Crosses

Seven Things I'm Thinking About Today

1. Not everything that happens in life (or even in my mind) happens in essay-able formats.  Sometimes they come in little bites.  And since I've seen other bloggers use formats similar to this one, I decided to go for it.
2. Of course, one could assume that I simply didn't have an essay in me this week.  And they'd be correct.
3. This morning at the coffee shop, I saw a young girl in a stroller.  Her mom called her Bella.  She brought a smile to everyone in the room.
4. A few minutes later, another toddler arrived.  When she saw Bella, she ran across the room, arms up in the air, gleefully exclaiming, "You're here! You're here!  You're here!"  That brought an even bigger smile to everyone in the room.  It's nice to experience joy in the morning.
5. It's especially nice to experience joy when other areas of life are marked with sadness.  Last week, the father of two scouts in Ethan's boy scout troop died unexpectedly.  This week, the mother of two children who attend our church had a stroke, and is in the hospital.
6. I'm trying hard to not get too caught up in the Glenn Beck/social justice kerfluffle.  (Is "kerflufle" a word?)  And I wouldn't, except I know that a lot of people actually take him seriously, and therefore have a grossly distorted understanding of the gospel.
7. I continue to try, day by day, to remove the distortions in my own understanding.

Green Hills

San Juan Capistrano, March 15, 2010

The Invitation

When I preach in worship, I end every sermon with an invitation.  It is an invitation to join the church.  Mostly I do this because it's part of my tradition; the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has always had an invitation as part of the worship service.

In my not-so-very-large congregation, it is sometimes awkward to issue the invitation.  Some Sundays, I can look out at the congregation, and it is obvious to me that there is no one present who would respond to such an invitation.  Most are already members, and the few who aren't, well, I've talked with them and they either are not ready or do not desire to join.

Yet, despite the awkwardness, and despite my occasional fumbling over the words because of the awkwardness, I still issue the invitation.  I believe it's important for us to remember that one of our most important jobs as followers of Jesus is to be inviting.

Sometimes, though, it's awkward for another reason, and that is that I think that, sometimes, we're not really all that sure what it means to be a member of the church.  Other than the fact that you get a vote when it comes to church business, what does it really mean to be a member?

I've thought much about this over the years.  I've asked other people what they think it means.  And I think I'm finally starting to understand.

To be a member means, more than anything, that you are committed to following the way of Jesus.  In other words, to be a member means that you are a disciple.  In fact, "disciple" might be a better word to use than "member."  We are often asked how many members we have in our congregation, and we often talk about how many members we have.  Pehaps we should, instead, be talking about how many disciples we have.

To be a disciple means that following Jesus is your number one priority.  It means that you have answered affirmatively the one question that is asked when people join the church:  "Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, and do you accept him as your Lord and Savior?"  It means that your first priority is no longer following the ways of the world, with its consumerism, materialism, inequality, injustice, and upside-down values.

That is the most important aspect of what it means to be a member of the church.  It is such a radical reorientation of one's life that it is given meaning in the waters of baptism, where one's old life is washed away, and a person is "reborn" to a whole new way of living. 

But there is another aspect of what it means to be a member.  Being a member also means becoming a Disciple, with a capital "D."  It means committing to the work and ministry of this particular congregation, this particular movement within the one body of Christ. 

We do not believe that we are the only disciples out there.  Indeed, our identity statement points out that we are but "part of the one body of Christ."  Too many churches and denominations have insisted that they are the only true church.  We recognize that we have our strengths and weaknesses, and that our own ministry and witness can be enhanced by relying on the strengths of other parts of Christ's body. One who has been baptized in another church, no matter how that baptism took place, is never asked to be baptized again, since they have already been baptized into the one body of Christ of which we all are a part.  Nevertheless, becoming a member is identifying oneself with the mission and ministry of Jesus as it is lived out in the life of a particular congregation. 

So the invitation that is issued each week is an invitation to become a disciple (with a little "d"), and it is an invitaiton to become a Disciple (with a big "D").  I write about this because, this week, these things have become a little clearer for me, and I want to remember them.  And hopefully, as I continue to invite others to "join the church," we will all have a clearer understanding of what that means.

Gazebo

Doheny State Beach, March 6, 2010

Conservative Values, Liberal Values, and Social Justice

Rarely do I allow myself to get involved in political debates.  Even more rare are the times when I get engaged in such debates online, through email and social networks.  Almost always, my involvement in such conversations can be summed up in two words:  "delete" and "ignore."

However, I found it hard to ignore one such conversation that took place last week.  It took place on the Facebook page for the Boy Scouts of America.  It began with a "status update" in which the BSA mentioned that several scouts presented the BSA's annual report to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  (BSA operates under a congressional charter.)

The comments that followed were mixed.  Many were negative, expressing condolances for the scouts who had to interact with someone who, in the commenter's opinions, stood against Scouting's values.  Others were even more harsh; had it been a court of law rather than a facebook page, some of the statements would have been deemed libelous and slanderous.

