinking and Acting Beyond the Box." The service will include spirituals, liturgical dance, a special choir piece, and a very special ending, with people in a circle around the perimeter of the sanctuary, singing "Let there be Peace on Earth." The service will be followed by a special meal, held in Shiloh's Omega Hall. Bring a dish to share with ten people. Meat, table service and drinks are provided. After the meal, participants will remain in Omega Hall to join in a slide presentation and conversation around privilege, led by Rachel Callopy, from the University of Dayton. This is a high level presentation and discussion, and you will not want to miss it.
On Monday, March 14, Shiloh will host a number of local school systems, whose students will view the displays, share a meal, and make musical or artistic presentations on black history. The program itself will take place at roughly 12:15 p.m. in the sanctuary. The public is invited to attend.
I am proud of Shiloh for hosting this grand series of events. It is recognition that black history is American history. It is everyone's story. It is our story. In some congregations, caucasians might plan to stay away from a black history celebration that takes place in March, or one that is so extensive, or one that extends worship by about an hour. But Shiloh registers its embrace of diversity by involving itself fully in each of these events. Our celebration of black history is certainly an indication that Christ is at the core of this congregation's practice.
Unless there is truth to the rumors of members and friends who are boycotting the events. In that case, everything I just typed is untrue. I am sorry.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Vacation and Politics
There are lessons to be learned from staying at an all-inclusive resort in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. We have stayed in enough of them now to have learned a few of these important lessons, ones from which we might all benefit.
Firstly, money is relative. Resort employees make less than $10.00 per day. They work 10 hour shifts, six days per week, with one 20-minute meal break. Because the average wage of their communities is less than they make, their hard work makes earns them significant financial status in their communities.
Secondly, contentment flows across levels of service. The management of resorts realize that contented employees better serve guests. They know that guests are made happier when they have happy service. Therefore, the management at the resorts goes out of its way to make employees happy. There is a strong investment in employees and a great deal of trust placed in them.
Thirdly, a high bar results in greater feats. Expectations get met when they are lofty but achievable. We saw on our recent trip to Cancun the head of hospitality services chewing on one of the cooks, who was being forced to remove from the buffet dinner a food item that did not reach the standards expected by the management. The standards are high, but practical. As long as they are clearly articulated and openly communicated, those standards result in a sense of pride and achievement. The young cook was obviously upset over having to remove the food item, but I bet he does that dish better the next time he is asked to serve it.
Fourth, teamwork is everything. No single person is responsible for successes or failures. Everything is about the team. In Cancun, the management works with the staff in order to continually raise the bar of expectation and service, asking as much of their management skills as they do of the staff performance. Difficulty in any level is a team issue and must be addressed on a team basis. The young cook just mentioned reflected on the management, and it was up to all members of the team to ensure improvement.
Finally, care and concern are key. There is a personal investment in team members that crosses levels of responsibility. They know about one another. They know spouses, families, histories and challenges. They work with each other to offer the best possible outcome, no matter what is going on in any one's personal life. One person compensates for another, even if it means that someone has to go out of her or his way.
The bottom line of these lessons is pretty clear. In order to provide the best of goods and services, there must be an investment in persons that crosses levels of authority. Happy employees render happy service. Content persons share contentment with others. Good pay helps, especially in an environment where every tip is shared and every compliment or complaint is a team matter. No person is out there on his or her own.
I have been thinking about these lessons in the current political arena in this country. It just makes me sad. And afraid. I wish we could hear a candidate somewhere promise the kind of teamwork and unity that I saw in the Mexican Yucatan. Given the current polemical political climate of United States politics, perhaps it is too much to ask, too naive, too simplistic, too practical. It breeds discontent, anger, frustration and unhappiness. What is it that Einstein said about insanity?
Firstly, money is relative. Resort employees make less than $10.00 per day. They work 10 hour shifts, six days per week, with one 20-minute meal break. Because the average wage of their communities is less than they make, their hard work makes earns them significant financial status in their communities.
Secondly, contentment flows across levels of service. The management of resorts realize that contented employees better serve guests. They know that guests are made happier when they have happy service. Therefore, the management at the resorts goes out of its way to make employees happy. There is a strong investment in employees and a great deal of trust placed in them.
