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Namibian Presidential reception

18 Friday Aug 2017

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We were in Namibia for the Lutheran World Federation Assembly.  Here’s some fun facts – about half the population of Namibia is Lutheran.  So is the President.  So honor the LWF Assembly being in Namibia, the President of the country held a reception for all attendees of the Assembly.  It was a great event!  We got through security fairly easily, and waited for the host to show up.  To our surprise we had the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Vice Prime Minister in attendance – all at the same time.  How cool is that?

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Here are some fun facts about the President of the Republic of Namibia.  His name is Hage Geingob.  He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds, and studied in the US to earn both his B.A. and his M.A.  He was gracious in his speech, welcoming, and has a great sense of humor – all the things that most people expect in a head of state.  No wonder he was elected President in 2014 with 87% of the vote.

Along with the leaders of Namibia, we also were entertained by something that is purely African – choirs.  Here’s a short snipit of a children’s choir coming to the tent.

Then the choir sang a nice rendition of Sola Gratia.

Then we were treated with another choir and their talent.  Unfortunately, the file doesn’t want to load.

A fun time was had by all – and we heard some great music too.

Trump and the Boy Scouts

26 Wednesday Jul 2017

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Do I dare?  Do I touch this?  Sure, why not.  Everyone else seems to be commenting on this, so why not me.  Maybe I can offer a different perspective.

I know it’s dangerous to talk about partisan politics – so many people have their loyalties to one party or the other and hence have a cemented opinion about political leaders, including the President. I’m just as guilty.  But I’m wondering what we can learn from this latest episode of the President speaking in front of the Boy Scouts.

Before I go on, I have to say, I haven’t seen the speech, nor read it.  There’s a pretty good chance I never will.  What I’m more interested in is the reaction to his speech.

Trump doesn’t really interest me.  I think he’s pretty predictable.  Say something outlandish in order to get a response – that way everyone is talking about him.  Whoever controls the conversation, is the one with real power.  If we have learned anything it is that he’s really good as drawing attention to himself.  And many people feel the need to be sucked into whatever the latest tweet or thing he said is.

When I contemplate this episode, I can’t help but think of this past Sunday’s Gospel lesson in Matthew 13:24-30 – the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

“He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

I’m not interesting in determining if Trump is the sower of the weeds or the seeds (depending on your political leanings), or is a weed, or something else.

What I’m interested in is this – What are we called to?  How are we to relate and react to the President or any other politician we may disagree with, or as some believe, find to be a danger?  Remember, every President, since Washington was president, had an opposition that couldn’t stand them.  Every President has faced threats of impeachment – yes, even the “universally” loved Washington.  Every President has been viewed as evil by some and as a wonderful leader who can save the nation by others.

And in each case, the faith and hope in that person is misplaced.  Or rather, too much faith and hope is placed in that person.  It doesn’t matter if that person is Trump or if it was Obama.

Christians are called to be wheat in the world of weeds.  We are called to live differently.  To, dare I say it, have different loyalties – (sounds so un-American, doesn’t it?)

So what do we do with a politician who desires to be the center of the universe?  The same thing you do when you deal with a black hole – avoid being sucked in.  You live your life.  You stay in control of your emotional state.  You realize that you aren’t going to like what the person says or tweets and you determine the best way to stay informed without being controlled by the person.  You don’t allow this person to determine what you do each day or what your emotional state will be.

Most important – you live out your calling, no matter what.  To feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to house the homeless, to visit the imprisoned, to care for the sick, to acknowledge the humanity in others, to tap into the value of those that feel valueless.

In other words, to build up the kingdom of God, regardless of what happens in DC or who sits in the Oval Office. Yes, some people make that easier and some make it harder.  You don’t have control over that.  You have control over how you react and what you do going forward.

Our hope isn’t in the person of the President – regardless of who it is.  It’s in the person of Jesus.

Our future isn’t tied to the President, our future is in Jesus.

Our loyalty, dare I say it, isn’t to the President first, but to the kingdom of God first.

Whether you are thrilled that Trump is president or dismayed, this administration isn’t permanent – nothing here is.  At some point in time, his name will be forgotten to the ashes of history.  But God, and God’s kingdom, will not.  In the end, God’s kingdom prevails.  That is where our hope is – that is where our faith lies.

