A New Church for the 21st Century- A Need for Clarity

OK.  Enough lamenting about the fact that some churches are going the way of Circuit City.   Enough lamenting the masses who have left.  We all know some churches are out of touch and some haven’t a clue.  What would a thriving church in the 21st century look like?  What kind of congregation will move forward with faith not fear, courageous not cowardly, wonder not worry?  Let me share with you in a series of blogs the kind of church I believe has a future and will be a part of the future.

This brave new church facing a brave new world doesn’t have to be conservative, moderate, or liberal.  I believe churches of all theological stripes have a future if certain realities are in place.

First in this blog I would want to address one key area- clarity.

A church of the 21st century simply must know who it is.  It must have a clear vision of its identity, mission, and purpose.  A church that tries to be all things to all people or flip flop will not make it.

What do I mean?

Many churches don’t know who they are.  They have an identity crisis.  They have a denominational name on their sign but that only vaguely describes what is really going on.

I read about a church that was without a pastor.  They went two years looking and in that time simply forgot to have communion.  Without a pastor to remind them they did not schedule any communion services.  No Lord’s Supper for two years.  And no one mentioned it.  It never came up.  Not once.  It simply didn’t even occur to anyone attending that this 2000 year old practice was abandoned.  Then one day someone took the American flag out of the sanctuary and immediately people exploded in emotion of anger and shock.

Now.  The point is that however you feel about church sanctuaries putting flags in their sacred space (and this is an issue many Christian disagree upon) this raised more emotion than not having the cup and bread that is one of the key acts of worship shows that this particular church was not clear on what it means to be church.

I would argue that clarity of identity is crucial and is found in two areas. We need a universal clarity and a particular clarity for each church.

Universal clarity. We need to  have a clear understanding that we are a Christian church in the broad sense.  We need to know the overall history and story of our faith and to understand that as a church we are not just an organization.  We need to really grasp that the sacred and secular are in relationship but that we do not need to take our marching orders from society.  Many churches are trying to shape themselves based on corporate America or the consumer culture.  Most churches do not know their Scriptures or story.   The broad pieces that make us a Christian church need to be understood.

Particular clarity. Having said that all faith traditions in the Christian church do not see things the same way.  UMC, Baptists, Anglicans, etc need to understand what that means and why.  We also need to understand who we are a particular church.  My church is not the same as Willow Creek or any other mega church or even the local church down the street.  We need to know who we are and be clear about that.  We shouldn’t say we are one thing but yet be another.

Lots of churches are grabbing onto the latest and greatest crazy and trying anything to grow.  Most pastors will not have best selling books and most churches will not be household names.  And each church is unique and not a clone of another.  We need to figure out who we are and why we are and what we are and go be that.

So if you are a conservative Methodist church in a particular community made up of blue collar workers then be true to who you are in all those ways.  Be true to your Methodist heritage and story.  If conservative then be open about that and honest.  If you are mostly a blue collar church that’s cool.  Be that.

If you are a moderate Baptist church in a college town with white collar faces then be that.  If you are a more liberal Presbyterian church in a mixed racial community then be that.  And so on and so on.

I’m not saying we have a sign at the door that says you must be this or that to come inside.  Diversity is good.  Not everyone will think or act alike and most churches will have a variety of cultures within.  But a church has a personality and a community does too.  As much as we exegete our scriptures we should exegete our communities.  If someone serves a church in a retirement community then it probably will not have the same youth program as a church in a community made up of young families.  If a church is 200 miles from a college it probably will not have a thriving college ministry.  That doesn’t mean that in each of those churches youth can’t go to heavily senior adult churches and college students can’t go to a church far from a college.  Not at all but don’t have unreal expectations.  On the same note if a church is trying to be the same church it was in the 50s but the community has changed it needs to be realistic to the new community in which is resides.

Theologically we need to welcome those who differ but we can’t just be one thing one day and the other the next.  We can be honest with new folks that we are a church with a Reformed tradition or Pentecostal and not be ashamed of that.  Just be who you are.  If a church welcomes women in ministry and a person disagrees with that opinion but comes they aren’t asked to leave but they need to know the church they are joining.  If a person is charismatic and the church she visits is Baptist and isn’t charismatic the church needs to be honest about who they are.

I believe in the 21st century we need to be clear about who we are and what we believe.

More next blog.

Blessings,

Derik

When Church Becomes the Black Sheep of the Family

Christendom is dead!  Christendom is very dead! The church is now officially the black sheep of the US family.

