Disgrace and grace: Our response to the Ferguson grand jury decision by F. Willis Johnson“We worship God through our questions.” -Abraham Joshua Heschel
In the wake of a St. Louis County grand jury’s decision related to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson, we seek strength, direction and resolve through our faith. The decision, in and of itself, brings no resolution for those of us who live in Ferguson, for any particular demographic segment of our nation, or for humanity as a whole. Two families remain forever changed. A community is left struggling to coexist. The people of Ferguson will continue the hard work of reconciling differences as we strive to understand, trust and listen to each other. And we will continue searching for ways to sustain our hope in systems, leaders and practices.
Yet, whether we acknowledge it (or understand it) or not, every single one of us—inside the city limits of Ferguson and out—remains subject to a series of longstanding historical and cultural problems. Look at the faces of the children in your family, your neighborhood, your congregation. This generation, like yours and mine, is forced to wrestle with the unresolved issues and questions of the generations preceding us. There are more questions than answers.
This is the inherent nature of faith.
One biblical account in particular keeps coming to my mind in these days. It is one that raises suspense and suspicion, and leaves its readers with more questions than answers. It is a story of two brothers, Cain and Abel. As brothers they are linked together in a variety of ways, and are meant to be a community of two. But, for some unexplained and unclear reason, Abel is regarded differently than the other. Animosity exists between them.
These brothers’ relationship is representative of humanity. As humans, we too are linked together in a variety of ways. And yet as a community we are irresponsible, inattentive and insensitive toward our very selves—the brothers and sisters in our human community. We continue to mimic Cain’s morally reprehensible interrogative, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The rhetorical but relevant question posited by God, “Where is your brother Abel?” remains unanswered. Abel’s blood still cries out, along with the blood of too many young men, women, boys and girls of diverse races in near and faraway places. They are cries of retribution, cries of retaliation and cries of reprisal demanding a response. That is why…
When faced with disgrace, God dispenses grace. God’s response to Cain’s disgraceful act and remonstration of Abel’s blood from the ground is a powerful witness. It reveals how Christians can exercise grace while grappling with the complexities of unresolved and unjust issues.
God acknowledges a wrong has been committed, yet responds righteously.
Under no pretense does anyone deserve to lose life. Each of us holds inalienable and civil rights, but they do not privilege us to infringe upon the rights of others. We cannot legislate love or adjudicate right relationship. Justice often is interpreted as what benefits a small group of ‘just us’, but our interpretations are only interpretations. Neither the world nor systems have final say. What is politically correct, socially conscious, even legally warranted may be right, but not be righteous—not aligned with God’s will. Ultimately, God alone executes judgment. God is the final authority—and may grant judgment or allowance—in all matters of human existence.
God affirms the sacredness and pain of persons.
God asserts Cain’s significance with an identifying mark. The mark was not a scarlet letter. It was a sign of God’s divine affection and Cain’s vulnerability. Truth be told, God loves us in spite of ourselves. Confirmation of that love is the willingness to meet each of us in our condition with unconditional love. Affirmation should not be viewed as complacency on God’s part. In fact, God’s affirmation is an act of assertive compassion, particularly for the disinherited. There is no one manner in which to think or behave. People who are hurting need to be affirmed in their hurt; people who are angry need to be affirmed in their anger. This way of listening and hearing one another is called empathy, a core value of human relationship and community.
God advances the cause.
Cain, representative of the worst in each of us, is given another chance. We are extended opportunities by God to advance the cause. Our words and actions should not turn us against one another. Instead they should draw us closer together. Our words and actions should demonstrate true community, as we search for and expect to find the good in one another, as we lift each other up. This is not only a shared reality, but also a collective responsibility. It is a human imperative that we not act selfishly, but strive towards furthering our collective interest. As Martin Luther King Jr. posited, “We are inextricably connected to each other… caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied together into a single garment of resting.”
We must recognize that all lives matter. Our faith assures that peace while it is beyond our understanding is not beyond our grasp. As disciples of Christ we are called to express our hope by means of grace.
Do you have questions about how to address these issues in your church, with your friends and peers, in your spheres of influence? What tools and resources would be most helpful to you as a Christian leader in the midst of this ongoing conflict and conversation? Please respond in the ‘Comments’ section below.
F. Willis Johnson is the senior minister of Wellspring Church in Ferguson, Missouri.
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Giving thanks and thankful giving by Greg PaulThanksgiving may be the last communal and contemplative annual event in North America. Ramadan is for Muslims; Passover, Yom Kippur and other holy days are observed by Jews; Diwali, Dharma Day, a plethora of other holidays and, of course, “Fesitvus for the rest of us” are specific to the religions that established them, as is Easter for Christians. It might be argued that Christmas, at least in the western world, has achieved some manner of pan-cultural reach, but it would be hard to convince many of us that, amid the furious din of marketing campaigns, it retains a contemplative element for more than a handful.
Thanksgiving is a little different. It’s not really a religious or ethnic festival. Even though Christians grateful for survival gave it its start, it doesn’t automatically exclude anyone. Most people, whether they’re religious or not, recognize that gratitude is a good thing. And most of us, even in strained circumstances or in the middle of crisis, can find something to be thankful for. We discover, when we turn our attention to the mercies and graces that we normally take for granted in our lives, that we are richer — materially, spiritually, and relationally – than we had realized. And that puts our present needs and trials into a different perspective.
This is really the essence of a contemplative act: paying deliberate close attention, for a period of time, to something that would likely otherwise escape our notice. The nature of the Thanksgiving holiday tends to remind us of the importance of the people we love, the relative wealth and freedom we enjoy, and the goodness of God (or nature, if you’re an atheist) in providing glorious food that is both nourishing and delightful. Some also revel in a cornucopia of football games, others in the start of another basketball or hockey season. Most of us make an effort to be with family, and sometimes that effort entails putting aside, for the time being and as best we can, the irritations or grievances that normally afflict our relationships.
For a moment, we are content with what we have. Briefly, we rejoice in having more than enough, instead of clamoring for more. Most of the time, we are so focused on accumulating more that we forget we already have enough. This moment of shared contemplation reminds us of the good in our lives, a good that is ratified and increased by sharing it with others.
Opening our eyes to deliberately see who and what we have; our ears to hear the casually affectionate words of the ones we gather with; our nostrils to inhale the rich odor of the food as it cooks, and later, our mouths to taste it — this is how we are thankful. It is a truly impoverished soul who can pay this kind of attention to the reality of his or her world and not give thanks.
But there are such impoverished souls. There are truly impoverished people among us — people who do not have the luxury of clamoring for more, but must continually strive toward an elusive enough. There are children who will get through the weekend on mac-n-cheese, and go to school without breakfast when the holiday is done. There are homeless men and women who will hunker down, shivering and hungry for a few days, because the passersby who usually give them a little money are all camping out in Grandma’s living room waiting for the bird to finish roasting. People who have ended up on the perimeter of society because of mental illness, addictions or age will battle their demons alone, profoundly aware that others can be found in rooms full of light and warmth and largesse, rooms where they themselves are not welcome.
If we, who have more than enough, can look around and recognize with grateful hearts how truly wealthy we are, this is very good. But it’s not enough. It’s only a beginning.
A gratitude that does not prompt us to give is hardly gratitude at all. Being must always, if it is real, give way to doing. When we open our eyes to truly see how blessed we are, we should also open them to see the real needs of our brothers and sisters. When we open our hands to receive the good gifts God showers upon us, we must also open them to give of that goodness to others. If we open our hearts to receive God’s love for ourselves, we must also open them to admit into our affections those who might be thought unlovable.
If we give thanks, and do not then thankfully give, our thanksgiving is revealed as merely a counting of our wealth, an act of hoarding rather than of gratitude.
The good news, news that would be confirmed by every cheerful giver, is that thankful giving increases our own gratitude. We become more grateful, as we give, because we understand more clearly just how rich we are. We begin to value, to an increasing degree, what we have or have taken for granted. Giving sets us free from the tyranny of the things we own — the things that often own us. This is as true of our time, energy, and affections as it is of material goods.
Giving reminds us that all we possess was a gift in the first place, and not merely the result of our own efforts or excellence. It places in proper context those efforts as, themselves, acts of gratitude or even worship, rather than self-sufficiency. It gives expression to the salvation of our own souls. It reminds us that every man is our brother, every woman our sister, every child our son or daughter. The family to which we belong is enormous and eternal.
And that, surely, is worthy of thanksgiving.
Greg Paul is the author of Simply Open: A Guide to Experiencing God in the Everday (Nelson Books, January 6, 2015).
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John Wesley, Saint Francis and street preaching by Clifton StringerToday brings us to the end of our pilgrimage through a little portion of the wisdom in Rev. Adam Hamilton's Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It. We rest from our learning like St. Francis above, as Caravaggio depicts him in ecstasy. It has been a delight to learn from Rev. Hamilton's book as I have blogged through it. If you've been following along with my posts, I thank you and hope it has been worthwhile for you as well. In case you're finding this series only now at its conclusion, or might have missed a post or two, there are links to each installment below.
I won't leave you in suspense about Rev. Hamilton's last chapter: It is really good. We're shown Wesley's perseverance in the face of opposition, Wesley's late teachings on wealth and in opposition to slavery — including an account of a sermon Old Wesley gave which started a fistfight among British Methodists themselves! Last, we're shown Wesley's holy death, which is quite an inspiration.
What I want to focus on in this eccentric final post, though, has to do with the opposition Wesley aroused by his outdoor preaching. O no! — the dreaded street preaching! Run away! What I suggest is that we see something in Wesley's witness that is intrinsic to the ethos of Methodism (and Christianity generally), and of which Methodists' general (if not universal and categorical) neglect might be seen as one among the seeds and signs of decline.
