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Model the finances you preach by J. Clif Christopher
The best drill instructors are not the ones who tell the recruit what to do, but model for them what to do. They tell the recruit to shine his shoes while wearing shined shoes. They tell the recruit to run two miles while running with them. They tell the recruit to show up for 5:00 formation while being there at 4:45. They model the life they preach about. This our pastors must do, especially in the areas where our people struggle the most — their dependence on stuff..."I appeal to you then, be imitators of me." (1 Corinthians 4:16)
Last year while working at my desk I got a call from a finance team chairperson who wanted to talk with me about his pastor. He said that he and others on the team had been frustrated for some time that the pastor never addressed the issue of money from the pulpit. They had encouraged him and he would simply say that he weaves it into various sermons and prefers that to sermons directly on the topic of money in our lives. He went on to share that the pastor reluctantly engaged with the committee and got involved only when it appeared that there would be a shortfall of income. He mostly wanted the budget to balance and for his denominational obligations to be paid so he would not look bad to superiors. He righteously proclaimed quite often that he never looked at anyone's giving and thought that was something just between the giver and God. After all of this the chairperson got to the immediate issue, "Last night he called a committee meeting with us and the pastor's relation committee to share that he had gotten behind with the IRS and they now wanted payment of three years' taxes. We went over the numbers and it appears that he is about $30,000 in the hole. The IRS is pressuring him to square this obligation up. Anyway, he asked us to consider a short-term loan that would be taken from his salary over several years. I am calling you to see what your advice is on what we should do."
It is not important to know what advice I gave, but it is important to consider what position these church members had just been placed in. The teacher was coming to the students for assistance. The teacher was giving no leadership to those under his charge. This would have been like a drill instructor walking his young recruits over to the rappelling wall and saying that the ropes are laying over there, just tie them on, and see how it works while I go sit under this tree. Some of these recruits might die. Some of these church people will not discover what a generous life in Christ truly brings to one's life because their instructor (pastor) could not and would not lead.
Pastors and Disciple Leaders Must Model the Life of a Generous Disciple
The best drill instructors are not the ones who tell the recruit what to do, but model for them what to do. They tell the recruit to shine his shoes while wearing shined shoes. They tell the recruit to run two miles while running with them. They tell the recruit to show up for 5:00 formation while being there at 4:45. They model the life they preach about. This our pastors must do, especially in the areas where our people struggle the most — their dependence on stuff.
"God vs. Money: Winning Strategies in the Combat Zone" (Abingdon Press, 2018). Order here: http://bit.ly/GodvsMoney
As pastors we have to model how we manage, spend, and give our money. Money is the chief enemy of the disciple-to-be. A pastor lives among the same temptations as his or her flock. He or she watches television and sees the same billboards that seek to influence all to want more and more and more. A pastor hears the same voices that praise those who have lake houses, fancy clothes, shiny cars, and take lavish vacations. Pastors are not immune to temptation, but through Christ they have learned a better way. It is this better way of living and giving that must be seen by the recruits.I would see the drill instructors around the military installation going to the post exchange or commissary while off duty. Their uniforms looked just like they did when they were with the recruits early in the morning. Often, I would comment about how everything was perfectly put together and would get a reply, "I would have it no other way, sir." They were always teaching by modeling. For pastors this means we model the life of a generous disciple at Walmart, at a restaurant, at deer camp, or the movie theater. Wherever we are, we are called to set an example of what it means to have surrendered control to Jesus.
In my seminars I am frequently asked if a pastor should share his or her amount of giving with the congregation. The answer is a resounding YES! A leader must be seen and heard leading. Too many times I have heard pastors say that they will be supportive with their gifts, and that is all. What does that mean? How does that help me grow? I have heard persons say that they believe all persons should give proportionally. What is that? Is a penny a proportion? What coach, trainer, or drill instructor would use such ambiguous language? Not one who truly wanted to win!
Pastors should, at a minimum, put in print and share in worship exactly how they are trying to live out a Christian life of generosity. A testimony should always include how one came to determine what their giving would be. The pastor needs to share the journey and not just where he or she has arrived. It should be so clear that no one would misunderstand.
One of the most effective sermons I ever heard came from a pastor in an extremely large church. He rose, walked out in front of his people, and began by saying, "I have a confession to make." His confession was that when it came to generosity he had been a phony. He had either misled persons as to how he managed his money and his giving or he had been sure to keep it hidden. He went on to talk about how he got into debt with schooling, compounded that by trying to show a lifestyle like his first congregants had — on much less income — and just wasted one resource after another. Because he absolutely had spent more than what he had, he had been unable to give as he knew Christ would have him do. He was ashamed and embarrassed and on this day he came clean. No one in that audience was sleeping through this. Then he came out and said that beginning the previous week he was now ordering his financial life around the theme of grace and gratitude. He would put God first, not just on his lips but also with his wallet and his actions. He shared exactly what he was going to start giving and how he was going to shift things around to make that work. He shared how he intended to square up his debts and not create any new debt. He shared how thankful he was that God continued to love him even though, in so many ways he, the pastor, had been worshipping money more. He said he was grateful for the chance to be born again.
