Bishop John Sentamu becomes Archbishop of York

Maggie Dawn introduces us to a Man of the Cloth who's obviously cut from a different piece of Cloth.

I know that if you are not white, and not a man, the doors do not easily open for you... If you have "Rev'd" before your name, it will help. If you have "Rev'd Dr" the doors will open wider. It is not right that this should be so. But it is the way that things are. You have a brain, and you have a call from God. Get the letters that will open the doors, so that God will not be limited in what he can do with you.
- Bishop Sentamu

Find more inspiring comments in her blog post. Just follow this photolink:


.

Have you been vaccinated?

...words won't do it for them anymore, because they've heard it all. Have they seen it all, too? Have they experienced it all in this sanitized atmosphere that vaccinates them to the real deal? Did they get just enough of Jesus when they were young to keep him from infecting them in their future?
- Stephen Zedler @ liquidthinking.org

Hiding in Suburbia

It's comfortable. We know what to expect. We know how to act. We know what to say. Is anyone really listening to us?

It's tough. I feel so at home and everything is so familiar. I've blended in.

Dang It! That wasn't my goal. I wanted to make a difference. I want to be a fresh expression of God's loving kindness. I want it to be obvious and I want others to believe it.

Pray for me. The journey from here to there can't be easy.

Inexplicable Peace.

Quasimodo spotted at SOBC

I seem to have contracted what I think is a sinus allergy of some type. I've actually had it once before. If you attended Bible Study on that particluar Sunday, you'll know how I look. Anyway, the left side of my face is swollen slightly. It doesn't hurt but I can feel it. I took some Sudafed but I probably need some antibiotics. I would have stayed home (so I wouldn't scare the little children) but I was scheduled to fill in as teacher for our class. Whadda do?

We've been studying the life of Moses for about 5 weeks. Our study is at the point that he's going to confront Pharoah. I decided to explore what made Moses the man that he was prior to the burning bush experience. Here's some of the thoughts.

I started with the question, "Why a burning bush?"

If Moses is anything like me, it wasn't God's first attempt to get Moses' attention. I suspect that there were many other attempts that Moses overlooked. I think maybe he feels disqualified from his heritage, his faith, and his relationship with God. He's settled for less. "This is as good as it gets. This is all that I deserve."

I also interpret his dialogue with God where he makes excuses about why he's not the man for the job as a genuine expression of his psyche. He's saying, "Maybe there was a time when I could have been the right person for the job, but not now."

I referred to the passage in I Corinthians 1:27-31.

[27]But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. [28] He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, [29] so that no one may boast before him. [30] It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. [31] Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Have you ever felt foolish, weak, lowly, despised? Wonder what God's waiting to do through you?

1954

"...the culture that we are the most connected to is the culture of 1954." Marty Duran

It's become vogue to admit that we're out-of-touch with our context. I can't wait until it sinks in and those in leadership start doing something about it.

State of the Church in America: 2005

Nothing is more numbing to the Church than the fact that it is mired in a rut of unfathomable depths. The various creative approaches attempted over the course of this decade have drawn much attention but produced little, if any, transformational impact. - George Barna

Bill Dahl explains, "The bottom line is that the spirituality served up in the name of Christ in the U.S. is distinctly unproductive and unprofitable. Some churches have remained largely unchanged while others have changed the ambiance, the music, the lighting, added video screens, pastors, elders, and websites. Others have embraced bigger buildings with different architectural features. Some have turned to new delivery systems, serving up their products via seminars, books cd’s, dvd’s, live television and training by subscription satellite broadcasts. According to Barna, no matter what the Christian retail outlets have done to attract customers and change them by virtue of how or what they consume, there appears to be no measurable transformational effect on their behavior, after dining in these establishments over a period of time."

Read more of his article in the June edition of NEXT-WAVE.

I don't have problems with porcelain and metaphors.

Love for God and country. Religion and politics. This won't be popular. My student just returned from Youth Camp. I sat in the report service where students shared their experiences of meeting with God in worship and other activities. Our kids are world class. It's a heritage forged from the influence of a few adults, but mostly from other students who came before them and whose footsteps and examples they follow. It’s a culture they have fully embraced.

