MLK Day and White People – White Christians that is…

I’ve unfortunately heard a LOT of negative reference to the celebration and even recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. today…  much of this dismissive and even bigoted retort has been amongst Christians, people who call themselves people of God.  Why do we celebrate this?  Am I going to march? Yea, right.  Etc.

Why?  Why is there derision against Martin’s contribution and the importance of noting it?  Why do we view this critically and cynically?  Why are we anti-black people?  Many now say we aren’t, yet our emotions at this topic reveal something deeper about ourselves, something we don’t want to grapple with even yet, years later, a couple of generations later.

Imagine you are a people who are predominantly the lowest caste of a society.  You are the ones in the poverty cycle, where opportunities to get out, the concept that there is a place out that you can participate in, where social breakdown has developed warped values, warped world view and where you continue to see that because of your caste, you are doomed to a life.  Those people develop a defiance and even pride themselves in being that caste…  They begin to grapple with that identity, something to define themselves.  This is a huge over generalization, but stop and think of people groups who have been castigated in other contexts:  Jews, Asians and Latins.  In New Orleans where I live, the new “n” word people group was the latest immigrant wave-not unlike many other places.  The Italians, Irish, Vietnamese are examples.  They take more pride and hold on to their cultural identities even more than when individuals not in those groups do.

Think of our African American friends.  Gang, there is still privilege that we do not consider privilege.  I’m not directly addressing financial opportunity to most white kids that most black kids don’t have – the best schools, the best preparation for life, the connections that open doors, etc, better medical, better legal, better business access…  I’m talking about glass ceilings…  My boys envision ivy league universities – it is not a wild dream, but a real desire and plan and the educational opportunities prepare them for that.  Consider the typical poor black kid… he/she goes to a school with much less funding per student, with not the same proportion of top teachers (they get the good jobs in the wealthy districts), worse text books, worse facilities (labs, etc), and are subjected to harsh social constructs.  NO one in their world has ever achieved success at the levels white kids have in their entire experience…  it’s a pipe dream that never gets considered.

Are black people legitimate in celebrating this man and holiday?  We’re not just talking about slavery which ended in 1863 or 1865 depending upon where the Union controlled land and people during the Civil War.  We talking about the Jim Crow laws which “kept black people in their place” – subservient.  In my life I remember “colored only” entrances, stores, movie theaters, swimming pools, bath rooms, seating in the department store diner, busses, education, employment (invisible lines that black people had these jobs and NEVER would be considered for other roles), neighborhoods…  many declined as white people fled living near black people… it automatically meant drugs, violence and loud streets.  I remember and have seen stereotyping in law enforcement, judgment from the courts, and dismissal by white business and government.  With a lack of empathy never having experienced the prejudice and bigotry, people had no desire or ability to understand and dismissed the hurts and issues.

Hence, in the reconciliation efforts of the 1990′s by the church, and organizations like Promise Keepers, it was successful only in limited affect because white people reconciliation was “We’re sorry our forefathers did this, though we haven’t and are not guilty of this.”  AND then we go on with life as usual.  For African Americans, reconciliation required (which is Biblical) a change in our attitudes AND our behaviors, our systems and expectations… they actually want to engage and participate, not continue Apartheid.

I’ve lived in international contexts where I was the minority, prejudged as “you Americans” and experienced bigotry, prejudice, mistreatment and cruelty and it was soft and yet very loud and hurtful.  I came to hate (for a time) them as a people.  And in my emotions, wanting to just leave… God spoke to me – black people in my own land have felt this for a long time.  They have no where to go home to be accepted.  AND my strong emotional hurt did not include being beaten, spit on, hit, attacked, family members hung in front of me in the middle of the night, or by corrupt hateful legal systems.

Now, should we recognize it?  Appreciate it as white people?  Is it a black thing that we simply recognize for black people?  Are we to allow them (those people, those black people) “their holiday” and abstain in silence?  OR is there a gratitude, homage, respect we owe Martin and the Civil Rights Movement?

Ask yourself that question before reading on….

Martin and others, thankfully less notarized, wanted change.  Some supported Martin, some supported the violent approach.  Had Martin changed his approach, dishonored God, it could have and would have gone very violent to the point of race war, civil war and been the deepest and most painful scar on us not just in pragmatic terms but emotionally and psychologically.  It would have destroyed America and the idea of America.

Martin was clear he humbly held a mandate from God – and that it was peaceful, honoring and that history would prove him the better man, so-to-speak.

But the greater gratitude and mature response, recognizes his contribution for all of us – that power and systems in power do not define right, Godliness, or freedom, that the status quo is not the victor…  Martin fought for all of us – that all people can stand up and express themselves and people can bring about change, change for the good.

Still not your holiday?  Hmm.  We celebrate the 4th of July?  Why was that bloody revolution (not a peaceful movement as Martin led) fought?  Why was it legitimate?  Where colonialists mistreated?  No. Were they subjugated by a foreign power? No – they were British and saw themselves as British.  They had relatives in the UK, and came from the UK.  They were legal subjects of the Crown as much as those in the UK… they were in a tax squabble – that’s it.   They fought a WAR – people – lots of people died over tax disagreement.  History reveals they were within 2-3 years max before they had representation within parliament as clear British subjects.  Yet, there was a desire for individual freedom – do what I want and not pay any taxes though we cost money.  The British Army protective presence cost more than they were taxed…  yet we fought a war!

On the other hand, Martin said this:
“We cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws, because noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. Throw us in jail, and we shall still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and we shall still love you. Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead, and we shall still love you. But be ye assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer. One day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. We shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory. . . .

Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That’s why Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr., “Loving Your Enemies”, 17 November 1957, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery Alabama

AND we celebrate it?  Yes.  Now, African Americans celebrate ML King, Jr. for the peaceful change he brought to much greater, much deeper soul reality in our nation.  AND yet most whites, most white Christians tisk our tongues and mock it.  Yes, we do mock it – don’t minimize it or justify it.  It’s disgusting.

This holiday is about all of us, not just black Americans – it’s bigger than that.  It’s bigger than America, yet it is centered here.  It’s time that we too embrace and recognize the contribution he and so many others made, the severe sacrifices, the deep hurts and the need for real reconciliation.

New Orleans has its issues and they are serious.  There are systemic issues – white and black that must be dealt with.  Yet, we have something to offer America…  We share some of the most precious things that so bring people together – music, food, rite of passage celebration as people of New Orleans.  It brings us together.  I see people caring about each other more than ever in my life time, no matter ethnicity.

And this is good.

So, to my white friends, saints to follow the Living God – I exhort you to be the example, be the lead, cut through the bigotry.  May we lead reconciliation, healing, advocate for the disenfranchised, defend the powerless.  May we help one @ a time, relationally lift people who’ve never had opportunity to advance in our society.

We either are auditing Christianity, following Jesus and worshiping God, mere counterfeit posers – or we truly embrace who we are called and created to be – imitators of the Living God.  Jesus meant every word about the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed, and his inaugural homily was to read just that prophesy from Isaiah (61) proclaiming His purpose and intent.

So, I’m celebrating Martin’s designated day.  I appreciate his sacrifice, his ultimate sacrifice.  I appreciate his contribution and I want to live up to my part today.

What does one do when the homeless guy at the corner approaches your drivers’ window?

Ever wrestle this?  Be rude?  Ignore?  Give it up?  Think, “If they would get a job, then…”.  Is it about me?  That person?  Should I give them dignity by a non-working blue tooth ear piece, so at least it looks like they are talking to someone, anyone?  Why don’t they just go away and let us alone, let us create Never Never Land?

Red Letter Christians, has another super read to consider:

On the Receiving End: Beggars and PBJ

by Chris Lahr Friday, January 13th, 2012

I have had many people ask me whether or not they should give money to beggars. My reply is always, “First beg, then you’ll know how to NOT give to beggars.”

There are many responses to this question that a beggar sees as he sits with the hand extended hoping for your spare change… some casually walk to the other side of the street and act as if the beggar does not exist. Others come up on the beggar suddenly and do not have the time to cross to the other side of the street so they simply inform him that they do not have any “spare” change. Others approach the panhandler with a mission and begin preaching “the Good News” and letting him know what is needed to get his life straight now and in the life to come. Rare is the person who takes the time to get to know the person on the street, to listen to their story, to hear their struggle, to hear their wisdom.

When I was in college I traveled into Center City Philadelphia every Saturday to hang out with homeless folks. On our limited college budgets we would take down peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk. We took so many pb&j sandwiches down that the folks on the streets started referring to us as the peanut butter and jelly Christians (a denomination that I was very proud to be a part of). It was all fine until one of the guys we had met on the streets informed us that he did not like peanut butter and jelly, but would rather have ham-n-cheese. Hmmm, this sounded more like a job for a prosperity denomination to me, but I told him we would do our best to accommodate him the next week.

During those days we made some meaningful relationships. One of my dearest friends was Ricky. Though it was Ricky’s mental health issue that kept him on the streets, he was very bright and we would talk for hours about different topics ranging from life on the streets, the Bible, the Church, rich people, our bangin’ pb&j sandwiches, etc. One weekend we decided to bring Ricky to our campus. Not really sure how we pulled this off, but one thing is for sure, if you want to invite the homeless to stay over in your dorm for a weekend, don’t ask for permission. Ricky had a great visit, met some new friends, ate lots of food, but eventually had to go back to the streets. Taking Ricky back was really hard. It was in the middle of winter! No longer was he just some homeless dude on the streets, but he was my friend, Ricky.

A couple weeks later I talked a couple friends into going to Philadelphia to spend the night on the streets. We went with no pb&j’s to hand out, no food for ourselves, and no money. At first I thought we would be hitting the streets with nothing to give, but I quickly learned that we did have something to give… ourselves! I also learned that we had so much to receive from our brothers and sisters with no place to call home.

There is a danger inherent with those who serve. Those who serve with good motives are often still the ones in charge. They hold the power. Power is not bad in and of itself, but it can become dangerous when it is not used properly. Rather than taking the time to get to know someone and truly understanding their real felt needs, there is the temptation to give them what we think they need.

Paulo Freire in his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, talks about false generosity (p.26 ff). He states that any attempt to soften the power of the oppressor in deference to the weakness of the oppressed almost always manifests itself in the form of false generosity. False generosity gives you a warm feeling inside as you hand out food to the homeless, but the deeper questions of why they are homeless is never explored. False generosity makes it ok to come into a poor community unannounced to pass out tracks, hand out candy, and preach the Word… never building meaningful relationships and opening yourself up to truly making a change for the sake of justice. Think about it… do prisons want crime to cease? Do homeless shelters really want homelessness to be a thing of the past? Prisons and homeless shelters are booming businesses that can only survive if these issues continue. Freire says that, “injustice is perpetuated so generosity can continue to be expressed.” He goes on to say that “True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nurture false generosity” (p.27).