Now that was leadership!
Excerpted from God vs. Money by J. Clif Christopher. Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Clif Christopher
J. Clif Christopher is the founder and President of Horizons Stewardship Company. He is the author of three books on read more…
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Millennials are killing divorce, but where does that leave marriage? by Kira Schlesinger
Those of us in churches that follow the Revised Common Lectionary heard Jesus’ strong words against divorce from Mark 10 earlier this month. Talking about divorce is a minefield in the best scenario, but it’s a particularly sensitive subject for many given the history of how the church has handled divorce and divorced people in the past. No one gets married hoping it will fail, so the news that the percentage of American marriages that end in divorce has fallen seems to be good on its face. From 2008 to 2016, the divorce rate declined by eighteen-percent, according to sociologist Philip Cohen, primarily due to millennials divorcing much less than previous generations, namely Baby Boomers.In general, millennials are waiting longer to get married and have children and so are likely to be more emotionally mature and financially stable, contributing to the durability of their marriages. But it is a cause for concern that poorer and less-educated Americans are not opting to get married and instead choosing to cohabitate and even raise kids together, relationships which studies show are not as stable as they have been in the past. This leads to the conclusion that marriage is becoming a more exclusive, albeit more durable institution. Though the divorce rate is falling, the dissolution of long-term, committed relationships is probably remaining about the same.
The cultural institution of marriage is constantly in flux, despite whatever theological and sacramental commitments the Church holds. For example, we no longer think of marriage as the literal property transfer of a woman from her father to her husband. In our modern era, the legality of same-sex marriage and the widespread acceptance of divorce has also altered marriage as an institution. Recently, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that all couples in England and Wales will be able to opt for a civil partnership in lieu of marriage, a preference some have due to the cultural and religious baggage of marriage.
Given the decrease in stigma against cohabitation of romantic partners and child-bearing and child-rearing outside of wedlock, one might ask why people should get married at all. Whatever individual decision couples make with regard to their personal values, I am concerned that marriage is becoming the purview of wealthier, more highly-educated couples, and I believe that the church should be concerned as well. Outside of the legal and civic benefits accessible to married couples, Christian marriage is also a covenant and, in certain traditions, a sacrament. If we do value marriage as a covenant and a sacrament, not just a legal status, we should encourage it of all seriously committed couples, not just those who are more likely to be featured in the local newspaper’s wedding section.
The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer states that marriage is intended by God for a couple’s “mutual joy” and “for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity.” In The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles, marriage is marked by “love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity.” The traditional vows of “for better or for worse” are also evidence that marriage is not reserved for reaching a particular educational or professional status.
While the lower divorce rate among young people is something to celebrate, we must be careful not to overlook the skepticism and wariness that they have towards marriage in general and how external factors like low wages and massive debt contribute to their delay in meeting markers of American adulthood like marriage or purchasing a home. By promoting the commitment and covenant of marriage as separate from particular economic or professional goals, the church might be able to support couples who would want to marry but might not feel that they are “ready.” Even in a changing culture, marriage is important as a foundational unit of human community and, for the church, as a mystery of the union between Christ and the Church.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kira Schlesinger
The Reverend Kira Schlesinger is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Tennessee with a Master of Divinity degree 
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Willful ignorance by Steve Harper
The United Nations report on climate change came out a few days ago, drawing on scientific evidence from more than 30 countries to say (once again) that the problem is real, and if it is not addressed, we are in for global trouble. This time, the report attempted to “turn up the volume” on the crisis by stating we have only about a decade to take steps to reverse the trends.No sooner had the report come out than the climate-change deniers resumed their “junk science” mantras, despite the fact that for decades data has been gathered to prove the reality of the problem...
The United Nations report on climate change came out a few days ago, drawing on scientific evidence from more than 30 countries to say (once again) that the problem is real, and if it is not addressed, we are in for global trouble. This time, the report attempted to “turn up the volume” on the crisis by stating we have only about a decade to take steps to reverse the trends.
No sooner had the report come out than the climate-change deniers resumed their “junk science” mantras, despite the fact that for decades data has been gathered to prove the reality of the problem. Sophisticated findings have come from experts, and yet there are those who can sweep such evidence aside with anecdotal assertions, caricatures and stereotypes.
It is the most amazing act of personal and public denial we can point to in our time. And sadly, POTUS is the face of the denial, which seems to justify the rest of the deniers. “If Trump said it, it must be so” is a frightening conclusion in the face of facts he has likely not even read.
Climate-change denial is in itself bad enough, and it boggles the mind to think that anyone (much less the government) would minimize, or in some cases dismiss, evidence that could point to a crisis of survival agriculturally, environmentally, demographically, etc. Why would anyone put future generations (i.e. children and grandchildren) at risk? How can casually setting aside a dire warning be considered a better approach than paying attention to it?
The answer is larger than climate change, or any other specific issue. The answer is willful ignorance, most often rooted in short-term economic gains for corporations, at the expense of the common good. The already-rich and privileged prosper even more, earth be damned. The problem is, by the time we realize we’re wrong, it will be too late to do anything about it. But in the meantime those who choose to “make a buck” will have garnered their billions. And somehow, certain folks see that as the way to go.