I say that but with great care.  I’m not one of these who believes that it’s “us vs them.”  I don’t have paranoid feelings that society is ‘out to get us’ and we are on a holy war against the world.  Not at all.  There is no organized effort in secular society to rid the country of the Christian church.  What is dead is our place of privilege.  We aren’t the number one institution that people look up too.  There was a time when the community centered around us and didn’t do anything to interfere with our activities and such.  There was a time when people would say that clergy were the most respected and look up people in their community and people trusted us.  There was a time…that time is no more.

We have bad memories. The fact is that the US was founded on freedom and religious freedom was crucial to this.  We played around with state churches and persecuted minority groups (such as my own- Baptist).  There was a time when in some places very few people went to church and we could be rather naughty out in the frontier.  But in time the church rose to a place of prominence and privilege.  Then by the mid 20th century we hit our high point and we had arrived.  Sure we had fights over higher criticism and faith/science but by in large we had a nice image overall.  There were those within the church that embarrassed us and fundamentalism and liberalism were issues coming to the top but we seemed to be moving forward.  We built churches so fast your head would spin and we built ‘em big because we just knew we’d keep filling them up.

Then the sixties came and no one trusted anyone anymore.  The death of God was discussed.  Free love shocked the culture.

Then the seventies brought hard times in the neighborhood and people drifted more and more from the church.

The eighties brought the moral majority and Christians began to get into politics and this cost us.  Most churches were now getting older.  The baby boomers had left in large numbers and their kids weren’t coming.

The nineties brought mega churches that played contemporary music and brought back some of those boomers.   The non-mega churches begin to shrink more and more.  The pews got gray.  Suddenly we begin to realize that maybe the church might be in trouble.   Battles over homosexuality raged more and more and denominations fought over many other issues.

Y2K, 9-11.  Welcome to the 21st century! Churches went from gray to white.  Mega churches dot the landscape but many of the early ones are reaching a plateau.  Emerging churches are popping up.  Churches that are interested in social justice, new ways of thinking, and that don’t care much about denominations and the way we used to do became all the rage.  Church doors began to close.  Denominations reported huge losses each year and baptisms dropped.  Churches found they couldn’t find pastors as many younger seminary students opt out of local church work.  Those who can find pastors struggle to pay them with rising insurance costs and benefits and shrinking budgets.  It takes five young families to equal the giving of one senior adult who dies.

So here we are at 2009.

What is going to happen?

Depressed yet?

There is no crusade to rid the country of the church.  There is no war against us.  We just don’t factor into the equation in most cases.  Experts say that at least half our churches are declining and dying.  Churches are shutting down, merging, or spinning their wheels.  Aging facilities and shrinking budgets are the major focus on business in most churches.  Worship wars still rage over style.  Homosexuality is an issue that is possibly dividing many mainline denominations.  Fundamentalism and liberalism have both left many people lacking.  The fastest growing label is the self described SBNR (Spiritual but not religious).

Now to the good news.

There are many churches that are more than surviving but thriving. There are many faith communities that are full and healthy and reaching out.  There are congregations that are helping reach those who need to hear the good news, help with poverty, speaking out for justice, and being a voice for the oppressed.  There are many places that are beacons of hope in their communties.

The reality is that people are hungry for something more and if we are brave enough to offer that something more than our churches will flourish.

They aren’t hungry for a church that is fake, irrelevant, and unrealistic.  They aren’t hungry for slick and shallow.  They aren’t hungry for red tape bueracratic governement style churches.

I believe they are hungry for a message that is transformational, grace filled, and love based.  They are hungry for a message that points people to something more.  They are hungry for community, support, encouragement, and friendship.  They are hungry for Jesus.

I’m really excited about this. I believe now is the time for us to rise above mediocrity and blandness and to become better than we are and to become Christ like.  We have and always still strive when we are outnumbered and on the outs.  Look at the growth in oppressive lands.  Look at how churches thrive and grow in China and poor nations.

God is not dead nor does he slumber!

Take heart.

Now is the time.

Today is the day.

Blessings,
Derik

Road Trip- Day 5 (Friday)

Today was the final day of the festival.  Morning worship was led by Dr. Bell Self. It was nice to have Dr. Self lead us.  He is a Baptist pastor like myself who has served in almost 30 years in one church and over 15 at another.  He has had a life time of experience and it was great to finally hear him preach (I have heard of him through the years but never heard him preach).  He preached on Matthew 6:14-15 and focused on forgiveness.  Weaving humor and tragedy he shared the pain we all feel and yet that forgiveness is what we all need.  We are all hurt.  It isn’t “if” but “when.”  Self talked about how as pastors we have been hurt by some within the churches we serve and yet forgiveness is the only way to peace.  If we can get to the point where we can learn to forgive those who hurt us then we can finally find what we really need.