If we really want to be able to destroy the causes which nurture false generosity, we must be able to live in solidarity with those in need. Justice cannot be handed top down, but is created in the context of beloved community. In solidarity we are able to see the image of God in others, as well as see our own humanity. Those days on the streets of Philly as a college kid opened my eyes to what it means to be in solidarity by “being on the receiving end.” It was in these times that we discovered a deep faith in Jesus as we learned what it means to not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Over the past several years we have been running a weekend poverty simulation through Mission Year called PRoP (Pauper’s Rite of Passage). In many areas of the world, people practice Rites of Passage where a child goes through a series of events lead by the elders of the community and when the Rites is over they are viewed as a man or woman in that society. The Church is in a state of adolescence at best until she embraces God’s heart for the poor. PRoP was created to be a starting point in that direction.

PRoP takes place over a weekend. What makes PRoP unique is that there is no service involved! Instead, participants come to the city to learn from those living on the streets. A lot of PRoP is spent on the streets either panhandling for your next meal or sitting at the feet of homeless folks hearing their stories. Participants do not “pretend to be homeless,” rather they tell folks they have been challenged to spend the day on the streets with no money and to learn from people. I am amazed every time we debrief their experience and they talk about their time panhandling. They are amazed at the stares they receive and the rejection they feel, and even the feeling of inhumanity. Often they also become overwhelmed at the kindness they experience when someone gives them something. Should you give money to beggars? Beg first then you will know how NOT to give to beggars. PRoP allows people to see other people’s humanity (as well as their own) at a deeper level. PRoP is not solidarity with the poor, but perhaps it is a stepping stone in the direction for some.

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Chris Lahr is a Recruiter and the Academic Director for Mission Year. He is also a part of the Simple Way in Philadelphia. He is a writer and a speaker. For information about having Chris speak, email Jen Casselberry.

Another critique, in spoken word that has something from a saint that we need to hear.

There is a growing chorus of voices, mostly young, who did not grow up drinking the cool-aid.  They are not just deconstructing.  They have something we need to hear and need to pray about.

Before you read…  Ever note that in the bell curve of creativity (2.5% innovators, 12.5% early adapters, 35% early majority, 35% late majority, 12.5% late adapters, 2.5% resisters) that the church is almost entirely on the back half of the curve…  we’d never change ANYTHING if it was up to us…  hence, by nature, we resist changing how we practice, much less understand and believe about what a Christian is and does.

 

Red Letter Christians (a blog everyone should subscribe to because they publish LOTS of articles from others that we need to read) published this today… I share it gladly…

Hating Religion, Loving Jesus: A Well-Meaning False Dichotomy

by Christian Piatt Friday, January 13th, 2012

This week has seen a new viral sensation take over our computer screens. A spoken word artist who goes by the name Bball1989 released a video on YouTube that has, in less than a week, received more than six million hits called “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” So regardless of what any of us personally thinks about what he’s saying, it’s incumbent on us to listen up.

For starters, there’s some really good stuff in his message. He deconstructs the idea that those within the church have it all together, or that one should already understand what it is they believe before crossing the threshold. On the contrary, he rightly asserts that the church should be more like a “hospital for brokenness.”

He also drives a necessary wedge between faith and politics, critiquing the tendency of the evangelical right to claim that the words “Christian” and “Republican” are synonymous. Though this is more prevalent that it is for liberal Christians, I’d argue it’s worth noting that fundamentalism, whatever its stripe, is damaging and has no place drawing partisan lines around faith.

This is a young man who has obviously worked through a lot of tough times to get to where he is. He admits to struggling in the past with sex addiction, and decries the church’s tendency to gloss over such problems, not dealing with the core issues that can tear a life or family apart. But he is where he starts to make some problematic points. And there are several.

Yes, some churches do avoid talking about sex all together, or if they do, they take the Ed Young approach, telling married folks to have sex more and everything will be fine. As for the rest of you, well, pray for celibacy I guess.

He also claims that Jesus hated the church, and actually came to destroy religion, once and for all. I can certainly see where he would draw such conclusions, especially when Jesus quotes prophecies about the destruction of central Jewish temples, but I think he’s over-generalizing here. Though much of Jesus’ ministry was out in the streets and in homes, he hardly avoided the church. When there, he was prone to stirring things up, no doubt, but he was considered – and even called – a rabbi by many of his followers.

The video’s message also points out some necessary problems within organized religion, but as in other cases, he paints with a dangerously broad brush. Yes, some churches are doing more harm than good. Yes, some parts of religion are more about propping up doctrine or sustaining an institution than they are about living out the gospel in the world. But there also are millions of Christians who identify with one faith community or another (or even more than one) who are striving breathlessly to help invoke the kind of world Jesus claimed was possible.

To offer such plenary indictments is to become – to paraphrase Paul – the very thing that he claims to hate.

I could go on in this regard, picking the poem apart, but you get the idea. This is a voice of post-evangelicalism, longing for a foothold with his faith beyond the trappings of a religious system that clearly he feels added to the problem rather than guiding him to liberation. I totally get that. Millions of us have been there.

But some of us choose to keep working from within the system to try and make it more like what we believe it can and should be. Yes, I resonate with the anti-institutional sentiment, as do millions of my peers. Few of us feel we owe the institutions much of anything. But in them some of us do still see some potential for them to be repurposed, reoriented so that they may once again serve the people, rather than the other way around.

