This has been a sad week for the church of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church and the pope are again under attack for covering up child molestation charges against priests. Meanwhile, in Michigan, angry "Christian" militia members were arrested by the FBI for plotting to kill policemen. I know that many will say that neither of these represent us, and we may not consider them as Christians. It doesn't matter. Those who read the newspapers will not understand the difference. All they see is the word "Christian" and lump us all in together.
I wish that I could say our brand of Christianity were devoid of sin and foolishness, but I cannot. Our recent divisions regarding Erskine Seminary have proved that. Dear God, what are we doing to ourselves? And to You?
"We wrestle not against flesh and blood," Paul writes, "But against rulers, against principalities and powers in the heavenly realms." Our weapons are not of this world, but are of divine origin. Yet it seems that those weapons of our warfare, our full armor, are left on the shelf to ruse, and we must pick up the weapons of this world--force, argument, political maneuvering, and lawsuits. We speak and act out of wrath, We seek to conquer enemies, not win them. Those sins we have in our midst that ought to make us ashamed, have not only been tolerated, they have been protected, and even encouraged if it suits our purposes.
The Catholic church has become a sore on the face of Christianity because it sought to hide its sin from the world. It covered up the shameful conduct of a few priests, rather than to openly admit its imperfections. The militias who called themselves Christians have embarrassed us, because they though t that they could use guns and bombs to defend against imagined evils, rather than the weapons our warfare. And we--we have allowed have allowed, and even encouraged a handful of manipulative, domineering, belligerent people to operate behind the scenes merely because we agreed with their ends.
One characteristic alone makes us different from the unbeliever. When it comes to moral purity and devotion to our God, Muslims have us beat. How many Christians are willing to go on a month long fast, or pray five times a day, or blow themselves up for the cause of their God? When it comes to church discipline the Mormons have us beat. They will discipline a member for drinking tea. Orthodox Jews are more devoted in their zeal for the Law. The Jehovah's Witnesses beat us on evangelistic fervor. The Buddhists beat us on asceticism, and even the Scientologists beat us in percentage giving. But in one area Christians excel--grace. No other group of people in the world believes in a God of grace like ours, that would sacrifice His one and only Son on the Cross fo we who did not deserve it. No other faith believes in a God who Himself is willing to turn the other cheek. In a world of conflict, grace is the one commodity that is shorter than any other.
I know what some people would say. We have the truth, and they do not. But having the truth is no good unless we live it as well. We can't just say we have the truth, we must demonstrate it.
Grace is the greatest weapon in our divine arsenal. We imitate Christ in his willingness to accept and love the sinner. It is the one thing that will turn an enemies into a friend. Unfortunately, it is the one thing we use the least on each other.
I was discussing a statement I made in on of my former blogs, that we have respect for diversity. A friend of mine told me that he used to think so, but no longer. We often act as is there is something wrong with being loving to our enemies, that it is some kind of sappy sentimentality. used by the weak and the naïve to justify our toleration of heresy. I disagree. I don't see how a Savior who included anti-government Zealots and Roman tax collectors among his best friends could ever be accused of seeking absolute agreement of thought on ever issue. Jesus floated through the denominations of Palestinian Jews, loving them all but joining Himself to any. How can such a Savior's name be used to justify the kind of internecine warfare we seem so prone to accept as normal?
ARPs are only be a tiny fish in the great sea of Christendom. Our influence may not extend very far beyond our walls. But for God's sake, let us at least act like Christians. Let's show grace and humility to those we dislike, rather than trying to run them off. Let's humbly admit that we don't have all the answers, we don't know one another's hearts, and that we aren't the paragons of virtue and doctrinal purity e pretend to be. Let's be nothing but saved sinners in a world of sinners who also need saving, and let's lay off the blustering and bloviating for the purpose of making us seem important. Then maybe we will be window to the grace of Christ, instead of walls.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
thoughts on my daughter's wedding
I've been too busy this last week to write much, but now that the big event has come and gone, I can at last give time to reflect upon it. Today We have scheduled nothing to do but rest and recover.
This last weekend my oldest daughter, Iris was married to Richard Smith at our church. Dr. Jack Basie and myself officiated. Jack did the message and the first part of the sermon so I could walk her down the aisle. There were in attendance many members of the church, Iris' friends, and a large contingent of performers from the Renaissance Faire, and about a slew of out of town relatives. Iris, determined to spare us expense, did most of the work herself, and got friends to do what she could not do. She made the bridesmaids' dresses, got most of the food, and printed and rolled the bulletins. A friend's mother made the cake. Another friend made her dress for a very reasonable price. The dress was gorgeous. Her cousin Erin sang beautifully. Another friends sang beautifully. Her sisters and best friend were her bridesmaids, and all went off without a hitch, except when her father, overcome by emotion almost tripped and flubbed his lines. It was a grand and glorious day.
