Category: Sunday Reflections

I am convinced that asking the right questions even without getting a good answer is more important than getting answers to the wrong questions.  Today, we discussed eight questions around the topic of church in today’s world.  I walked away with some new thoughts, affirmation of old habits, and a renewed commitment to why I believe.

A man complained to another about how the church is full of hypocrites and he would not be attending. His friend’s response was “There is always room for one more!”

Church is not about us.  Now there is a thought.  It is about how, when, why, and where we find God.  It does not matter where you are on life’s journey, we should be welcomed there.  It is the last stop on the Jesus train.

Church is the place of the BIG HUG.  It is not a place of merit, accomplishment, and achievement.  Rather, it is a place of brokenness, forgiveness, grace, and acceptance.  You can feel it immediately.  It is not defined by programs, budget, choreographed music, and inspired preaching.  It is where I meet Christ in the lives of my fellow humans.  It really is a place I want to be.

We often confuse going to church as worship.  Worship is how we live Monday through Saturday.  Worship is not attending a service.  Worship is living a rebel life of righteousness and holiness

I am the church the world sees.  The reason I believe is because of the way the people I loved and who loved me, lived their lives.  For some of us, it was our parents.  Their lives were not just different, they lived lives, that when I really think about it, often did not make any sense.  They were generous. They sacrificed.  They gave their time away.  They loved the unlovable.  They were joyful and thankful when they had little reason, seemingly, to do so.  Their lives represented the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

Church is people, not a building, not a place, not a denomination.  Our loyalty and purpose is to serve Christ and as our local place of worship proclaims “To Know HIM and to make him known!”  In doing that we build institutions.  

It seems to me that the church, where God and His people together followship and “walk in the garden so to speak (Genesis 3:8),” identifies with policies, programs, political parties, we become a flawed entity.  The church then loses it prophetic voice and becomes a protector of self-interests.  

A church service that is about sin, salvation and personal piety I find insufficient.  A church service that is focused on loving our neighbor, doing good, improving mankind seems unbelievably naïve.  Where is my “Perfect church?”

For me, the church exists to

1.       Bring the Good News of Christ, an alternate reality, to a world that is hell bent on self-interest, power, sex, and money…”Whosoever shall believe on Him…”

2.       Challenge me to live faithfully, sacrificially, and purposefully, in love for others…”Thy Kingdom come!”

That’s it.  There are a thousand ways to do those two things.  God gave us incredible minds to make that happen.  How best to reach the world and live Christ like in 2021 is another discussion.  What do you think?

 

This is the question we discussed today: Isn’t the business of business business? When there is money to be made, can the business world be trusted to do the right thing? Will they self-correct on important issues such as human rights issues, important ethical and moral rights, and values of common humanity?

That title sounds like a mouth full especially when one starts to define what it means in terms of sexual harassment, child labor, fair pay, safe work conditions, ethical investment, creation care, wage differentials, health policies, contamination at work and mining sites, living wage, disaster management…just a few things mentioned this morning.  This is important stuff for people of faith for two reasons.  

1.       “The Earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof.” Genesis 1: 1, Psalm 2: 1, I Cor. 10: 26

2.       Work is worship.  How we conduct ourselves Monday through Saturday is what we bring to the Lord.  Colossians 3: 23

We heard a presentation by two people directly engaged with Bench Marks Foundation, a faith initiated (2001), South African based, globally involved, focused on ethical conduct in the world of business…primarily the mining sector since this is the single largest industry in South Africa with one thousand (Plus or minus) mining entities in the country.  Several things I heard that stood out to me.

1.       This is not an individually supported endeavor nor are the results of their research linked to the pew.  

2.       It is supported by and reports to the Catholic Bishop’s Council, South Africa Council of Churches and amazing to me, a number of European countries, countries that we in North America might call socialist, post Christian, acting more Christian than what we in the West might expect, compassionate, and quite effective.  

3.       With a staff of under ten and an annual budget of under one million, it is quite amazing their accomplishments, influence, and access to corporate power structures.  