It’s well and good that he’s making claims from the outside, but when he says he’s not here to judge, that’s simply disingenuous. Also, he begins to hedge even these bold claims by saying he still loves the Church, while hating religion. There are even other videos online of him “preaching” in church. So if we’re going to cast stones, let’s decide which side of the wall we’re aiming for.

But all of this doesn’t get at the heart of my biggest issue with his spoken word piece. What bothers me the most is that, despite stretching out toward a post-religious understanding of Christ, he then falls right back into the same old lexicon of substitutionary atonement language. You know the drill: Jesus died for your sins, the blood flowed down, he absorbed your transgressions, and so on.

So my questions is this: though he seems to be bent on tearing at the fabric of at least the evangelical Christian church, if not organized religion as a whole, why does his central message sound pretty much like every evangelical altar call I’ve ever heard?

And believe me, I’ve heard a lot of them.

Props to the guy for examining his faith, and for not taking the Church’s word for how to be of what to think. But if we’re going to ascribe to Buenaventura Durruti’s claim that the only kind of church that illuminates is a burning one, let’s not shove all the old dogma in our jackets for safe keeping as we rush out the back door.

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Christian Piatt is an author, editor, speaker, musician and spoken word artist. He co-founded Milagro Christian Church in Pueblo, Colorado with his wife, Rev. Amy Piatt, in 2004. He is the creator and editor of BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE and BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS. Christian has a memoir on faith, family and parenting being published in early 2012 called PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date.Visit www.christianpiatt.com, or find him on Twitter or Facebook.

Mark Driscoll might want some salt for the big foot in his mouth…

Discoll has done it again!  He just can’t “play nice”, be polite, civil, respectful, imagine anyone, anyone having one thought outside of how he views the world.  He dictates “RIGHT theology” and anyone doing, thinking, expressing anything different is attacked, demeaned, disrespected and he proves his base level of thinking ability.

Ever read Fowler’s Stages of Faith work?  You should.  Mark is stuck in a stage 3, black and white, theology and world view on an excel spread sheet… threatened by anyone else.  SAD!  What is worse – the THOUSANDS who eat it up, never ask questions, express doubt, wrestle ideas and how one guy interprets anything, starting with Scripture.  AND if they did – they would be shunned, alienated and publicly humiliated for daring to challenge Himself.

What am I on about?  How does Mark deal with ANYTHING different?  How does he deal with anyone who disagrees with him?  People who don’t know Jesus, much less enemies?  He denies Christ by not treating anyone, starting with other Christians with gentleness, love and respect.  He proves himself a complete failure as a missiologist because he passes trite judgement without one effort to examine and understand contexts other than the center of the freaking planet – the new Los Angeles… Seattle.

Driscoll mouths off in in Christianity today this month indicting, insulting and attacking ALL BRITISH PASTORS!  What a jack-arse!  What an arrogant pratt.  What the.., Discoll!?

Read this:

Driscoll says British pastors are “a bunch of cowards”

By  Drew Dixon– January 12, 2012

Mark Driscoll, in a statement for Christianity Magazine, recently said [click here to read the article]:

Let’s just say this: right now, name for me the one young, good Bible teacher that is known across Great Britain. You don’t have one – that’s the problem. There are a bunch of cowards who aren’t telling the truth.

Andrew Finden responded appropriately, wondering if Driscoll has an unhealthy bias toward famous, multi-site, mega-church pastors:

Putting aside the (frankly, wearisome) hyperbole, am I wrong in seeing Driscoll want to apply a kind of one-size-fits-all approach (e.g. famous & young) to churches in the UK? Just because there’s no household name, beamed into multi-site churches across the country each week, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t faithful leaders, young and old, teaching the bible, preaching the gospel, stirring their communities on to love and good works, and holding them accountable. In fact, if Driscoll had even visited some of the churches in the UK he’d know that, even in the CofE, it is a egregious stereotype to paint them as “guys in dresses preaching to grandmas”. We shouldn’t assume that unless someone is doing everything the way we would do it, that the important things are not getting done! . . .

It really is a shame to see the good things overshadowed by the stupid things, and I’m actually glad that there is not an all-american smack-down celebrity pastor or culture in the UK. I’m very glad for the faithful and challenging bible teaching I sat under when I was there.

______________________________________________________

Dirscoll, have you ever even been there?  Visited and spoken to the fresh stuff going on?  Can you not be humble and see how we have NOTHING to criticize anyone?  The rate of anemic churches here equals there if not more!

Driscoll, you arrogant bully and brutish pratt.  You are not being courageous and brave to repeatedly do and say what you do – you and your church are bullies, mean, and you don’t smell like Jesus.  You smell like the GOP and it’s bullying and fear mongering.  You smell of hate, arrogance, ignorance, cognitive dissonance, horrible missiology, and an afraid small minded typical mega-church arrogant jerks.  I am ashamed of you.  I am ashamed of how you treat people, lead your church and the horrible example you leave.  The worst part Mark, is that you don’t get that there will be justice and judgement – even for saints… and you are going to be brought low.  I rebuke, exhort and indict you to repent from being so damned brutish and rude, arrogant and cruel.

To all my British friends – I apologize, ask your forgiveness for yet another self absorbed, simpleton, another Yankee Mega-Church Arse.  I apologize that the upstart Yankees, who are horrible missionaries, cannot critically think, respect, be kind, ask questions before concluding inaccurate, uninformed assumptions.