A book that just came out on October 2nd stares this madness square in the face. It is titled The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis. On multiple fronts he addresses the danger of willful ignorance. A reviewer summarizes it in these words:
“Willful ignorance plays a role in these looming disasters. If your ambition is to maximize short-term gains without regard to long-term cost, you are better off not knowing the cost. If you want to preserve your personal immunity to the hard problems, it’s better never to really understand the hard problems. There is an upside to ignorance, and a downside to knowledge. Knowledge makes life messier.”
But even more deep than willful ignorance is the sign that many have adopted a motive of self-enhancement above what reality is telling us — going for a “win” in the face of a pending larger “loss.” This is where willful ignorance becomes an observable and dangerous spiritual problem — the expression of egocentric and ethnocentric thinking and acting.
It harks back to Cain’s attempt to deny his murder of Abel by asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The first sin after the Fall was to deny accountability and responsibility for others. And Cain’s question arises anytime and about anything when we lose our sense of oneness with the rest of the human family and with the rest of creation and live by a “what’s in it for me” view of life.
Denying climate change is just one example to show that we can murder our brothers (children and grandchildren) in more than one way.
Steve Harper is the author of For the Sake of the Bride and Five Marks of a Methodist. He blogs at Oboedire.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Harper
Steve Harper taught spiritual formation and Wesley studies to Christian divinity students for more than thirty years read more…
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Prior to moving forward with a church capital campaign, here are five important steps that can substantially improve your results.Clarify your why
Before you get started on a church capital campaign, spend time to understand your “why.” Being able to articulate your why, or the purpose of your project, is critical to inspiring your supporters. Whether your project is new construction, renovation, debt retirement, outreach or increasing endowment, it is essential to communicate why it is important. How will your completed project transform lives? What impact will your project have on your ability to do God’s work in the world? Clearly state why a church capital campaign is necessary and why it is urgent. By doing so, you will build momentum and support before you launch, ensuring a successful campaign. [For more insights on clarifying vision, click here.]
Discuss plans with your financial leaders
Those who provide financial leadership to the ministries of your church also play a vital role in your church capital campaign. Before your plans are final, meet with your financial leaders to discuss the project details and inspire them with your why. Some of your financial leaders are business leaders in your community. Ask for their input, invite them into the conversation and learn from their wisdom. Those who have the capacity to make major gifts can dramatically impact your results. People typically help fund a project they helped to conceive. [For more information on how to engage financial leaders, go here.]
Meet with leadership groups and create project advocates
Once you have clarified your why, and gained the support of your financial leaders, engage the various groups within your church. Build excitement around the project, answer questions, and develop advocates for the campaign. Once your core constituents and leaders have caught your vision for the project, they will be able to share their enthusiasm with others. Early momentum and excitement will build as you prepare to launch your campaign.
Review communication channels and make necessary changes
Regardless to which communication channels you use, have the necessary processes in place to ensure clear and timely communication. Is your church software current and able to track capital campaign commitments? If you plan to use direct mail, email or texting, do you have up-to-date contact information for your members? Do you have a current social media plan? Are your members connecting with you on your various social media platforms? Is your church actively encouraging e-giving? Before you launch, consider all the ways in which you will share information and shore up your processes to ensure clear and timely delivery of your messages.
Engage a professional church capital campaign consulting firm
Hiring a professional consulting firm will ensure you are raising as much as possible to fund your vision for ministry. Some churches choose to conduct capital campaigns without the benefit of counsel, often with a lackluster result. In-house campaigns typically raise less than professionally-run campaigns and can significantly strain staff resources. At Horizons, we believe in the importance of hiring not just the best firm, the best fit for your church. Hiring a consultant is similar to hiring a part-time staff person because of the time commitment and importance of the relationship. The vast array of Horizons’ Ministry Strategists’ styles, experiences, and denominational backgrounds ensures a perfect match to meet the needs of every church.
For more information about Horizons or to schedule a free 20-minute strategy session, visit horizons.net.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristine Miller
Kristine Miller, CFRE, Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship, has assisted churches and nonprofits in read more…
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What is the Enneagram? by Jill M. Johnson
Just another personality test?
The Enneagram is an ancient model of personality types that dates back a thousand years or more. Elements of it can be found in the wisdom teachings of several different cultures. Eventually, this model made its way into the Catholic Jesuit community in the 1960s, where it became a useful tool for spiritual direction. Father Richard Rohr learned about it from the Jesuits and was one of the first English-language authors to publish a book about it. In the following years, a growing number of teachers, both religious and secular, have written books expanding on their understanding of the Enneagram.
It’s possible that you’re skeptical, either about the Enneagram specifically or about personality systems in general. That’s certainly understandable! No one wants to be put in a box and reduced to a number, color or set of letters. We’re all complex individuals and want to be viewed as such. When I first heard of the Enneagram, I felt the same way. However, over the past several years, as I’ve taken the time to investigate this tool, I’ve found that it has helped me understand myself and others with a clarity that has honestly surprised me.