I also attended a lecture by noted preacher, scholar, and hymn writer Dr. Thomas Troeger.  Troeger spoke on “Preaching in an age of Spiritual Hunger and Religious Violence.” Right now the fastest growing group in religious life is SBNR (Spiritual but not religious) and this abbreviation is being used in writings and studies now.   People want to be spiritual but to have nothing to do with organized religious.  While this might sound exciting to some there is no structure and the ‘spirituality’ can be a mixture that I personally would call a mess!   Yet Troeger talked about the need for spirituality and religion (we need to be organized as we seek spirituality).  Yet he talked about “religious violence” that is pushing people away.  Religious violence can be verbal and not physical but it is destructive.  Religious abuse is a reality that is leading many to abandon the church.  Religious violence means that there are those in the name of religion who exclude, hate, or portray faith in negative ways that push people away.  Churches are known for division and fighting over their differences.  The word religion literally means “to bind together” and isn’t bad and a community faith does need this binding together.  We need to figure out a way to move past this division and to bring wholeness in our religious communities.  I personally have heard some preachers say they are not religious and have a relationship with God.  It becomes pious to say this but hearing Troeger defend positive religion I was thrilled.  I don’t think we need to abandon religious structure but we do need to figure out a way to move away from the negative movements today to create healthy communities of faith.

Troeger was clear that this fracture/splitting is a real problem but there is hope.  He pointed to Jeremiah’s passage about “the balm in Gilead” and reminded us how slaves in the South were able to find strong faith in the face of religious violence.  We can preach in this age if we realize this and seek a better way.  A balm is a medicinal treatment (basically saying, ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’) and yet this balm is not a simple cure that is a miracle drug but can encourage us while our body heals.  Is Jeremiah asking the question or is God?  Is Jeremiah weeping or is God weeping?  Is God weeping over our division and pain?  As a church we need to disempower religious violence and empower spiritual hunger.

I loved the lecture and it fit nicely in with what Bass said the day earlier and what McLaren said earlier in the week.  The true issue is that people are hungry for more in life and the spiritual hunger is real but the abuses/divisions/negativity is pushing people away from the church.  The ‘shrill’ voices are leading people elsewhere.  If we as a church can bring something healthier to the front and be real without falling into the traps of the past and find a new way then hope is found.  As a pastor I believe a local church that is willing to seek the unity that Brueggemann talked about the day before (unity not uniformity-a unity that is one of dialogue) that is OK with diversity and agrees to be in continual conversation while not seeking forced agreement and is willing to seek a third way (not to far to the left or right) then that congregation might find itself thriving.  I’m excited about this and find that those churches that are willing to offer hope and healing in the face of the pain of our current realities just might be surprised to see what God can do in just such a church! I want to explore some of the thoughts that went through my mind/spirit as I reflect upon the week. I also have some great books to read that I hope will enlighten this blog!

Blessings,
Derik

Road Trip- Day 4 (Thursday)

Morning

Arrived at the UMC church and heard Dr. Fred Craddock.  Craddock is a popular preacher, teacher, and author from the Disciple’s tradition.  Craddock has been studied in seminary for decades and has shaped preaching today through his influential book “Preaching as One Without Authority.”  So I found it exciting to hear this seasoned pastor/teacher/author preach to us.  His wit, style, and ease modeled true preaching to me and I was amazed.  He spoke on Judges 13 and Acts 14.  I am preaching on Judges this Sunday so was excited to hear he was using the Samson passage as well.  Craddock preached on “What Shall I Do With My Gift?” He challenged us as pastors to think about our gift as preachers.  He talked about how God gifts us and we choose what we will do with that gifting.  Some will deny the gift.  Others will give it back to God and say “No thanks!”  Others will do it out of necessity and be compelled to follow (a burning desire that you can’t stop doing it).  Others will complain about it.  Some will love their gift and want praise for it.  Others will want to get rid of it.  And yet we need to respond as Jesus and go and do what we are called to do.   As a pastor it was a reminder of my calling but really all of us as Christians need to think about what God is calling us to do and how we are responding.  Samson had a gift and blew it.  He wasted his potential.  What will we do?

I rushed over to the Baptist church and heard Dr. Craig Barnes preach on the topic “When Christians are Embarassing.” He talked about how when people find out he is a minister they often want to complain about bad experiences with the church.  And the truth is that some Christians do some dumb and sad things.  So how do we deal with this?  He spoke on Philippians 1:12-18 about how some preach Christ out of selfish ambition and others out of love.  Some are too worried today about being right rather than love.  Most debates today in the church are about who is in and who is out.  Barnes stressed that we need compassion and conviction but often we lean on one over the other.  The center must hold and the center is Jesus.  I really liked the conversation in this sermon and agree that both compassion and conviction simply can’t be separated.  We have to have both.