Meanwhile, other comments appeared, insisting that the presentation of the report wasn't about politics, that politics don't even belong in Scouting, and that the values Scouting teaches are neither conservative nor liberal values;  they're Scouting values.

This led to a comment by someone named Tony who said that of course Scouting is, and always has been, based on conservative values.  As proof of this, he cited the fact that "duty to God" has always been a part of the Scout Oath.

I probably should have ignored this comment and the debate as a whole, but I've become tired of having voices I don't agree with speak for me on issues of faith.  So I posted my own comment in which I said that, as a Christian pastor, I believe that it is insulting to God to define God as either conservative or liberal.  God is neither.

Tony then posted another comment, accusing me of insulting him, and arguing against my statement that God is a liberal.

I looked back at what I had written.  Nowhere did I insult Tony.  Nowhere did I say that God is a liberal.

See why I usually try to stay out of these debates?

Meanwhile, in Washington, Congress is currently debating health care.  It seems that one of the sticking points in coming to an agreement over health care is abortion.  Conservatives, generally, will not vote for any health care plan that provides coverage for abortions, because doing so would violate their pro-life values.

I admire their pro-life values.  But I wonder:  Do they realize that the lowest abortion rates in the world are found in countries that provide access to health care and social services to all their citizens?  Do they not know that outlawing or restricting legal abortions does little to affect abortion rates, that the highest abortion rates are actually found in countries where abortion is against the law?

Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to listen to or consider facts like these.  If you try to understand the issue at a deeper level, they accuse you of complicating things.  If you advocate improving social services for the poor, even if it's an effort to lower abortion rates, they might go so far as to accuse you of being a Nazi or Communist, as Glenn Beck did this week.

Improving social services and providing health care will reduce abortions.  But what kind of value is it that uses a "liberal" method to achieve a "conservative" goal?  Some people just have to see it defined as one or the other, rather than engaging in a conversation that can lead to us accepting it as a common value.

I have no problem calling myself a "social justice" pastor.  I have no problem referring to my church as a "social justice" church.  Maybe I'll even put that on my church's new website!  And I would love to have a conversation about what that means.  I have, in fact, been able to have many such conversations over the years, with both "liberals" and "conservatives."

Fortunately, not everyone is a Tony or a Glenn.  Most are, in fact, willing to be reasonable, to listen, and to share their views without name-calling or misrepresenting the views of others.  I have found these conversations to be among the most meaningful in my life.

If we are to make any progress on addressing some of the most important issues we face today, these are the types of conversations we must have.

Clouds and Sun

Last weekend, I spent 24 hours at Dana Point with my family and another family that we are friends with. We camped in tents at Doheny State Beach, despite the uncertain weather forecast.  We experienced clouds, then sun, then more clouds, but (aside from a few sprinkles) it didn't start raining until we were in the car, heading home.

Some Words About the Pictures

Over the course of publishing this blog, which I've been doing for more than five years, I've learned a few things.  As a result, the blog has evolved over time, and will undoubtedly continue to do so. 

As blogs go, this one does not have a large following, which is fine with me.  I'm not sure how I'd respond if, all of a sudden,  hundreds of people started reading what I write here each week.  As it is, I'm startled when I examine the statistics, and discover (for example) that last week this blog was viewed by people as far away as Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Brazil.  (Most of them, I tell myself, undoubtedly arrived here by mistake.)  It's also humbling to realize that there are a few people (not related to me) who have been readers of this blog almost since the beginning.  I can't help but wonder:  haven't they grown tired of me yet?

One of the things I've learned is how meaningful it has become, for me at least, to alternate between words and pictures....  The words I wrote last week were meaningful to quite a few people, and as they shared them with friends and family, traffic to the blog nearly doubled.  That, too, is humbling.

The reason I include pictures (I'm starting to realize) is that, as important as words - even words of justice and liberation - are, it is also important to stand back and gaze in awe at the wonder of God's world.  The pictures allow me to do that.  Whether they are pictures of my family, some beautiful natural place, or some stunningly magnificent architecture, each picture provides a break, a rest, in the midst of the words; they offer an opportunity to pause in silence and give thanks for the glory around me.

The routine I'm now in, of posting a picture each Tuesday, has helped train me to keep my mind (and my eyes) open to God's presence in the world around me.  Even when I don't have my camera with me, I will sometimes notice something beautiful, something that makes me pause for a moment in wonder.  It's a blessing to be able to do this in such a fast-paced, cacophonous world.  Every time it happens, I offer up a silent prayer of gratitude ... and wonder why I didn't think to bring my camera along with me.

The responses to some of the words I've written recently have been encouraging.  They have helped me realize that the liberating message of Jesus is too often distorted and/or kept locked away, and that perhaps I and my church are being called to proclaim Christ's gospel of love and reconciliation with greater boldness.  But I also know that to do so without pausing to worship, to gaze with humility in awe and wonder at the beauty in God's world, would be a mistake, and perhaps even a sin.

Enjoy the rest of your week.  Be on the lookout for God's beauty.  I'll be back next Tuesday, with another picture.

Capitol Dome

I didn't have any new pictures to post here this week, so here's one I took two months ago of the interior dome at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.