GUARDS AT CHURCH? December 11, 2007

Please understand: I am happy that the death toll was not higher at that church in Colorado over the weekend. I am really troubled, though, by the idea that there was an armed security guard on duty, apparently licensed to use lethal force. In a church? I’m not sure how to sort out the meaning of this.

We want worshippers to be safe, certainly. We have fire drills and tornado procedures, and trained medical responders. But armed guards? We have a hard time every fall figuring out the balance between safety of staff and members on the one hand, and the need the homeless have for shelter on the other. We have had some unpleasant confrontations. Since the Virginia Tech shootings especially, we have tentatively and quietly been discussing lock-down procedures for the sanctuary, child care areas, and the rest of the building. We have people assigned to circulate through the building during services, monitoring activity.

But armed security guards? I hope there’s another way.
 

CHRISTMAS VOCABULARY December 3, 2007

There’s a gritchy video out on the web called “Merry Tossmas.” Sorry, but I think it's a loser.

First, the guy annoys me, because he looks and sounds a lot like somebody I actually know, with whom I usually disagree, and who would be happy to appear in this bit.

But more important and to the point, this is yet another example of Christians making a fuss about something we can't control that ultimately doesn't matter much. If we restrict ourselves to retailers who use our vocabulary for the Nativity celebration, we’ll have slim pickings. We'd better be prepared to give everybody gift certificates to my car mechanic friend for auto service. His whole shop is happy to say “Merry Christmas,” and everybody needs service and repairs sooner or later, but still, it might not be quite the right gift.

We might also have to throw out the Christmas tree and change the date of the holiday, because in fact both of those derive from pagan culture and celebrations.

If Christians spent as much time fussing about poverty, tolerance and other important things as we do about stuff like this, we might be able to accomplish something and, for example, eventually be able to discontinue food pantries. Or stop AIDS. Or something.

We COULD buy less, which we should anyway.

And most important, when someone says Happy Holidays, smile and say, "Merry Christmas!"
 

THE GOLDEN COMPASS CONTROVERSY November 28, 2007

Once again, the holiday film season has conservative Christians agitated about something they misunderstand. This time, it is the movie The Golden Compass and the books on which it is based. This is another case of Christians getting way more excited about specific cultural issues than is merited. It would be far better to spend all this energy fighting poverty and ending AIDS.

Having said that, I went to one of several fact checker sites I keep book marked. Here is one useful link: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/g/golden-compass.htm  Be sure to read all the way through to the end of the lead article, including Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ reaction that what the film attacks is not Christian faith, but religious oppression.

I don't know the books in this series myself, but my kids have all read them as part of the juvenile fantasy genre, and say that they're not offensive, but not all that good. They're not interested in seeing the movie. We saw trailers for it earlier this year.

Mainly I think that a lot of Christians need to learn how to read better. Fiction is fiction! This is the same sort of problem we had with The DaVinci Code. There was actually no new idea in that--for centuries, some have promulgated the Jesus-marries-Mary-after-a- fake-resurrection-theory--and the Church has consistently invalidated this as heretical teaching.

Again, without having read the books or seen the movie myself, if it is true that at the end Adam and Eve kill God, the best Christian response is that this is not part of the real Christian story, but a perversion of it; and beyond that, the recognition that most moderate to progressive Christians, which is a lot of us, don't believe that Adam and Eve were literal, historical beings anyway--so even if humans could kill God, which is a rather preposterous notion, this story simply isn't possible. It is symbolic and metaphorical. The best thing for concerned parents to do is perhaps watch it themselves first, then watch it with their kids, and ask their faith leaders appropriate questions.
 

IN-BETWEEN TIME November 26 2007

The liturgical calendar as it now exists poses an interesting question. What happens between the last Sunday of the church year, and the first of the next one? In 1925, the Catholic Church established Christ the King Sunday to help stem the rising tide of secularism. At first, it was celebrated on the last Sunday of October. In 1962, it was moved to the Sunday before Advent. Here is the irony: because Christ the King is a one-day celebration, instead of a season, the last six days of the year are what the church calls Ordinary Time. So, starting with Advent, we trace the whole cycle of expectation, birth, ministry, death and resurrection, then growth in the spirit until finally all creation recognizes Christ as its King—and then, we have six days left over until we start again, six days of ordinary time. Does this strike anybody else as ironic?