4.       Their work is built on establishing long term relationships, factually based research, and engaging the relevant communities.

5.       Much of their research is that of policy gap studies, that is, evaluation of what is explicitly stated (Corporate spin) and what exists. 

 This is worth checking out:  (https://www.bensch-marks.org.za) https://www.bench-marks.org.za 

I listened carefully this morning comparing it to what I heard on Moody Radio (A very conservative Christian radio station in the mid-west) this past week.  It was an interview where the guest was talking about the need to engage business where annual corporate board meetings are being held by zoom.  He had a series of questions he was advocating people who had stock in these corporations should be asking about their corporate social contributions. 

This past week I had lunch with the Director of Disciple Marketplace Leaders (DML).  This is all about awakening and empowering business people to their God given calling.     www.disciplingmarketplaceleaders.org

Seems to me God is initiating a movement outside the institutional church.

 

Today I realized again, the limited scope of our national news and our general unawareness of the world we live in.  Our discussion also gave me a deep sense of gratitude for the experience, knowledge, and personal engagement of the people in the group.  

Today, our discussion was to be led today by one of our members who is on one of the Greek islands working with refugees.  Another member stepped in expanding her previous discussion and experience she had in McClellan, Texas on the Southern border.  She helped us understand some of the eighty criteria under which asylum seekers are evaluated, assignment of court dates that could be anywhere in the States, and the qualifications and authority of border patrol agents.  

This led to a discussion of the historic causes of violence in central America by yet another member of our group bringing in stories from Honduras and El Salvador.  To understand Central America, Century of the Wind, the third book in the Memory of Fire Trilogy, written my Eduardo Galeano, was highly recommended.  A comment was made that this border “crisis” is of long standing and is impossible to fix but we can and should do what we can.  From that arose a discussion and plan for visiting the border …and actually doing something.

We talked about the third wave of the Corona Virus shutting down South Africa and Uganda and the implications of this for people who live day to day.  A better word is “Lock down” because there are no public gatherings, no travel, required masks everywhere, and serious penalties for non-compliance.  Just an aside: How is it that one third of our nation refuses vaccination and in other countries there is no vaccine and people are dying, some of whom I know personally?

During our time together the countries of Turkey, Myanmar, Guatemala, Mexico, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia were mentioned in passing.  We are a part of all God’s people…suffering, thriving, struggling, praising, and opening our eyes and hearts to what God sees.  Next week we will be led by our South African member talking about faith in the rough and tumble world of business and industry.  

The question I struggle with is How can one make a significant difference in the world?  We talked this morning about the massive needs of the eighty million refugees and displaced persons and our personal response.  The consensus seems to be about our personal response rather than anything to do about making systematic change.  Some points raised that I heard:

1.       What is God saying to each of us?  It may not be the same for each of us.

2.       Act within the confines of my influence and resources.

3.       Get involved…however, small.

4.       “Action anywhere is action everywhere.”   (Hope I have that quote correctly.)

5.       There are levels of responsibility; personal, corporate, government?  

6.       The role of the church of being a servant and willing to sacrifice to and for our communities, to and for the needy, to and for the world seems to have changed to one of alignment for power and influence.

7.       Jesus did not address systemic change but personal responsibility, love, and compassion.

Well, that is what I heard.  The more I think about this issue, I disagree with some of those statements. My best thoughts often come later.

1.       I believe God says the same thing to all of us but most of us will respond differently. 

2.        I should never limit my engagement to effect change.  God’s resources are unlimited and for the most part unseen and unused because we  (I) don’t have enough faith and courage to get in the dirt and need them.

3.       Have a big vision for change but start small. Proverbs.

4.       Action anywhere is only action somewhere, not everywhere. 

5.       To suggest it is the responsibility to another entity is a cop out, one I have used more than once.

6.       The institutional church leaves a lot to be desired, but it is the faithful who practice sacrificial service to others that is the real church.  I believe there are many who are not members of a church, not even Christians, who are members of Christ’s church.  James 2: 18-36

7.       The institutions of power were frightened by the life and teachings of Christ.  He was radical, fearless, and called for his followers to leave their life of comfort. Mark 3: 34.  In our day and age no one in North America and South Africa fear the rhetoric and actions of Christians.