Dr. Walter Brueggemann, OT Scholar and UCC minister lectured on “Unity, Purity, and Miracle.” In the church unity is given by God but the problem is that we are not good receivers of that gift.  In our churches today there is diversity and we hear so much about the red/blue state issue and this exists in our church.   Sadly our response in many churches is to “win” our arguments.   Brueggemann stressed we need a dialogical unity to hear voices that our not our own.  Like in marriage churches have to accept the diversity that is present and let it be a dialogue and not a separation or battle.  We need to listen to one another.  As an OT scholar he stressed that the OT is diverse and there are many voices within the text  as well as within the church in the NT.  Diversity is not a new thing.  So our sermons will never find complete closure and there will be differing opinions in our churches.  So the unity he stresses is dialogical unity- a decision to be one in conversation.  The purity aspect is more than sex.  Purity is about pure faith and reliance and trust in the goodness of God given in Christ and can’t be found without compassion (conviction and compassion again).  Our society is in constant anxiety and so this is really needed.    And so if this happens then we have “miracle.”  It is a miracle of God and possible if we are willing.

Dr. Barbara Lundblad spoke next on Mark 10:46-52 and dealt with disability in the church and how we need to help all people have a voice in our church.  I found it to be a powerful reminder that some voices are not heard in our churches and the disabled need to be given voice.

Afternoon

The afternoon was spent with Dr. Diana Butler Bass, Church historian/commentator on religion/professor/popular author lectured on the church and religion today.  She has written quite a bit on the state of the church today and I enjoyed hearing her latest thoughts.  She titled her lecture, “Rebooting History to Boldly Go Where We’ve Already Been.”  She said the new Star Trek movie reminded inspired her for the title.  By looking back we see we’ve been here before.

She gave the state of what we have already heard.  Two recent major polls have shown that all denominations are declining and religious life in the US is taking a beating.  Churches in Africa and South America are growing but churches in the US are dying.  Newsweek usually has an Easter cover about Jesus but this year had all black cover and wrote about the decline of Christianity in America.  The NY Times talked about the financial crisis within churches.  She gave one startling illustration.  A leading seminary in her denomination last year was able to have all graduates hired within three months of graduation but this year 50 percent are not able to get jobs.  Is Christianity dying? Is it over?

1. In a sense he was written fifty years early about the issues we face today.
2. Now is the time!  Revision! Reimagine- our lives, our faith and our church!

I liked her comments and felt challenged and hopeful.  I really do believe people desire something more and God is not dead (nor does God slumber).  People might not care about doing everything the same way and we are going to have to be creative but if churches are willing to do the hard work our brightest days may be ahead of us!

Evening

I went to see Star Trek!  Took a break!  This isn’t a movie site but what a movie!

I went to a worship service tonight.  An African American pastor, Dr. Kenneth Samuel and his choir led us in African American worship.  He preached on Mark 15:6-15 and “Every Vote Counts.” His challenge was how people voted to kill Jesus.  Where were those who Jesus fed (5000 plus), healed, the disciples, etc?  Why did everyone vote on his death?  He challenged us that today people either don’t show up to vote for Jesus or abstain to vote.  The majority isn’t always right and in fact often we who follow God will be in the minority.  The metaphor vote (which is actually our choices in life) is that we must decide what we do must fit who we follow.  Some  quotes that stuck out for me:  “Justice not Just us”, “Threat to justice anywhere is that to justice everywhere”,  and “We have a voice, vote but only God has a divine veto.”

Tomorrow’s posting may be late.  I will be listening to two speakers rather early then heading out back to VA.  I’ll sum up those thoughts and my overall impressions of the week as soon as I can.  I’ve enjoyed posting this week.  By thinking, writing, and summing up my day it has helped me process the massive amounts of information/learning I’ve experienced.  I hope my ramblings have given food for thought.

Blessings,

Derik

Road Trip- Day 3 (Wednesday)

Morning

I headed over to the largest Presbyterian Church (USA) in the United States for the first session.  Peachtree PCUSA has 8600 members and a very large and impressive facility.  I enjoyed last night at the Wieuca Road Baptist and the activities at the main church for the conference ( Peachtree Road UMC) but this was probably my favorite facility.  The UMC has the newest and most impressive sanctuary but it is so traditional it doesn’t feel as friendly.  This church is large but I liked the sanctuary feel better.

