Politics and the Church

PastorJim — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:22:34 +0000

I usually try to stay out of politics in my role as a pastor, but right now there is something really bugging me…and it has to do with the Christians that are always involved in politics. Let me point out something right up front—I do not care who you vote for…this has nothing to do with that. This is about consistency and integrity…mostly integrity.
For the past many years I have heard faith folks get up and state loudly and clearly that they “vote their values”. Now that usually means they are voting for folks who uphold their scriptural beliefs. Those “scriptural mandates” usually include being pro-life, anti-gay marriage and other areas where these believers feel scripture (which must be followed) is very clear.
This year that creates quite a conundrum for these “value voters”. I heard many of them early in the primary season quoting scripture to denounce Mitt Romney because of his Mormon beliefs…in fact; some of the rhetoric was extremely derogative calling Mormonism a cult, evil and much more.
Now comes the dilemma: if I am truly a Christian “values voter” how can I now vote for Mitt Romney? Is my allegiance more to scripture and God or more to my political leanings? We are already seeing where many of these “value voters” are placing their allegiance—ask Liberty University where Romney just spoke or ask any of those Christian family organizations who are quickly jumping on the Romney bandwagon.
I do remember something in the scriptures about hypocrites. I’m just wondering what happened to scriptural values, consistency and integrity? By the way, I’m not dissing Romney or suggesting you vote for President Obama…I’m just wondering how you deal with the inconsistency of your beliefs.
Just wondering…

Speaking of God’s Word

PastorJim — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:21:53 +0000

The older I get, the less comfortable I get with people “speaking for God”, and I notice that happening a lot these days. It happened at our own General Conference and just yesterday with some people in North Carolina screaming to ban gay marriage because “God’s Word is clear about it.”
Just a couple of thoughts I would like to share…but be clear, I will not be speaking for God: First, I must point out that calling the Bible “God’s Word” is a bit of a stretch. Just because we have been doing it for a number of years doesn’t make it accurate. There was a famous pundit who once stated that if we all get together and decide that a cat is not a cat…it’s still a cat.
The Bible itself says that the Word of God is Jesus…not some words written by men and voted into the Bible by men. And make no mistake, that is exactly how the Bible came into existence in its present form…discussions were held, arguments were had and then the votes were taken…some in, some out.
And a word about the Bible being “clear” on issues…to name just a few, “God’s Word” has been used to justify slavery, segregation, child abuse, the subjugation of women, and much more. Just a few years ago, many folks were clamoring about divorce the same way they are now clamoring about gay marriage.
I’m not certain, since I do not feel comfortable speaking for God, but I do wonder if this kind of thing (claiming exclusive understanding of God’s intended meaning in scripture) isn’t the reason Jesus tried to clarify things. Remember…he said that all of the Law and all of the Prophets (basically his Bible) come down to this: LOVE GOD AND LOVE NEIGHBOR!
Perhaps he should have spoken louder.

Say it Ain’t So, JoePa

PastorJim — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:29:12 +0000

I should say at the start that I wrote my first article about Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions over forty years ago. In the article I wrote strongly in support of Joe and his Lions who were totally ignored after an undefeated season as the press and then President Richard Nixon automatically awarded Texas the “mythical” national championship in football after their undefeated season and victory over Arkansas…old news at the best.
That just started my love affair with Penn State, JoePa and the football team. I dreamed of attending the school on the beautiful campus nestled in Happy Valley. Needless to say, I never made it there but my love of all things Penn State continued. The events of these past few days offered disappointment at an existential level.
I do not want to spend time rehashing the child sex abuse incidents or the legalities of who should have done what, when. Instead I want to focus on JoePa and the tragedy at Penn State…by the way, that was exactly Joe’s terminology as he stood in front of his house last evening and asked all of us to focus on the tragedy and pray for the victims.
As I watched the news both last night and early this morning, the reactions of people nationally wavered between two poles…one, Joe being fired was the right thing and two, Joe was made the fall guy for Penn State.
First let me say that I believe Joe Paterno to be a man of character and principle. Joe instilled values in generations of football players that went well beyond football. He raised millions of dollars for the university and gave millions to the library. He seemed to truly care about more than football and football players…he seemed to care about them as young men given to his care to be protected, educated, nurtured and developed.
That being said, it is evident that Joe Paterno failed to protect the most vulnerable of all and by his defacto silence and lack of outrage about this abuse is responsible. JoePa you failed to help the weakest and those most in need of your character and principle. So many of us do not want to find Joe at fault…we point to the fact of his reporting of the incident. However that was not enough! Joe should have done more and not stopped until those victims were vindicated.
I believe there is an underlying reason why so many don’t want to point the finger at Joe…because we, like Joe, have failed the most vulnerable. We have turned a blind eye to child abuse…we have made half-hearted attempts to report it…we have turned away from bruises and broken bones and pain. So if we find Joe guilty then we must find ourselves guilty…and we are. The failure of Joe Paterno is our failure…not only as individuals but as a society that allows an epidemic level of abuse by not only lack of involvement but lack of outrage…we should all be outraged.
The tragedy of the Penn State incident is not that JoePa lost his job. The tragedy is not that the school president was also fired. The tragedy of Penn State lies in the victims. It is time that someone speaks for the victims and though I am not sure the Board of Trustees were as concerned for the victims as they were in protecting the university…they did the right thing.
Only one question remains – what will be Joe Paterno’s legacy? I have heard many sports and news persons who have stated that his legacy is destroyed. I do not agree. Whether JoePa’s legacy will be destroyed or redeemed his now up to him. What Joe does from this moment forward will make all the difference.
Joe has at least two options…he can stay out of the limelight and continue with his present course of not accepting responsibility, and if he chooses that one his legacy will be tarnished beyond repair.
However, if Joe claims responsibility for not being outraged…for not beating down doors until something was done. If he spends the rest of his life not only doing that but becoming an advocate in fighting child abuse…if he goes on the talk show circuit imploring everyone to speak out and report abuse…if he takes this road – not only will his legacy be redeemed but it will be enhanced!
JoePa, stand up…show the character and principle we believe you have…demonstrate for your players, fans and supporters everywhere that it is never too late to do the right thing!