Let's let Rev. Hamilton show us Wesley in action:
Because of Wesley’s challenging style and message, many churches were closed to him, so he began preaching in the fields and marketplaces, often quite near the churches that had shut their doors to him. As we’ve learned, most towns with a market had a market cross at the center as a visible reminder to merchants that Christ watched as they conducted business. Wesley often preached on the stairs or near these crosses. He would start by singing hymns until a crowd had gathered, then he would begin to preach about the need for salvation, forgiveness, and waking to God (125).
This was the way Wesley worked weekly and sometimes even daily for nearly 20 years. The crowds were often hostile in this period. Sometimes, even offended Anglican priests hired thugs to disrupt Wesley (125).
Wesley was sometimes beaten up, sometimes taken before magistrates, sometimes "pelted with rotten tomatoes, manure, and stones" (126).
But he didn't give up.
And in every crowd, some were moved by his preaching (126).
Based on Hamilton's telling, it looks like the basic elements of this street preaching for Wesley were:
1. Start singing hymns somewhere in public.
2. When you've got a crowd, start preaching about the need for "salvation, forgiveness, and walking with God."
3. If the crowd is hostile, roll with the punches, so to speak.
4. Repeat. never give up.
I attempted street preaching once myself. Or rather, attempted to attempt it. I should write sometime the comedy about all the ways I went about it foolishly which ultimately led to me chickening out and not doing it.
But Wesley did it.
Can we, should we, do this kind of crazy thing today?
Yes, it seems so. It was integral to Wesley's life, not to mention the ministries of Jesus Christ himself and Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Francis... the list goes on. The Gospel gives Christians something to say, something (to our frequent embarrassment) of the utmost importance, and many Christians will invariably be gifted, or at any rate called upon, to give witness to this in various public ways.
But wait — don't REAL Christians witness with their lives more than with their words?
We love to hide behind the remark attributed to St. Francis: "Preach the gospel everywhere you go, and, if necessary, use words." We think it a mark of humility that we try to show the gospel with our lives rather than merely our words. As if our lives reveal Jesus Christ with some kind of perspicuity.
St. Francis' life looks to me like it reveals Jesus Christ with something approaching perspicuity. Of course, St. Francis himself felt a rather clear distance between his own life and the holiness of Jesus Christ — and he filled that distance with words. They were not words spoken condescendingly down at others. Francis is, after all, the founder of a penitential order. Internal to Francis' invitation to others to repent is the clear and genuinely humble admission of himself as a sinner before God. So, to faithfully interpret the quotation "Preach the gospel everywhere you go, and, if necessary, use words," seems to entail that to whatever extent we think ourselves less holy than Jesus Christ we ought to fill the gap with words that bear witness to our sins and the mercy of Jesus Christ.
Good street preaching will be humbly clear street preaching: the preaching of a forgiven penitent bearing witness to the distance between one's own life and the holiness of Jesus Christ, a holiness made superabundantly manifest in Jesus Christ's amazing mercy for sinners.
Where can we do it?
For many, the most immediate place to preach 'publicly' and 'outdoors' may be YouTube. In some ways that may be too easy. At the same time, there's no reason every Christian working to spread the gospel — and most certainly every pastor — couldn't record and upload a two to three minute testimony ending in a call to conversion which they link at the end of their email correspondence, say.
I am so much of a sinner I haven't done that yet.
Beyond that, when one looks truly outdoors, the opportunities only multiply. Sing hymns and preach in the free speech area of your university, or in a marketplace. You could preach in a shopping mall and go peacefully when they ask you to leave. You could organize a little flashmob scene and say something at the end about how great a sinner you are and how much greater the love and mercy of God in Jesus Christ. You can take a nod from how some Catholics are doing it, as our brother in Christ Adam Pasternack discusses. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, your courage, and your humility.
Can you include an interesting example, please?
One inspiring witness in this regard is the pastor and apologist Cliffe Knechtle. As I've heard the story, Cliffe K. used to preach in bars. When he was in seminary at Gordon-Conwell, he and a group of friends would go into a bar. They would each sit down in a different part of the bar and strike up a conversation with someone nearby. Then Cliffe K. would stand up and give a short presentation of the gospel. Of course he would be asked to leave by the bouncer fairly rapidly, and he would go peacefully. But each of his friends would then be able to say to whoever they had been talking to, "Wow. What do you think of that guy?" — and see where the conversation went from there.
To receive the witness of John Wesley — or the Bible, for that matter — will mean to proceed into the public square in all sorts of ways. Even dreaded street preaching. It will be to openly speak of our sin and weakness, and in so doing invite others to know Jesus Christ.
It is by showing and so receiving
the stigmata that we show
the Loving Mercy that moves
the sun and the stars.
+++
Adam Hamilton's Revival-inspired posts: A recap.
#1 Susanna Wesley, Adam Hamilton and our kids
#2 John Wesley's rule of life
#3 The grace of storm chasing
#4 Wesley's impolite enthusiasm for the Name
#5 Wesley's both/and Scripture way of salvation
Thanks Rev. Hamilton for writing the book!
Christ's peace to all, and to all a good night.
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Ferguson pastors urge peace after grand jury doesn't indict
By Lilly Fowler / St. Louis Post-DispatchST. LOUIS (RNS) Like so many others Monday (Nov. 24) night, the congregants at West Side Missionary Baptist Church were glued to televisions as a grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case was announced.
One woman sobbed in her chair as she learned that police Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the fatal shooting.
Then, with the press conference far from over, the church’s television went dark. And the congregants at the church turned instead to prayer and preaching.
Within seconds, the Rev. Starsky Wilson was at the pulpit, calling for “contrary folk.”
“Thank God for people who go against the teachings of the church,” Wilson said, while referencing those who had told the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that he was moving too fast on civil rights issues. “Thank God for contrary young people.
“To be contrary is to say we’ve had enough.”
Wilson was named by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon as a co-chair of the 16-member Ferguson Commission to look for a way forward after Brown’s death.
On Monday evening, he said that despite the failure of the system to indict Wilson, the road ahead was not impossible. “God through faith turns curses into blessings,” Wilson said. “Ordinary people with extraordinary faith can change the world.”
The Rev. C. Jessel Strong, president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, also took the pulpit. “We’re here because we’re sick and tired,” Strong said. “Why does it seem all of our children are shot by the police?”
At the same hour, St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson gathered for prayer at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Roman Catholic Church in Ferguson. Later, he issued a statement calling for calm:
“I implore each of you: Choose peace! Reject any false and empty hope that violence will solve problems,” the archbishop wrote. “Violence only creates more violence. Let’s work for a better, stronger, more holy community — one founded upon respect for each other, respect for life, and our shared responsibility for the common good.”
On Monday afternoon, Interfaith Partnership, which represents 24 faith traditions in the St. Louis region, issued a statement calling for peace and understanding. “As we seek meaningful change and healing, we pray for understanding of the pain of others,” read the statement, signed by Carlson and Strong, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
In recent days, numerous clergy members have said they will open their worship spaces to serve as safe houses and sanctuaries.
As the grand jury announcement approached Monday night, worshippers at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral downtown sat quietly. There was no broadcast of the press conference. Those listening on their smartphones were asked to use headphones.
When the Rev. Mike Kinman announced the decision, one person at the back of the cathedral shouted a mournful cry and was escorted out by friends. Others in the congregation, including social worker therapist Celeste Smith, covered their faces as if in grief. Smith, who is white, listened to the announcement with Claudine Allen, also a counselor, who is black.
As planned, all fell silent then for 4½ minutes. Kinman read a prayer of forgiveness written by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and all sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” considered the African-American national anthem.
Then began a 24-hour vigil of prayer and song that would continue all night and day at the cathedral.
Kinman had sent out a notice to the community in advance announcing that people could gather at the cathedral for group prayer, song and silent prayer. He wrote: “Be not afraid. Be prayerful. Be bold. Be together.”
(Lilly Fowler writes for The Post-Dispatch in St. Louis. Margaret Gillerman of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.)
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This program will save your church! 
By Courtney T BallThe pitch
Friends, let me tell you from experience. If you faithfully implement this proven program in your church, you are guaranteed to see results. Follow the authors' time-tested principles, and watch your congregation transform into a more active body of disciples working together to grow God's Kingdom right there in your community. This program will help you clarify your church's unique vision, effectively carry out its powerful mission and ultimately claim its role as a God-given blessing to the world. By following this system of well-researched best practices, you will also witness an increase in worship attendance, a deepening commitment among existing members and higher levels of financial giving. Your church will become more relevant, engaged and influential. In short, you will stop surviving and start thriving.
And the best part about this new program is you won't have to spend a penny to own it, because it's already yours. Sound too good to be true? I promise you, it's not. Watch this. I'm going to show you a magic trick.
The product
If you are a pastor, the next time you're in your office, take a look at your bookshelf. See anything there that you haven't picked up in a while? Do any of the books on your shelf make promises similar to the ones in the first paragraph of this article? Or, how about we review your calendar? What was that training you and some of the lay leaders attended a while back? You know, the one that made so much sense at the time, and you were all excited about taking home what you learned and putting to good use? Perhaps you even hired a consultant to visit your church and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Where is that report today?
My bet is that after minimal searching, you can easily come up with a few ready examples of times you purchased that perfect product with proven results only to find that you and your congregation never got around to implementing the kinds of transformation it prescribed.
The reality
I remember when I was in my twenties working in a classroom under a veteran teacher in his fifties. Time and again I heard him lament the district leadership and its annual unveiling of the latest educational silver bullet. "Every summer," my mentor complained, "the superintendent reads a new book or attends some conference about educational reform, and every fall we're instructed to implement some new program. The result? Nothing ever really changes."