I heard the pastor of the church preach.  Dr. Victor Pentz was amazing.  He preached on 1 Kings 18 (Elijah and the prophets of Baal).  I found it interesting because this will be my sermon text a week from this Sunday in my own current sermon series.  With great humor, relevancy and ease Dr. Pentz shared the text of Elijah facing the false prophets of Baal and how we in the church today are up against Baal.  Church is in the post-Christendom phase and we no longer have the privilege we once had.  We are to strive to be missional in this reality and make this an opportunity rather than giving up.  He shared practical insight and personal stories to remind us that the game has changed and the rules are different.  We can’t expect people to want to come to church but we have to go to them.  We have to be a church ‘scattered’ and engage people in the ‘real’ world and logical arguments to defend God are not needed but clear demonstrations of the power of God.

After worship we had two lectures.  The first was Dr. Craig Barnes, professor and pastor.  He challenged us to find our congregation in the text.  His challenge was to notice that each sermon must address “What are we really talking about?”  We have to look for the ‘subtext’ of what we are saying and relate the Scripture to the real world.  As preachers we have a ‘sacred mix’- holy words and ordinary words.  We are the ones expected to give voice to those who gather.  We need to be better listeners and pay attention to the real needs of our people and only we are in the place to speak for and to them.  We are to address “how it is” and “how it will be” (hope).  Sermons must be a conversation and not a lecture and we take people on a spiral/journey and are actually minor poets.

Dr. William Willimon is a sought after pastor former dean of the chapel at Duke.  He is a bishop in the UMC currently and has written and taught preaching for quite awhile.  I’ve read his books and listened to CDs and podcasts all my ministry and was pleased to finally hear him lecture in person.  He spoke about the fact that we actually create division when we preach.  Did not Jesus do this?  True preaching simply does not make everyone happy.   He reminded us that John Calvin once said that the nature of the gospel is to bring havoc in the world.

Afternoon

After lunch I spend the afternoon listening to Adam Hamilton lecture.  Hamilton is the pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Kansas which is the largest UMC church in the country.  They have 20,000 at their Christmas Eve services!  He spoke about his approach and philosophy of preaching.  Similar to all mega pastors Hamilton has his approach that has worked well and I realized that we as pastors must remember that we can’t just copy the ‘big shots.’  His worked because it was contextual for him and his church and we must do the same in our own settings.  Yet many good ideas were given.  We have to be intentional and think about our mission as a church.  Hamilton like myself uses sermon series rather than the lectionary.  He alternates between series on pastoral care, series speaking to non-Christians, equipping the saints, discipleship, and church health series.  I like how he thinks through and engages the church as he dreams what to preach.  He was the most practical “how to” I’ve heard and yet I found it to “how to.”  I like him and he is very authentic but again was reminded of the consumer mentality as folks think they can recreate what successful large churches have done.  Hamilton was and is successful because he is Hamilton.  He isn’t Rick Warren or anyone else.   Still he had good ideas and I found some thoughts to ponder.

Evening

Enjoyed the night listening to the songwriters from the previous night as several theologians discussed the meaning behind their songs.  End of a good day!

Road Trip- Day 2 (Tuesday)

Tuesday Morning-

Got up and headed out early. The morning began with worship and lecture by Brian McLaren. Brian is a pastor, speaker, and author who dealt with the changing world and the struggles we are facing as a church in the 21st century. His presentations dealt with the good news that Bible has for both the poor and the rich. The poor can have hope but the rich have a message as well. The message for the rich is that there is something more important than wealth. Poor people are dehumanized by greed but those who oppress are themselves dehumanized. With our current economic crisis Brian reminded us that many hope we can return to ‘business as usual’ and just get back to the ways things were before the troubles. Brian feels that this is a wrong thought. The way things were got us into this mess and like an addict who has to change we need to change. Our economic system before the fall was ecologically, socially, and economically unwise and unjust. That system really only helps 1/3 of people in our society and 1/3 are not helped and 1/3 are hurt by it. It is morally wrong and we should recover in a new way. We need to break out addictions to fossil fuels, fear, stuff, debt, bigger, easy answers, I-ism/we-ism, short term thinking and dualism. As the Bible teaches us we can’t serve God and money. We need to recover and find a system that is one of renewal, peace making, faith/hope/love, good works, economic/ecological/social sustainable, deep insight, generous, long term, common good, and where Jesus is Lord of our lives. This conference is for preachers and so if we as preachers do not call our people to this who will?