Children, Halloween and Real Danger

PastorJim — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:28:11 +0000

Stick with me on this one for a few moments…I have been reading some on line posts recently about Halloween and the danger for our children. People have listed everything from poisoned candy to cars to cavities, and yet statistics show us that there is very little real danger at Halloween. (I know this is a dangerous thing in and of itself to say as some random event will occur and someone will be quick to point it out to me.)
Now I’m going to jump (that’s why I wanted you to stick with me). I have also been hearing a lot the last couple of days about the 7 billionth person being born on Halloween day. For many that is another frightening thing…and they may be right! World over population is a serious concern, so there is much talk about what to do about it and the concern about food shortages, global warming and more. These, too, are serious issues.
Now I’m going to jump one more time…ready? But do you know what really concerns me more than cavities and Halloween and 7 billion people? What I’m more concerned about is how we treat the people already here (and for that matter, the ones yet to come)! I am quite honestly more worried about the babies and children of this generation and their treatment.
Want some sobering statistics? If the current figures on abuse are correct, then that means out of the 7,000,000,000 people in the world about 436,100,000 have been abused in their homes! That’s right…not at school or the neighbors or at day care or by some random stranger…but in their homes – the place most of us go for security and safety.
Are those figures so astronomical they mean nothing? Then how about this, 436 million is 100 million more than the population of the United States. So if you took another 100 million people and brought them here that would be equal to the total of those abused. That’s every person in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix plus every other city big or little and every person in the most remote corners of this country.
Scared yet? I am. But my purpose today isn’t to scare…it’s to inform. Because what we need to make a difference is information plus action! If you are ready to act, let me know as I know many ways to get you going.

Take the Bible seriously…just don’t take it to school?

PastorJim — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:34:00 +0000

I had an interesting thing happen to a church member this week. They recently obtained a new “Action Bible” and their young daughter was so enthralled with it that she wanted to take it to school to read during her personal “quiet time”.
That seemed reasonable and within my understanding of the law, however, her teacher did not agree and told her she could not bring it or read it. [One little aside here…when it comes to the prayer in school issue, I’m not a support of the organized “public prayer”. I think kids are going to pray in school if they want to anyway…especially before tests. I have always thought it much more important that children pray at home with their families.]
However there is something in this issue that got my dander up. Does this teacher have a list of acceptable and unacceptable reading material? Is Harry Potter okay? Or how about Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Would a book about Halloween or Santa Claus be acceptable?
It seems to me if children are allowed to bring books to read in their free time that the parent’s should be the arbiters of what is or isn’t appropriate. Also seems that this action is probably in direct opposition to the law. I would much rather have a teacher focusing on education and not my child’s parental approved reading list.
Just sounding off this week…what do you think?

The Headache

PastorJim — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:06:26 +0000

I just got over a four day headache…have you ever had anything like that? Tried meds, tried prayer, tried sleep, tried whining…nothing seemed to help until I finally woke up one morning and it was gone…Hallelujah for that!
It caused me to think about the Apostle Paul…remember him. One time he tells us that he has “thorn in his flesh” that will not go away. In fact he says that he has prayed for God to remove it many times but it is still there.
Have you ever wondered why Paul didn’t tell us what it was? Why couldn’t he have just said that I have arthritis, or struggles with greed or a four day headache? Wouldn’t that have been better for him to tell us?
I really think the reason that Paul didn’t tell us was so each of us…no matter what “our thorn” could identify with him and get strength from his struggle and from his realization that “not even an Apostle gets all he asks for in prayer”.
Funny I have met some Christians over the years that seem to suggest that if you have enough faith that you won’t have headaches or cancer or halitosis. They seem to suggest that we are just not strong enough Christians. Yet here it is…Paul, the chief of the Apostles, continuously struggling with his thorn that not even God would take away.
Seems like God doesn’t promise us a pain-free existence…God just promises to be with us! And may that be enough for us.