In the July 4, 2016, episode of their podcast The Road Back to You: Looking at Life Through the Lens of the Enneagram, authors Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile describe the Enneagram this way: It is “nine ways of seeing, nine ways of being, [and] nine ways of responding to what you see.” In this episode, titled “Discover the Enneagram!” Cron and Stabile say that by looking at life through the lens of this tool, you will have more compassion for yourself and others and better understand why each type behaves, thinks, and feels the way they do. The authors further explain that the Enneagram, unlike other popular personality typologies, accounts for our spiritual dimensions, along with “the fluidity and dynamism of the human personality.”
The Enneagram model
The Enneagram model is represented by a drawing that might look odd at first glance. In Greek, ennea means nine, and gram means points or figure. Each of the nine points on the circle represents a distinct personality type. Although you might find parts of yourself in all types, one of them will likely stand out to you as the one you connect to the most. This is your basic personality type.
The lines on the inside of the circle show how types connect to one another. For example, I’m a One. When I’m feeling stressed, I pick up aspects of the Four type. When I’m in a place of growth, I become more like a Seven. In addition, since my emotions and outlook vary daily like a normal human, I might embody a more healthy version of a One on one day and a less healthy version the next. Nevertheless, I’ll always be a One, even as other traits about me change.
Just another personality test?
The Enneagram is an ancient model of personality types that dates back a thousand years or more. Elements of it can be found in the wisdom teachings of several different cultures. Eventually, this model made its way into the Catholic Jesuit community in the 1960s, where it became a useful tool for spiritual direction. Father Richard Rohr learned about it from the Jesuits and was one of the first English-language authors to publish a book about it. In the following years, a growing number of teachers, both religious and secular, have written books expanding on their understanding of the Enneagram.
It’s possible that you’re skeptical, either about the Enneagram specifically or about personality systems in general. That’s certainly understandable! No one wants to be put in a box and reduced to a number, color or set of letters. We’re all complex individuals and want to be viewed as such. When I first heard of the Enneagram, I felt the same way. However, over the past several years, as I’ve taken the time to investigate this tool, I’ve found that it has helped me understand myself and others with a clarity that has honestly surprised me.
In the July 4, 2016, episode of their podcast The Road Back to You: Looking at Life Through the Lens of the Enneagram, authors Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile describe the Enneagram this way: It is “nine ways of seeing, nine ways of being, [and] nine ways of responding to what you see.” In this episode, titled “Discover the Enneagram!” Cron and Stabile say that by looking at life through the lens of this tool, you will have more compassion for yourself and others and better understand why each type behaves, thinks, and feels the way they do. The authors further explain that the Enneagram, unlike other popular personality typologies, accounts for our spiritual dimensions, along with “the fluidity and dynamism of the human personality.”
The Enneagram model
The Enneagram model is represented by a drawing that might look odd at first glance. In Greek, ennea means nine, and gram means points or figure. Each of the nine points on the circle represents a distinct personality type. Although you might find parts of yourself in all types, one of them will likely stand out to you as the one you connect to the most. This is your basic personality type.
The lines on the inside of the circle show how types connect to one another. For example, I’m a One. When I’m feeling stressed, I pick up aspects of the Four type. When I’m in a place of growth, I become more like a Seven. In addition, since my emotions and outlook vary daily like a normal human, I might embody a more healthy version of a One on one day and a less healthy version the next. Nevertheless, I’ll always be a One, even as other traits about me change.
- One: Reformer/Perfectionist
- Two: Helper/Giver
- Three: Achiever/Performer
- Four: Individualist/Artist/Romantic
- Five: Investigator/Thinker/Observer
- Six: Loyalist/Devil’s Advocate
- Seven: Enthusiast/Dreamer
- Eight: Challenger/Confronter
- Nine: Peacemaker/Mediator
It’s important to avoid placing yourself in a type just based on the title. Enneagram teachers encourage those new to this system to take a test as a starting point and then spend some time reading about and discussing it with others. The Enneagram isn’t something that can be easily absorbed in one sitting or even in several weeks. It often takes months or longer to understand your type and why you fit there.
Spiritual reflection
As I mentioned earlier, I’m a One, someone who “strives for principled excellence as a moral duty,” as described by Heuertz. Ones can be critical and judgmental, but at their best they’re great teachers who are compassionate and serene. They have a fierce inner critic who strives for perfection. Yes, I’m the writer who beats myself up if I turn in a manuscript with even a small mistake.
Fortunately, the Enneagram gives me permission to be gentle with myself and provides valuable insights into how to do that. For example, as someone who falls in the Body Intelligence Center, contemplative practices such as stillness and rest support my spiritual growth by focusing on the weaknesses associated with my type.
The Enneagram also helps me relate better to family and coworkers. I have a son who is a Seven — that fun-loving person who’s always planning for the next adventure. When I observe him becoming critical and demanding (like Ones), I realize he’s feeling stressed. My daughter and husband are Fours—introspective artists who become more organized and goal-oriented (like Ones) when at the top of their game. As I recognize these patterns, I can offer more grace for stressed behavior and encouragement of growth.