So, how did I answer the question of leveraging my small efforts for significant change?  I did not answer the question at all but maybe it is a question that I should continually be asking myself.

Our discussion this Sunday morning was simply listening to the experience of Bev, our volunteer member.  She went with several other women for a week to work specifically with children at a Catholic Charities Respite Center at McAllen, Texas.  This center was created and is managed by Sister Norma Fimentel.  I do not know how to even begin to write my reflection on this issue.  I want to do something…but what?  

The whole border crisis came alive to me as she described how the children would hang on to her asking if she could help them find their mother.  How does one respond to a simple request like that?  Everyday there are anywhere from 30 to 140 new children coming into just this one center.   And today is World Refugee Day!   It is happening on our watch.

Googling the Southern Border Wall I discovered there are sixty border walls in the world.  The longest one is in Southern Texas.  It costs us American taxpayers roughly TWENTY MILLION dollars a mile to construct.  It is not just the thirty-foot steel pilings but the high-powered searchlights, cameras, and other high tech electronic equipment.  

Most children and many adults do not speak adequate English yet the simple immigration forms are in English only.  Seriously?  All across Southern Texas, many if not most of our citizens are bi-lingual.  Still 90+ percent of the immigrants show up for their court hearings. 

Of the thousands of children that are processed, relatively few are from Mexico.  Most are from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.  

I have not captured any statistics here, but they are readily available. We have the mightiest military in the world and we can’t do anything but focus on the “least of these?”   

  A question will be asked someday from each of us.  What did you do for the refugee, the alien who lives next door, the Hispanic maid that cleans our hotel rooms or the workers who harvest our fruits and vegetables, workers who milk our cows and hang drywall in our homes?  I know undocumented residents.  What am I doing to make their life better?  Some, I would call my friends. I have never even asked where they are from and how they came to be here and what their present economic situation is.

As a citizen of this country, we have an obligation, at the minimum, to understand what is happening.  I have read two of the following; American Dirt,Enrique’s Journey, and We are Not From Here.  At least read one of them.   

I do not have a comprehensive solution, but I do know an injustice when I see it.  I don’t have the solution for this crisis, but I sure know there are things that can be done, things that we can all agree on.  Lord have mercy on those in power who have the influence and power… and do nothing.

Our discussion today was based on a real-life story of sacrificial service to others and our failure as a society to meet the needs of the most vulnerable among us.  Do I have to be my brother’s keeper?  

My thoughts this morning are not answers but rather learning to ask the right questions.  We need to think deeper about issues rather than just labeling others, making judgmental statements, and not being politically engaged.  How can we improve?

1.       What is myth and what is our definitions of the following terms?

a.       Capitalism is associated with Christianity: What is good and bad about this association?

b.       Individualism valued over Community: Why is our society so uniquely individualistic?

c.       Western culture equates to Christianity: How does money and power affect our values?

d.       Socialism equates to bad government: What defines good government?

2.       As people of faith, is our role to be providers of care, advocates for better policies, push for more personal responsibility, or all of the above?  How do we best do that?

3.       If your church was put on trial for caring for the least, lost, and lonely, would there be enough evidence to convict?

A couple of summary statements

1.       Money makes money.  Struggling families continue to struggle.  How do we make a more just society?

2.       The church has historically embraced the concept of separation of church and state or in more recent times the church has been co-opted by a political party.  Where is the salt and light?  I love Bread for the World, a non-partisan organization advocating for the poor.

3.       No nation is a “Christian Nation” even Israel of the Old Testament, but we are all called to be one, and we are citizens of the Kingdom right now.  As citizens of the Kingdom, we have obligations.  

Matthew 25: 31 – 46

…”for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.  The king will say, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you form the foundation of the world.’”