Thirdly, a high bar results in greater feats. Expectations get met when they are lofty but achievable. We saw on our recent trip to Cancun the head of hospitality services chewing on one of the cooks, who was being forced to remove from the buffet dinner a food item that did not reach the standards expected by the management. The standards are high, but practical. As long as they are clearly articulated and openly communicated, those standards result in a sense of pride and achievement. The young cook was obviously upset over having to remove the food item, but I bet he does that dish better the next time he is asked to serve it.
Fourth, teamwork is everything. No single person is responsible for successes or failures. Everything is about the team. In Cancun, the management works with the staff in order to continually raise the bar of expectation and service, asking as much of their management skills as they do of the staff performance. Difficulty in any level is a team issue and must be addressed on a team basis. The young cook just mentioned reflected on the management, and it was up to all members of the team to ensure improvement.
Finally, care and concern are key. There is a personal investment in team members that crosses levels of responsibility. They know about one another. They know spouses, families, histories and challenges. They work with each other to offer the best possible outcome, no matter what is going on in any one's personal life. One person compensates for another, even if it means that someone has to go out of her or his way.
The bottom line of these lessons is pretty clear. In order to provide the best of goods and services, there must be an investment in persons that crosses levels of authority. Happy employees render happy service. Content persons share contentment with others. Good pay helps, especially in an environment where every tip is shared and every compliment or complaint is a team matter. No person is out there on his or her own.
I have been thinking about these lessons in the current political arena in this country. It just makes me sad. And afraid. I wish we could hear a candidate somewhere promise the kind of teamwork and unity that I saw in the Mexican Yucatan. Given the current polemical political climate of United States politics, perhaps it is too much to ask, too naive, too simplistic, too practical. It breeds discontent, anger, frustration and unhappiness. What is it that Einstein said about insanity?
Monday, February 08, 2016
Vacation
Carl is away from the Shiloh Insider for a few weeks, as he and his lovely spouse, Lisa, celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in Mexico. Carl does not have his cell phone. If there is something important, call the Church office, 937-277-8953, and talk to Jay or Ashley. If you absolutely need to communicate with Carl, he will be checking emails twice a week. You can email Carl at crobinson@shiloh.org .
If Carl wins the Publishers Clearing House $10,000/month for life and the prize crew comes to the house in his absence, let them know that he will be back the following day! Have a great early Lent!
If Carl wins the Publishers Clearing House $10,000/month for life and the prize crew comes to the house in his absence, let them know that he will be back the following day! Have a great early Lent!
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
Lent
Lent commeth.
Originally a period of education, in preparation for new membership in the Church at Easter, Lent has transitioned in recent decades to represent a time of penance and plea for forgiveness. It has moved from preparation for a positive inclusion, albeit an orthodox one, to a season of focus on faults, weaknesses and sinfulness.
It is time that we tied these two things together in some creative and imaginative ways.
Each of us acknowledges, I think and hope, that Church membership does not make one right, perfect or sinless. Look around. No one is ideal. Look in the mirror and take honest stock of weaknesses, faults and idiosyncrasies. We are not right, perfect or sinless. The shear fact of the matter is that, despite our membership, we are often wrong, imperfect and sinful.
We could move through Lent as an occasion for making ourselves feel terribly. It has been done far too often. We could recite sins, faults and foibles until we grow blue in the face. We could demand resolutions or sacrifices to be made in order to make us feel better about our wrongdoings, or that liturgies be recited, like incantations, that magically repair what is, at core, pathological in us. We could spend periods of silence and meditation, where we concentrate on our innate humanness and our flawed nature.
To do so would simply make us feel badly about ourselves. To claim that the ritual incantations and sacrifices render us healed, better, more right, more sinless, more perfect is silly. The issue is not that the incantations and rituals don't work. It is that they are wrongly focused. Do you see it? Do you perceive the seasonal misdirection here?
Lent 's focus has far too often been on ourselves. Lent has become a season of fixing ourselves, healing innate sinfulness and natural, human flaws. It, like so much else in the Church, has been about us, we, me and I. In fact, that is why many, particularly in the past, had joined churches. They had been led to think that there was something wrong with them that only the Church could fix. That flaw is overcome in humanity only by God, and the institutions that represent the sacred.