Responding to a politician with anger isn’t going to change the politician or how they act.  It certainly won’t make us feel better either.  You can’t change weeds into wheat.  You can only be wheat.  We need wheat in the world of weeds.  We need to be wheat in relation to politics.  There are plenty of weeds in the world.  Plucking the weeds is a never-ending battle that is exhausting.  Being wheat though is different.  Wheat actually feeds people and gives life to those around us.  It’s time to be wheat, and plant more seeds.

Special Request

06 Tuesday Jun 2017

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I have a short, simple special request.  No more celebrity politicians – of any type.  In either party or any party.

I heard that Kayne West was thinking about running for President.  In the last couple of weeks I’ve also heard the following names seriously considering running – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, Katy Perry, Chris Rock, and a host of others.

I don’t care what ticket they are on, they have no business running for president.  Being president isn’t a character slot to be filled.  There’s no best actor award for president.  There are people’s lives to consider.  As much fun as it might be (or not) to watch some celebrity in a debate on any host of issues, it might be helpful if a type of warning label came on before the debates.  Maybe something like “Warning: electing a celebrity can be harmful to everyone’s health.”

Please America, just don’t.  Please Democrats and Republicans, don’t do it.  I know it’s tempting and it’s all the rage right now.  But for the sake of the children don’t do it.  For the sake of my dog, don’t do it.  For the sake of not sending me to the psyche ward, don’t do it.

Thanks.

Changing the narrative

10 Friday Mar 2017

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Regardless of what you think about President Trump, you have to admit one thing – he’s really good at controlling the narrative.  It’s a strategy of his actually (I don’t have proof of this, but hey, who needs proof these days, right?).

Just about every day, you can see a tweet, or a statement, or something come from the White House or the POTUS’s twitter account.

Of course, this isn’t new.  Obama did the same thing, so do many politicians.  There is an underlying unspoken belief that plays out here – If people aren’t paying attention to me, I must not be important.

Don’t like it?  Then stop responding.  Responding is not the same as leading.  Leading means moving and directing others in a particular direction, towards a vision, carrying out a mission.

No worries, there are plenty of people who will respond.  But then again, you can’t lead if you are busy responding all the time.

You aren’t going to change the person who controls the narrative – why would they change – they are controlling the narrative and people are responding.

Instead, change the narrative around you and when you absolutely have to respond, do so, but do it in a way that draws the narrative back to what you want to talk about.  Someone asks you a question about Trump, answer, but then shift the response to what you are trying to accomplish.

Here’s an example – Let’s say you care deeply about education.  Someone asks you a question asking you what your favorite tree is.  A possible (fictional) answer might be “I love maple trees.  They remind me of when I was growing up.  We had maple trees all around our school.  The teachers would bring us out side and we’d enjoy their shade and we’d study them.  They were an important part of my education.  And that’s why I think we should all be supporting the legislation to increase funding for our schools (or whatever is your thing).  Kids need a solid education so they too can learn about the trees and create memories they can share with their kids.”

Of course, I just made that all up, but I think you get the idea.  Or here’s one that directly deals with the question at hand.  Someone asks you what you think about the wiretapping that President Trump accused President Obama of.  Let’s assume I really care about faith formation, which has nothing to do with this situation.  Here’s how I might answer.  “yeah, that a weird situation isn’t it?  It certainly raises a lot of questions about trust – trust of government, trust of the executive branch, trust that what the President is focused on, etc.  And you know, trust is important – it’s how we build up a civilization.  And it goes far beyond politics and government.  Which is why I’m deeply concerned with faith formation in our church.  You know, faith and trust are intimately connected.  Faith is a gift from God and trust is our response.  I want to work with people who want to build an environment of trust within the church so that it can impact the broader community in which we live.  I think faith formation is one way to do this.”

Now you might be sitting there saying – “You didn’t answer the question.”  And my response is “No kidding.”  You might call that spin doctoring.  I call it “I don’t feel like talking about and spending energy on stuff that I have no influence over. I’d rather focus on what I’m called to focus on.”  Does that mean we should never respond directly – No.  It just means that often, we respond without needing to.  The responses become a distraction from our real work – building a better world.

Change the narrative when you can.  Others might not follow suit or join you.  That’s fine.  Some will, Some won’t, so what, what’s next?