Heuertz writes, “The Enneagram invites us to deeper self-awareness as a doorway to spiritual growth.” While it illustrates how we get lost, it also offers “a sacred map for our souls” that points us home and uncovers our true identity as children of God, he says.
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jill M. Johnson
Jill M. Johnson is a freelance writer and communications professional living in Austin, Texas. Over the past 25 years read more…
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If you’re continuing a series on Job (we’re to the whirlwind now!), go to the bottom of this blog, or watch my sermon on Job, "Everything Happens for a Reason." We’ll start this blog with the Gospel, then explore Hebrews (not just for preaching it, but what it reveals about ministry).
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Mark 10:35-45. Jesus has clearly altered the plot of his story from one of striding about amazing people to this beleaguered journey toward Jerusalem to suffer and die. Along the road, he’s explaining this way of sorrows, and how following him similarly puts you in harm’s way. It's a road of downward mobility, a route toward suffering and death.How dense are the disciples? The sons of Zebedee, acting this time without their pal Peter, sound like those Christians you’ve known who “claim promises” and feel sure God will do their bidding: “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Did Jesus chuckle? Grimace? Instead of chiding or correcting, Jesus quite typically followed up by asking them to continue. They seek the glory of sitting next to him in his glory. Posturing, jockeying — don’t think clergy are immune from the allure of dreams of glory, sitting on the right hand of the bishop, sitting just to the left at one of the grand pulpits. Clergy: Are you moving on up? Are you resentful of those who are?
Did Zebedee raise his boys with quite proper American-style ambition to succeed? Matthew 20:20 interestingly casts Mrs. Zebedee as the one seeking position for her boys.
Jesus, continuing themes they’ve missed, points out that his glory will involve “drinking the cup I drink” — that is, being arrested, beaten, and crucified. Even hearing this, and perhaps they even understood a little, they cockily declare “Lord, we are able!” My theology professor at Duke, Bob Cushman, once told me his least favorite hymn was “Are Ye Able,” which similarly boasts “Yeah, the sturdy dreamers answered, to the death we follow thee. Lord, we are able!” But they are not able, and neither are we. God wants availability, not ability. And God’s realm is an upside down kind of glory. There is no hierarchy in God’s kingdom: “Gentiles lord it over others; but it shall not be so among you.” Or rather, there is a hierarchy, and it’s a flattened pancake on the ground of humility. Whoever can go lowest is closest to Jesus.
James, as fate would have it, was martyred a decade later (Acts 12:2). John apparently lived to old age. Their naïve confusion on the road in Mark 10 was surely replaced by a mature, humble realization that Jesus’ way was the way, and that the world’s path to glory isn’t merely dangerous but a deceptive lie. Frodo understood that the ring had to be destroyed at Mordor, or the power of the ring would destroy him and the Shire. When I preach on such themes, I am not optimistic people will be able to hear. Sometimes I settle for incremental gains; maybe somebody is a tad humbler, maybe somebody engages in some hard service for God. But for the revolution Jesus envisaged, we have to look to the St. Francises of the world, the Dorothy Days, the Teresas and Thérèses of the world (Avila, Lisieux, Calcutta), maybe an Albert Schweitzer or maybe somebody you know who bought into the Jesus revolution with abandon.
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Our Epistle, Hebrews 5:1-10, is typical Hebrews: dense, profound, mystifying, moving. And obsessed with Melchizedek. I want to grow up to savor Melchizedek, but for now, the yawning gap between me and the early Christians is the way they got totally jazzed about the mention of the obscure king, and I just skate on by.The author compares and contrasts earthly priests with Christ as our priest, affording us a hopeful glimpse into both. I think it’s wise, on occasion, to talk about what it is to be a priest, to be like you, the preacher, though not to elicit sympathy or to assert your authority. Every few months, as the context provides an opening, I tell my people that I love them, I think of them when they aren’t around, I worry about them, I pray for them. It’s my job; it’s my calling.
"Weak Enough to Lead: What the Bible Tells Us about Powerful Leadership" (Abingdon Press, 2017). Order here: http://bit.ly/2rYxHac
Hebrews speaks of the weakness of the priest. Apply for an open pulpit, or ask for a move from your bishop, and tell him/her you’re weak? No, we profess our strengths, our savvy, our work ethic, our robust theology. But I wound up writing a book entitled Weak Enough to Lead after teaching a doctoral class on biblical leadership. I noticed how the Bible simply doesn’t supply snappy formulas for how to be a strong leader. They're a weak bunch, as they should be, these Bible leaders. Hebrews doesn’t speak of weak priests and then demand they get strong. Their weakness is their strength.And why? They are able to sympathize, and be gentle. When I get hard on my people (in the privacy of my mind, of course), I am forgetting my own foibles and flaws. We are all broken. Rainer Maria Rilke (in his letter to a young poet friend) was right: “Do not believe that he who seeks to comfort you lives untroubled. His life has much difficulty and sadness. Were it otherwise he would never have been able to find these words.” Knowing this, and even daring to speak of it, might remind the critics and fault-finders that they are a bit off track. It might refocus church life on compassion, not fixing people or even the world but being with one another, not judging but overflowing with mercy.