So, for our weekday morning prayer times at church this week, I’ve written a pair of short prayers to frame this time. They are over on the Liturgical Resources page. Click here to have a look.

Beyond the normal   November 20, 2007

This afternoon, I’m thinking ahead—specifically, I’m doing some serious planning for our worship service on December 2, the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the time when Christians anticipate Christ coming into our midst. Originally it focused on His return to earth when He would be recognized by all. In those ancient days, celebrations included bonfires on hills and extra Christian discipline in study, prayer, fasting and worship, though never as strict as in Lent. Sometime in the 4th or 5th century—it isn’t really clear—the celebration started to focus more on remembering and preparing for Christ’s first coming, at Christmas. That’s because Christmas wasn’t a big deal for Christians at first, at least partly because nobody in the Mediterranean world paid much attention to birthdays in that era.

Planning worship for Advent is a challenge, because times have changed a lot. There are only two specific Advent decorations I know of: the Moravian Star and the Advent wreath in its many forms. No one I know sends Advent cards, and if pastors and musicians insist on singing Advent carols instead of Christmas carols, woe to them.

I think we need to pay more attention to Advent. Waiting is good. The trouble is that we have a whole culture of consumerism to undo. Ironically, the original Advent themes of Christ coming to reclaim the world have much to do with judging the commercial gluttony that drives us toward Christmas now. Part of the trouble is that churches often don’t start emphasizing this until Christmas decorations are already being marked down, and then it’s too late for people to do anything but rush out and buy last-minute gifts. If you’ve taken time to read this far, think about a different way. Think about a hand-lettered card, like you used to make for your mother. Give something else you make or bake. Give a gift to charity in honor of your recipients. Give them a certificate with a promise to spend time together, then do it.

Do you have ideas about how to do this Advent thing better? I’d love to hear them. I’m actually thinking about writing a grant proposal to help this congregation find ways to renew and enrich Advent worship for next year, and I’d love to have collaborators. E-mail me at the link above.
 

ONE Way to Fight Poverty November 13, 2007

I've just signed a petition to the 2008 presidential candidates asking them to go on the record and tell us exactly where they stand on fighting extreme poverty and global disease. There is a movement called ONE which recognizes the vast number of the world’s people living in extreme poverty, on less than one dollar a day; it also recognizes that one person can make a difference, and millions together can do more.
ONE members are stepping up our game by launching a petition urging all the presidential candidates to go "On The Record" by submitting, in writing and on video to ONE, their plans on the following five issues:
* Eradicating malaria;
* Improving child and maternal health;
* Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis;
* Achieving universal primary education; and
* Providing access to food and clean water for all.
ONE will then build an online tool so that everyone can compare the candidates' answers before heading out to vote in the primaries. If you want to sign the petition, you can find it at http://www.one.org/ontherecord . You can learn more about this non-partisan organization and its efforts at http://www.one.org . As they say, in the struggle against poverty, there is only one side.
 

WORLD WIDE November 10, 2007

I’ve been learning how to use the “analytics” behind this website. There are programs that track the number of site users over time, that also show how long they stay on the site and which pages they visit. Our program also shows in which domains and countries the connections originate. Among the details I have discovered is that for the last six months, and average of 58 people a day visited this site, and they were most interested in the newsletter, sermons, and this blog. Several of the visitors are international, including people on every continent except Antarctica. Countries include Finland, Sweden, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Lithuania, China, Japan, and more. One sticks out: over these six months, there has been one hit per week from Seychelles, an island group in the Indian Ocean north of Madagascar. I don’t know how to tell whether that is the same person week after week, but that seems very likely. Someone half a world away checks in once a week, probably to read the latest sermon. That’s fascinating! But how did that connection get started?

The point is that because of technology, we are connected far beyond our Sunday morning walls, and far beyond our local community. The ministry of this church is quite literally world wide, and that’s good news.