What if we were to see Lent differently? What if we were to see it as the season of walking with Jesus to the Cross of his own sacrifice. The subject of that spiritual sentence would be Jesus Christ. Its object would be every other, those served by the sacrifice that Jesus Christ makes. Lent is not about him. It is not about us. It is about every person. It is about the sacrifices that we make for others, not for ourselves.
If we return to the notion that Lent is time of preparation for entering (again) into the Church, what if that entry meant serving others instead of overcoming our own faults, weaknesses and sins? What if Lent were about being a Church of sacrifice for others, building others up and empowering them in whatever context they find themselves.
Sinfulness, and our Lenten concentration on our own sinfulness, is deadly. It kills the mission of the Church. Instead, if Lent could be about a walk with an imperfect, sinful, uncertain savior to the service of every living being, past, present and future, then we could begin to move the emphasis from ourselves to serving those around us who suffer and struggle. Lent could be about them, just like the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ was and is about them.
Originally a period of education, in preparation for new membership in the Church at Easter, Lent has transitioned in recent decades to represent a time of penance and plea for forgiveness. It has moved from preparation for a positive inclusion, albeit an orthodox one, to a season of focus on faults, weaknesses and sinfulness.
It is time that we tied these two things together in some creative and imaginative ways.
Each of us acknowledges, I think and hope, that Church membership does not make one right, perfect or sinless. Look around. No one is ideal. Look in the mirror and take honest stock of weaknesses, faults and idiosyncrasies. We are not right, perfect or sinless. The shear fact of the matter is that, despite our membership, we are often wrong, imperfect and sinful.
We could move through Lent as an occasion for making ourselves feel terribly. It has been done far too often. We could recite sins, faults and foibles until we grow blue in the face. We could demand resolutions or sacrifices to be made in order to make us feel better about our wrongdoings, or that liturgies be recited, like incantations, that magically repair what is, at core, pathological in us. We could spend periods of silence and meditation, where we concentrate on our innate humanness and our flawed nature.
To do so would simply make us feel badly about ourselves. To claim that the ritual incantations and sacrifices render us healed, better, more right, more sinless, more perfect is silly. The issue is not that the incantations and rituals don't work. It is that they are wrongly focused. Do you see it? Do you perceive the seasonal misdirection here?
Lent 's focus has far too often been on ourselves. Lent has become a season of fixing ourselves, healing innate sinfulness and natural, human flaws. It, like so much else in the Church, has been about us, we, me and I. In fact, that is why many, particularly in the past, had joined churches. They had been led to think that there was something wrong with them that only the Church could fix. That flaw is overcome in humanity only by God, and the institutions that represent the sacred.
What if we were to see Lent differently? What if we were to see it as the season of walking with Jesus to the Cross of his own sacrifice. The subject of that spiritual sentence would be Jesus Christ. Its object would be every other, those served by the sacrifice that Jesus Christ makes. Lent is not about him. It is not about us. It is about every person. It is about the sacrifices that we make for others, not for ourselves.
If we return to the notion that Lent is time of preparation for entering (again) into the Church, what if that entry meant serving others instead of overcoming our own faults, weaknesses and sins? What if Lent were about being a Church of sacrifice for others, building others up and empowering them in whatever context they find themselves.
Sinfulness, and our Lenten concentration on our own sinfulness, is deadly. It kills the mission of the Church. Instead, if Lent could be about a walk with an imperfect, sinful, uncertain savior to the service of every living being, past, present and future, then we could begin to move the emphasis from ourselves to serving those around us who suffer and struggle. Lent could be about them, just like the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ was and is about them.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Black History Month?
It has been said that the celebration of Black History Month, and the recognition of Martin
Luther King’s birthday, does not belong to Caucasians. It is a celebration and
recognition that belongs exclusively to those who identify as part of the
African-American/Black community.
I wholeheartedly disagree. Here is why.
Reading from Isaiah in his home Synagogue, Jesus said, “The
Spirit of God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. The Lord has sent
me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to those imprisoned,
recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed and to proclaim a
year of jubilee.”