I've seen pastors do the same thing. They browse a catalog, buy the book, maybe even use some of their continuing education money to travel to a conference by the program's authors, and they get fired up. What they read or hear makes perfect sense. Why shouldn't they share it with their congregations? And you know what? They are right to do so. The people writing these books and designing these programs are usually offering legitimate, valuable advice. They took the time to distill the lessons they learned from years of experience and package them into an easy-to-understand set of practical recommendations as a service to their colleagues. Pastors and lay leaders would be foolish not to access those resources.
The problem is, we're better at buying products than we are at putting them to use.
The solution
When my brother and I built a faith-based nonprofit organization from scratch, we got pretty good at flying by the seat of our pants. We were smart enough, dedicated, and supported by a host of wise and generous people, so this worked fairly well in the beginning. In fact, our willingness to wing it was a huge asset when, in 2008, our city was hit by the worst natural disaster it had ever seen.
Still, as the organization grew more complex, it became increasingly clear that new systems needed to be put in place. Things like board development, accounting processes, staffing policies, consistent communications (mail and web-based), volunteer and donor management and long-range strategic planning all had to be improved.
Specifically, I remember how difficult it was for us to select a CRM (constituent relationship management) software product and then put it to use. Other staff and I couldn't agree on which product was the best, and even after we compromised enough to make a choice, once we started using it, we ran into all kinds of unforeseen obstacles. I think we went through three fairly involved test runs (and some tense conversations) before we finally decided that any one of them would be good enough, and what we really needed to do was just pick a system and commit to using it. Then came the long and laborious process of learning how to incorporate all the tasks of that new program into the daily routines carried out by staff.
It's still not a perfect system, but it's better than no system. And therein lies the solution to the problem that led you to open this article in the first place. A practiced process is more important than a perfect product. What I mean is instead of researching and buying the latest, greatest program that promises to transform your church, pick one of the books off your shelf that you already own, and start figuring out how you can put some of it into practice. I am 99% sure that you already possess enough wisdom, enough expert advice, to begin implementing major positive changes within your church. Now, what you need to do is actually commit the time and energy to making some of those changes part of your congregation's new daily routine.
An example
My father-in-law is a retired United Methodist pastor. He grew up in the Philippines, went to seminary there, then moved to the U.S. to study for his doctoral degree. Most of his ministerial career took place in rural Iowa, where his family was often the only non-white family in town. In order to succeed, he learned to be careful, consistent and very friendly. He is now and has for a long time been "old-school." He does not jump on trendy bandwagons. In fact, he's probably more happy to stick with tried-and-true routines than just about anyone else I know. So long as they work.
One of his disciplines (and great joys) is visitation. Every congregation he ever served, he got to know the people well. He spent time in their homes and learned their stories. He never was an amazing preacher (decent, but not outstanding). He can barely use a computer, and he definitely doesn't get pop culture. Yet somehow every church he pastors ends up growing, and that growth always includes families and young people. They love him because he is positive, humble, disciplined, and he consistently takes concrete steps to show his members that he loves and appreciates them as well.
Late in his career and even now in his retirement, he is sent to churches that have had major struggles with conflict, dysfunction or some kind of trauma. He helps those communities heal, mostly by putting simple and proven processes like a visitation schedule in place.
You can (and should) do this
I know that what I'm telling you might sound slow, tedious and a lot less exciting than the advertising language you're used to hearing. I feel the same way. I can be one of the worst when it comes to falling for that latest program of salvation. And really, I certainly don't think you should stop looking for new and improved techniques for church leadership. All I'm saying is, none of them work until they become more than a fad.
It's just like dieting and exercise. I'm sure you know someone (maybe you are this person) who tries every new diet out there but never seems to get healthy. "Nothing ever works," they say. "Although I did hear so-and-so talk about this new thing she tried and she lost 30 lbs. in three weeks!" And off they go again.
That consumeristic pattern doesn't strengthen our bodies and it won't help your church. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to get healthy. It just means you have to begin slowly and build routines.
My advice: Start small with something that matters. Pick just one of the things you've read about in one of the books on your shelf, something you're pretty sure you and your congregation can accomplish on a regular basis, even when you're tired and busy. Then practice that thing until it becomes second nature. If it seems to work, leave the routine in place, and start another.
As you slowly lay in the bricks of these foundational practices (whichever ones seem important and doable to your church), your capacity for bigger, more dramatic action will grow. Three, five, ten years down the line, an opportunity will come along for your church to do something truly, jaw-dropping amazing, and because you started small and worked diligently, you all will have the ability to get it done.
Then it will be your turn to write a book and tell us how you did it.
P.S. Of course, ministry isn't about saving the church anyway, right? It's about saving the world. But here's to the hope that your church can be a part of that story.
You can see more of Courtney's work at CourtneyTBall.com, or sign up to receive his weekly email, “Life and Depth.”
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‘The Walking Dead,’ the Living Lord 
By Cliff Wall“Hey, you look just like that guy from “The Walking Dead”! So said a young man at the door of Goodson Chapel at Duke Divinity School who had just come through the line to shake my hand after the sermon I delivered there early in 2011.
Although I'd never watched it, I knew enough about the show to know that it’s about a zombie apocalypse. So I didn’t know whether to take his observation as a compliment or an insult. I wasn’t having a particularly bad hair day, but I asked, “Are you saying I look like a zombie, dude?”
“Oh, no! Not at all,” he said laughing, “You look just like the sheriff, Rick Grimes.”
Last summer at Lake Junaluska, a couple of days before Annual Conference and right after a pick-up basketball game, a couple of young guys from Mississippi who were there for a youth retreat asked if they could take my picture. Puzzled, I asked why. They said that I looked so much like the sheriff from “The Walking Dead” that they just had to show their friends back home.
Later that summer while exercising my thumb with the remote, I noticed that there was a weekend marathon of “The Walking Dead.” I couldn’t resist. I took the plunge and just started watching and watching. By the end of the year I'd caught up on the first few seasons (thanks to Netflix) and have been watching it ever since.
If you’re not one of the 14 million or so viewers (I just heard today that the show was beating out Sunday Night Football in the ratings), the show is about a zombie apocalypse that breaks out due to some mysterious virus that causes people to turn into flesh-eating “walkers,” as they’re called. The walkers can only be stopped by puncturing their brains. Because the zombie virus becomes so widespread so fast there's a complete societal breakdown and survivors among the living must fend for themselves the best they can without the everyday amenities and securities that we all take for granted, like police, hospitals, electricity, etc.
In this context there is much to be feared, not only from the dead but also the living who prey on the weak, naïve and unprepared. The world of “The Walking Dead” is a fallen world that brings challenges to the morality, ethics and “common sense” of the world that was. What’s right and wrong in the fallen world of the zombie apocalypse isn’t all that clear, and that is a frequent topic of conversation in the show-that-follows-the show called “Talking Dead,” which functions as somewhat of a commentary on the practical and moral dilemmas that the characters face.
In an episode last season two adults, Carol and Tyreese, with three children not their own, Lizzie, Mika and Judith, were taking shelter in an abandoned farm house after having been separated from the larger group that they were with during a time of crisis. Two of the children were little girls, one around 10 and the other around 11 or 12. The other child, Judith, was a baby girl a little less than a year old and also the daughter of the sheriff, Rick Grimes. She had been born to his wife, who died in childbirth, in an abandoned prison after the apocalypse was already in full swing.
One of the older girls, Lizzie, had become somewhat mentally unhinged. She became overly fascinated with walkers and endeavored to play with them and feed them like they were playmates and pets. By this point in the series virtually all of the characters had given up hope of finding any humanity left in the zombies, but Lizzie was hanging on to some very dangerous sentimentalism. Scolding her and reasoning with her just didn’t seem to work, but after a major scare things seemed to change.
A herd of walkers stumbled upon the farm and began to attack Lizzie and Mika. Finally it seemed that Lizzie had snapped out of the deadly spell of zombie sympathy and saw them for what they were and the only merciful thing at the time that could be done: stopping them by puncturing their brains by whatever means necessary. Feeling comfortable that Lizzie had come to her senses, Carol and Tyreese ventured out to find some food, leaving the girls behind at the farm house.
They returned to find that Lizzie had fallen back into her delusion once again, this time having killed her sister Mika, her murderous eyes and her deadly weapon being set next on baby Judith. She murdered Mika and was about to murder Judith under the delusion that it would be good to have them come back as zombie playmates. It was a horrible and gut-wrenching scene, but worse was still to come.
In the old country home Carol and Tyreese agonized over what to do at the kitchen table in a world with Sheriff Rick but no police force as before, a world with no prisons, juvenile detention centers or mental health care facilities. They could no longer trust Lizzie at all. She might kill them or Judith at any unguarded moment. Should they just lock her in the barn and abandon her?
They finally made a decision. In excruciating anguish Carol took Lizzie out into a field of wild flowers and shot her in the back of the head. It was horrible. It was horrific. It was incredibly, incredibly sad. Millions of viewers were left in shock as were the host and guests on the commentary after-show, “Talking Dead,” which included the actress who plays Carol.
"Talking Dead"On “Talking Dead” everyone, including viewers who called, tweeted or sent in answers to a survey, agreed that the execution of Lizzie was horrible, but they also virtually all agreed that it was the right thing to do.
Wow! They agreed it was the right thing to do in such world as that, the fallen world of the zombie apocalypse.
As I watched, I wondered what those same people might say about the morality of Deuteronomy 21:18-21, and the other cruel and violent stories of the Bible in general.
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. (ESV)
AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart, but the truth is, neither is the Bible. Yet while “The Walking Dead” is a cultural sensation, the Bible is quite often maligned, mocked and dismissed by both cultural elites and the average person. The new atheists, as they're called, are quick to point out passages like the one above or other violent stories such Israel’s conquest of the Canaanites to dismiss the Bible and the one true God that it describes as a moral monstrosity that should be given little to no ethical credibility. But atheists aren’t the only ones who point to the “problems” of the Bible in order to dismiss certain portions of it. Docetists and Gnostic Christians of antiquity did it and many modern-day Christians do it too.