To my Yankee friends, I’ve spent a LOT of time in the UK during my life – there are some excellent things happening across the spectrum.  They’ve broken with the cultural trappings as they KNOW they’ve lost their society… we have too – we’re just too deluded to know it yet.  There are many fresh things happening in every denomination… and they don’t split the denomination to do it…  We can start with the Church of England…  There are dozens in London alone.  I’ve been to MANY, met many more and I’m proud of them.  They inspire me, teach me and give me courage to step forward into our post-Christian western cuture.

Sorry friends – may God bless the UK and the UK church.  May you again, show us the way as you did over the past two centuries.

HIGHLY IRREVERANT – BUT ACCURATE INDICTMENT CHRISTIANS SHOULD LISTEN TOO – ANYWAY.

This is a humorous, irreverant, albeit a touch vulgar monolog on us, Christians.  Yes, he’s attacking a sect within our faith, but the point and why you need to watch it is to understand WHY non-Christians in the WORLD, not just the USA hate Christians, why they miss perceive Jesus inaccurately and why we are NOT making progress in MOST of the world – starting with the West, where we’re losing the most quickly.

So, put on your thick skin, your ear muffs and hear his indictment and consider every word, and let the closing sink in well.

Identity Crisis [from Red Letter Christians]

Identity Crisis: A Jesus that is Insipid and Powerless

by Ann Fedeli Sunday, January 8th, 2012
Republished from Red Letter Christians

I sense that the church is in the midst of a serious, but potentially transforming, identity crisis.  Several observations have led me to this conclusion.  On one hand, I see a church that appears to have forgotten their roots in a fallen humanity and their familial connection to the lost, the disenfranchised, and the confused.  Christ has become the means of obtaining personal blessing and prosperity, hell-fire insurance, a squeaky-clean church environment and the affirmation of our right to riches, second homes, and vacations in Europe. In my case, the right to own forty pairs of shoes.  We have forgotten that our blessings are for the sake of blessing others.  They are not primarily for our personal consumption. There is nothing that we have that is not pure gift.

I also see a segment of the church that holds a Jesus that is insipid and powerless, like a bearded guru in Birkenstocks singing Kumbaya.  This Jesus makes no demands for personal or corporate holiness.  There is no vision of this Jesus as the Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This Jesus looks lovingly upon all but is powerless to do anything about their condition.

It is of great significance that the first commandment states the prohibition against having any other gods besides the Lord.  The creating of God in our own image and according to our own preferences, both cultural and personal, is a constant danger for the church and a severe impediment for our growth in holiness and maturity.  The sin of idolatry is alive and well in all sections of the church and it must be put off if we are truly to become the face, hands, feet, and heart of Christ in this fallen but ever-precious world.

The experience of losing my identity and a healthy sense of who I was as a beloved child of God began in earnest when I was 17. I gave birth to a daughter out-of-wedlock.  I know what it feels like to be marginalized by the church and by society, to be “one of those.”  According to the word of God, we are all “one of those” and we become judgmental, self-righteous and lacking in humility when we forget that we are all birthed from the seed of Adam.  Is there a person, a group or a particular sin pattern that you consider to be “one of those”?  Have you marginalized anyone?  As a church, we are not given that prerogative.  God alone knows the state of anyone’s heart and He alone knows the end of a thing. God alone is the judge and He alone can make an accurate assessment of anyone’s motives, even our own.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict of sin and only Christ can make atonement for it.  We are not called to do the work of the Trinity.  Such is the sin of presumption.  We are called to walk humbly before our God and each other knowing that our calling is simply to be Christ and show forth Christ to all people, not an insipid, powerless Christ but a holy, powerful, merciful, just and loving Christ.

I have two adopted children and both my son and daughter struggle with just how they fit into their respective families, the one that birthed them and the one that adopted them.  From my perspective, the identity crisis we face in the church has some parallels to that situation.  On one hand, we Christians accept that we have been adopted into the family of God with all the rights and privileges that heavenly citizenship grants.  However, I think we can forget that membership in that family comes with responsibilities.  We are our brother’s keeper and we cannot ever lose the sacred bond that ties each and every one of us together as a matter of birth. Being born again does not mean that we lose our humanity any more than my children by adoption lose their connection to the family that gave them birth.  It would be very unhealthy for them to do that and would be a denial of reality.

We are called to embrace two citizenships and to walk them out with our feet planted firmly on the earth.  Much in Christianity calls for the balancing of seemingly contradictory facts.  It is tempting to throw off one demand for the sake of another, selecting whichever of the two has more personal appeal.  Such is the case with the seeming tension between mercy and judgment or between our earthly citizenship and our heavenly citizenship. We must not do that.  That is the call of maturity.  Teen-agers are often the most judgmental and critical group one can find.  That is appropriate to their age.  It is not appropriate for a mature Christian.  We all must learn to hold things in balance, to walk with integrity in that place where it all lines up into One, that One being the person and character of Jesus the Christ. Through the power and the mercy of God may we learn to accurately present the Lord and Creator of the universe to a lost and fallen world for apart from Him, we can do nothing.

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Ann Fedeli is the newly-published author of, Any Skeletons in the Closet? An Adoption Memoir, available through Tate Publishing.  She blogs regularly and focuses on issues related to adoption, foster care, living with cancer and personal growth and holiness.  Ms. Fedeli lives in Rockville, MD.

Shallow Tin World & the Old Woman

I remember one line from a tinsel cutesy romantic movie that I had “the fortune” to watch once, now years ago.  In Kate & Leopold, Leopold is asked if he misses anything from 18th century, from whence he came.  His response is “no time for reflection”.