Noise

16 Thursday Feb 2017

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America is a culture of noise.  Noise and anxiety.  So often we pump the noise and anxiety willingly into our lives.  We keep within reach, like a blanket.  I half wonder if we think we would be bored without the noise and anxiety.

We see it in our politics.  There is an issue that “needs” to be addressed right now – an emergency we are told.  The president does something – it gets covered breathlessly and commented on, and criticized.  The president reacts breathlessly to his opponents, goes on Twitter and it gets covered breathlessly. And the cycle continues.

We’re out of breath.  No wonder it feels like we are suffocating.  We are. We don’t seem to realize that we need to breathe.  It’s almost like we are hyperventilating and we don’t know how to stop.

But if we wait for someone else to stop, to be silent, to breathe, we will be waiting forever.

Today I encourage you to stop, to be silent, to breathe.  I encourage you to pray.  If you can’t bring yourself to pray for your enemies and opponents, then I would encourage you to pray for your family, your friends, your religious leaders.  Pray for you coworkers, your boss.  Pray for yourself.

Even better, pray with someone else.  Then live out the prayer.

 

Reflection for November 9

09 Wednesday Nov 2016

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How are you feeling America?  I imagine there are a few different responses depending on if your candidate won or lost.  If you are like me, you didn’t have a candidate and so you went into election day already disappointed.  No change in that because of the election.

How are you feeling rest of the world?  I have friends from other parts of the world.  I know what they are thinking – that we’ve lost it.  That we did a Brexit of our own.  And yet I wonder if they worry that something similar will be taking place in their country as well – it seems to be sweeping across the planet.  What it is is difficult to name specifically though.  Is it anger?  Is it independence?  Are the same cycles occurring that we have seen before?

We think that politics ends because the public campaign is over.  Yet, it isn’t.  There are fundraisers scheduled for today because today begins the next cycle.  Politics isn’t something that is added onto life, something that we do every so often.  Rather politics  has consumed life here in the US.  It is the ultimate form of entertainment, minus the bloodshed of the Colosseum.

And that a problem that we have created.  Maybe we created this problem when we became the super power of the earth.  What else to expect when you hold the military and economic might in the palm of your hands.  What else should we expect when we make every policy so important to our lives and we wait holding our breath to hear what the president or a candidate has to say.  What should we expect when we determine what our mood will be for the day based on the political developments of the last 24 hours or any day for that matter.

We are a nation that is divided, anxious, fearful, angry, and holding onto a great deal of power and might.  This is an uncertain time we live in.

We live in a unique time when we are called as Christians to carry out the Gospel and share the Good News, yet I wonder how many Christians have traded that in for the gospel of a political party and candidate and share the rhetoric and memes of these parties instead.  Jesus’ message is counter cultural – yes even, and maybe especially here in the US.  And it would be even if the results of the election had gone the other way – make no mistake.

Jesus’ message is in sharp contrast to the Democrat and Republican parties and to some extent America as well.  The Gospel tells us that our hope and salvation is in Jesus, not in Washington, DC.  That is still true today, just as it was two days ago, and will be long after the United States ceases to exist.

We are in desperate need of healing, yet I wonder if we will continue to look for healing in the wrong places.  We are in desperate need of peace, yet I wonder if we will continue to look for peace through military might and victory.  We are in desperate need of Good News, yet I wonder if we will continue to listen so attentively to every word our politicians give us.  We are in desperate need of hope, yet I wonder if we will continue to place our hope in human institutions, structures, and flawed leaders and their policies.

I’m not interested in examining the election in terms of why campaigns won or lost.  Instead, today starts something else, a reformation of sorts – pastoral care for many people who feel lost, Good News for people who feel gut punched, hope for the hopeless, humility for the proud, trust proclaimed for those who put their trust elsewhere, truth for the ideologically blind, grace for the desperate, mercy for those who need consolation, reminders of the outcasts for those in power.

While I’m disappointed today, and would have been regardless of who won, I continue to hold my head up.  My hope and salvation haven’t changed.  My joy comes from a source that springs eternal.  Peace is the way I walk, mercy is what I am called on to show.  Grace is what I receive so that I may be Christ’s ambassador.  Today is a new day.  God is still in charge and has given us this day, calls on us to be stewards of it with the gifts that are given to us by the Spirit.  Jesus calls on us to be his hands and feet for those around us.  To share hope with our neighbors – hope that comes from God. Hope that doesn’t depend on who is in political office.