We are exhausted. Our emotions were pulled like taffy all weekend, back and forth between merriment and poignancy. We were happy and sad all at the same time.
I remember the day Iris came into the world. It was another emotional day. For weeks before, we tried to settle on a name. We went page by page through the baby name book, and tried ever name we could think of on our tongue, but none seemed right. Then on a youth trip, someone played a cassette
which had a song about a little girl named Iris. We knew that was who we wanted our daughter to be. Iris means rainbow, God's symbol of new hope. On the wall of the labor room on the day she was born was hung a picture of a rainbow. We took it like Noah did, as a sign of God's favor.
I watched her grow from a child to a woman, always sweet, always kind and beautiful. When she faced trouble, she came out on top. Once she broke her leg on a church youth trip and had her foot in a cast. She taught the group to swing dance--cast and all. When she got out of college, she moved to Japan for two years to teach English. She gained a master's degree in English as a second language, When she was in college, she once got a scholarship for Christian character. She is also an accomplished balloon artists, a seamstress, and an amateur magician. She is quite a girl.
Last Saturday, I walked her down the aisle. Rev. Jack Basie asked the question "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" I put her hand on Richard' hand, then went forward to complete the ceremony, tripping over myself as I stepped up to the stage. I did all right until I got to the end, when I was about to read the declaration of marriage. I saw the name "iris Rebecca Fleming"--the name we ave her. Now I was giving her to someone else, who would change her name forever to Iris Smith. There she was, radiant and ready to be a wife. I choked up, and almost had to ask Jack to finish the service, but somehow I manage to get out those words "I now pronounce you man and wife."
The deed was done. She belonged to someone else now. Iris Fleming became Iris Smith.
Someone noticed that when she went from being Iris Fleming to Iris Smith, her initials went from IF to IS. It was an appropriate (though accidental) statement. They all start out as an "if"s--if only they would follow the Lord. If only they would be good people. Then they grow up and become an is--the person they would remain. Iris has become a beautiful is, indeed.
Richard, her husband, told me that when they arrived at the church, he saw, a huge rainbow hung in the sky. It was another omen. God was showing his approval, and his hope for the home that was beginning. It was a wonderful, beautiful hope indeed.
Congratulations to you both, if you read this. I'm proud of the both of you.
This last weekend my oldest daughter, Iris was married to Richard Smith at our church. Dr. Jack Basie and myself officiated. Jack did the message and the first part of the sermon so I could walk her down the aisle. There were in attendance many members of the church, Iris' friends, and a large contingent of performers from the Renaissance Faire, and about a slew of out of town relatives. Iris, determined to spare us expense, did most of the work herself, and got friends to do what she could not do. She made the bridesmaids' dresses, got most of the food, and printed and rolled the bulletins. A friend's mother made the cake. Another friend made her dress for a very reasonable price. The dress was gorgeous. Her cousin Erin sang beautifully. Another friends sang beautifully. Her sisters and best friend were her bridesmaids, and all went off without a hitch, except when her father, overcome by emotion almost tripped and flubbed his lines. It was a grand and glorious day.
We are exhausted. Our emotions were pulled like taffy all weekend, back and forth between merriment and poignancy. We were happy and sad all at the same time.
I remember the day Iris came into the world. It was another emotional day. For weeks before, we tried to settle on a name. We went page by page through the baby name book, and tried ever name we could think of on our tongue, but none seemed right. Then on a youth trip, someone played a cassette
which had a song about a little girl named Iris. We knew that was who we wanted our daughter to be. Iris means rainbow, God's symbol of new hope. On the wall of the labor room on the day she was born was hung a picture of a rainbow. We took it like Noah did, as a sign of God's favor.
I watched her grow from a child to a woman, always sweet, always kind and beautiful. When she faced trouble, she came out on top. Once she broke her leg on a church youth trip and had her foot in a cast. She taught the group to swing dance--cast and all. When she got out of college, she moved to Japan for two years to teach English. She gained a master's degree in English as a second language, When she was in college, she once got a scholarship for Christian character. She is also an accomplished balloon artists, a seamstress, and an amateur magician. She is quite a girl.