After a short break Anna Carter Florence, professor of preaching, spoke to us about a different topic. She talked to us about preaching and addressed a question. Is it right to use other people’s sermons even if they sell them? Some preachers download sermons and use them as their own (which if not credited is plagiarism but even if credited is still not authentic). She talked about this being a deeper problem then we first think. When we use another person’s sermons we give up our interpretative freedom. We as preachers need to do hard work and are tempted by those churches that are ‘successful.’ Why aren’t we? We look for quick fixes and forget the power of what we do. When we strive and work hard over a sermon it is really us. We must be ourselves and be true to who we are. When someone questions us and says, “Who is that?” We can answer, “I am a preacher, a child of God!” We had a dramatic presentation of a reading from 1 Samuel 17 about David fighting Goliath. She reminded us afterwards that we like David go to the stream and find our own smooth stones that fit our own slings and take down our own giants when we preach. We do need to work with others, use resources, and don’t have to be like the guy ‘survivor man’ but we need to be ourselves. I felt empowered by both speakers. I was challenged by McLaren to face the real challenges that our sermons must address. I was empowered by Florence to not fear the big job and to be who I am as I preach. I have to say I’ve never downloaded someone else’s sermons but like all preachers I have caught myself wishing I could be like so and so. She helped remind me that I am me and that’s what God wants.

Afternoon-

After lunch at Wendy’s I was sad to hear Jim Wallis (famous author and speaker/activist) missed his flight. Matthew Fleming took his spot. Fleming is an instructor in preaching and a PhD candidate. He spoke about preaching in the current economic crisis and his lecture addressed the need go to Scripture and go to our own selves. He talked about how preaching has shifted from deductive (teaching/giving facts) to inductive (sharing stories and taking a journey) but now with the lack of Bible and faith knowledge facing new challenges. We must work hard but the work is worth it. He spoke about Dr. MLK JR and how his early sermons and speaking really wasn’t that strong but grew as he addressed real issues and gained confidence. May we continue to grow and face what we must.  Preaching must be theological formulating, faithful living, community building, struggle, and hard work.

Dr. Thomas Long spoke next and he truly is a master preacher. The worship service was moving and Long (who is a well written expert on preaching) spoke to us about Jesus welcoming the children and that what we can learn from that text is that worship above all must be about wonder in the presence of God. He used story and humor and a lively presence and wove together an excellent sermon that showed that he wasn’t just a guy who wrote about preaching but a guy who could really preach.

Evening-

I went to a concert by three musicians who played country, folk, blues, and rock. They are song writers (2 from Nashville and 1 from VA). Beth Nielsen Chapman, Adrienne Young, and Darrell Scott have written songs that have been sung by Travis Tritt, Elton John, Willie Nelson, and the list goes on. It was cool to hear the songs from the ones who wrote it rather than those who made them big. They told the story behind the songs and they did some lesser known but powerful songs.

Some Tidbits from the Day-

More Canadians! Everywhere I go. It was interesting to meet folks from all over US and Canada. Last night a lady asked me what denomination I was. I said Baptist. She asked if there were more than one kind of Baptist. I laughed. There are dozens and dozens I told her. Today another guy form out West was surprised a Baptist would come to a conference with Methodists, Anglicans, Lutherans, etc. He only knew Baptist who did not work with other denominations and who were more of the angry type. So many have an image of angry, fundamentalist Baptists that they don’t realize we aren’t all that way and yes we do love to worship with others. It’s a shame that some have made our tribe so stereotyped. I’m glad there are several dozen Baptists here (some from VA). I’m really glad! I did shake Tutu’s hand. He came to the concert and I briefly said “Thank you!” I shook his hand and he smiled and that was that. But hey it was cool.

Blessings,

Derik

Road Trip- Day 1(Monday)

Monday morning:  Left the house at 5:30 am headed to Atlanta.  Traveled through the state of VA, NC, SC, and on to GA.  Coffee and energy drinks got me through the eight hour drive (plus a great pecan fried chicken salad at O’ Charleys).  Arrived in Atlanta that afternoon after lunch.

Monday afternoon:  I was allowed to check in to my room until four so I headed over to the registration.  I’m attending the “Festival of Homiletics.”  The theme this year is “Overcoming Divisions through Christ.”  Three churches are being used for the event- Peachtree UMC, Peachtree Presbyterian, and Wieuca Road Baptist.  1500 are scheduled to attend.  Most of the participants are pastors/preachers.   This is a very diverse body of Christians- UMC, Presbyterian, UCC, Episcopal, Church of Canada, and so on.  I kept meeting Canadians all afternoon.  I got my packet of information and had some time to kill so I went by the book store at the main church (Peachtree UMC) and loaded up on the first of many purchases for the week.  Peachtree UMC is huge.  Their sanctuary is under 10 years old and is very high church and simply beautiful.   I headed to Emory University where I’ll be sleeping but rarely staying.  The traffic was horrible.  I remember why I moved to the country.  Emory is a nice college surrounded by a hospital.  My room reminds me of the 70s.  Clean but very out of date.   The nice thing is I’m beside the ER. 