I don’t rest well – I’m an “A” type, High D, Activator, I’m social, but results are important.  I’m exacting to work for, demand excellence, have little patience for those with no standards of excellence and desire to win.  I’ve worked to be more graceful, more patient, etc, yet, I’m hard on myself, and find it hard to play and rest …for more than a day or two.  This Christmas, I’ve forced myself to STOP!  I’ve done email every few days, played on Facebook, played X-Box with my boys, went for walks with my boys and alone, slept in almost every day, watched movies and shows I’ve stored, and spent time laughing with people.  It’s been great.  I think I might actually see life anew, being rested!

I’ve always admired both Simeon and Anna.  Anna gets such a small moment on the stage, but… SHE’S NAMED and REMEMBERED in the birth account of Christ… repeated and noted for years – until in Luke’s thorough examination that brought him to record all he had found reliable about the life of Jesus, she is named, honored and remembered.  Amazing!

When you read her story, she was married (normally 13 in those days) and her husband died when they had been married for seven years – so she was 20 years old!  She remained a widow for decades – until at 84, the Christ is born.  At some point in her life, she went to the Temple and became a person who prayed and worshiped, NONSTOP day in and day out, morning, night, through the seasons, through the wars, disasters, celebrations, etc.  She became known as a person of prayer.  In this life she was transformed and gifted to be a prophetess.  I’ve seen this before – a person determines to consecrate themselves and pursue God, in spite of whatever criticism or condemnation others mount on them.  They set themselves apart and pursue God, leaving distractions and the empty luring of society behind.  Through time, often not that long, they are transformed.  God then bestows gifts they can now bare and carry humbly and with integrity.  So it was for Anna.

She was merited to be a phophetess who “GOT TO” hold, pray over the Messiah Himself, and bless the family.  She went on to relay what she had seen through her final days.
Many today would say she missed out.  She missed the cultural offerings, indulgences, life experiences, temptations, fun.  Now as my temples gray, I see it much differently that I used to.  I’ve watched the Bill board charts bounce weekly for years, decades…  The music industry raises up its gods and throws them down, consuming them as if sacrifices on their alters of fame, fortune and debauchery.  Who remembers, who cares?   The many places I’ve been on seven continents, enriching for sure, but more so than a life set apart?  No.

Many would say I am one consecrated.  I am flattered, but I say step closer and see the cracks in the wax.  I’m a broken jar and find myself longing, panging for the intimacy Anna and Simeon, but especially Anna, had with the Transcendent Mysterious God we worship.

Evangelical churches look like Corporate meeting rooms, or suburban movie theaters.  They say they can worship God anywhere.  I agree, we can – especially in the creation, which reflects Him.  Yet, our Liturgical brothers and sisters enjoy something we miss – buildings built to reflect the Majesty, mystery, awesomeness of God… they offer our very best creativity as acts of worship.  Some liturgical new churches do homage to the past grandeur, but have been tempted by our streamlined corporate looks as well.  Sitting in the Cathedrals, one feels small – as we should.  One feels temporal, as we are.

The greatness of God, it beckons me – it calls me.  Anna inspires me.  My goal and dream this year is to further release the affinity I have for our world and to become strange, as Anna must have been, so consecrated to worship, pray, fast, and profess Him.

Thank you, Anna.  I look forward to meeting you one day.

 

On the eighth day of Christmas, Jospeh and Mary went into Jerusalem, a mere two miles away.  Yet, in her condition, healing, the crowds being present, it probably took a good while to make it up to the courts of the Temple.  When they entered, they made sacrifices, as required by the Law of Moses.  He would have been circumcised then as well.

Unexpected was the prophetic encounter with two people – one man, one woman – separately.  Their words were profound.
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²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
   according to Your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen Your salvation
³¹ that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and for glory to Your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.  She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

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Re-read Simeon’s actualy prophesy.  In the midst of shepherds being comforted by the scary sight of myriads of angels in the sky, and the quiet manger scene, note the frightening message from Simeon…  “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

What is such a comment saying?  What a sobering prophesy at the birth of the Christ.  May we not be found wanting.

 

The Queen’s Christmas Speech 2011

For many years, I have taken a moment to listen to the Queen’s Christmas Day Speech, long before I became a citizen of New Zealand, and hence, subject.  This year, being no exception, I found the external focus on grieving with others inspiring, along with her Christocentric conclusion.  May you also be encouraged.

Full transcript of The Queen’s 2011 Christmas Speech

“In this past year my family and I have been inspired by the courage and hope we have seen in so many ways in Britain, in the Commonwealth and around the world.

We’ve seen that it’s in hardship that we often find strength from our families; it’s in adversity that new friendships are sometimes formed; and it’s in a crisis that communities break down barriers and bind together to help one another.

Families, friends and communities often find a source of courage rising up from within. Indeed, sadly, it seems that it is tragedy that often draws out the most and the best from the human spirit.

When Prince Philip and I visited Australia this year, we saw for ourselves the effects of natural disaster in some of the areas devastated by floods, where in January so many people lost their lives and their livelihoods.

We were moved by the way families and local communities held together to support each other.

Prince William travelled to New Zealand and Australia in the aftermath of earthquakes, cyclones and floods and saw how communities rose up to rescue the injured, comfort the bereaved and rebuild the cities and towns devastated by nature.

The Prince of Wales also saw first-hand the remarkable resilience of the human spirit after tragedy struck in a Welsh mining community, and how communities can work together to support their neighbours.

This past year has also seen some memorable and historic visits – to Ireland and from America.