If you are one of those distant readers, we would love to know your story. If you would, please send a short note explaining who you are, how you found this site, and what continues to connect you to this faith community in Wausau, Wisconsin. Share as much information as you want. I’ll keep it private unless you give specific information to share farther. We’d especially like to hear from Seychelles, because it is starting to snow up here, and we are pretty sure that you do NOT share that experience in your location!

TROUBLE WITH TIME November 1, 2007

Yesterday I asked one of our members why he doesn’t come to church with his wife more often. He is something of an organizational and leadership guru, and we had been talking about strategies for the church—very helpfully, I want to add—so I made clear that I was asking not to get him feeling guilty, but in order to understand. “Thanks,” he said, “Thank you for asking.” Then he looked wistful, and said that he isn’t sure what the answer is, but he does know that our whole society races around like crazy. We don’t take time out anymore. It was obvious I had touched something deep, and that he will be thinking hard and probably talking with his spouse about my question. He’s right about time—we abuse it terribly by overusing it. So it was sort of ironic that this exchange was after an hour-and-a-half conversation about our church, in which he was both unhurried and enthusiastic about the subject. It was helping him think about his own work, too, so there was value in that, but still—half an hour longer than we normally spend in worship!

So maybe the church needs to spend more of its time in the world, talking quietly and calmly with people about how we can all walk together. Maybe we need to ask people what they know more often. And maybe we just need to ask how they are. That conversation can be very spiritual time.


CHANGES October 31, 2007

The weather is taking a serious turn toward winter right now, dropping from about 58 degrees toward the mid-40s, with light rain and big wind. Summer is over. Yesterday afternoon I played hooky for a bit to try to get on the golf course for possibly the last time this season; I didn’t get to play, because everybody in the county seemed to have the same idea.

So, what about the same sense of urgency for our church lives? Jesus scolded his opponents about reading the weather, but not reading other signs of the times. Lots of people ask me about the condition of the church, and the future of the church, because they sense a coming change. They hope that out of the decline across much of the mainline church, something new and good can come. My response is that if we are willing to engage the situation actively, we can help that new and good future take root in our local congregations. We can tell the time is here—let’s play hooky for awhile from all those other concerns that usually occupy us, and get out ahead of the crowd.

Text messaging  October 18, 2007

I’ve been on the road a lot the last week. I don’t know about you, but road time is thinking time, especially when I’m alone. Some of my thoughts were about the conversation on a morning radio show, where the DJs and callers were on and on about text messaging. It was amazing to hear three people with very different approaches to technology discussing this communication form. They ranged from “why don’t people just answer the phone?” to “I never write paper notes anymore.” I learned that like it or not, some people are best reached by phone, some by e-mail, some by instant messaging, and some by texting. And some people still leave paper notes. It reminds me of when e-mail became common not so long ago—there aren’t many anymore who don’t have it, and those who do get annoyed. I’m old enough to remember the same thing with answering machines—I was among those who hated the idea, but now rely on them. The message is that culture and personal habits evolve together. They shape our world, whether we like it or not. The challenge for the church and for individuals is to be sure to use these tools to build up community in an authentic way. One of the callers made exactly this point: that texting adds one more way she can communicate with her husband, and it adds instead of taking away. I’m still working on this particular technological form, but like all things, I think it has the potential for good. I’m interested in your ideas about how the church can use text messaging and other modern comm modes to spread the word and help people. But don’t text me on this one, please—e-mail me!
 

VELVET ELVIS October 9, 2007

I’m reading an amazing book that could change the way many people think about being Christian. If you are sure about everything you believe, think all (or most) of the answers are settled, and that there are automatic Christian positions on nearly every issue, you will probably hate this book. If you are not so sure, and resent being marginalized by loud church conservatives over the last couple of decades, this book may help you recover your faith. Rob Bell is pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grandville, Michigan. In the book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith, he writes: “I don’t follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus because he leads me into ultimate reality. He teaches me to live in tune with how reality is. When Jesus said, ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’, he was saying that his way, his words, his life is our connection to how things truly are at the deepest levels of existence.’” If you are frustrated by the state of the church, or confused about whether your way of believing and serving is really “Christian,” I encourage you to have a look at this book. If you like it, get in touch with me. We ought to talk.
 