Monday Evening:  Wow.  Now I know why I came.  I got there and parked and went to supper.  Sat with a group who turned out to be from Canada.  On the way to the Sanctuary I ran into a guy from VA.  I didn’t know him but since he was from my state I thought we’d talk.  His daughter turns out to be a graduate (10 years or so after me) from my seminary in Richmond.  She also served the same church at one time that I did ten years before at one time in Emporia.  Small world.  

Getting back to the Wow.  The wow wasn’t for the supper, Canada or the guy from VA but the service tonight.  I’ve been wanting to attend this conference for many years because the line up is the best of preacher and thinkers today.  Many of the authors of books I’ve read will be speaking this week.   Folks I studied in seminary are all around.  I got to hear great music and two great speakers.  Here are the high lights.

Music-- This guy from Warsaw played the piano and did marvelous.  His name was Filip Wojciechowski.  Say that five times fast.  A lady sang and played her guitar- Beth Nielsen Chapman.  She is a great musician and a songwriter who has had many of her songs sung by Faith Hill, Elton John, Waylon Jennings and many others.  She wrote “This Kiss” that Faith Hill made  into a hit.  She is a Christian and a cancer survivor.  Her husband died from cancer.  We also heard an amazing Jazz group.

Speakers–

Barbara Brown Taylor spoke first and was amazing.  I’ve heard her before but never live (only recordings) and have read many of her books.  She is an preacher, Episcopal Priest, writer and professor.  She had been voted as one of the top preachers in the US at one time and she did a great job reminding us why we came.  This conference is to help preachers and she sure did.   She lectured on “Red Letters in Red Clay” and talked about her ministry in the south.  The Red Letters- words of Jesus in the NT are loved in the Red Clay- South.  She talked about the abundance of Jesus images in the South and the obsession with religion which sometimes can even be very strange.  She reminded us of the pain of the south and how the south is still dealing with the results of race.  She reminded us that while the south seems to still be comfortable with the Bible they don’t always know the Bible.  She said, “A lot more people love the Bible than know what is in it.”  She talked about how many people read the same Bible and get different ideas and that we often choose the parts of the Bible we want to choose.  She talked about how people look to us as preachers to teach the Bible and we need to do this.  We also need to help people realize that their history and the ground under their feet shapes how they read the Bible.  So what pages are most read in our Bibles? What pages have the most use?  Why?  How do we deal with the diversity of views in our churches about various issues?  Who in our church needs healing?  How do we know what we know?  We must read our own lives before we can read the Bible because that shapes how we do read the Bible!  She reminded us that “the Red letters are read differently from the balacony (where slaves sat) that the ground floor (where the masters sat).”  She is a master speaker who can take words and use such vivid imagery that you just are spell bound and yet she does so not to entertain but to push us to think.

Bishop Desmond Tutu-  The great leader who moved the world and fought against Apartheid in South Africa spoke and moved the crowd.  He is a small aging Anglican priest who has great humor and was very animated.  He told jokes and used natural humor to move us to laughter then moved us to tears in passionate language about his country’s struggle and our struggle to be people of faith.  He told us that he used humor when his people suffered to drive home serious points about the injustice in his land.  The more he spoke the more passionate he became.  He reminded us that we are “God carriers.”  Kings in other times could not be everywhere so they had representatives who stood for them in various places.  We stand for God.  We carry the Holy Spirit and we are God carriers.  If we realized that then we would not hurt one another.  If we oppress our hurt one of God’s children it is blasphemy because we are hurting a carrier of God.  He said, “Become who you are!”  “We died with Jesus.  We resurrected with Jesus.  We ascended with Jesus.  And we are sitting at the right hand of God!”  “We are extraordinary!”  We might not feel like it but we are!  “God loves us not because we are lovable.  I am lovable because God loves me!”  So how can we kill, hurt one another?  

Side note– Dr. Joseph Lowery introduced the Bishop.  Lowery prayed at the recent inauguration and was a civil rights leader with Dr. King. 

I sat to the side of the podium and was feet away from all of these speakers.  I didn’t get a chance to meet any of them!  1500 people don’t make it easy!  The crowds were too great after the final amen but if I see them this week I hope too say hi! 

Wow!
I’m exhausted.  I have to be at the conference at 8:45.  A line up tomorrow of notable speakers and interesting presentations.  Plus some good eating is out there.  On a complaining note I had to park my car too far away from my room and this dorm room is cold enough to make ice cream.