My prayer for you today is that you hear God’s word and that you would experience God’s love and mercy.  And then…And then go out and do likewise.  That’s how lives are changed.  That’s how nations are changed.  That’s how the kingdom of God is unfolded right before our eyes.  Amen.

Advice for the Next President

08 Friday Apr 2016

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LinkedIn sent me an e-mail yesterday that had a whole listing of articles from really smart people on what the next president of the US should do to solve our problems.

I read the titles.  They were the typical LinkedIn article titles.  They included a focus on technology, entrepreneurism, plans and materials.

As well meaning as all of these people are, they are way off target.  I’m saying this without having read any of the articles – yes, I know, I shouldn’t be critical without reading the articles first.  But based on the titles, I could see where the articles were going.  The titles summed up what the authors were going to argue for.

Everyone one of these people is focused on either a step by step manual, a to do list, how to improve technology, what stuff or things we need.  Material things and actions.

I’m guessing these people think that these actions and this stuff will solve whatever problems we face.  Because that’s the American mindset – do stuff and throw stuff at the problem.

A disaster happens anywhere in the world and guess what happens – America jumps into action and provides a whole lot of material stuff.  That’s important…right after a disaster.
The same approach just doesn’t work a few years later – the situation has changed, yet our approach hasn’t.  We are a culture so focused on stuff it’s scary.  We believe our stuff will save us, our stuff will give us prosperity, our stuff will give us strength, our stuff will make us great.

And we miss something huge in the process – people.  People and stuff are not the same.  People do things and believe things that we disagree with.  Working with people takes time.  Trust is essential with people, not so much with stuff.  People make up culture.  Stuff are tools, people are far different.

Here’s my advice to the next president – don’t do stuff and don’t focus on things.  Instead have a different focus – help us as a nation clearly define who we are and help create an environment where we can trust each other and our institutions again.  If you were to ask 100 people the question What is America all about?  I bet you’d end up with close to 100 different answers.  That’s not healthy.  That’s a recipe for disaster.

Mr or Madam Future President please focus your attention on leading us to an answer to the question – who are we?  I believe that once we answer this question, then other things fall in place.  Help us move in a direction in which we can trust one another.

I know this much, if we can define who we are as a nation and we have a foundation of trust, we can do all sorts of things.  But if we focus on doing stuff without trust or defining who we are as a nation, then the stuff won’t matter.

Re-Registering…Ugh…

28 Monday Mar 2016

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I did something last week that I was not looking forward to.  I re-registered into a political party here in the US so I could vote in the upcoming primary in Pennsylvania.

I’ve been a registered Independent, or Non-partisan as the terminology goes here, for 10 years now.  I left my previous party allegiance because I was tired of electing good people to office who then turned around and supported corrupt political leaders (that’s not an exaggeration either – those political leaders have spent time in jail since that time).  I got tired of the purity tests.  I got tired of being told I would have wait my turn.  I got tired of hearing the “promises” made to other people who would have made great legislators and judges – knowing full well that it was a bunch of BS designed to keep those people out of a primary.  I got tired of hearing people make arguments that the other side used against “our” candidates without anyone seeing the hypocrisy of the situation.  I got tired and had enough and I re-registered as an non-partisan voters.  I felt good about that decision and never regretted it.

But here I am, in 2016, feeling like I needed to re-register in a party so I could voice my vote in the primary – So I could say, “nope, I don’t like the front runner and think this person would be a disaster.”

I’m leaving this a bit vague.  You might think you know what party I’m registering in.  But then again, I feel the same about both parties and their front runners.

After the primary I’ll be re-registering as a non-partisan voter.  It’s my home for now.  I don’t fit into either party and frankly don’t want to be associated with either party.  God bless you if you do.

Several years ago I made a determination that I would not be voting for the lesser of two evils.  You’re still voting for evil.  That has meant that I have written in many people over the years – some people I disagree with politically but have great respect for and I believe would do a good job because of who they were.