Call to Change

PastorJim — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:32:00 +0000

I have been about this church leadership thing as a lay person and a pastor for over thirty years now. In that time period, there have definitely been ups and downs both personally and corporately. Recently the UM Church has announced a new “call to action” with increased expectations for both churches and clergy.
I must say that I am still an optimist (though somewhat a tempered one) even after all these years. As I watched the video conference and was engaged in dialogue with some of the leaders in my Conference I felt hope. I was asked by my Bishop to develop some thoughts and ideas about how we measure “fruitfulness”. I took the charge and the task seriously and read and spoke with some of the most forward thinking church leaders of our time.
The consensus was overwhelming, and led me to begin to think in new ways about how we might be able to measure fruitfulness of churches, clergy and the Strategic Direction Plan implementation in the Annual Conference. This search was continually informed by the words that I had heard from Mike Slaughter and Bill Hybels last fall…in effect, the church growth movement with its emphasis on numbers has failed. Based on these items the following questions and thoughts came to mind as a basis for beginning to develop an effective way to measure fruitfulness.
Based on that I developed thoughts and ideas which I shared with my Bishop and she shared with the leadership of our Conference…hope was springing eternal that we might look at new ways of doing things instead of lagging behind how others are doing things.
But now that hope has been dealt a serious setback. Our Conference has hired a consultant to help churches move forward and I want to share some recent comments from this “hired gun” who is going to help us move to a “new paradigm”. “Expectations are rising and performance will be tracked. All United Methodist congregations will be reporting key numbers (worship attendance, increases and decreases in membership and more) on a weekly basis. (Emphasis mine)
If this is the method we choose to monitor fruitfulness we are heading down the same path as so many dying and dead organizations – trying to do more of what wasn’t working to start with. As was said about the railroads…they got in trouble when they forgot what business they were in. They thought they were in the railroad business and forgot they were in the transportation business.
I think we have forgot what business we are in…it’s not the business of increasing numbers but the business of making disciples. Maybe it’s time to retire. Shalom.

Are we a Christian Nation?

PastorJim — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:22:59 +0000

There has been an on-going debate for a number of years about whether or not the US is a “Christian nation.” In general it seems to me that the issue is too political and I try to stay out of those political debates. However the recent rhetoric in Washington has gotten me to thinking…are we or are we not a Christian nation?
I believe that the answer may most readily be found in how we define the very phrase itself. We might say we are because the majority of people in our country are Christians so we must be a Christian nation. We might say that our country was founded on Christian principles, so we must be a Christian nation. We might even put these first two statements together as proof that we are.
On the other hand, we might say we are a Christian nation because we follow the principles of Jesus, and because we treat people like Jesus would have us treat them, and him. If that one is the right one, and it sure sounds biblical, then what do you think? Are we? Let’s look at Jesus’ the story in Matthew 25 when he speaks about how people have treated him.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
So why don’t you tell me…with the words of our representatives and Matthew 25 and Jesus fresh in your ears and heart…are we a Christian nation?

Cry for the Children

PastorJim — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 17:36:21 +0000

“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” Upon hearing the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial today this scripture from Jeremiah quickly came to mind. It’s not because I think Casey Anthony was guilty – I truly have no idea. I didn’t sit in court and hear all the evidence, so I don’t know.
The scripture came to mind because so many of us have missed the point in this trial that has grabbed the national media spotlight for months. We’ve missed the point on the tragedy that has really occurred…it’s really not about the verdict in the trial; it’s about justice for abused and murdered children everywhere.
Where is the justice for little Caylee Anthony and the thousands of other children who are neglected, abused or murdered in our country each year? We focus on the accused, the attorneys, the judges and the juries. My guess is that in the next couple of days those jurors will be dissected by pundits who question their intelligence and their sanity.
But again, where is the justice for Caylee? Who is crying tonight for her and for the countless others? I believe our God is! But what would God have us do? Isn’t it about time we started to weep for the children who are no more…and for those who suffer this night. And isn’t it about time we give up watching Nancy Grace or some other talking head for her take on this travesty, and instead get up and go out and find some way to be involved in fighting child abuse right where we are.
Outrage about this verdict is not enough! Outrage about the abuse and murder of children is not enough. As James reminded us, without action, our faith is dead. Quit talking about it! DO SOMETHING!

Little Jesus

PastorJim — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:55:28 +0000

Here are some untamed thoughts for the week. One of the works of God’s Spirit is to make us more like Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes about it in his letter to the church at Corinth as he speaks about us reflecting God’s glory.
When we put passages like that together with those that talk about God’s spirit within us, we realize that each and every one of us should be headed toward an authentic Christ-likeness in our lives. And if we are not engaged in discipleship that reflects that then there is something wrong with our spirituality.
If the Holy Spirit is at work, there will be a whole lot of little Jesuses running around…we should literally expect this. If it is missing, we should be very concerned for our community of faith. For where the Spirit is, there will be untamed, Jesus-like disciples putting love in action!