Marcion in the second century dismissed the Old Testament and its so-called cruel “demi-god” in favor of the supposedly more loving and forgiving supreme God revealed in Jesus in the New Testament, but not before also excluding some specific New Testament texts too.
Saint IrenaeusSaint Irenaeus wrote about how his Gnostic opponents would resort to attacking the validity of Scripture itself after they were unable to win their arguments from Scripture. His exact words were, “when they are refuted from the Scriptures they turn around and attack the Scriptures themselves, saying they are not correct, or authoritative, that they are mutually inconsistent and that the truth cannot be found from them …” (Against the Heresies III).
Much has changed since the days of Irenaeus, but much has stayed the same!
A not uncommon ploy among some liberal Christians is to point out the other so-called morally objectionable commands of the Bible (such as the one from Deuteronomy above) in an attempt to undermine its authority on other issues, especially sexual ethics. In a conversation with a progressive pastor several months ago, and not even on the subject of sexuality, but simply on the moral authority of the Bible generally, he objected that the Bible may not always be the best guide since it even commands the stoning of disobedient children. At least he didn’t resort to the shrimp argument!
It is often argued that since the Bible contains many ethical standards that we find objectionable today then maybe we shouldn’t be too concerned with some of its other prohibitions, especially the ones regarding sex. What should we make of these objections? Here, by way of analogy (which always has its limitations), I believe “The Walking Dead” may help.
The Bible is not a simple collection of moral instructions to be applied indiscriminately in any and every situation in every time. Indeed, there are timeless truths and moral laws, but that is not the sum total of what the Bible is. First and foremost the Bible conveys a grand narrative or story. It is a true story of creation, fall and redemption. After Chapter 3 the story mainly deals with God the Creator’s continuing relationship with a fallen world in rebellion and filled with violence and evil. Humanity, God’s crowning creation, as God’s image bearers, was meant to be God’s representative stewards over creation and the praise and worship leaders of all of God’s creatures. Temptation led to rebellion and rebellion led to the virus of sin that infected the whole human race and threw the entire creation out of whack.
Humanity was left in a state of spiritual death, “dead in trespasses and sins” in which even all Christians “once walked” as do all the children of disobedience (Eph 2:1-2). We were the walking dead.
The first several chapters of Genesis spell out just how badly and how quickly the world spiraled into chaos as a result of sin, and how God went to work mysteriously through the election of Abraham and his descendants, Israel, the ultimate of whom was Jesus, to rescue the fallen world. The world had drastically changed. It became increasingly volatile and dangerous with a tremendous amount of moral ambiguity due to the mysterious relationship between divine sovereignty and human freedom.
In this fallen world God gave the clear command to his chosen people Israel “Thou shalt not kill,” but also allowed for and even commanded killing in cases of national defense and social offense such as murder and other forms of high-handed rebellion that jeopardized family, tribal and societal stability. This is not because killing is ideal, but because in this fallen world it's sometimes necessary as a check against unmitigated violence and evil. In this world (a phrase often used on “Talking Dead” when someone is explaining why such unsettling decisions had to be made in the show) God allows and even commands actions that are far from ideal. This is a world where sinful humans insist on having things their way and, for a time, God allows them to have it (which is quite often a punishment all its own.)
God allowed for divorce in the law of Moses, for example, but pointing to the story of creation Jesus revealed that this wasn’t what God had really intended (Mark 10:1-12). Here Jesus recognized and showed us — if we have ears to hear and eyes to see — how to read the Bible. God sometimes makes concessions in a fallen world that are less than ideal, but with the goal of training and preparing a people for the renewed world where perfect righteousness is completely at home (2 Peter 3:13). God allowed Israel to have a king even though it was far from ideal and not what he really wanted (see 1 Samuel 8). Yet he made provision for a king after warning them of the negative consequences.
The vast majority of future kings, beginning with Solomon, would bring many burdens to the people and eventually lead them astray into idolatry and immorality. This would eventually bring national destruction and exile. God had used Israel to bring judgment on the Canaanites, and Assyria and Babylon to bring judgment on Israel.
With the exception of Jesus the Bible doesn’t tell us a clear-cut story of unambiguous heroes and villains because not even the chosen ones were exempt from divine wrath. Nor were the unchosen ones exempt from divine blessing (e.g. Rahab in Joshua, Ruth in Judges and Naaman in 2 Kings to name a few). So we have to consider the nature of the divine interaction in and with a fallen world before we quickly pass negative judgment on and dismiss particular texts of the Bible.
We also must consider not only the difference between the world before and after Eden and before the new heaven and new earth, but also the difference between the world of 21st century Europe and North America and the ancient world that the Bible describes. Was the latter more like the world of the zombie apocalypse or modern America?
Think of the Jews coming out of Egypt, where they were enslaved and wandering in the desert before entering the land of Canaan, which biblical scholars suggest would have been filled with horrendously violent, warring tribes all vying for control. (Watch Professor Lawson Stone explain the literary and historical context of the violent texts in the Old Testament.)
To sit from the perch of our world full of amenities, luxuries, securities and institutions that the ancients could have never imagined and dismiss them as morally inept is dubious at best. It’s not like we don’t have plenty of morally questionable and vexing problems and practices of our own. So we must understand that the Bible is telling us a true story (not true in every sense of the word but in the highest sense of the word) about a fallen world not an ideal world.
The Bible describes a world filled with moral ambiguity, not because there are no absolutes values but because sin and the wicked courses of this world have blinded us to them and kept us from living into them fully. And much of the evil comes directly from our sin-infected, wicked hearts. Yes there are horrible stories of revolting atrocities in the Bible, “texts of terror” if you will. They are recorded in the pages of Scripture not because God is a moral monster, but because sinful humanity is.
No Scripture can be lightly dismissed simply because it doesn't reflect the heart of God revealed in Jesus as some are wont to propose. Scripture wasn't given only to reveal God, but also to reveal sin — the sin in us. Romans 7 says exactly that; Torah, the law, reveals humanity’s sin and rebellion in all its ugliness and gore. It was displayed most vividly and despicably when Jew and Gentile conspired together to crucify the Lord of Glory himself. In other words, the Bible reveals the problem, but, thank God it also reveals the solution; and it’s not an antiviral substance. It’s a person and his name is Jesus. “For God so loved the world, [even fallen in rebellion] that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV).
We still live in a fallen world where, even now, decisions sometimes have to be made that are horrible in the faint retrospective afterglow of Eden and the brilliant light of the present but still coming reality of the kingdom of God. This is the paradox of the horrible and right.
In the fallen world in ancient Israel a rebellious son who threatened the livelihood and lives of his family and the stability of the paradigmatic society of the chosen people had to least be warned about the horrible consequences for extreme rebellion. (The penalty in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 had to be agreed to by both parents and the tribal elders, and in later Rabbinic commentary it was highly qualified so as to provide several layers to protect the falsely accused. See the New Interpreter’s Bible.) In the fictitious world of “The Walking Dead,” horrible but necessary decisions have to be made as well.
Our own world is not immune from such horrible dilemmas. In a restaurant a while back, my family sat around a table enjoying the company of two of our children’s grandparents over some scrumptious food. A woman sitting close to us overheard our conversation and surmised that we were Christians. She walked over and asked us to pray for her family, especially her son. She said that she and her family had to lock their bedroom door at night out of fear for their lives. Their son was menacing and dangerous, not to the point of institutionalization per se, but enough to cause his parents a great deal of fear.
We still live in a fallen world, a dangerous world of the walking dead. This is the world that God so loved that he gave his only Son. This is the fallen world of the walking dead from which Jesus, the Living Lord, came to rescue us, and to heal and renew for the meek. As Christians we live in this world but we also live as citizens of the kingdom of love and light even in the here-and-now. We trust in the living Lord who through death conquered sin and death and delivered us from the fear of death (Heb 2:14-15) so that we may live forever with him in the world “set free from its bondage to corruption” (Rom 8:21).
This is a world with no more horror because there will be nothing horrible — a world where righteousness and righteousness alone is fully at home (2 Peter 3:13), world without end.
Amen.
Cliff Wall blogs at UMC Holiness.
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Play it safe or take risks? 
By John FlowersThe fugu fish, or blowfish, can kill you if you eat it. Yet some people in Japan do just that. They take a huge risk, and with expert chefs cutting out the poison sections, there is feasting at the banquet table. No pecan crusted salmon or blackened tuna for these risk takers! Some claim a slight tingling on their lips is a sign that these foodies have ingested a tiny bit of poison, not so much as to die but just enough to come close. Different culture, different people, but are they nuts?
It is not much different in the good old USA. Some folks in our country jump off mountains and fly in a "Rocky the Squirrel" outfit. Others climb those same mountains without safety ropes. Some scuba dive to 120 feet, others free dive to 180 feet. Some drive race cars 200 mph, while some Americans will travel to Spain to run in front of bulls. How many risk takers fight the temptation to play it safe and take ministry risks in order to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world? Not the same? Let's take a closer look.
Most churches play it safe, but growing, thriving churches take risks. A young couple comes to worship and explains to the pastor that they, along with their two young children, are homeless. The church that plays it safe will create distance from the family, refer them to a social service agency or maybe their food pantry, while the congregation that takes risks will ask people in worship, "Are there any landlords out there who are having a difficult time leasing their properties? Want to take a big risk with a young family in need? Anyone have furniture or appliances they can contribute? Will someone pick up some diapers at the grocery store this afternoon and bring them to this family?" Maybe the young family will think the church folk are just easy marks but it's also possible that this will transform lives forever. In the name of Jesus, deep relationships will be built between middle class and poor folks.