Jesus here proclaims the will of God. Jesus here lies out
his agenda, defining his mission and ministry. The Christian ethic is honored
as often and as far as we, his incarnation, express this same passion in the
fulfillment of his ministry and mission. That’s right: In the fulfillment of his ministry and mission. God’s presence
in, with and to Christ Jesus is therefore hope for all who are poor, oppressed,
imprisoned, blind or indebted.
It must be the same with those who seek to follow Christ
Jesus. Our mission and ministry must be defined by, informed by, guided by,
conducted through and approached from the fulfillment of his ministry and
mission. We are to stand as hope for the poor, oppressed, imprisoned, blind and
indebted. We are to work liberation for the captives.
Black History Month is a celebration of: 1. The decades-long
work that leads to the liberation of a segment of culture and society that had
been oppressed, victimized, excluded and rejected. In some ways, this segment
of society remains outside the benefit of the systems under which we live and
the cultural acceptance through which we exist. There is still work to do. This
work belongs to all who seek to define their purpose in life according to the
mission and ministry of Christ Jesus. 2. The many contributions of Black
Americans to the shaping of contemporary culture and society. In so many cases,
these are stories that many of us have missed in our traditional tales. The
stories of Black Americans have been read only as “their story.” It is time to
begin learning and celebration the stories of Black Americans as “our stories.”
The celebration of Black History Month invites us all to embrace the stories of
Black Americans as “our stories.”
Black History Month is not a celebration that belongs to
“them.” It belongs to everyone. It is our story, ugly and abusive as it may be.
The advantage of learning and reciting the stories of Black Americans is
two-fold. First, we learn anew our full story as Americans. Secondly, through
learning and reciting these stories, we may avoid ever repeating the social and
cultural practices of exclusion, oppression, bias and prejudice. Only when we allow the stories to become our
own, ugly and unpleasant as they may be, do we stand the chance of living in
peace and unity, in cooperation and liberty.
It is imperative, therefore, that we celebrate Black History
Month. Allow each of those stories to become our stories, as we work together
for the poor, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the blind and the indebted.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Practical Lag-Time
If the email traffic that I experienced after last week's post about sports was a fair indication, I was correct in assuming that the contribution was unpopular. Assessing the world of sport, and finding it destructive, assaulted one of our culture's sacred cows. I am not sorry, however, because I am continually more convinced that we need to take a closer look at our love of sport.
But, if last week's post was unpopular, this week's will be an outright powder keg of potential disagreement. For, this week, we examine one of the sacred cows of the traditional church and its long-embraced theological and practical life.
Progressive Church theology places the accent of congregational life on reflecting the light of Christ in ministry and mission. The church is best when it works to meet the needs of the community, with emphasis on the poor, the rejected, the ignored, the victimized and the suffering. The basic notion says that we, as culture, society and people are better when we each share in the care of those who are least benefited by the systems under which we live.
The church is called to serve as Christ to those who struggle and suffer. This was once a tremendously controversial statement. It rocked the traditional boat of our sanctuaries, where the good people gathered to unify, to share, to care for one another, and to secure the right ways of life, protecting them from the bad influences around us. We sang the right hymns, in the right congregations, reciting the right liturgies, praying the right prayers, caring for the right people, protecting ourselves and our ways from the outside and outsiders. It made little sense that the church was here for others.
That change in theology has been widely achieved. Persons now more widely acknowledge that we are the church when we serve others in Christ's stead. We are the church when we break the self-serving attitudes and approaches through which most of us earlier experienced the church. The church is not a closed, cloistered, safe community of same believers and practitioners. It is an open, welcoming community of diverse persons, beliefs and practices who join together in order to do for and with those who had been left outside.
There are practical remnants of the church of the past that keep us from more vibrantly shining in our communities, however. There are still many who demand right ways, right liturgies, right hymns, right sacraments, right people in right places, doing right things. There are many who demand that the church be there to attend to them and their needs, even more so than the church attends to the needs of those who struggle and suffer in the wider community.
Ecclesiology has changed in advance of practical ministries. Servant theology is more widely embraced than its practical implications. The mission and ministry of our churches are now incarnational. That is, we are the body of Christ, the hope of those who have been victimized by our culture, society and systems. But practical matters of emphasis have not yet made that same transition. Church members still tend to see themselves as those who are to be served instead of those who render the service. They continue to demand that their needs, desires and beliefs be honored over and above the needs of the disenfranchised, poor and hungry.