4.       Our nation’s government has created some policies which are incredibly helpful and efficient and “Christian.”  One example is social security where the overhead is only 3.5%

5.       Earth is not a waiting room for heaven.

This is a topic that was never a part of our family growing up.  Today it is in the media, our movies, books, and among our friends and families.  It is being legislated.  And, it is in the Bible although I have never heard a sermon even remotely come close to addressing this issue.  A really thoughtful Biblical perspective can be found at: https://www.hrc.org/resources/what-does-the-bible-say-about-transgender-people

“There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3: 28 

We could go on.  There is neither black nor white, neither Hutu nor Tutsi, neither American Indian nor Caucasian, neither lower or upper caste, neither cisgender nor gay. Here we are looking once again at our differences.  This topic is way out of my comfort zone and life experience.  Yet, as I hear younger people talk about, read and hear about the personal stories of people whose sexual identity is different than the bodies biology, I cannot think of a greater living personal agony for that person and their families. 

Some observations:

1.       God is gender neutral.  God loves each of us, completely, without regard to gender.  

2.       It should be exceedingly difficult for us to not love someone for whom God loves unconditionally.

3.       In Genesis we find “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  The existence of transgender people might seem to fly in the face of God’s created order.  Looking at creation we find a much more complex world.  There are opposites in every corner of creation: day and night, land and sea, fish and birds, and everything in between.  God’s creation exists in spectrums.  In between day and night, we have dawn and dusk.  Between land and sea, we have coral reefs, estuaries and beaches.  God gives every human being a self that is unique and may not fit into our traditional view of sexual relationships.  Christians recognize that the stories set down in this chapter were never meant to catalogue all of creation but rather to point us towards God’s power and love.  Not every microbe, constellation, and sexual orientation need be named to have a purpose and a blessing.

4.       Studies show that when transgender people are affirmed and loved, everyone benefits.  It is more likely that sin is at play in the oppressive and damaging ways we treat each other and not in the very fact of someone’s existence.

5.       We live in an imperfect world, and I find myself uniquely imperfect striving to live a holistic healthy, and authentic life.  As is often the case, my role is not to explain, excuse, or judge others but rather to love others, regardless.  I find that simple task, daunting.

“What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?”  

“Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,”…

“What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and forfeits his life?”

“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be grained under the sun.”

Questions to ponder over this Memorial Day Weekend:

1  What is my/your definition of success?  Note Wooden’s definition of success… his definition of character… his three rules for his teams… his understanding of 3 thou shalt nots… his view of winning.

2  Jesus approached life from a position of unconditional love demonstrated by his words and deeds.

3 What areas of my/your life that might be improved if you and I take the time to incorporate Biblical and success concepts into our daily life? 

4 When is it ok to not do one’s best?

5  When have I won without succeeding or have succeeded without winning?

6 Reputation…Is a perception of what you are.  Character …Is who I really am!  Are they aligned?

7 Is my journey better than the end?

It may be time to remind everyone that I am not advocating a position as we discuss so many of these current issues so much as think more deeply about them and to move beyond easy answers to the deeper truths.

The discussion today focused on the long-term impacts when large groups of people are disenfranchised. What responsibility do we have in giving voice to those disenfranchised?  A good introduction to how gerrymandering tends to work is to watch “The man who rigged American’s election maps:” https://youtu.be/KpanjJtXqFI and the first two minutes of “Gerrymandering: How politicians rig elections-A Brief History: https://youtu.be/QZZwoObFMhU

The impacts of GOP Gerrymandering have led to States passing dramatic voter suppression legislation.  As of March 24, legislators have introduced 31 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states.  That is 108 more bills than the 253 restrictive bills tallied as of February 19, 2021, – a 43 percent increase in a little more than a month.  

These measures have begun to be enacted.  Five restrictive bills have already been signed into law.  In addition, at least 55 restrictive bills in 24 state are moving through legislatures: 29 have passed at least one chamber, while another 26 have had some sort of committee action (e.g. a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote).