Do we play it safe and take an offering for the halfway house for convicted felons or do we take a risk and build transformative relationships with these newly released women? Do we take a tiny risk and allow an AA group to meet at the church or do we take a bigger risk and provide a hospitality table, run by church volunteers, before and after the AA meeting? Respecting the principle of anonymity in this setting, do we use directed conversations and become the hands and feet of Jesus as a small step in a relationship building a world of transformation?
Do we play it safe and thank the older church members for their long years of service or do we take risks, acknowledging that God is not through with our senior citizens yet and create intergenerational relationships with empty nesters and latchkey kids? It will take some cajoling, maybe even manipulation (not a bad word by the way) but it is for a great cause, making disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world!
Churches that play it safe are boring. Churches that take risks are faithful to the gospel. If we believe everyone is a child of God then everyone must be treated with dignity and respect. That means we are called to transform our own lives and the lives of those God places in our path. We can no longer play it safe and be faithful to the gospel.
We must take risks!
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Can a nation so wounded by its divisions survive? 
By Tom Ehrich / Religion News Service(RNS) For those of a certain age, Thanksgiving week will always be the week President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
In the same way, Sept. 11 will be the day terrorists brought religious extremism to American shores.
Families have memories; schools, towns and states have memories. Every now and then something scars the “national memory,” and we encounter ourselves as a single people. We grieve as one or we celebrate as one.
Those moments are rare, and maybe they should be rare. It would be artificial for a people as divided as we are to pretend to a national consciousness. We don’t agree on the facts, we don’t agree on our own history, we don’t agree on meaning and ethics, we don’t like each other, and we certainly don’t trust each other.
Now, to echo President Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg 151 years ago, we are met on a great battlefield of the wars we wage against each other. It isn’t a field in central Pennsylvania. It is the nation itself.
Cities are set to explode over worsening racial injustice and police misconduct. Football players get a free pass on domestic violence. Colleges shrug off epidemics of rape and cheating.
Banks and a small moneyed set wage unrelenting war on their fellow Americans. Descendants of immigrants turn against new arrivals and call it patriotism. Large companies like General Motors sell defective products. Lobbyists control our legislators, and they in turn deny votes and basic rights to certain citizens.
The question, then, is the one President Lincoln posed: Can a nation so wounded by its divisions, hatreds and manipulated fears survive? Are we setting the stage for even more repressive surveillance, even worse predations by the government-owning few, even more weapons in unstable hands, even worse despair among the many?
Lincoln’s answer was to stand on the battlefield itself, just months after blood started soaking into its soil. I think that must be our answer, too.
We must not give in to seasonal jollity, to the annual pretense that everything is fine and that what isn’t fine can be made fine by shopping at Target. We must stand on the battlefield itself — the streets of Ferguson, Mo., the hiring line when a job opens, a health clinic when battered and raped women show up for help, a voting station when the brown and black are turned away by clever stratagems — and there on the battlefield to see the wounded.
On this battlefield, where many live daily but which the privileged few can’t imagine from inside their distorted-reality bubble, we must ask who we are. Not what advertisers say we are, but who we actually are.
Are we in the crucial stages of becoming a peasant society, where a few live large and the rest fight for scraps? Or are we a “land of the free and home of the brave” that has temporarily lost its way and allowed our fears and greed to discourage our common sense?
This is precisely the world that Jesus was born into. We know where his loyalties lay. We who claim his name need to get out of the checkout lane at Target and onto the battlefield where our future is being worked out.
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Think like a Wesleyan 
By William H. Willimon“I believe that . . .” “I have faith in . . .” What we believe is what we trust—what we know to be a truthful account of reality. Critical reflection on what we believe is “theology.” Everybody does theology, even when we don’t know that’s what we’re doing. Theology (literally, “talk about God”) is what we do when something very bad happens (“Why me?”) or something quite wonderful happens (“Why me?”). The one whom you address in such moments is your God, even if you’re not conscious of the one to whom you are speaking. Why am I here? What’s the point of it all? Is this all there is? After death, what? Who is God? What does God want from me? Theology deals with these deep, dangerous questions that defy easy answers—which may be one reason most people get nervous if ever their preacher should announce, “And now I’m going to do some theology.”
More important, Christian theology is what nearly everyone does when they are met by Jesus Christ. Something about Jesus led people to ask big questions and search for new answers. Some said, “Here is the long-awaited Savior of the World!” but others scoffed, “We never heard anything like this.” From the first, it was nearly impossible to say anything about Jesus without raising questions like, “Who is God, anyway?”
Some complain that Christian theology is too complicated. The truth is that orthodox theology is thought that is no more complicated than what is required to speak faithfully of a God who became flesh, our flesh, a God who is one as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One more complicating factor: Theology is not only our words about God but also God’s words to us. We believe that God in Christ not only has spoken in the past but continues to address and summon us today.
I don’t mean to say that everyone does good theology. Good, faithful, specifically Christian theology doesn’t come naturally. Orthodox theology is imaginative thinking that is formed by and responsive to scripture, the faith of the church, and the promptings of the Holy Spirit right now in our lives. There is well formed, informed theology, and then there is theology that is merely “what seems right to me” or “here is the latest idea on Twitter.”
Do not attempt theology at home! Faithful Christian theology is a group activity. Our God is so wonderfully complex, dynamic, mysterious, and counter to who we expect God to be that you need help from your friends—saints, past and present—to think about the Trinity. As Wesley said, Christianity is a “social religion”—you can’t do it alone.
The good news is that you don’t have to come up with words about or words from God—theology—on your own. Wesleyan Christians are those who think about God along with the Wesleys and the church to which they gave birth. The theological revolution begun in eighteenth-century England has now spread to every corner of the globe. “Warm hearts and active hands” is a good summary of theology in the Wesleyan tradition.
You don’t have to be a Wesleyan to do faithful Christian theology, but forgive me for thinking that it really helps. John and Charles Wesley’s discoveries about God still astound and challenge us today. The worldwide renewal of the church launched by the Wesleys has exceeded their wildest dreams. Wesleyan “practical divinity” (John Wesley’s favorite description for his sort of theology) is as revolutionary and as badly needed today as ever.
Mark 10:17 says that a rich man stopped Jesus and asked a deep theological question: “What must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus, who appears to have had a low tolerance for prosperous types, brushed him off with, “Obey the Ten Commandments.”
“I’ve obeyed all the commandments since I was a kid,” replied the man.
Then Mark says, “Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him”—the only time that Jesus is said to have loved a specific individual. Then, in one of the wildest demands Jesus ever made of anybody (because “he loved him”?) Jesus told the man, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, then come, follow me.”
With that Mark says that the man got depressed and departed, leaving Jesus to lament, “It is very difficult to save those who have lots of stuff.”
The Wesleyan in me loves Jesus’s response to the man’s big theological question. Refusing to be drawn into an intellectual bull session about “eternal life” (which Jesus discusses only rarely), Jesus hits the man with ethics here on earth—the Ten Commandments, redistribution of wealth, moral transformation, discipleship. Here this rather smug, successful person attempts to lure Jesus into abstract, speculative theology; but Jesus, after citing scripture, forces the man to talk about obedience and action. Jesus doesn’t say to him, “think,” “ponder,” or “reflect.” Rather he speaks to him only in active verbs: “Go . . . sell . . . give . . . follow me.”
It was a wonderfully Wesleyan theological moment. The man wants a relaxed discussion; Jesus gets practical and demanding. Never did Jesus say, “Think about me!” He said, “Follow me!” All the man may have wanted was an open-minded exchange of vague, spiritual ideas about “eternal life.” What he got was a call to go, sell, give, and be a disciple.
When Wesley discusses this passage in his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, he focuses on both Jesus’s love for this person and the need for loving personal response: “The love of God, without which all religion is a dead carcass.” Then Wesley exhorts, “In order to obtain this, throw away what is to you the grand hindrance of it. Give up your great idol, riches.”
I think Mark 10:21 is the only place in the Gospels where someone is called by Jesus to be a disciple and refuses. Yet for all that, it’s an explicitly Wesleyan discipleship moment. God’s love is gracious but also demanding. Wesley was suspicious of any theology that couldn’t be put into practice; warmed hearts and good intentions were no substitute for active hands. And the point of having deep conversations with Jesus about what to believe is to be better equipped to obey Jesus. Theological reflection on Jesus is in service of better following Jesus. And even Jesus’s demands upon us, his call for relinquishment and giving, are gracious testimony to his love for us. To think in this fashion is theology in the Wesleyan spirit. In his tract “The Character of a Methodist,” Wesley noted that Methodism is distinguished not by unique doctrines but by a shared commitment to theological renewal and active obedience to a living Lord. “Plain truth for plain people” Wesley called his theology—theological thinking for practical, Christian living. What an adventure to think like a Wesleyan!
Will Willimon is a retired United Methodist bishop, professor of the practice of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School, an editor of the Wesley Study Bible, and editor of the new Belief Matters series from Abingdon. Will recently served as pastor of Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. This article is an excerpt from his book This We Believe: The Core of Wesleyan Faith and Practice from Abingdon Press.
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Rap and reputation 
by LinC (Living in Christ) Brent LamberthOn September 14, 2014, Christian-rapper Lecrae Moore became the first person ever to land an album at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Gospel charts. His album, “Anomaly,” sold 88,000 copies in its first week and, as a result, he has been featured on a variety of syndicated TV and radio shows, including “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” This particular accomplishment represents a culmination of Lecrae’s growing popularity, since he has already sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide and is a Grammy-winning artist.
While Lecrae often downplays the “Christian rapper” label in hopes of avoiding stigmas or categories, his reputation as a man of Christian faith has not faltered. Even as his music has begun to cross genres and fan bases, his unwillingness to compromise his Christian character and faith is evident in his lyrics and testimony that inspire and touch the lives of his audience.