Jesus himself wasn’t superman come to earth; he wasn’t a man of steel. He himself was meek, lowly, woundable, wounded. Verse 7 poignantly reminds us of Jesus’ “loud cries and tears.” Gethsemane, yes. Weeping over Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives, yes. But the text implies more, something regular. Jesus loved deeply. Jesus was one with the heart of God. Whatever broke God’s heart broke Jesus’ heart (in the words of Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision). Those who travelled with Jesus, and asked him to teach them to pray, witnessed his sorrows, his crying out to God in prayer.
This column labors toward good preaching. Maybe we should, instead, strive to be clergy who pray, who have tears and cries for our people, for the troubles of the world, for ourselves. I too often am annoyed, angry, and frustrated with my people, the world, and myself. I am also positive that even if I smile and talk sweetness and love, my inner mood bleeds out through my pores, and they feel it.
You may be a stalwart in prayer for your people. I for one am humbled when I consider someone like my wife’s grandfather, Charles Stevens, who was known for his all-night prayer vigils, for the intensity and length of supplications for people, challenges, big decisions. It’s not that such prayers “work.” We just pray. Jesus, after all, prayed for the cup to pass from him — and the result only superficially contradicts the words of Hebrews 5: “He was heard for his godly fear.” Ah, but he was. God never adored his son more than in Gethsemane, and throughout Good Friday.
The diciest moment in Hebrews 5 is this notion that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered.” He suffered because he was obedient… and people have heard lots of pablum about God teaching people lessons through smiting them or inflicting harm on them (the whole premise being overturned in Job!). God is in the suffering. God suffers what we suffer. We know God is growing into that awareness, not sticking with the calculus of I am suffering, so what is it God is trying to teach me by sending this my way?
* * *
And finally, Job. After Job rails against God and his pseudo-friends for so long while God is entirely silent, the shocker is that God speaks in chapter 38. The lectionary only offers us a few verses; the preacher will need to account for God’s entire speech without explicating every detail. The details are stunning, the poetry and imagery eloquent and vivid; Robert Alter's brief comments in The Wisdom Books, and Francis Anderson's Job are both brilliant on these passages.God doesn’t supply simple “answers” or any smooth theological explanations of why bad things happen to good people. God doesn't explain how the moral calculus works or doesn't. God instead takes Job on a tour of creation — not the pretty places in creation, but the wild, inaccessible, puzzling, explicable places. God doesn’t point to the house cat or the hunting dog who do our bidding, or a caged parrot. God indirectly suggests to Job that what God fashioned is not a neat world where everything fits together snugly and all is fair and placid. It’s dangerous out there, it’s amazing out there. The speech clearly undercuts a too-small-God theology — or an anthropocentric one.
Partly, God invites us to hear God’s voice in nature. John Muir, after exploring Yosemite, wrote “As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near to the heart of the world as I can."
It's worth noting that it's not just the wildness God points to. There's a lot of birthing going on, startling new life. Job cursed the day of his birth, and feels everything is over. But God shows him new life bursting forth in the wild haunts of animals. Even the ocean is spoken of as being birthed.
Martin Buber, weighing the speech of God in light of the progress of the entire story, suggested wisely that the Book of Job guides us from the view that God is cruel (chapters 1-2) to a retributive God (the friends’ speeches in 4-11), to a hidden God (the one who simply refuses to respond to Job through chapters 3-37), and finally then to a God of revelation, a God who is present and relational. Job doesn’t get answers. But Job does get God. Preachers need to help our people see that God doesn’t float down rewards or blessings or things. God’s gift is God. Jesus gave them his body and blood and invited them to continue receiving him. His nickname, after all, is Emmanuel.
Or, as Anderson puts it, “That God speaks at all is enough for Job. All he needs to know is that everything is still all right between himself and God... It does not matter much what they talk about. Any topic will do for a satisfying conversation between friends.”
"What can we say come October 21? 22nd after Pentecost" originally appeared at James Howell's Weekly Preaching Notions. Reprinted with permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James C. Howell
Dr. James C. Howell has been senior pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church since 2003, and has served read more… 
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Famous boycotts in historyThe word boycott first entered the English language in response to the actions of Charles Cunningham Boycott, an English landlord. In the late 1800s, Boycott had begun callously evicting tenants in Ireland. The tenants responded by joining with Boycott’s employees and successfully ostracized him for this behavior.
Today, boycotts are generally understood as a collective refusal to financially support companies whose behavior is considered to be unjust or immoral. Boycotts are perhaps best known for their use in labor disputes, but they’ve also been used effectively in a wide range of other situations. Well-known boycotts in history include
- Mohandas Gandhi’s March to the Sea (1930). To protest British exploitation of India, Gandhi urged India’s people to refuse to buy salt, which included a government tax. He urged them instead to make their own salt from seawater.
- The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955). Rosa Parks’s arrest after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger led to a widely followed boycott of the Montgomery, Alabama, bus system by black riders for over a year.