• Leviticus 19: 18 “You should not take vengeance or bear any grudge…but love your neighbor” …

• Isaiah 61: 8 : “For I the Lord loves justice, …they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.”

• Matthew 5: 43 “You shall love your neighbor…”   And so many more verses.

My thoughts:

1.       I have heard many people say “My vote does not count.” For the first time I understand how this can and does happen intentionally through “packing” and “cracking.” The people do not pick the politicians, the politicians pick the people who will vote for them.

2.       This is practiced by both parties.

3.       Gerrymandering has been around a long time.  Why is gerrymandering not an issue for election reform?

4.       Segments of the population are disenfranchised, and the long-term effects are violence and eventually revolution.  The results are often to just give up, lose hope, “I’ve had enough,” or fight back.

5.       One has to ask oneself, Why is the issue not that of encouraging more participation in voting and making it easier to vote.  That is the key question I want to ask every politician.

6.       I wish every political decision, even my personal decisions, be asked through the filter of what is the message I am sending and impact on my neighbor and the most vulnerable among us?

7.       As a nation we have become more insulated, less integrated where the plumber lives next door to the doctor, the immigrant and refugee next to the college professors. How can we build more community and diversity?  Truth be told, I don’t even know our neighbors.

8.       We cannot preach about these issues from the pulpit.  They are divisive and do not bring unity.  It is easier to be against something than to bring about unity.  Does that define who people of faith are?

Just a couple side observations:  

1.       Americans loved “Open Borders when this land was “colonized”

2.       For some thoughts on abortion by Rev. Nathan Dannison.  Nathan is a gifted and profound thinker and speaker.  https://firstcongregationalkzoo.org/the-beginning-and-end-of-life/

“Not in it to win it!” by Andy Stanley   https://youtu.be/KXDIwU9cgf0

This was the source of our discussion today addressing the reasons why we, as people of faith, do what we do…or should do.  Forget about what I write below and just listen to the YouTube.  It is excellent.

Philippians 2: 4-8  “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to b grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” 

A few of my “Take-Aways:”:

1.       There seem to be few neutral topics.  We are living in a political polarized society.

2.       We are also living in a cancel culture.  What I mean by that is that we can be friends and colleagues for a long time and if I say something or express an opinion different than yours, the very relationship, friendship, membership in a church or organization might well be canceled, voided, or ended.  Suddenly a person becomes labeled and is no longer valued.  How sad is that?

3.       If there is a societal role for the church and people of faith it is to be the conscience of the nation.  

4.       Without Jesus as the foundation of everything we do, we can easily be swayed and become a body where the majority determines morality.  

5.       Jesus was not here to win it for himself or one political party or ethnic group.  He played to lose so that we might win.

6.       The church is never more Christ like than when defending someone else, someone more vulnerable, helpless, or impoverished…giving away rather than demanding our way.

7.       As people of faith, we definitely need to be in it (Engaged) but not to win it.  

8.       How many times do I listen to respond as contrasted to listening to understand?

9.       The defining virtue of the church is winning for others.

Questions to ponder:

1.       Do you think Christians and churches identity themselves with the servant, humble nature of Jesus on the cross?

2.       What kinds of things did the watching world see when they looked at the church in general this past year?  For better or worse, is that now our identity?  What does the world see when it looks at your local church?

3.       Did your church specifically address political alignments, political divisiveness, covid response, racism, or any other current events in sermons, teaching, or small groups in the last year using scriptural principles?  

4.       How do we weigh the need for unity with the need to speak the truth in love to each other?

5.       What types of temptations do politically liberal believers need to resist when it comes to how they want their churches to make decisions and policy?  

6.       What types of temptations do politically conservative believers need to resist when it comes to how they want their churches to make decisions and policy?  

P.S.  I just completed the book The Color of Compromise  (The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism) by Jemar Tisby.  After reading this book I feel like Hosea.  He was instructed to back to his harlot wife and love her.  I feel betrayed by my institutional church and yet cannot leave her.  

Your thoughts are always appreciated.  Responses are welcome.  Next week promises to be thought provoking.