Second chance
Lecrae’s life changed at age 19 after attending a youth conference where he first encountered Christ and first experienced Christian hip-hop. Not long after, Lecrae was involved in a serious car accident—but walked away without a scratch. The accident represented, according to Lecrae, a second chance at life through God’s grace. He has since dedicated his life to Christ and to sharing God’s message through his music and testimony.
Shining a new light
Lecrae is a cofounder of Reach Records, and his influence has helped pave the way for other up-and-coming Christian rappers who hope to shed new light on an industry that has been described by some as “somewhat dark and sinful.” Beyond his music Lecrae is sought after as a Christian mentor by professional athletes, including Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow, as well as by pro teams who request him as their prayer chaplain. Growing up in a world where reputation is everything, Lecrae prompts the question: How do we create a reputation that reflects who we truly are and what we truly stand for as followers of Christ?
Question of the day: How do we form our reputations?
Focal Scriptures: Isaiah 9:6-7; Galatians 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:20-22
Isaiah 9:2-7 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they’re so glad in your presence!
Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden as Gideon’s old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He’ll take over
the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He’ll rule from the historic David throne
over that promised kingdom.
He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living,
beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will do all this.
Galatians 2:11-13 Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line. Here’s the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That’s how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that’s been pushing the old system of circumcision. Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade.
14 But when I saw that they were not maintaining a steady, straight course according to the Message, I spoke up to Peter in front of them all: “If you, a Jew, live like a non-Jew when you’re not being observed by the watchdogs from Jerusalem, what right do you have to require non-Jews to conform to Jewish customs just to make a favorable impression on your old Jerusalem cronies?”
Ephesians 2:19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
For a complete lesson on this topic visit LinC.
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We're awestruck about earth, unsure about global warming 
By Cathy Lynn Grossman / Religion News Service(RNS) Most Americans say they feel a deep connection to the wider world.
But all that spiritual stargazing makes no difference in views about the facts of climate change and global warming, a new survey finds.
Just five percent of Americans thought climate change was the most important issue in the U.S. today. And religion was a major dividing point on how much — or how little — they think it’s a matter of concern, according to a new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute.
“We asked about spiritual measures such as being in awe of the universe, and you might think it would correlate with views about the universe. But, in fact, they have very little relationship,” said Robert Jones, CEO of PRRI, which conducted the survey on U.S. adults’ attitudes toward climate change, environmental policy and science.
The survey found:
• 70 percent of Americans said they “experience a connection to all life” every day or most days.
• 69 percent said they “feel deep inner peace or harmony.”
• 64 percent “feel a deep connection with nature and the Earth.”
• 53 percent “feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe.”
Yet, when asked about global warming or climate change, the survey found three divisions.
The largest group, dubbed the “Believers” (46 percent overall), said global warming is a fact and they lay the blame on human activity. They were most likely (74 percent) to be very or somewhat concerned about climate change.
Sympathizers (25 percent) saw the Earth as heating up. However, they attributed this to natural causes or said they were uncertain why global warming was happening. Fewer of them (42 percent) expressed concern about climate change.
Skeptics (26 percent overall) say “there is no solid evidence” of the Earth’s temperature rising in recent decades. Neither does it worry them: 82 percent say they were somewhat or very unconcerned about climate change.
Religious identity was a greater marker of attitudes than general spirituality. Only 27 percent of white evangelical Protestants are climate change Believers, while 29 percent are Sympathizers and 39 percent are Skeptics.
Hearing about climate change from the pulpit made a difference, said Jones.
“Only about one in three Americans said they heard their clergy speak about it, often or sometimes,” Jones said. “But, among those who did, 49 percent are climate change Believers.”
When asked their level of concern about climate change, members of minority religious groups were most likely to be somewhat or very concerned: Hispanic Catholics (73 percent), people unaffiliated with any religion (60 percent), black Protestants (58 percent), non-Christian religious (56 percent) and Jews (53 percent).
Concern dropped sharply among more conservative religious white people. The issue troubled only 35 percent of white evangelical Protestants, 41 percent of white Catholics and 43 percent of white mainline Protestants.
Researchers pushed the skeptics for the reason why they have doubts about global warming:
• 33 percent said “they have not noticed a change in the weather around them.” One typical reply, “I live in Chicago and it’s cold as hell.”
• 18 percent said temperatures rise naturally.
• 12 percent saw conflicting or insufficient evidence.
Only two percent said God was in control.
PRRI found a small growth in the number of Americans who said natural disasters are evidence of the biblical end times or apocalypse. In 2011, 44 percent of Americans said the severity of recent natural disasters is a sign of the biblical end times. Today 49 percent hold that view.
The survey, to be released Saturday (Nov. 22) at the American Academy of Religion conference, is based on 3,022 interviews with U.S. adults conducted in English and Spanish between Sept. 18 and Oct. 8. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
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Stanley Hauerwas on practical divinity 
By Stanley Hauerwasn the shadows of a dying Christendom, the challenge is how to recover a strong theological voice without that voice betraying the appropriate fragility of all speech and particularly speech about God.
I should like to think I have understood my task as a theologian to help us see the significance of doing just that, namely, how extraordinary it is to intend the world redeemed by Jesus Christ. I have, or at least I hope I have, tried to do theology in a manner that makes it clear that the theologian is first and foremost a servant of the church. That many now ask whether theologians and the work they do has any role to play in the church, I take to be an indication that something has gone seriously wrong.
The alienation of theology from the church is not a new development. For some time, many in the ordained ministry have not found it necessary or helpful to read theology. That is not surprising, given that most theologians are primarily at home in the university. This is true even if we teach in a seminary. As a result, theologians end up writing primarily for other theologians. They do so, moreover, using language whose relationship to first-order theological concepts is not easily discerned.
The fragmentation of theological disciplines only makes matters worse. For example, the division of theology into disciplinary subjects results in the presumption that theology is appropriately distinguished from the “practical” disciplines. Because I have spent most of my life teaching ethics, which is unhappily often distinguished from theology proper, I have never been able to understand where I am to belong given the current divisions that dominate most seminary faculties.
From my perspective, the strong distinction between systematic theology and pastoral theology makes no sense. It particularly makes no sense if, as Tommy Langford spent a lifetime trying to help Methodists understand, Methodist theology is first and foremost an exercise in “practical divinity.” Thus Langford’s wonderful account of the diversity but lively character of Methodist theology in his book Practical Divinity: Theology in the Wesleyan Tradition. By “practical,” Langford did not mean Methodist theology is primarily about “what works,” but rather he meant that, given the Methodist commitment to holiness, theology cannot help but be a practical discipline.
Accordingly, theology is not a discipline that can be abstracted from church practice, because theology is one of the essential practices that makes the church the church. This means, although some areas of knowledge may rightly be described as “theory,” theology is not properly described by this term. Rather, theology entails the shaping of the body and mind of the church by reflection on what we know of God and ourselves as revealed in scripture and tradition. Though theology is not always prayer, if prayer is absent, theology always threatens to become abstract and, as a result, is subject to ideological distortion.
To understand theology as a discipline internal to the holiness of the church, one must recognize how this view is in tension with some of the ways theology was done in the last century. Faced with what many considered to be decisive challenges from scientific and historical disciplines, many Christian theologians understood their task to be discovering the “essentials” of the faith. It was if they were responding to the question “How much of this stuff do we have to believe and still pass as a Christian?” In short, the general stance was one that tried to “explain” Christian doctrine in a manner that would be acceptable on nontheological grounds. Accordingly, it was assumed that theological concepts needed to be translated into language that was accessible without the need for the training that any complex language requires.
This theological agenda was accompanied by quite a negative view of the church. The church was seen as far too “conservative” in doctrine, ethics and politics. The task was to place the church on what seemed to be the “right” side of history by identification with what were assumed to be the progressive causes of the day. Though there was much to be said in favor of what was done to make the church more “relevant,” many failed to notice how that ecclesial and theological strategy was itself a form of accommodation.
I am aware that the language I used above (that is, that the church is to be holy) is exactly the kind of language that many fear cannot help but fall on the deaf ears of those who consider themselves to be “modern.” “Holiness” in the minds of many modern people smacks of cloying piety or self-righteousness. Yet holiness is anything but pious. Think of Dorothy Day or Jean Vanier if you need, as many of us find we need, a picture of what the faithful church might look like. Holiness turns out to be the character of a community that can produce some very tough people.
If I am right about the voice we need to recover as Christians in this world, then I think several implications follow for the role theology should have in the life of the church. First and foremost, the role of theology must be to help Christians recover our basic vocabulary. If, as I suggested at the beginning, we are living in the shadows of a dying Christendom, it becomes all the more important for Christians to be able to speak Christian fluently. Christianity is not some set of beliefs with behavioral implications, but to be Christian is to be engrafted into a people who, as we say in Texas, “know how to talk right.” Theology is a discipline of the church that is designed to help Christians learn the basic grammar of the faith.
For example, consider the language of sin. It is not a popular part of the Christian vocabulary in our day. Only fundamentalists and some evangelicals think you can get people to come to church by trying to convince them they are sinners. The assumption is that you need first to consider yourself a sinner so that you can then be saved. But such a view of sin gives sin far too important a role in the Christian life. By contrast, Karl Barth argues that it is a sin itself to assume that we are able to discover on our own what it means to be a sinner. To be capable of confessing our sins means we are already on our way out of sin. Sin is, therefore, not best thought of as what we do, but rather as a power that is more like possession.