It is likely that practical ministry and mission will catch up to progressive theology. It is certainly likely that church participants will begin to see themselves as empowered, equipped, called and sent persons, upon whom the struggling and suffering rely for change. In the meantime, pastoral leaders will simply have to serve with a foot in both theological camps.
One additional thought occurs to me. Many in the church are called to care for the needs of the community, to feed the sheep and protect them from the wolves around and about. If that is all the church does, however, then, in progressive terms, it is minimizing its potential. It could do so much more for its neighbors, its community and the global village. It could do much more to shine with the light of Christ in the lives of those who desperately search for assistance. The evolution of the church gleams brightly, then, promising a time when the church shall genuinely shine with Christ's light.
But, if last week's post was unpopular, this week's will be an outright powder keg of potential disagreement. For, this week, we examine one of the sacred cows of the traditional church and its long-embraced theological and practical life.
Progressive Church theology places the accent of congregational life on reflecting the light of Christ in ministry and mission. The church is best when it works to meet the needs of the community, with emphasis on the poor, the rejected, the ignored, the victimized and the suffering. The basic notion says that we, as culture, society and people are better when we each share in the care of those who are least benefited by the systems under which we live.
The church is called to serve as Christ to those who struggle and suffer. This was once a tremendously controversial statement. It rocked the traditional boat of our sanctuaries, where the good people gathered to unify, to share, to care for one another, and to secure the right ways of life, protecting them from the bad influences around us. We sang the right hymns, in the right congregations, reciting the right liturgies, praying the right prayers, caring for the right people, protecting ourselves and our ways from the outside and outsiders. It made little sense that the church was here for others.
That change in theology has been widely achieved. Persons now more widely acknowledge that we are the church when we serve others in Christ's stead. We are the church when we break the self-serving attitudes and approaches through which most of us earlier experienced the church. The church is not a closed, cloistered, safe community of same believers and practitioners. It is an open, welcoming community of diverse persons, beliefs and practices who join together in order to do for and with those who had been left outside.
There are practical remnants of the church of the past that keep us from more vibrantly shining in our communities, however. There are still many who demand right ways, right liturgies, right hymns, right sacraments, right people in right places, doing right things. There are many who demand that the church be there to attend to them and their needs, even more so than the church attends to the needs of those who struggle and suffer in the wider community.
Ecclesiology has changed in advance of practical ministries. Servant theology is more widely embraced than its practical implications. The mission and ministry of our churches are now incarnational. That is, we are the body of Christ, the hope of those who have been victimized by our culture, society and systems. But practical matters of emphasis have not yet made that same transition. Church members still tend to see themselves as those who are to be served instead of those who render the service. They continue to demand that their needs, desires and beliefs be honored over and above the needs of the disenfranchised, poor and hungry.
It is likely that practical ministry and mission will catch up to progressive theology. It is certainly likely that church participants will begin to see themselves as empowered, equipped, called and sent persons, upon whom the struggling and suffering rely for change. In the meantime, pastoral leaders will simply have to serve with a foot in both theological camps.
One additional thought occurs to me. Many in the church are called to care for the needs of the community, to feed the sheep and protect them from the wolves around and about. If that is all the church does, however, then, in progressive terms, it is minimizing its potential. It could do so much more for its neighbors, its community and the global village. It could do much more to shine with the light of Christ in the lives of those who desperately search for assistance. The evolution of the church gleams brightly, then, promising a time when the church shall genuinely shine with Christ's light.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Wide World of Sports
For many, this will not be a popular post to The Shiloh Insider. It covers our culture's unhealthy addiction to the world of sports, and how those unhealthy addictions have led to destructive behaviors.
Do not get me wrong, I have been a sports fan. I enjoy supporting the St. Louis Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts and the Indiana Hoosiers. It is not that I do not enjoy other sports, but these are the teams with whom I have had a more direct sports relationship. I attended and graduated from Indiana University, so I cheer for the Hoosiers, especially their basketball team. I lived in St. Louis for better than three years, met a woman from the area, and have been married to her for thirty years (as of January 18). It is somewhere in the wedding contract that I had to become a Cardinal's fan. I am originally from Indiana. The Colts were an easy choice, particularly in the early years of the franchise.