The spirit of friendship so evident in both these nations can fill us all with hope. Relationships that years ago were once so strained have through sorrow and forgiveness blossomed into long-term friendship.

It is through this lens of history that we should view the conflicts of today, and so give us hope for tomorrow.

Of course, family does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community, organisation or nation. The Commonwealth is a family of 53 nations, all with a common bond, shared beliefs, mutual values and goals.

It is this which makes the Commonwealth a family of people in the truest sense, at ease with each other, enjoying its shared history and ready and willing to support its members in the direst of circumstances.

They have always looked to the future, with a sense of camaraderie, warmth and mutual respect while still maintaining their individualism.

The importance of family has, of course, come home to Prince Philip and me personally this year with the marriages of two of our grandchildren, each in their own way a celebration of the God-given love that binds a family together.

For many, this Christmas will not be easy. With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones at home.

The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.

Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

‘For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, there’s a prayer:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin
And enter in.
Be born in us today.

It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”

~ Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Balancing the common wealth & self

The politics of the day are scary – no matter where one stands on the political spectrum.   I know and have friends who cannot for their life imagine how people, much less saints can stand on the opposite end of that spectrum from their own point of view.

What disturbs me most is that from these extreme positions my own friends find it impossible to understand, much less respect that others have other than mine positions.  I found this article helpful.  Note especially the first paragraph and the “tension between libertarian individualism and pursuit of the common good”.

For sure, I find the tea party and the libertarians to be “the party of ‘me’”.  I find this directly in contradiction to Scripture, where “me” is paramount over others.  I do not need to list the violations of the character of God, instruction for us, etc, that this violates.  Yet, saints line up here by the thousands.  I outright indict these brothers and sisters as buying into Babylon’s lie, value system, and demonic goal of it being about “me”… “Behold, in the last days, people will be lovers of themselves…”.   Now that I have stirred the pot, take a read, and I’ll pick up afterwards:

IN PURSUIT OF THE COMMON GOOD

“A TENSION BETWEEN libertarian individualism and pursuit of the common good characterizes all Western liberal democracies. This tension is nowhere more acute today than in the United States, where the forces of libertarian individualism are far more powerful than in Europe, or than they have been in our country at any time since the late 19th century. But Christian tradition affirms that human beings are social, cannot flourish in isolation, and should seek the well-being of the whole rather than merely their own well-being—and that government exists especially to pursue the common good of the whole community.

By “libertarian individualism,” I mean the belief that societies and their governments are a necessary evil: Individuals are what matter, and all that these lone rangers seek from their neighbors is to be left alone to pursue the “good life” as they define it. Individuals reluctantly choose to give up a little of their freedom—as little as possible—to governments, whose very limited purpose, according to this view, is to provide the security services that are absolutely necessary to prevent threats against persons and property.

Laissez-faire capitalism in its pure form extends the same kind of thinking to corporations. What might be called “corporationist individualism” views a business as a kind of individual actor that should be left alone to pursue its goals.

Understanding this vision helps us make sense of the rhetoric and policy proposals of the major players in the Republican Party today. The reason Ron Paul can argue for the abolition of major government departments, such as Education and Housing and Urban Development, is because he believes providing such services is no proper business of government. One reason many Republicans want a flatter tax structure is because the idea of progressive taxation—where the wealthier pay at least a marginally higher tax rate than the poor—enshrines a vision of government in which its actions seek to contribute to a more level economic playing field. But such a goal, from a libertarian point of view, is completely inappropriate for government to pursue.

Such individualism is a relatively recent innovation, traceable at its earliest to the 17th century. It is a mere child compared to the much older, and much preferable, Christian theological-ethical tradition of the common good. The stark contradictions between the two visions became noticeable quite early in the emergence of modern liberal democratic capitalism. These differences eventually evoked fierce battles on the part of Christian leaders to curb the worst excesses of libertarian and corporationist individualism.

The Catholic social teaching tradition is one important voice that affirms strong commitment to the common good. I resonate deeply with this tradition when it affirms that God created humans as social rather than solitary creatures; that the well-being of the individual is inextricably connected to the well-being of all; that all Christians must be interested in contributing to “social conditions which allow people … to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily”; and that “the role of the state is to defend and promote the common good,” as the Catholic catechism puts it.

The upsurge of libertarian individualism is wrong theologically, wrong ethically, and wrong in terms of the public policies it inspires. It will and must be challenged by the common good tradition.”

January 2012 Issue, Sojourners Magazine
David P. Gushee teaches Christian ethics at Mercer University in Georgia.
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My politics will alienate anyone who buys into the political mumbo jumbo today.  To watch these candidates manipulate their gross sinful lifestyles to fit the moment, to see the religious groups wink and nod to accept them as if they care for the common person, all knowing that they are being used…. to see the political extremism being squawked as if it is feasible or reasonable… it’s all rubbish.  It ignores that the President actually has little control over what is happening under his/watch…  and that many forces cause such issues.  It ignores that the corpritocity actually runs the nation and the world.  It ignores that their lobbyists with no limits today in campaign contributions buy who we actually have representing us.  Sickening comes to mind as my summary.

Yet for the right, I have huge issue that the libertarian individualism of “me” has leaked into the main stream thinking.  It ignores the “common good” that the article above espouses.  On a pragmatic sense, the best and healthiest nation, the long term sustainability requires a solid deep bench in the health of the nation.  Yet the recklessness of the financial institutions in the 90′s and up to 2008, when Presidents Clinton and Bush dismantled regulation over these industries, caused huge pain.  The trickle down economics from President Reagan forward has seen the most wealthy become more so, the middle class lose 10%  of it’s buying power and the middle class see a huge percentage of the former middle class people slip into poverty.  The same rubbish quoting Colossians 3 continues to be taunted as if it is legitimate for their greed – denial of the economic collapse that saw MILLIONS lose jobs, towns go under, states go under, education go south, higher education get the fist, etc.