So the oft-made claim used to excuse someone from some fault, that is, “Well I guess when everything is said and done, we are all equally sinners,” is false. It is false because it does not take into account the kind of training needed to recognize the particularity of our sins. That particularity, moreover, can only be acknowledged within a community that gives us the language to name our sins—for example, greed, lust, murder—so that by naming them we can confess and be reconciled to one another and the Lord. Sin so understood is a theological achievement made possible by being part of a people who are pledged to love one another even if it requires telling one another the truth.
For finally that is what I take to be the fundamental office of theology in service to the church. Theology is the craft Christians have developed over the centuries to help us say that we are Christians for no other reason than we believe that what the Father has done through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is at the heart of all that is. The grain of the universe is to be found in the cross of Christ—an astounding claim that should capture every Christian’s imagination. Indeed, theologians should be of some help for the schooling of our imaginations. After all, we need all the help we can get if we are to be a people of truth in a world that no longer thinks what we believe as Christians can be true.
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Evangelicals a mixed bag on Obama's immigration move 
By Adelle M. Banks / Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON (RNS) While Republican leaders blast President Obama for taking executive action on immigration reform, some prominent evangelical leaders are welcoming the president’s plans to keep about 5 million undocumented immigrants from being deported.
Evangelicals are a key voting bloc for the GOP, but on immigration some are taking a pragmatic step away from the party. They include Hispanic leaders such as the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez who say the time has come to manage what has become a “de facto humanitarian crisis” for millions of immigrants.
“This merciful action takes place because for years our government, under the leadership of both parties, failed miserably as it pertains to immigration,” said Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
Rodriguez planned to be with Obama on Friday (Nov. 21) in Las Vegas, where the president hopes to rally for his new steps.
Likewise, Noel Castellanos, CEO of the Christian Community Development Association, and the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, welcomed the executive action on immigration.
“As pastors, we welcome the relief of action and call on Congress to provide long-term solutions,” said Salguero, who has made visits to Capitol Hill to push for reform.
But not all evangelicals praised the president’s action, even as they embrace the need for immigration reform.
Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore, who has pushed Obama to act on immigration, said in a Time op-ed that executive action is the wrong approach.
“We can debate whether the President has the authority to undertake these actions unilaterally, but, regardless, this is an unwise and counterproductive move,” he wrote.
A recent LifeWay Research survey found that while 91 percent of evangelicals said the U.S. should be responsible for stopping illegal immigration, 77 percent agreed that “Christians have a responsibility to assist immigrants, even if they are in the country illegally.”
The Evangelical Immigration Table did not comment before the president’s formal announcement on Thursday.
But Florida megachurch pastor Joel Hunter, an evangelical who is also Obama’s spiritual adviser, said he celebrates the “partial step” Obama is taking, even as he must still work with Congress on comprehensive reform.
“I welcome this incremental step,” Hunter said. “I don’t look upon it as amnesty. I look upon it as a partial solution to an ongoing problem and I do see the need in human terms, in terms of keeping families together and bringing people out of the shadows.”
Other Christian groups, such as Church World Service, welcomed the president’s move Thursday but questioned whether it goes far enough.
“However impressive 5 million people sounds,” said the Rev. John L. McCullough, CWS’ president and CEO, “the fact of the matter is that there still are 11 million … who wait with anticipation and have a deep concern about what will unfold over the course of this day.”
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‘VeggieTales in the House’ 
by Jason C. StanleyOn November 26, Netflix will premiere a new Saturday morning style series of VeggieTales cartoons. In the original cartoons, Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber would introduce the shorts from the kitchen counter. I never thought about it much, but obviously they lived in a kitchen. “VeggieTales in the House” lets the veggies explore the rest of the house. It provides a chance for some creative animation. While the animation has gotten an upgrade, and the setting is beyond the kitchen counter, the new show will continue the tradition of storytelling through music and silliness with spiritual truths and themes.
The new show will have a different feel and style to it than the first VeggieTales cartoons. The first five episodes of the new series will be available on Netflix starting November 26; each episode contains two 11-minute stories. Over the course of three years, 75 episodes will be released.
I had a chance this past week to watch the first episode of “VeggieTales in the House.” I really like the new animation and the new concept. In one of the cartoons, Bob wins the town’s pie-baking contest. But there is a concern that he cheated and bought his pie. This leads to a whole lot of antics that set up an important lesson about choosing your words carefully. Once you bake the pie, you can't unbake it. The same, we learn is true with our words.
Here’s a quick preview:
<iframe width="600" height="338" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/y0T4WHnpcyY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Overall, I think it’s going to be a great new series and lots of fun for kids and families. Each episode of the new series will end the same way the DVDs ended: “God made you special, and he loves you very much.”That's a message that can never go out of style.
Jason blogs at JasonCStanley.com.
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Diabetes: Facts, myths and tips by Jill M. JohnsonWhat is diabetes?
On November 14, numerous landmarks and monuments across the globe were lit blue in honor of World Diabetes Day, a disease that affects almost 400 million people worldwide and results in more than five million deaths every year. In past years, well-known buildings such as the Empire State Building, the Alamo, and the London Eye observation wheel were blue for a day for the “Monumental Challenge,” to raise awareness about diabetes, its causes and complications, and to fund more research for better treatments.
In the United States, November marks American Diabetes Month, an effort to focus the nation’s attention on the issues surrounding diabetes and those impacted by the disease. Nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States (nine percent of the overall population) have this disease, and another 86 million Americans have prediabetes, putting them at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, the total cost of this disease in the United States is $245 billion, with one in ten health-care dollars spent treating diabetes and its complications. Diabetes can affect a person of any race or ethnic background; but for those over age 20, it is highest among American Indians, Alaskan Natives, African Americans, and Hispanics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diabetes mellitus is the medical term for a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar, also called glucose. The food we eat is broken down into glucose, which provides energy for the cells that make up our muscles and tissues, as well as the brain’s main source of fuel. People with diabetes have too much glucose in their blood, which can lead to serious health problems.
Normally, after a person eats, the pancreas produces the hormone insulin, the key that allows glucose to leave the blood stream and enter into cells. However in people with diabetes, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced. Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body. The result is that this fuel source never reaches organs, muscles, and tissues.
Excess glucose can injure blood vessel walls, leading to nerve, kidney, eye, and foot damage. People with diabetes are also more susceptible to heart disease, stroke, and skin conditions. The good news is that more and more people with diabetes are leading long, healthy lives with fewer complications due to medical advances and better management tools.
Types of diabetes include type 1, type 2, gestational, and rarer forms such as surgically induced and chemically induced. Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy and usually goes away after birth. The most common types are 1 and 2, both of which are chronic health conditions.
Type 1 diabetes
Widely misunderstood and often lumped in with type 2 diabetes, the cause and treatment of type 1 is actually very different from other forms of diabetes. Type 1 (often called T1D) was previously referred to as juvenile diabetes, but it can be diagnosed at any age. Three million Americans have type 1 diabetes. Each year, more than 30,000 people, or 80 a day, are diagnosed with T1D in the United States. About 85 percent of people living with type 1 are adults, and 15 percent are children. However, the prevalence of T1D for those under age 20 rose by 23 percent between 2001 and 2009. Worldwide, the rate of diagnosis for those under age 14 is estimated to increase by three percent every year, further highlighting the need for a cure.
Unlike other types of diabetes, type 1 is an autoimmune disorder and cannot yet be prevented, cured, or reversed. An unknown environmental trigger, possibly a virus, causes the body’s own immune system to mistakenly destroy insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. People with type 1 must inject insulin to survive. While genetic factors do play a role, most people who get T1D have no family history of the disease, which is why being aware of signs and symptoms is critical for an early diagnosis.
Researchers are actively working on finding a cure for T1D. Research is focused on first stopping the immune system’s attack on these insulin- producing cells (called beta cells) and then regenerating or replacing these beta cells. Medical advancements such as artificial pancreas are also under development. This system would combine continuous glucose monitoring and insulin delivery and automatically deliver the proper amount of insulin in the same way a real pancreas does.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, representing 90 percent of diagnosed cases. For people who have type 2 diabetes, their body still produces insulin but does not use it properly (called insulin resistance). The pancreas tries to make extra insulin to make up for the resistance, but over time it isn’t able to keep up and can’t keep blood glucose at normal levels.
Type 2 diabetes is also increasing worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least eight of every ten diabetes-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. And in these developing nations, more than half of all diabetes cases go undiagnosed. WHO estimates that worldwide deaths due to diabetes will double by 2030.
Prevention is the key to reducing type 2 diabetes cases, which is why American Diabetes Month is focused on inspiring people to live a more active lifestyle and eat more nutritious foods. Regular exercise and a healthy diet are the most cost-effective methods of preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes and its side effects. In fact, up to 85 percent of complications from type 2 can be effectively addressed through regular doctor visits, monitoring and medication, and a healthy lifestyle.
Signs of type 2 diabetes are usually the same as those of type 1. Some people with type 2 do eventually need to take insulin shots to manage blood glucose levels, and as with type 1, regular blood checks with a glucose meter are important. Access to health care and routine checkups are critical to the detection of prediabetes and preventing full onset of type 2. United Methodist churches and institutions can play a role in this prevention effort by supporting health ministries and wellness programs.
Personal reflections
In 2009, our then 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Since we had no family history of the disease and because she had always been very healthy, it came as a shock. If we had had more knowledge about the disease and its symptoms, we might have detected it earlier, another reason why awareness and education are important. Life with diabetes is not devastating, nor is it easy. It does add a thick layer of complication to every aspect of her life, whether it be managing blood sugar highs before a cross-country race or blood sugar lows in the middle of the night.
One aspect of diabetes that most people don’t understand is how emotionally and mentally draining it can be. The constant analyzing of the number that comes up on the blood glucose monitor is like taking a test six times a day, everyday. If you get a 100, you’ve succeeded. A 50 or 220 means you feel you’ve failed in some way, despite your best efforts to maintain control. People of faith can draw on the compassion and discretion Christ showed to the sick and hurting as we minister to those in our lives with chronic illness.