To be fair, I didn't attend a single camp service. I didn't hear any of the sermons first hand. The only context has been provided by the student's testimonies. I find it significant enough that this is the impression and message that they have returned passionate about. I apologize in advance if my concerns are miss-directed. I've had these conversations before. This occasion gives me cause to address this topic again.

One phrase that was repeated by student after student concerns me. They were quoting or perhaps paraphrasing the camp speaker, "Our nation is going down the toilet." The phrase offends me on many levels. (These thoughts are in no particular order or priority.)

I disagree with the politics.

Taking prayer out of schools, removing the Ten Commandments from public display, re-writing the pledge, religious documents and monuments mysteriously, systematically disappearing. It's a conspiracy to push God out.

Where my generation has failed to protect the heritage, this generation will now deliver that which we could not or would not. I had that same perspective and emotion about 35 years ago myself. I was fourteen.

Has championing the protection and restoration of these sacred political relics become the full measure of our voice in society? It's an unusual spin on separation of church and state. It appears to me that while we don’t want others to impose their beliefs on us or our children, we find it our responsibility and our right to do so on others and their children. My conscience prevents me from becoming one who embraces this notion and my constitution protects me from having to become one who does.

I disagree with the history. The pledge was written in 1892 by the socialist Francis Bellamy. He devised it for the popular magazine Youth's Companion on the occasion of the nation's first celebration of Columbus Day and was void of references to God or the United States. The phrase "under God" was grafted into our pledge by congress in 1954. I am not a historian and while I have no doubt that many of our fore-fathers were men of faith, I’ve heard as many stories to the contrary as I have in testimony. Regardless of their beliefs or their intentions, they gave us the framework to build the nation that we have become.

Where religion wants to rally the troops to "capture the flag" then I disagree with those religious beliefs. Our contempt for extremist religions that justify their deeds as "God's will" could also apply here. Extremist Muslims groups that want to free their lands and punish the infidels are not far philosophically from the Right-wing religious groups that want to Christianize America and Americanize other nations.

I'm thinking about the missed opportunity. More than 600 students worshipping in God's presence and poised to hear His instructions. Their focus is brought to bear on this most critical issue. I'm also not a psychologist, anthropologist, or sociologist. But I have spent nearly thirty years working with students professionally and as a volunteer. I know something of the relational and spiritual needs of adolescents: the search for meaning and purpose, the feelings of inadequacy, the self-hatred, the abandonment, the social protest, tension in the family and peer relationships. I could go on.

The greatest disappointment is the misplaced emphasis spoken as gospel. This generation has dared to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” Is this the answer to their question? How does this color the view of students yet to embrace our faith and practice? What does it says to those beyond our borders? How does this gospel apply to those who follow Christ in other countries, like the Sudan or in China?

Is America truly a fallen theocracy? I think that I'm more in favor of democracy. Faith, Presumption, Arrogance. Your mileage may vary.

Truth in advertising

As Followers, we are in the Truth business. Live It. Love It. Share It. Yet we often fall prey to secular schemes and outdated business models that may betray the reality of who we really are. Our lack of true innovation reflects a cheap imitation of yesterday's news at best and usually it's more of a 2D photocopy on generic plain white paper.

I see it when we try to ride the waves of trendy marketing themes found in magazines or when we draft behind the ideas of culture as though we can become relevant by association.

I see it when we position our influence into civic organizations to promote our agendas or when we polish our image and promote our (member) services to select demographics (target audiences) in order to draw additional participants and their purses. The temptation is great. To those who don't really know us we can posture and pretend and strive to be whom we wish we were or who we want to become.

I see it most when it comes to finances. That's banker's speak for saying it's all about the money, which in church speak we call stewardship because it justifies our taking advantage of professionals at discounted and shameful rates. I understand working with volunteers. I do. Really. I think that my track record qualifies my voice on this matter.

But let's be honest; humble; transparent. Don't promise what you can't deliver. Pay your own way. Let the warts and wrinkles show... they give us character.