Tech Time  September 17, 2007

I’m thinking about technological exposure. Some experiences the last few days have driven this home. Since people communicate and connect more and more through electronic media, shouldn’t the church that wants to be engaged do the same, adding e-platforms to its traditional forms of speech, live music and print media? Not as replacements, but enhancements, reaching people we might not reach otherwise, and including those who find our regular patterns difficult? So, what do you think? We have a fair website platform already. Would it help to have a presence on YouTube, Second Life, podcasts, RSS feeds, or other modern places? What would we do there? What about a virtual congregation on Second Life? Who knows how to set that up? I’m a neophyte there.

I’d really like to know what you think about these possibilities, so please e-mail me.


Daily prayer  September 13, 2007

Since about mid-August, our staff has been holding a simple morning prayer service every weekday at 10 a.m. It’s not only for staff; anyone who happens to be in the building is invited, and others do take part. For the most part, we follow a traditional order: a bit a song; a Psalm and one other reading, usually from the daily lectionary; and prayer requests followed by prayers. Usually the prayers are part of the weekly cycle of bidding prayers to cover a whole range of subjects and the church world-wide; sometimes we just pray freely according to the greatest, closest needs of the day. It is pretty informal, and we take turns leading and reading. Sometimes we decide leadership at the last minute.

Since we started this discipline, there have been days when it seemed a bit intrusive, especially in regard to the amount of time when we had other work to do. Usually from gathering to “Amen” we spend about 20-30 minutes. But most of us are feeling increasingly committed to it. After all, what’s more important for churches and their staffs than praying? Not much. Besides, it deepens the connections between us. It teaches us different ways to pray, and helps us feel concerns more deeply. Most days, it feels good—people don’t usually jump up and race back to their desks. We have done a good thing that is also good for us, and it is actually pretty easy to do.

If you haven’t experienced this yet, come try it with us, or find a church near you that does daily prayer. I think you’ll get to like it.


Giving to what we care about  September 12, 2007

I’ve been thinking about money lately, and heard a presentation yesterday about the increase in e-giving. I think the church has to get on board, as we have to get a lot more active in other forms of electronic connectedness. Should we call this e-vangelism?
One of the thoughts I want to share about money is that for an increase of about $14 per contributing household per week in our congregation, we should be able to balance our budget next year. For about $20, we could do it without using any reserve funds.
For a lot of people, that’s pocket change. It’s what they spend in a week at Starbucks, or on media downloads, or one or two lunches out. Is this just a matter of education and communication? Let’s get the word out.

BIG QUESTIONS August 15, 2007

I’m sitting in a meeting room with four other Presbyterian ministers who have all been ordained at least twenty years. We are a new group in Austin Seminary’s College of Pastoral Leadership. The program’s overall goal is to sustain pastoral excellence, which includes keeping good ministers in the profession.

Our group’s particular project is to decide what in our century-and-a-half of collected experience is worth passing on to the leaders of the emerging church reality. We also have to figure out how to hand these things forward appropriately and collegially. It is a big exercise, because we all know that the whole Christian church is changing, but we are not sure how. I am particularly aware that the church needs to talk about theology. Assumptions and definitions that have been satisfactory for several generations are no longer acceptable to many, including me. There is hard work to do to articulate faithful and helpful conversation around issues such as atonement, salvation, judgment, the nature of the reality of God, the importance of Jesus in the cosmic order, and heaven and hell.

A growing number of people resolves these issues by abandoning the church. They either feel their way into their own spiritual formulations, or ignore the question altogether. I am not yet willing to turn away from the reality of Jesus, and therefore I am committing to this massive theological, spiritual, and intellectual struggle.

If you have a particular puzzle or problem about any of the issues I have named, or want to add others to the list, please e-mail me. People like you are the reason for this work. If there are enough responses, we might open a section of this blog for discussion. With your permission, I will at least post some of the questions and responses.
 

Emerging Church March 29, 2007

Alright, it’s time to write this publicly. For a couple of years, now, I’ve been reading about a movement or conversation called the Emerging Church, and reading some of the material that comes out of that movement. The vocabulary is interesting—the folks involved are sure they don’t want to be thought of as a denomination, and they’re not sure they’re a “movement” either—more of a process, perhaps, or a way of being Christian. They are explicitly Christian, but not necessarily evangelical, conservative, neo-orthodox, or anything else. The conversation interests and includes Christians of all theological stripes. One of the descriptions of the faith shared here is “a generous orthodoxy,” meaning in part that there is a lot of room for Christians to believe and grow together. And the label “Emerging” is carefully chosen to indicate an ongoing process.