- The California Grape Boycott (1960s). Beginning in 1965, the National Farm Workers Association and cofounder César Chávez asked consumers to boycott grapes to pressure growers into improving workers’ wages and working conditions. Millions of Americans participated over several years.
- Anti-Apartheid Boycotts (1980s and 1990s). Groups and individuals around the world refused to visit or do business with South Africa during the last years of the apartheid era. At the same time, the United States and other countries enacted economic sanctions against South Africa.
While boycotts obviously came about long before the days of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the rise of social media has influenced both who can start boycotts and how they’re carried out.
In the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting last February, actress Alyssa Milano and others called for a one-day boycott of companies who had not severed ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA), which included FedEx, Apple TV and Amazon.
When Nike recently launched its ad campaign highlighting Colin Kaepernick’s activism against police brutality, critics on social media urged people to boycott Nike and destroy the Nike products they already owned.
Because so many people regularly use social media, calls for boycotts can gain momentum much more quickly today than in the past. In a 2017 New York Times article, Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, points out that the speed of the Internet also means that “memory fades fast.” Although boycotts can quickly gain mass media attention, Reed writes, “the hourly nature of the news cycle can bury it within the next day or week.”
What contributes to success or failure?
While many of us can point to one or two high-level boycott success stories, the truth is that most boycotts don’t result in any change. In his research, Brayden King, a professor and department chair at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, tells Kellogg Insight that two key factors to consider are the vulnerability of the company’s reputation when a boycott is launched and the media attention the boycott generates. “A lot of research in the past has shown that [boycotts] don’t necessarily affect their targets’ bottom lines that much. And it’s not clear that boycotts affect consumer behavior very much. But those boycotts that get some level of media attention are relatively successful in terms of getting some sort of concession out of their targets,” King says.
As a former organizer for workers’ rights, I believe that one factor missing from many of today’s boycotts is a carefully planned long-term strategy. Guidance from organizations that can devote staff time and mobilize volunteers to support and grow a boycott is also critical. In a 2015 Guardian article, Brendon Steele, director of stakeholder engagement at the nonprofit Future 500, says that strategic boycotts need both “carrots” and “sticks.” “Smart campaigners,” Steele says, “combine boycotts with carrots such as brand promotion if a company makes a change, and other types of sticks if it does not, such as targeted protests, social media campaigns and brandjacking.”
Discerning whether to participate
With calls for numerous boycotts swirling at any given time, it can be challenging for Christians to know if and when they should decide to participate. The following questions may help people of faith in their discernment process:
- Is this boycott being called because of marginalized people facing mistreatment or injustice? Scripture frequently calls us to pay attention to how people with the fewest rights in society are treated. Workers are to be paid fairly and promptly for their labor.
- If the boycott is related to a workers’ rights issue, do workers themselves support the boycott? Boycotts can be a way to empower workers in their search for justice, but only if they take the lead in organizing the boycott.
- Is there a longterm plan in place to sustain and grow the boycott over time? Are there organizations that will guide the boycott, or is it only individuals on social media calling for it? Have there been efforts to press this company to change prior to the boycott?
- Am I willing to make long-term changes regarding where I shop or the products I buy? Am I willing to reach out to others and ask them to join me in this boycott?
- Are faith leaders involved in the boycott? What reasons do they share for their involvement?
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebekah Jordan Gienapp
Rebekah Jordan Gienapp is a United Methodist minister, writer for FaithLink and blogger at The Barefoot Mommy. read more…
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The movers had packed everything. Everything. We realized this as we began searching for the coffee maker amid the sea of unhelpfully labeled boxes.We unwrapped mason jars filled with rusty nails and bent shuffleboard cues left in our shed by the previous owner. We burrowed through stacks of out-of-date magazines, unopened wedding gifts, and at least one empty toilet paper roll.
Our first move as a clergy family taught us that clutter happens. We unwittingly accumulate and stockpile things. Nostalgia attaches to our children’s grade-school art projects and to collars of long-departed pets. Old costumes remind us of Halloweens past. It’s hard to let such things go.
Then there are notepads, pens, and tote bags from conferences we only dimly recall. Broken Christmas ornaments. Lids without their pots. And extra buttons from pants we no longer own.
Clutter happens — so much so that articles about decluttering populate the internet, entrepreneurs pitch decluttering methods, and spiritual guides promise to walk you along the path of simplicity.
In other words, we cling reflexively without even thinking about it. Letting go? Not so much. We begin to associate our life with our stuff. More stuff. Bigger stuff. New stuff. We pursue more, bigger, newer stuff as a way to have greater life.
"A Resurrection Shaped Life: Dying and Rising on Planet Earth" (Abingdon Press, 2018). Pre-order here: http://bit.ly/2K2M3wB
We yearn for larger life, what Scripture calls eternal life. And many of us respond to what is in essence a holy longing in a variety of misguided ways. Jesus addresses many of them. He expends a lot of energy freeing us from our distorted relationship to stuff. The problem, you see, isn’t actually the stuff. Consider Jesus’s conversation with an earnest spiritual seeker. The man chases Jesus down, kneels at his feet, and asks, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17-31)
Jesus gets people. He does more than listen to our words and read our posture and facial expressions. He intuitively discerns the patterns and the struggles of our inner lives. And Jesus recognized in this man a genuine longing to please God. He also identified the man’s chief spiritual obstacle.