I have noticed a disappointing trend, however. What used to be healthy competition between teams of respectful, honorable and, at least occasionally, mutually supportive groups of persons has now become a battle. That which once built character and nurtured development has now stunted growth and lead to devastating and destructive behavior.
Consider the doping scandals that have taken place in several sports. Think for a moment about the abuse allegations that have been so widely publicized of late. What of the concussion statistics in football? Every year, college sports programs throughout the country are suspended, fined, even terminated, for engaging in illegal and/or unethical practices. Increasingly, the damage of unrestricted competition has eroded the foundation of youth sports, extra-curricular school activities, community recreational leagues and Little League. Parents and fans fight in the stands. In Dayton, last week's high school basketball games were played without fans in the stands because of violence.
The wide world of sports is out of control in our culture. I wonder how much time and money we spend on attending sporting events, buying the gear of our favorite teams, watching games or matches or rounds on television? We live in an age when teachers make only a scant fraction of what we pay professional sports figures, when even the most productive scientists are barely known in comparison to the starting offensive line of the Bengals, and when we skip important functions, scheduling our lives around sports schedules.
Then came this past week's wild-card game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh's Steelers. It was ugly from before its start. During warm-ups the game officials stood in a designated "no-man's zone'" in the middle of the field, between the two teams. They feared pre-game violence between the two teams, as such was the case the last time the two had met. The game was a pitiful portrayal of rule-bending, excessive roughness, trash talking, childishness and immaturity that I had witnesses. Most of it took place on the field, but the fans in the stands followed suit. It was embarrassing. It was a game devoid of any redeeming value, lacking even the most basic potentially positive components of sport.
But we are addicted. We swallow the world of professional sport, filling our veins with its partisanship and having to degrade those who are our enemies' fans. We call names. We fling cans and bottles. We deface opponents' wear and defile their banners. We adhere little pissing characters on our automobile windows, urinating on the name of a competing city's team. We swear and yell and throw fits. We scream at our high school kids and charge the field of our little leaguers. We abuse referees and umpires and officials. Coaches are only so good as their records of wins and losses, despite other, more important, components of sport.
It has become ridiculous. It is completely out of control. Like our politics and our economics, sport is eroding the fabric of who we are as a people. It is time that we get a handle on our addiction, that we wean ourselves from its allure, that we break our unhealthy reliance on what the wide world of sports has become. It is time to focus on much more important facets of corporate life and community benefit. We tried the sporting world and it did not work to build us. If anything it continues to tear us down.
Let me see. Maybe spirituality will better serve us? I don't know. It may become the same competitive, divisive, destructive influence that we see in the wide world of sports.
Do not get me wrong, I have been a sports fan. I enjoy supporting the St. Louis Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts and the Indiana Hoosiers. It is not that I do not enjoy other sports, but these are the teams with whom I have had a more direct sports relationship. I attended and graduated from Indiana University, so I cheer for the Hoosiers, especially their basketball team. I lived in St. Louis for better than three years, met a woman from the area, and have been married to her for thirty years (as of January 18). It is somewhere in the wedding contract that I had to become a Cardinal's fan. I am originally from Indiana. The Colts were an easy choice, particularly in the early years of the franchise.
I have noticed a disappointing trend, however. What used to be healthy competition between teams of respectful, honorable and, at least occasionally, mutually supportive groups of persons has now become a battle. That which once built character and nurtured development has now stunted growth and lead to devastating and destructive behavior.
Consider the doping scandals that have taken place in several sports. Think for a moment about the abuse allegations that have been so widely publicized of late. What of the concussion statistics in football? Every year, college sports programs throughout the country are suspended, fined, even terminated, for engaging in illegal and/or unethical practices. Increasingly, the damage of unrestricted competition has eroded the foundation of youth sports, extra-curricular school activities, community recreational leagues and Little League. Parents and fans fight in the stands. In Dayton, last week's high school basketball games were played without fans in the stands because of violence.