Anyone interested in the future shape of Christianity needs to be familiar with this conversation. There are many ways to start paying attention to it, but the most direct might be through a website called Emergent Village at http://www.emergentvillage.com This leads to an on-line newsletter, a few dozen blogs, and lots of other resources. I encourage you to check it out. Then, let’s talk.
 

RESURRECTION READING March 2007

Well, these are really readings about crucifixion and atonement, but they’re related. As we head toward Easter, news magazines will no doubt do some big religion feature—they seem to do it every year! So I want to suggest a couple of books I have been reading recently that probe some related theological issues at a much deeper level than you will find in the popular press. Both of these books are challenging, but if you are not entirely sure or not entirely comfortable with the meaning of the cross and Christ’s death, they could be very helpful in sorting it out. One is The Nonviolent Atonement, by J. Denny Weaver, published by Eerdmans in 2001. It outlines the historical development of various understandings of atonement, and develops an understanding which emphasizes Christ’s life much more than His death as an anchor for our faith. Another book that’s a little easier is Saved from Sacrifice by S. mark Heim, published in 2006, also by Eerdmans. The main idea here is that the crucifixion of Jesus was to be the last violent sacrifice ever, exposing a world-wide, cross-cultural practice of sacrificial scapegoating for what it is, and replacing it with a more honest and helpful kind of community built around the Savior. They are not the easiest books you will ever read, but they might be among the most helpful.

One other I have been through recently is Re-Imagining Christianity, by Alan Jones. This is a much easier read, suggesting that Christianity is not and never was all about rigid rules, doctrine, and condemning those who believe differently. Instead, it is a way for people to engage positively with the real world around them, guided by the amazing logic of grace.
 

CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE  November 22, 2006

I’ve read a book recently by J. Denny Weaver, The Nonviolent Atonement (Eerdmans, 2001). I think it’s an important contribution to a conversation about a subject that bothers lots of us. The technical name for it is “substitutionary” or “satisfaction” atonement. Most Christians for the last thousand years have learned some version of this doctrine that requires the death of Jesus on the cross in order to make compensation for our sins. There are a number of problems with the basic doctrine, but the biggest is that the substitutionary or satisfaction models all end up requiring violence in a scheme controlled by a supposedly omnipotent God of love. I don’t agree entirely with where Weaver comes out, but he draws on more ancient church understandings to offer a model he calls “narrative Christus Victor” which moves in a much better direction.

In the context of this book, I heard the latest report this morning about the murder of a Christian cabinet member in Lebanon, and the fear that this may bring further violence, now involving Christian militia groups. Leaders in Lebanon are working to prevent this, including leaders of the main Christian political and militia group. Still, the threat is there. This comes home to roost. It’s easier to shake our heads when the reports pit Muslims and Jews against each other. When Christians take up arms, even in perceived self-defense or especially in pre-emptive action, we have to ask if that is really Christian. I don’t think it is, and we need to say so.
 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESPONSE July 11, 2006

Almost three weeks after the 217th General Assembly, I am amazed at the press coverage. I was there as an observer, and I see things very differently. National church assemblies are seldom well-reported by the secular press, because the issues are complex, especially to outsiders. This year, it seems that many church people approached our Assembly convinced that the results would be terrible, and the fact that things did not turn out terribly seems not to have altered their pre-conceptions. Probably everyone who attended wishes some things had turned out differently; that includes me. However, I believe that the overall mood and the results of this Assembly were very moderate, and responsive to the mood of the larger church.

All the actions are a matter of official record, but they can be hard to read through. Here, briefly, is what happened on major issues.

Israel and Palestine: the Assembly voted to change action from 2004 that called for “a process of phased selective divestment” from certain companies and entities doing business in Israel. Replacing that action is a plan that already existed for constructive engagement with identified entities, and a statement that the church will invest “only in peaceful pursuits” in Israel and the surrounding region. A peaceful two-state solution remains the stated goal of the church.