Jesus said, “You know the commandments, don’t you?”
“Oh yes,” the man responded. “I keep them all. I always have.”
Mark tells us that Jesus loved him. The man was so sincere. And so misguided.
The man’s relationship with God appears to have been transactional: If I obey God’s commands, God will reward me with everlasting bliss when I die. That, I think, is what the man meant by eternal life.
Jesus came to change our minds about God and about eternal life. In Jesus, we see God’s desire for loving union with us, a loving union that begins here on planet Earth and stretches into eternity. That’s what Jesus meant by eternal life.
Jesus wants the man—wants us—to ask a question that I adapted from Barbra Brown Taylor’s work. What is saving you now? In what do you find the “why” of your existence? What would, if absent, make your life no longer worth living?
We cling most fiercely to what we take to be our “why.” But Jesus wants to help us see that anything short of God will ultimately let us down. We yearn for a life pulsing with eternal, infinite meaning. No amount of money or privilege can heal our sorrow, mend our deepest wounds, reconcile our shattered relationships, remove our shame, or raise us from the dead.
“Let all your stuff, all your privilege, go,” Jesus urged. “Declutter your life.” Jesus didn’t say, “Hey, adjust your attitude toward money.” He said, “Radically change the way possessions fit into your daily routines.”
Letting go may be our chief spiritual challenge. And, crucially, it’s the way to union with God. Meister Eckhart said: “God is not found in the soul by any kind of addition, but by a process of subtraction.” Jesus put it this way: You’ve got to give your life away to have a life.
It’s tempting to spiritualize what Jesus says about letting go. In other words, we can narrow Jesus’s teaching to the attitude we take toward our stuff. But the spirit and the body are so intricately braided together that our attitudes and our beliefs only become real when they animate our hands and our feet.
Jesus teaches us to to cultivate the habitual practice of giving our stuff away. That’s a central way that followers of Jesus can guard against our tendency to let our stuff and our privilege become our "why." The way of Jesus is a way of letting go. The way of decluttering.
Decluttering can be very hard work. But in the end, it will infinitely lighten our load.
"Decluttering" originally appeared at Looking for God in Messy Places. Reprinted with permission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jake Owensby
Jake Owensby is the fourth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana. Jake is the author of several books read more…
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I’m a child of the 70’s. During most of my life, I only heard stories about the activism of the 1960’s. Mom and Dad were semi-hippies, part of the Jesus Movement; there was even a period of time we lived in community. This was my introduction to social justice. In our current cultural climate, tensions are high. Much of this seems to be driven by political opinions and current events. However, I wonder how much of the animosity we are seeing displayed on social media and in the news is actually fed by the need to be right.
Each morning after I drop off my son from school, I drive by our local Planned Parenthood office. On many days, there are protesters on the sidewalk. They stand quietly, holding their rosaries and praying. I pray too — for the protesters, for the workers, and for the women who go to the clinic. This is a complex issue, and I believe that prayer is just the beginning. If we are pro-life, we need to take steps beyond protests by opening our hearts to women in need and to the unborn.
Just as the conversation around abortion is emotionally charged, some demonstrate angrily about sexuality issues, racial inequality, police brutality, and climate control. There are even companies that have been at the center of these protests.
I am thankful and supportive of people letting their voices be heard on all sides of these issues. However, my concern is that when we need to be right we dehumanize, if not demonize, those who don’t think the same way we do.
Learn more at https://www.loveinabigworld.org/
What if there’s another way to look at all of this? What if we choose Love?I know some people think that choosing Love is a sign of weakness. But I also know from my own personal experience that choosing Love costs much.
There have been countless times, both personally and professionally, when people have come at me with unkind words and haughty spirits. There have been multiple attempts to assassinate my character. In those moments, I have chosen to stay publicly quiet while privately processing, carefully choosing my response knowing that my words have the power to enflame or de-escalate the situation. This has not been easy! There are times when I have wanted to shout from the rooftops, pointing out the wrongs of others. But in my heart, I could hear Holy Spirit inviting me to hold my tongue and take refuge in Him.
I think of Jesus, hanging on the Cross. He had the power of Heaven behind Him. He could have called down the angels to rescue Him from death. He stayed for us…the joy set before Him. In the acceptance of suffering, He displayed His greatest strength and accomplished the most important victory the world has ever known.
So what does Love do? Love listens. Love watches. Love waits. And when the hurting ones come with their stories of pain and injustice, Love embraces, understanding that their experiences have shaped their realities. Why? Because it’s not about being right, it’s about relationship — human connection. We are more alike than we are different; we are all children of God. That’s why we pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”
May each one of us be part of bringing Heaven to earth by choosing Love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tamara Fyke
Tamara Fyke is an educator and creative entrepreneur with a passion for kids, families, and urban communities. She is read more…
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