In Louisiana, the Governor (Bobby Jindall) is a GOP darlin’.  He’s vowed to never raise taxes and has in fact cut state revenues stating it will help the state… then cut every state agency, especially education, higher education and road works… Ever drive on the highways here?  The struggling education system is on life support now, and the higher education which was making headway into the brain drain is now on its heels again.  LSU, which had 30K undergraduates at the Baton Rouge campus alone is down to 22K…. cuts and fees hiked!  Yet the people in the wealthier and redneck parts of the state love him…  There is a huge blindness that he’s not acting in favor of the state today or tomorrow, but posturing for national stages and the 4.5M people are mere stepping stones as he tap dances on our heads.  But he touts the “me” Gospel and people buy it.

The lack of care for the common good is very concerning for me.  We’re walking with a woman now, who was a mom, staying at home to care for her daughter, a small 10 hour/week job to help meet ends works two nights a week to help cover expenses was her only absence, when her husband was not working.  He leaves her and refuses to give her any support …she’s next to homeless with no way to pay for food, much less an apartment, car, insurance, medical insurance, etc.  Yet the GOP wants to cut support structures like this.

I had a friend discuss the failings of a specific health care system… how it was 74% ineffective.  His answer was to close it down.  Maybe – if we were rebirthing it something effective!  BUT why not completely overhaul it and get some fresh blood in there to fix it?  Hard to change the rules to empower a leader to do that?  Bet it’s easier to change those rules than close it down, care for the people who miss out and recreate a new one!

The Biblical foundation for this common good concern I have is simple… ANYTHING we have is HIS to start with.  Any gift we have (natural, acquired or spiritual gift) is not for us…  it is for the good of the body, for others, for benevolence, not for us.  Think of every example in the Bible – it’s not ours – it’s for others.  Recall the verses about barns, Samaritans, Centurions, the poor, the greedy, stewarding 1, 5 & 10 drachmas, etc.  How much does Jesus have to directly talk about something till we don’t justify, minimize and sin in our selfishness.  Our success financially, for those who do have a gift to be successful is for OTHERS… it is your contribution to the Kingdom….  Who and where is the Kingdom?  Where, whom and what has He put before you to love through your success?  Am I calling successful people to be poor?  Not necessarily… I am calling you to simplicity, sacrifice, generosity, graciousness, empathy, sympathy, and the Godly pastoral care for others though.  Many states are actually not states, but “COMMON WEALTHS”.  It is a commonality – a shared endeavor.  Ever read books from pre-globalism?  When a steam boat would dock, the entire town would show up with carriages, wagons, dollies, etc…  there would be needed and it took everyone to participate together.  The Asian rice farmers could teach us something – you can’t fill, drain or harvest your rice crop without complete cooperation amongst the entire village.  Hmm.  Ever hear the term, “It takes a village to raise a child”?  Well, we don’t anymore and how’s that working out for us as a society?  Hmm.
Now, for the liberals – government is needed and leadership is needed and federal centralized efforts have a place.  For example, in Texas, there is an educational investment variation from the wealthy suburban Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio school districts (white), and the rest of Texas.  “Those schools” get an average of $800/student than the rest of Texas!  That’s huge in what can be done to educate children – then we wonder why they stay poor!  That is a different education!

With this said – the liberal approach to apply it all from the top doesn’t work – the right has a point here.  It is consistently too big, too complex, too inefficient, too much administration, too lazy a people, too few measurables, too impersonal to effectively apply the force at hand.   The best application of federal dollars is best applied as low and local as possible.

And, the left wing is as guilty of lobbyist influence as anyone else in congress.  The left also does not require some effective progress.  Sure, there must be room for those who cannot make progress and will always need help.  Yet, the very generational poverty moochers that drive the right nuts, are the ones of who nothing is required… I get why the right gets exasperated.

On the foreign side, well, there is responsibility as a blessed nation, but guys on the right – we’re empire now and its ugly.  Left, we can’t do everything… libertarians, you’re naive as the day is long.  Are you crazy?  Don’t answer that… you are!

To be Biblical, requires sacrifice.  To be Biblical requires discernment.  To be Biblical requires mercy and a posture for the common good.  To be Biblical requires courage to shut down the undue lobbyist influence – and this will bring us close to revolution to shut them down – but if we don’t, the republic of representation of the people is done, if its not done now.  The role of President is impudent in the current climate.  We need Biblical courage to stand up to Babylon and become the people we must be to reflect our Imago Dei.

As we enter 2012 – to be a Biblical people, we must participate in the politics – it is how we affect the social systems that impact people and that is what Jesus would do.  To be a Biblical people, we must die to ourselves.  To be a Biblical people, we must voice God’s desire for who we are to be – that we can look at ourselves in the mirror.  AND to be a Biblical people we MUST STOP the hatred and disparagement of other good people who have perspectives different from ours.  Politics have gotten so ugly, it is debase.  We have allowed the powerful to manipulate us to do their bidding as they exercise undue power and influence at our expense.

May God’s people by the dam breakers that sets the example for the entire lost and hurting nation within which we live.  May be live an example towards each other – for they will know we are Christians by our love.