Probably more than you wanted to know but I thought I would journal my daily experiences and thoughts and encourage you to look up the speakers I introduce.  They write and speak to more than just preachers! Ignore typos and such in this series.   I am very tired.

Blessings!
Derik

Road Trip!

Monday morning this blog will be going on the road for five days.  I will be traveling to the 2009 “Festival of Homiletics” in Atlanta, GA.  I’m heading out at six am and will be back late Friday night.  “Homiletics” is a fancy word for preaching.   Homily is a word used for sermon in some churches.  This festival is a week of lectures, worship, Q and A sessions, and music.  I will be hearing and learning from many of the top preachers, scholars, and thinkers in the church today.  Barbara Brown Taylor, Walter Brueggemann, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Adam Hamilton, Thomas Long, Fred Craddock, and many more.  These are folks I’ve been reading in seminary and in my professional career for years.  I’ll be staying at Emory University and traveling to three different churches for the event.  1500 ministers from many different denominations are scheduled to participate.

So this blog is going on the road.  My hope is to share my thought of the day each day as I travel.  I have been told that the dorms are wi fi and so if I have net I will give you a posting each day.   If not I’ll write my thoughts in journal form during the week then post then when I return.

I look forward to sharing what I learn and maybe you will find it beneficial.

Blessings,

Derik

Gospel According to Jack

In the news the issue of water boarding (not surfing) has been a topic of conversation.  The conversation has been whether this is torture.  And the conversation has led to many who have various opinions about how to interrogate terrorist suspects.  Torture is something that our country has historically been against.

What is interesting is that the debate was not whether torture should be used but what is torture.  Both sides of the water boarding issue expressed their opposition to torture but disagreed what is defined as torture.

Now the argument takes a stranger twist.  Now some are asking, “Is torture itself wrong?”  Some believe that torture might be alright if it brings useful information that saves lives.

And who is in favor of torture?  I’m not sure many political leaders are standing up and saying, “We love torture.”  Yet the public has been polled and the support for torture among the public might surprise you.  And yet what has shocked me the most is that the category of folks who support torture more are those who go to white evangelical churches.  So I call this support for torture, “The Gospel According to Jack.”  Jack is the main character on 24 who is not shy to torture suspects to get information.   Of course Jack only has 24 hours to save the free world form utter destruction.

When you look at the poll I am posting on this site it should be shocking.  15 percent of overall Americans support torture.  24 percent say sometimes.  So half this country is OK with torture!

But wait…look at this poll again.  What category of Americans MOST favor torture?  White Evangelical Christians!  Yikes!  I can’t believe it.  18 percent say  OFTEN and 44 say SOMETIMES.  That’s 62 percent!!  And those who go weekly and monthly favor it more not less!

I’m sorry and this is not a political statement but an ethical issue.  This poll shames me.  Jesus the Prince of Peace told Peter to put away his sword because those who live by the sword will die by the sword.  Paul and others were tortured by the state.  Early Christians suffered for their faith by Roman authorities.  We lost our way from time to time in history (Crusades, etc) but peace loving churches have always been there to remind us that this is not who we are as believers.  As a Baptist I am aware of the suffering that Baptists and others faced in this country in the early days because of our belief of freedom.  Baptists and others were jailed, beaten for their faith.

I realize we are afraid.  9-11 was terrifying.  I’m not saying that we don’t ‘get tough’ on crime.  I’m not against interrogation and I know we have a scary world that we face.

Yet if we lose our humanity to keep ourselves safe what have we gained?  As believers do we believe that it is right to do evil to fight evil?  Is it right to pull out finger nails, use hot pokers, and such?  Because if torture is OK then what do we really think this means?  Torture is abusing a person to inflict pain and suffering to get information.

I remember after 9-11 people were asked on the street if they would give up freedom to be safe.  Many people said yes.  They said that if it took being less free  but to be alive they’d take it.

Not me.

I want freedom more than safety.  I want justice more than safety.  I want righteousness more than safety.

I want to be safe.  Don’t get me wrong but I believe we can do this without resorting to that which led 19 men to kill scores one September day. I will not resort to the lowest level to fight evil.  I’m not comparing the US to the terrorists. I don’t believe we’ve committed acts such as that but we don’t want too either.  We don’t want to resort to draconian measures to keep the peace.  We don’t want to become that which we fight.  We need law and order.  We need a system that is fair to all.  Even the worst of sinners deserves that system.  That’s why even those who do horrible deeds are allowed a fair trial and justice in this country.

And for heaven’s sake the church needs to be the leading voice of love, grace, and peace.  Remember- 2 wrongs don’t make a right.