Abortion: the Assembly clarified the church’s existing teaching with a statement that “viable unborn babies—those well enough to survive outside the womb if delivered—ought to be preserved and cared for and not aborted. In cases where problems of life or health of the mother arise in a pregnancy, the church supports effots to protect the life and health of both the mother and the baby.”

The Trinity: no news here. The church has been using a broad range of vocabulary for God for centuries, including feminine imagery straight from Scripture (a mother hen, a nursing mother, a widow searching for a lost coin). The Assembly voted to receive a report without approving it. The end of the original report was written so that without reading carefully one could believe it suggesting substituting alternate forms for the mandated traditional “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” formula. The Assembly amended that section of the report with a sentence that only that combination is to be used for the actual act of baptism.

Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity: many who have not really understood our existing procedures have portrayed the recommendations of this report as allowing for a “local option” on ordaining any person to church office, regardless of sexual practice or any other standard of belief, behavior, or identity. It does not, and the Assembly amended a key recommendation of the report to make clear that decisions about ordination can be reviewed by church judicial commissions to determine “Whether the examination, and ordination and installation decision, comply with the constitution of the PC(USA) . . . .” In the spirit of the Assembly, if this recommendation is actually lived out in the life of the denomination, the result should be more disciplined training and examination of all church officers, including elders and deacons, not only regarding lifestyle, but most importantly, regarding faith and theology. This will be a bigger change for some congregations than for others, but if taken seriously, this could provide a great new energy for the whole church.

Fidelity-chastity standard: following approval of the Task Force recommendation and report (above), the Assembly overwhelmingly (405-92) rejected overtures to remove paragraph G-6.0106b from our Book of Order. This is the part of the Presbyterian constitution that most clearly prohibits the ordination or installation of non-celibate lesbian or gay members.

Most votes were by wide margins, reflecting the character of the church as a whole. The new Moderator, Joan Gray (presiding officer and figurehead) was one of the two centrist candidates; two representing opposite extremes on the ordination issue were rejected. This matches what happens in session and congregational meetings perhaps more than ninety percent of the time. Presbyterians are by nature moderate, and this Assembly was extremely moderate (if that’s possible!) The only item of substance referred out to the Presbyteries for a vote is a rewrite of Chapter 14 of the part of our constitution dealing with ordination and installation. This is not an effort to change the rules, but to make the chapter understandable and user-friendly, a need that the broad church agrees is long overdue. So, if the broad church actually pays attention, there should be little to stir controversy.

So, when you read the likes of Kathleen Parker and Jim Roberts, check their facts, and check their prior commitments. The Presbyterian Church can be alive and well, if it chooses to be; doom will come only if we believe it to be inevitable. The best news is that the key to the future really lies in how local churches get on with God’s work. When the Lord calls us, we just need to answer.
 

THE DA VINCI CODE – May 17, 2006

Can we just say this about The DaVinci Code: OF COURSE it’s fiction! How can anyone miss that? The trouble is that most good fiction has enough connection to truth and reality to make it believable enough to follow. Stories have to be about something. That’s why bookstores do a fair business with hometown authors and novels set in recognizable places—we know how to relate to them. But most of them create entirely new sets of fictional connections between known facts and locations.

The DaVinci Code is an exciting book to read, and the movie will probably be edge-of-the-seat stuff, too. But it is fiction, built on the set of the Louvre art museum and somewhat obscure parts of church history and doctrine. Probably the greatest objection people have to the book is that it brings forward yet again the suggestion—long rejected by the church—that Jesus didn’t really die, but lived a somewhat secret life with Mary Magdalene after He was rescued from the Crucifixion. This is a very old distortion of Christian truth, advanced at various times by people and groups who just can’t accept the way the Bible tells the story. It has always been rejected by all branches of the Christian church. The last major public projection of this fiction was in the movie “The Last Temptation of Christ,” based on the earlier novel by Nikos Katzanzakis.