The wide world of sports is out of control in our culture. I wonder how much time and money we spend on attending sporting events, buying the gear of our favorite teams, watching games or matches or rounds on television? We live in an age when teachers make only a scant fraction of what we pay professional sports figures, when even the most productive scientists are barely known in comparison to the starting offensive line of the Bengals, and when we skip important functions, scheduling our lives around sports schedules.
Then came this past week's wild-card game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh's Steelers. It was ugly from before its start. During warm-ups the game officials stood in a designated "no-man's zone'" in the middle of the field, between the two teams. They feared pre-game violence between the two teams, as such was the case the last time the two had met. The game was a pitiful portrayal of rule-bending, excessive roughness, trash talking, childishness and immaturity that I had witnesses. Most of it took place on the field, but the fans in the stands followed suit. It was embarrassing. It was a game devoid of any redeeming value, lacking even the most basic potentially positive components of sport.
But we are addicted. We swallow the world of professional sport, filling our veins with its partisanship and having to degrade those who are our enemies' fans. We call names. We fling cans and bottles. We deface opponents' wear and defile their banners. We adhere little pissing characters on our automobile windows, urinating on the name of a competing city's team. We swear and yell and throw fits. We scream at our high school kids and charge the field of our little leaguers. We abuse referees and umpires and officials. Coaches are only so good as their records of wins and losses, despite other, more important, components of sport.
It has become ridiculous. It is completely out of control. Like our politics and our economics, sport is eroding the fabric of who we are as a people. It is time that we get a handle on our addiction, that we wean ourselves from its allure, that we break our unhealthy reliance on what the wide world of sports has become. It is time to focus on much more important facets of corporate life and community benefit. We tried the sporting world and it did not work to build us. If anything it continues to tear us down.
Let me see. Maybe spirituality will better serve us? I don't know. It may become the same competitive, divisive, destructive influence that we see in the wide world of sports.
Tuesday, January 05, 2016
Does Jesus Make Sense?
Jesus' ethic must have seemed ridiculous to both the Roman-occupied territories of Galilee and the Temple-bound traditions of Jerusalem. While both imperial systems of Jesus' day relied on position, authority, power and militant might, Jesus' message and ministry focused on meeting the needs of the most rejected, excluded, victimized, estranged, hopeless and helpless. Kingdom certainly does not rest in inclusivity and attention to the dregs of society! Certainly, empire is not constructed on the backs of the poor and disenfranchised!
On the contrary, empire is constructed through power. Rome knew the stories well. Julius Caesar was a powerful and cunning general, a great military mind, and a force-to-be-reckoned-with. Augustus, Julius' adopted son, put an end to a costly and destructive civil war and revived reliance on the Roman system. He did so through the use of power and military authority. Centurions were stationed throughout the Roman-occupied territories in order to protect the empire from would-be revolutionaries and seditionists. Enemies were crucified as a deterrent to such disloyalty. Foreigners were controlled, coerced and manipulated into, sometimes, reluctant patriotism. No one within the Roman territories were given a choice. It was loyalty or death.
The Temple system understood as well the need for social control. The entire Levitical system was founded on the notion that personal failure to abide by the laws of the Temple led, politically, economically and militarily, to the end of Jewish hegemony. Personal sinfulness resulted in national exile. In order to maintain its traditions throughout the Roman occupation, the Temple heightened the concentration on personal loyalty to the laws and strictures of the faith, while it diminished the social aspects of the faith. The Temple knew that the articulation of liberation theology would challenge the power of Rome. So the Temple placed its religious accent on the syllables that spoke individual purity and righteousness under the law instead of social justice and liberation.
Into the climate of Roman power and Temple control, Jesus performed, taught and promoted an ethic of servanthood, where one sacrificed one's self for the sake of others, where one went out of one's way to meet the needs of those who suffer and struggle the most. Ridiculous! Silly! Asinine! How in the world can concentration on the needs of the worthless and the damned be expected to ever lead to establishment of kingdom or meet the needs of the empire? It is impossible!
Jesus makes as little sense today. In an increasingly divisive atmosphere of name-calling, hyperbole and vitriol, Jesus speaks softly of inclusion, acceptance, universal compassion and love. While politicians promise violence, exclusion, protectionism and defense of, often undeserved, privilege, Jesus embodies humility, kindness, forgiveness, openness and equality.