Last Saturday, I walked her down the aisle. Rev. Jack Basie asked the question "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" I put her hand on Richard' hand, then went forward to complete the ceremony, tripping over myself as I stepped up to the stage. I did all right until I got to the end, when I was about to read the declaration of marriage. I saw the name "iris Rebecca Fleming"--the name we ave her. Now I was giving her to someone else, who would change her name forever to Iris Smith. There she was, radiant and ready to be a wife. I choked up, and almost had to ask Jack to finish the service, but somehow I manage to get out those words "I now pronounce you man and wife."
The deed was done. She belonged to someone else now. Iris Fleming became Iris Smith.
Someone noticed that when she went from being Iris Fleming to Iris Smith, her initials went from IF to IS. It was an appropriate (though accidental) statement. They all start out as an "if"s--if only they would follow the Lord. If only they would be good people. Then they grow up and become an is--the person they would remain. Iris has become a beautiful is, indeed.
Richard, her husband, told me that when they arrived at the church, he saw, a huge rainbow hung in the sky. It was another omen. God was showing his approval, and his hope for the home that was beginning. It was a wonderful, beautiful hope indeed.
Congratulations to you both, if you read this. I'm proud of the both of you.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad
My parents were married in 1950, when Dad graduated from Georgia Tech on the GI bill. He was a veteran of World War II. she was a southern bell of incomparable beauty. (It's true. I'm not just saying that because she is my mother.) Dad worked as a textile engineer, then became a safety engineer for an insurance company, then as a salesman, and finally as a sales manager and PR representative. Mom stayed home and raised my sister and I while he was on the road.
It's amazing to think what they've seen together--the birth of television, Elvis, Sputnik, civil rights, the Mercury program, man on the moon, a presidential assassination, Woodstock, Watergate, Reagan, the rise of Islam, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the internet, the Millennium, 9-11, and Obama. They have been to England, Spain, Switzerland, Morocco, and most of the US states.
When I was a child, it seemed that we had lived a blessed life. But it has not been easy for my parents. The lived through several major moves. Dad was sometimes on the road for days on end while Mom handled things back home.
When it got older, I realized why my life was easy. Mom and Dad worked hard to make our life safe and happy. Mom and Dad linked their arms above us, giving us the shelter and support we needed to thrive. They bore the burdens that we could not bear, took the pain that we could not endure, and provided the safety we needed to make it in the world.
Joy and I have now been married for thirty-five years. We have tried to follow in my parents' footsteps, providing shelter and support for our girls, as our parents provided it for us.
Have we done as well? Not hardly. There is not a day that I do not ask myself what Dad would do or what Mom would do. I often come up short.
But there is one lesson I learned more than any is this--no matter what happened, the two of them survived and stayed together. Now they have reached sixty years, and love each other as much as they ever did.
So here's to you, Mom and Dad. You are winners in the game of life. You've taught us the meaning of life. God, home family. We never would have made it this far without you. Whatever I have had or done right in life, we owe to both of you. Faithfulness begets faithfulness, courage begets courage, praise begets praise, and joy begets joy. These you have given us these in abundance. I love you, and I hope that the second half of your lives will be as joyful as the first.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Reactions to the Erskine Synod, Part 3
The division between Erskine and the Synod is a bad thing. It has caused chaos on the campus and criticism in the press.
If it were necessary, it would have been worth it. But it was not necessary. Things could have been done more gently and slowly, with greater sensitivity to the people involved.
But it's done, and it cannot be undone. God will work in this situation and bring fruit out of it, regardless. He has set us down this path for a reason, and we need to walk it, seeking His guidance as we go.
On one thing I hope we all agree. We should not let this controversy distract us from the real work of God. Satan, the great illusionist makes us look one way when we should be looking another. Our fallen nature loves a good fight. We love stories with heroes and villains and testosterone-laden calls to battle. But the real enemies are not within our walls. They just outside the wall, egging on dissention and discord within our camp. It's hard to fight each other and love each other at the same time.
So let's ignore the Devil's smoke and mirrors for a while, and remember what we are hear to do.
1. We are here to live under the authority of Scripture. Before I went to Erskine Seminary, I attended a PCUSA seminary for four years. That school was truly liberal. They denied the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures loudly and proudly.