The Catholic Church reacts against the book and the film because in addition to distorting the life of Christ, they portray one of the Church’s less well-known orders very badly. Other church groups are objecting presumably because this suggests that any part of the Christian church can be implicated in obscuring, hiding, or denying the truth. The painful truth is that as a human institution, at many times and places, many branches of the Christian Church have done exactly that—from arguments over whether the earth was flat and where it was located in the solar system, to supporting slavery and suppressing women, and playing dirty political games within its own structures and local congregations.

The most positive thing concerned people can do is actually read the book and then do some research to learn the truth about Opus Dei, the alternative tradition that Jesus finished His earthly life living in seclusion with Mary, and how the political structures of the Catholic Church and their own denominations actually operate. Most Christians know far too little about these political matters, especially.

Then, go see the movie if you want to. It’s fiction. And that’s okay.

5/8/06
Who would we keep out?

In the last few months, amazing things have happened here at FPC. One is that some dedicated and caring volunteers from our church and others put on a community supper most Sunday nights, free for anyone who wants to come. They usually serve around 60 people. The good news is this brings in some people whose lives haven’t been too easy. Some folks also see that as the bad news: they worry about criminal records, poor hygiene, and odd personalities. Sometimes people ask me if we should be letting some of them into church; usually this is because of rumors about particular individuals. My question is: who would we keep out? How can the church keep anybody out? If we started excluding some people, wouldn’t we also want to check on the people in suits and ties who might also have secrets but were able to hire better lawyers or hide their problems in other ways?

So here’s what we do instead: we are very aware of the need to make the church safe for everybody, including our “risky” participants, and the staff, officers, and volunteers in key activities work hard to prevent any opportunity for wrong doing. For example: doors are locked when they need to be; money is counted by two unrelated people; the nursery is staffed by two adults; some staff members carry “panic buttons;” and people with questionable records or behavior are kept away from certain kinds of activities, or watched carefully.

Some people who have done very bad things turn out to be wonderful human beings, with God’s help; and some very wonderful people do very bad things. We’re all God’s children, so how could some of us keep others out?
 

4/19/06
EASTER CELEBRATION
What a great day Easter was! Beautiful clear weather for the forty ambitious folks who came out for sunrise communion at Bluegill Bay Park, and then over 400 at our sanctuary service. Brass, bells, baptism, babies, and lots of kids, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, and the Widor Toccata—it was all there, and we loved it! People are talking about the excited buzz they felt. Let’s keep it going, with God’s help.


4/18/06
GOSPEL OF JUDAS
Get interested, but don’t get upset! Some Christian media and some secular media as well are announcing the rediscovery and publication of the Gospel of Judas as an attack on Christianity. Don’t worry. Understand the book for what it is, and what it isn’t.

First of all, it is a real book that the church has known about since the 2nd Century. Bishop Irenaus of Lyon condemned it as Gnostic heresy in about 180 A.D. Gnosticism believes that matter is essentially evil, and our main job is to escape it to dwell in a realm of spiritual truth. There have always been Christians inclined toward Gnosticism—sometimes overemphasizing the goal of reaching Heaven comes close to this!—but the true church has always rejected this approach.

The Gospel of Judas, and about two dozen other non-canonical gospels, show various ways in which early Christian theology was developing, and the fact that they were known in the early centuries but have never been included in the official canon (list of accepted Bible contents) shows that the church has consistently held that these works are not faithful witnesses to the work of God and the life of Jesus Christ. The probability of the Gospel of Judas or others being added to Scripture, or substantially changing our theology, is less than zero. It is not a threat to anything.

Lots of information is out there, in print media, broadcast, and at websites for NPR, BBC, BeliefNet, Christianity Today, and a bunch of others. There is also a longer comment coming in my monthly article “wrightings . . .” in the May edition of our online newsletter “The Beam” on this site. Read them, learn some fascinating history, learn about some views the church has never accepted, but don’t be threatened.

4/17/06
A HEALTHY CHURCH
I’ve been noticing something about our congregation. The two-week calendar we put up around the building is actually longer for this week after Easter than for Holy Week. We had plenty going on during Holy Week, with a full schedule of services and preparation, but even with the office closed on Easter Monday for a well-deserved break, activities keep on rolling. That isn’t usual—the week after Easter is often a slow-down for churches, but we are going full-speed ahead. That’s good news!