Jesus makes as little sense today as he made then. While we read the Gospels, shaking our collective heads at the ignorance of the Pharisees and Scribes, at the inability of the Disciples to understand and embrace Christ's actions and teachings, and at the Roman reliance on Crucifixion as a means of social coercion, we continue to rely on approaches of power, position, authority, fear, money and privilege. We place a similar emphasis today on the characteristics of corporate and personal life that Jesus rejected in promoting a system of peace. We blame those ancient examples of forces that are contrary to Christ but pardon our own collusion with human tendencies. We are as guilty now as they were then.
So, how does Jesus make sense today? As it most always is the case with history, Jesus makes the same sense now as he made then. When we are ready to give up on the human sources of pain and suffering, when we are ready to sacrifice our privilege for the sake of those who begin the race of life from considerable disadvantage, and when we are willing to be servants instead of beneficiaries, we will understand Jesus. Until then, we are destined to continually repeat the mistakes of the past. Listen to the voices that resound. See if it isn't time to embrace an entirely different code of behavior and an alternative system of belief. See if it isn't time for us to allow Jesus to make sense.
On the contrary, empire is constructed through power. Rome knew the stories well. Julius Caesar was a powerful and cunning general, a great military mind, and a force-to-be-reckoned-with. Augustus, Julius' adopted son, put an end to a costly and destructive civil war and revived reliance on the Roman system. He did so through the use of power and military authority. Centurions were stationed throughout the Roman-occupied territories in order to protect the empire from would-be revolutionaries and seditionists. Enemies were crucified as a deterrent to such disloyalty. Foreigners were controlled, coerced and manipulated into, sometimes, reluctant patriotism. No one within the Roman territories were given a choice. It was loyalty or death.
The Temple system understood as well the need for social control. The entire Levitical system was founded on the notion that personal failure to abide by the laws of the Temple led, politically, economically and militarily, to the end of Jewish hegemony. Personal sinfulness resulted in national exile. In order to maintain its traditions throughout the Roman occupation, the Temple heightened the concentration on personal loyalty to the laws and strictures of the faith, while it diminished the social aspects of the faith. The Temple knew that the articulation of liberation theology would challenge the power of Rome. So the Temple placed its religious accent on the syllables that spoke individual purity and righteousness under the law instead of social justice and liberation.
Into the climate of Roman power and Temple control, Jesus performed, taught and promoted an ethic of servanthood, where one sacrificed one's self for the sake of others, where one went out of one's way to meet the needs of those who suffer and struggle the most. Ridiculous! Silly! Asinine! How in the world can concentration on the needs of the worthless and the damned be expected to ever lead to establishment of kingdom or meet the needs of the empire? It is impossible!
Jesus makes as little sense today. In an increasingly divisive atmosphere of name-calling, hyperbole and vitriol, Jesus speaks softly of inclusion, acceptance, universal compassion and love. While politicians promise violence, exclusion, protectionism and defense of, often undeserved, privilege, Jesus embodies humility, kindness, forgiveness, openness and equality.
Jesus makes as little sense today as he made then. While we read the Gospels, shaking our collective heads at the ignorance of the Pharisees and Scribes, at the inability of the Disciples to understand and embrace Christ's actions and teachings, and at the Roman reliance on Crucifixion as a means of social coercion, we continue to rely on approaches of power, position, authority, fear, money and privilege. We place a similar emphasis today on the characteristics of corporate and personal life that Jesus rejected in promoting a system of peace. We blame those ancient examples of forces that are contrary to Christ but pardon our own collusion with human tendencies. We are as guilty now as they were then.
So, how does Jesus make sense today? As it most always is the case with history, Jesus makes the same sense now as he made then. When we are ready to give up on the human sources of pain and suffering, when we are ready to sacrifice our privilege for the sake of those who begin the race of life from considerable disadvantage, and when we are willing to be servants instead of beneficiaries, we will understand Jesus. Until then, we are destined to continually repeat the mistakes of the past. Listen to the voices that resound. See if it isn't time to embrace an entirely different code of behavior and an alternative system of belief. See if it isn't time for us to allow Jesus to make sense.
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