In one class discussion on hermeneutics the professor taught that the Bible was written, not by God, but by fifteen or twenty different "faith communities," each with its own agenda. What was true for one community was not necessarily true to others. According to him, Biblical interpretation meant picking which writings most fit what we thought the Spirit was saying, while ignoring or denying the rest. At that school, the Bible was a kind of do-it-yourself theology kit--a spiritual erector set from which we can construct virtually any doctrine or artifice we wished. The Bible could be made to support whatever was in vogue at the time--women's ordination, gay ordination, Marxism, social Darwinism--whatever. To keep my faith and sanity, I took two sets of notes, one of what the professors said, and another of what I thought about what they said!
I thank God that before I went there, I had attended a genuinely Christian College, where the Bible was taught, and the professors sought to build our faith, not tear it down. I thank God every day for my training in that school. It was what I hope that Erskine will be one day.
Even so, even that Christian college was not perfect. Attending a Christian college is an education in the durability of original sin. We lived in an isolated fortress of Christianity in a pagan world. Our Biblical lifestyle and our fiery commitment to it depended upon us being cocooned away from the world.
If we are going to live by the Bible, why not begin with the parts that the Bible calls the most important--Love of God with all our hearts, and love of our neighbors?
Some groups deny the Bible. Others ignore it. Still others twist it. But the if the Bible isn't stretching us, making us angry, or challenging our beliefs and our actions, we aren't paying attention.
2. We are here to proclaim the Reformed tradition.
The Reformed view of theology is a wonder--beautiful in its simplicity, profound in its implications, wondrous in its depth. Calvin was to Biblical interpretation what Einstein was to physics. His insights into God and the Bible made possible a whole new world in theology, politics, art, and economics.
Lately, there has been a resurgence in Calvinism in America, but not among Presbyterians. Baptists, Anglicans, and even Pentecostals have rediscovered Calvin. But among we Presbyterians we seem to use it more for as a shibboleth to determine who belongs than a living body of theological understanding speaking to our time and culture. It has become a static creed, used to keep the saint in instead of being salt and light to the our lost world.
ARPs hear the Bible and Reformed theology preached. But often we preach it only to the already convinced. We preach it in language that means nothing to people who are not in on Reformed jargon.
In order for the power of our theology to affect the world, people must understand it, an we must understand the people. They don't care about our internal disputes. They care even less about internal disputes from centuries ago. How many churches have been subjected to preaching that refights yesterday's wars, and ignore the very real problems of the people in front of them?
When we get tied up in political and unproductive struggles, we get our eyes off our people.
3. We are to put the Gospel first. While in college I once attended a meeting of the an insightful presentation by Dr. Harold B Kuhn, an evangelical Methodist theologian, on the rise of liberalism in the Methodist Church. When the Methodist Church got its eyes off the Gospel and became obsessed with making a new post-millenial world, they came close to completely wrecking their church. Their goal ceased to be the salvation of Individuals and the saving of souls from hell, but to change the world they lived in now. It wasn't to much to raise the spiritually dead, but to make their coffins more comfortable.
Today Evangelical churches are losing their passion to introduce people to Christ. Megachurches preach a feel-good, positive thinking gospel. The dying mainline preaches social involvement and politics. Much of the conservative church have also been beguiled by the illusion of power politics affords. We've subordinated our spiritual goals for worldly ones, and sought to build institutions before we save souls. If the purpose of the church were to build impressive buildings, then we've succeeded wonderfully. But where are the people?
4. We should love one another.
The mark of true discipleship is not spiritual purity and theological perfection. According to Jesus, it is our love for each other. (John 13:34-35)
We have become more conservative and evangelical and I rejoice in that. But that isn't the all of it. What we do now will determine what kind of Evangelical church we will be? Will we walk the walk, or just talk the talk? Will we behave like Christians, Loving God, the world, and one another? We don't have to agree, but we surely have to treat them as brothers.
We must ask ourselves a burning question, and we must answer. If we disagree, then how will we disagree? Does our disagreement cause us to build each other up, or to tear each other down?
If it were necessary, it would have been worth it. But it was not necessary. Things could have been done more gently and slowly, with greater sensitivity to the people involved.
But it's done, and it cannot be undone. God will work in this situation and bring fruit out of it, regardless. He has set us down this path for a reason, and we need to walk it, seeking His guidance as we go.
On one thing I hope we all agree. We should not let this controversy distract us from the real work of God. Satan, the great illusionist makes us look one way when we should be looking another. Our fallen nature loves a good fight. We love stories with heroes and villains and testosterone-laden calls to battle. But the real enemies are not within our walls. They just outside the wall, egging on dissention and discord within our camp. It's hard to fight each other and love each other at the same time.