For me, when I vote, I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror and no be ashamed of who I voted for.  These same two rules apply to me still.  Thankfully I have a candidate that I can vote for who will be on the ballot and I look forward to voting for this person.  Look, I won’t be kidding myself into believing that this candidate is going to win – either the Pennsylvania primary or their party’s nomination.  I highly doubt it.  But it is my hope that my vote will be another voice that expresses its dissatisfaction with the front-runner of a party.  Supporters of the front-runners will say I’m just delaying the inevitable, or that I’m wasting my vote.  I disagree.

Even when I write in a candidate I am not wasting my vote – I am voicing my opinion that I think the other options are terrible.  I am saying that I am voting, but I will not be compelled for vote for people I have severe doubts about just because they are the only ones on the ballot and they were popular.  I am saying that I know full well my candidate won’t win, but I won’t rubber stamp the election of someone who I think will do a terrible job or worse.

I’m not thrilled that I have to do this.  But I felt compelled to do this.  I can’t wait to re-register.  And I’ll be praying for the nation as this election continues on – that’s about the only thing I look forward to in elections – that hope in the future is not placed in the hands of humans, but rather with God.

Thoughts on the presidential race

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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I’m going to blow some holes in what you are thinking about politics – that’s my hope anyway.

I have heard, and I agree with the sentiment, that this election cycle has included some really crappy candidates.  Seriously flawed candidates.  I hear you.  However, this is not something new – or at least the feeling about the candidates is not new.  In fact, this feeling is just about as American as apple pie.

As far as I can tell, the feeling that we’ve had crappy candidates and elected officials who are a danger to the country goes back to the beginning of the country.  This shouldn’t really surprise anyone.  The country came into being because the founders didn’t trust the government who was leading them.  Ever since, we’ve never been happy with our leadership.  Elections end up being about the right to vote for the guy that you know you are going hate within 4 to 8 years.

“Oh, but the founders were all loved!”  No, they weren’t.

We have this mythology around the founding – that all the founders were wonderful, that Washington was supported by all, that they all got along and thought very highly of each other, that they didn’t play politics, etc.

The fact is, this is total myth, or worse, a complete lie.  We want to believe this make believe story.  We want to believe the lie that elected officials are some how special and better than everyone else.  HA!!

I’ve been listening to several audiobooks in my car about the founders and early presidents.  It’s been a great reminder of the reality of history and humanity and American culture.  In an audiobook on Thomas Jefferson, the author tells the listener about disputes and power plays.  It talks about the criticisms of Washington – some going so far as to push for impeachment of Washington.  Jefferson and Hamilton leading differing parties and clashing with each other.  Jefferson saying that people should be attached to parties.  Politics in other words, is about power.  It always has been and always will be as long as we humans are involved.  Doesn’t matter if it involved men or women.  We are not saints, but sinners.

I’m also listening to a book on Andrew Jackson.  Again, another popular president in his time.  Except for the people who thought he was dangerous and helped drive further division in the country as it crept towards civil war.

So all of this leads me to a few conclusions.  First, what this all says to me is that the best government is a limited government with restrictions on government officials firmly in place and people watching over these restrictions to ensure that officials follow them.  Second, comparing the US with other countries by saying this system or that policy from this country or that country should be done here is a mistake.  The US is far different from many other countries and taking a policy from one place where it works and imposing it here will not generate the same results.  The reverse is true as well – imposing our way of doing things on others doesn’t work out too well.  There are too many variables – different histories, culture, beliefs, relationship between people and government, etc.

Third, in light of how so many people are feeling (not being happy with the slate of candidates or feeling like they are dangerous), I’m going to start something.  #impeachthenextpresident.  Of course I’m being facetious here.  I’m actually just jumping the gun here.  You know full well that regardless of who gets elected there are going to be calls from the other side that the next president is doing something unconstitutional and should be impeached.  Just remember, it started here.  You can thank me later.

Seriously though, what I think we have is a serious situation best stated from a post from Grumpy Pastor, a brilliant pastor-blogger:

The United States is so anxious, it couldn’t elect a leader to actually lead everyone out of a wet paper bag.

What we are experiencing is both new and old.  I walked you through the old.  The new is complex and I believe has something to do with a concept of cycles of civilization (something for another blog post).

My consolation is that regardless of what happens and who is elected, I am reassured that my hope does not lie in any human leader.  My salvation doesn’t rest in a politician.  My life is in God’s hands and I am loved by God, not for what I can do, but because I am God’s child.  And so are you.  Peace.