A clergy friend of mine was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years ago. His approach to self-care has become a spiritual practice. A change in diet is an opportunity to be mindful of what he puts in his body. Regular exercise is an opportunity to use that time for meditation and prayer. Most importantly, his change in health resulted in a radical change in his attitude toward life. Every day is now a chance to be grateful, a chance to take care of his temporal body, and a chance to draw strength from our eternal and ever-present Creator.
Myths and tips
Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes. Sugar intake does not cause type 1 diabetes. It’s caused by an unknown environmental trigger. Type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors, but limiting sugary drinks can help with the prevention of type 2 diabetes and management of both types.
Myth: If you are overweight or obese, you will develop type 2 diabetes. Being overweight is a risk factor, but family history and age also play a role. Most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes, and many people are at a normal weight when diagnosed.
Myth: Diabetes is not that serious of a disease. Most people with diabetes live a normal life, participating in sports and other activities. Yet day-to- day management can be frustrating, and diabetes causes more deaths a year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Some tips on how you can help: Don’t make jokes about sweets causing diabetes, and don’t ask people with diabetes if they are “allowed” to have that cookie or cake. The occasional dessert as part of a healthy diet is OK. Also, don’t offer to provide a “sugar-free” dessert at gatherings. Most of these offer no benefit, as people with diabetes have to monitor carbohydrate, not sugar intake. However, it is helpful to provide healthy foods such as proteins and vegetables at church and family functions. Comments about weight are never helpful.
Also, avoid using the word diabetic as a noun (someone with cancer is not called a “canceretic”). People with diabetes see this disease as just one aspect of their lives, not their entire identity.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups. FaithLink motivates Christians to consider their personal views on important contemporary issues, and it also encourages them to act on their beliefs.
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Pastors opposed to same-sex marriage vow not to participate in any civil ceremonies 
By Jonathan Merritt / Religion News ServiceRNS) What’s the surest way conservative pastors can avoid any government mandate to perform same-sex marriages? According to one prominent religious journal and a growing number of ministers, the answer is not to perform any civil marriages at all.
First Things, a conservative religious publication, has launched a movement encouraging pastors to refuse to perform marriages as representatives of the state. A signing statement called “The Marriage Pledge” has been posted to the journal’s website, where ministers can affix their names electronically. The pledge was drafted by Ephraim Radner, an ordained Anglican and professor of historical theology at Toronto School of Theology’s Wycliffe College, and Christopher Seitz, an ordained Episcopal priest and senior research professor at Wycliffe.
“In many jurisdictions, including many of the United States, civil authorities have adopted a definition of marriage that explicitly rejects the age-old requirement of male-female pairing,” the pledge says. “In a few short years or even months, it is very likely that this new definition will become the law of the land, and in all jurisdictions the rights, privileges, and duties of marriage will be granted to men in partnership with men, and women with women.”
The document concludes: “we, the undersigned, commit ourselves to disengaging civil and Christian marriage in the performance of our pastoral duties. We will no longer serve as agents of the state in marriage. We will no longer sign government-provided marriage certificates. … We will preside only at those weddings that seek to establish a Christian marriage in accord with the principles articulated and lived out from the beginning of the Church’s life.”
As of Thursday (Nov. 20), nearly 150 people had signed the pledge, including ordained clergy, laypeople, chaplains and at least one bishop.
On Tuesday, First Things’ editor, R.R. Reno, teed up the effort with a column titled, “A Time to Rend.”
Reno wrote: “For a long time Christianity has sewn its teachings into the fabric of Western culture. That was a good thing. … But the season of sewing is ending. Now is a time for rending, not for the sake of disengaging from culture or retreating from the public square, but so that our salt does not lose its savor.”
The concept that civil and religious marriage should be separate is not entirely novel. At U.S. Catholic, columnist Bryan Cones has asked, “Is it time to separate church and state marriages?” And writer Len Woolley raised similar questions at the Mormon-run Deseret News.
But the idea isn’t just limited to conservatives.
Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, proposed the idea as early as 2009. By 2011, three North Carolina church pastors and at least one in Virginia quit signing marriage licenses as a way of opposing state bans on same-sex marriages they felt violated their conscience.
And in July of this year, Paul Waldman argued at The American Prospect, a progressive publication, that religious couples should fill out state-mandated marriage forms and then have the religious ceremony of their choosing. “The wedding, in other words, should be a ritual with no content prescribed by the state, no ‘By the power vested in me by the state of Indiana’ at all.”
Waldman added: “The state doesn’t tell you how to celebrate Christmas or Ramadan, and it shouldn’t tell you how to get married.”
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Can commerce and religion go their separate ways this Christmas? by Tom Ehrich / Religion News Service(RNS) I’ve decided not to worry about the earlier-than-ever start to Christmas commerce this year.
Shortly after Halloween, with hardly a nod to Thanksgiving, stores and advertisers began going full-bore on the supposed “Christmas package,” namely, gift-giving, family fun, decorating and entertaining.
It’s sad — this annual effort to derive profits from a facsimile of a 1950s Christmas — but other things are a lot sadder: an elusive economic recovery, continuing gun violence, racial violence, religious extremism, mounting rage and intolerance at home and echoes of the Cold War in Europe.
Let commerce tread the line between gauche and tacky — merchants have salaries and suppliers to pay, after all. We have a troubled world to care about.
The path to that care doesn’t go by way of Wal-Mart or Budweiser. It is God’s path, and it goes by way of anticipation, promises, prophetic vision, a birth, a life, a death, and over all of it a sustaining grace that cares little for our seasonal receipts but cares intensely about our lives.
Maybe it’s good that commerce has declared its independence from religion and decorum. That clears the way for faith to have its parallel season — not in competition with commerce, but as the deeper reality that commerce can never attain, the deeper meaning we yearn for.
Many stores, for example, announced plans to start holiday shopping early, on Thanksgiving Day. That spawned a countermovement by some major retailers to stay closed on Nov. 27, so workers could be with their families.
Either way, the message is clear: “Christmas shopping” has nothing to do with a religious festival, but is simply a way to encourage shopping. There isn’t any depth of meaning to that desire. Some fun perhaps, and certainly a ton of anxiety. But not meaning, not a connection with God.
The religious whining set will worry about a “war on Christmas.” The victim role is a favorite among religious bullies. From what I have seen thus far, if that war ever existed, it is over, and Christmas as a religious season won. Holiday advertisers don’t even pretend to link their marketing with the birth of a savior.
The question now is what faith communities will do. Can we convey the meaning that people are seeking? Can we go beyond trying to replicate the iconic scenes of an imagined 1950s everyone-in-church family Christmas?
We face serious issues, deprivation and oppression not unlike that which attended the original birth narrative.
If the infancy narrative is to be preached, it should be now, as immigration and the forced movement of people demand our attention, as the powerful snoop on us, as many wonder if God has anything to say in a distressed, war-torn world.
The call of the prophet for “comfort” isn’t an invitation to snuggle down with well-gifted and contented loved ones. The call says God is crossing the desert to lead God’s people home from exile. Liberation lies ahead.
Shopping is just background noise. Shop or don’t shop, be prudent or max out your credit, buy on Thanksgiving Day or wait until Christmas Eve, the surging rage in our public square requires more than a shopping list.
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Can Jews and Muslims get along? 60 imams and rabbis meet in Washington to try 
by Lauren Markoe / Religion News Service(RNS) Frustrated by dangerously high tensions between Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land, 60 imams and rabbis gathered Sunday (Nov. 23) to hatch concrete plans to bridge the gulf between their communities, minus the kumbaya.
The “2014 Summit of Washington Area Imams and Rabbis,” its organizers hope, will be the first of many such gatherings of Jewish and Muslim clergy in cities across the U.S.
After prayers and a kosher-halal lunch at a Washington synagogue, the clergy resolved to limit the feel-good dialogue and spent the afternoon trading ideas both tried and novel. Among them: joint projects to feed the homeless, basketball games between Muslim and Jewish teens, Judaism 101 courses for Muslims and Islam 101 for Jews.
“Host a Seder in a mosque and hold an iftar dinner at a synagogue,” suggested Rizwan Jaka, who chairs the board at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Northern Virginia.
They threw out tough questions: “Do you invite people in your community who are particularly closed-minded to participate in interfaith dialogue?” asked Dan Spiro, co-founder of the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society. “Something to think about.”
And when Jews and Muslims meet, several imams and rabbis advised, do not sidestep the focal point of their mutual pain: the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Rage over the ability of both faiths to worship at Temple Mount — a site holy to Muslims and Jews, has heightened tensions with the violence culminating last week in a Palestinian attack on Jews praying in a Jerusalem synagogue that killed four worshippers and a Druze police officer.
“Discuss things from a spiritual narrative as opposed to a political narrative,” suggested Imam Sultan Abdullah of the New Africa Islamic Community Center in Washington, D.C.
Along spiritual lines, both Jews and Muslims believe they are descended from the sons of Abraham — Jews from Isaac and Muslims from Ishmael — a point both rabbis and imams repeated. In practice, they noted, similarities between the faiths abound. Both face toward the Middle East at prayer, for example, and share similar dietary laws.
“In my view we are the closest two religions in the world,” said Rabbi Gerry Serotta, executive director of the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, who sees healing between Muslims and Jews as a blessing that will resonate.
“There is something about a Jewish-Muslim rapprochement that is very important for the rest of the world,” Serotta said. “The perception is that Jews and Muslims are irreconcilable, and when people see that we’re not, it gives them hope.”
The event was sponsored by the Greater Washington Muslim-Jewish Forum, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society and Washington Hebrew Congregation, the synagogue where the meeting was held.
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