So let's ignore the Devil's smoke and mirrors for a while, and remember what we are hear to do.
1. We are here to live under the authority of Scripture. Before I went to Erskine Seminary, I attended a PCUSA seminary for four years. That school was truly liberal. They denied the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures loudly and proudly.
In one class discussion on hermeneutics the professor taught that the Bible was written, not by God, but by fifteen or twenty different "faith communities," each with its own agenda. What was true for one community was not necessarily true to others. According to him, Biblical interpretation meant picking which writings most fit what we thought the Spirit was saying, while ignoring or denying the rest. At that school, the Bible was a kind of do-it-yourself theology kit--a spiritual erector set from which we can construct virtually any doctrine or artifice we wished. The Bible could be made to support whatever was in vogue at the time--women's ordination, gay ordination, Marxism, social Darwinism--whatever. To keep my faith and sanity, I took two sets of notes, one of what the professors said, and another of what I thought about what they said!
I thank God that before I went there, I had attended a genuinely Christian College, where the Bible was taught, and the professors sought to build our faith, not tear it down. I thank God every day for my training in that school. It was what I hope that Erskine will be one day.
Even so, even that Christian college was not perfect. Attending a Christian college is an education in the durability of original sin. We lived in an isolated fortress of Christianity in a pagan world. Our Biblical lifestyle and our fiery commitment to it depended upon us being cocooned away from the world.
If we are going to live by the Bible, why not begin with the parts that the Bible calls the most important--Love of God with all our hearts, and love of our neighbors?
Some groups deny the Bible. Others ignore it. Still others twist it. But the if the Bible isn't stretching us, making us angry, or challenging our beliefs and our actions, we aren't paying attention.
2. We are here to proclaim the Reformed tradition.
The Reformed view of theology is a wonder--beautiful in its simplicity, profound in its implications, wondrous in its depth. Calvin was to Biblical interpretation what Einstein was to physics. His insights into God and the Bible made possible a whole new world in theology, politics, art, and economics.
Lately, there has been a resurgence in Calvinism in America, but not among Presbyterians. Baptists, Anglicans, and even Pentecostals have rediscovered Calvin. But among we Presbyterians we seem to use it more for as a shibboleth to determine who belongs than a living body of theological understanding speaking to our time and culture. It has become a static creed, used to keep the saint in instead of being salt and light to the our lost world.
ARPs hear the Bible and Reformed theology preached. But often we preach it only to the already convinced. We preach it in language that means nothing to people who are not in on Reformed jargon.
In order for the power of our theology to affect the world, people must understand it, an we must understand the people. They don't care about our internal disputes. They care even less about internal disputes from centuries ago. How many churches have been subjected to preaching that refights yesterday's wars, and ignore the very real problems of the people in front of them?
When we get tied up in political and unproductive struggles, we get our eyes off our people.
3. We are to put the Gospel first. While in college I once attended a meeting of the an insightful presentation by Dr. Harold B Kuhn, an evangelical Methodist theologian, on the rise of liberalism in the Methodist Church. When the Methodist Church got its eyes off the Gospel and became obsessed with making a new post-millenial world, they came close to completely wrecking their church. Their goal ceased to be the salvation of Individuals and the saving of souls from hell, but to change the world they lived in now. It wasn't to much to raise the spiritually dead, but to make their coffins more comfortable.
Today Evangelical churches are losing their passion to introduce people to Christ. Megachurches preach a feel-good, positive thinking gospel. The dying mainline preaches social involvement and politics. Much of the conservative church have also been beguiled by the illusion of power politics affords. We've subordinated our spiritual goals for worldly ones, and sought to build institutions before we save souls. If the purpose of the church were to build impressive buildings, then we've succeeded wonderfully. But where are the people?
4. We should love one another.
The mark of true discipleship is not spiritual purity and theological perfection. According to Jesus, it is our love for each other. (John 13:34-35)
We have become more conservative and evangelical and I rejoice in that. But that isn't the all of it. What we do now will determine what kind of Evangelical church we will be? Will we walk the walk, or just talk the talk? Will we behave like Christians, Loving God, the world, and one another? We don't have to agree, but we surely have to treat them as brothers.
We must ask ourselves a burning question, and we must answer. If we disagree, then how will we disagree? Does our disagreement cause us to build each other up, or to tear each other down?
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