Tag Archives: religion

Church and Politics

10 Tuesday Apr 2018

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I had a wonderful conversation yesterday about church and politics.  It was wonderful because it wasn’t a typical discussion about church and politics.  It wasn’t a discussion about politics in terms of partisanship.  Rather it was a discussion about how politics and church are similar.

I contend that religion and politics are very similar.  Both attempt to communicate a compelling vision of an alternate future – a hopeful and hope filled future.  Politics does this in a secular sense.  Religion does this from a spiritual basis, or better stated, from the sense of shalom or wholeness.

Of course there are differences too, but I can’t help but see the commonality of these two things.  Actually, let me clarify.  The core foundations of these two things are similar and related.  There are principles that politics uses that also relate to church as well.  The differences come out in the specifics.  But these aren’t minor differences either.  In church, money is raised in order to be used to expand the kingdom of God, to declare Good News, to serve those less fortunate, to make disciples.  In politics, money is raised in order to secure or obtain a position of power and influence and expand the base of support to keep someone in power or to gain a seat of power.  That’s an oversimplification of course, but I don’t think it is far off.

I have been exploring the link between church/religion and politics for many years now.  Actually it’s the link between church and campaign politics.  I look forward to seeing where this goes in the future.  I also welcome your thoughts on the matter.  Do you see a link between these two things?  How so?  How not?  Do you have experience working in these two areas?  If so, how have you seen the two interrelated?

What is greatness?

16 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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What is greatness?  I imagine it’s one of those things that you know it when you see it.  But what is it really?  Part of it will depend on the characteristics of greatness.  Many different people lay claim to the word, but have very different definitions and characteristics of what greatness is.

There is a certain political leader who adopted the word great right into his campaign slogan.  Based on what I hear from him, he defines greatness = power.

Others define greatness in terms of wealth.  Sports people will define greatness in terms of records broken.

How do you define greatness?

How would you define it in terms of politics, social policy, governance, finances, sports, work?  Is it great to deport people and tear families apart?  Or would you rather say that it is great when we enforce the immigration laws that exist?

Is it great to build a wall to keep foreigners out?  Or is it great to build a wall to keep people in?

Is it great to govern from a mentality that only the strong deserve to survive?  Is it great to ignore the cries of the poor and homeless?

Is greatness defined by how many enemies we can kill?  Is greatness defined by how much material wealth we can accumulate in our lifetime?  Is it great then to have to turn it over to someone else when we die?

Is it great to shout over your opponents, be disrespectful, and label and dehumanize your opponents?

Is greatness the ability to constantly draw attention to yourself?

Is greatness defined by military might?

Is greatness defined by how many people become reliant on you?

Is greatness defined by license to do whatever you want, with who ever you want, when you want?

If you look through human history, you would see that the “great” empires of the past could all lay claim to many of these definitions of greatness – Babylon, Egypt, Rome, Greece under Alexander, and more.  They might differ on some of these, but they share one thing in common – they all fell eventually and left a big mess for others to clean up.  And they brought ruin to those they conquered and eventually ruin on their own people.

That is because greatness can never ultimately be found at the end of a rifle or in mandatory compliance and unwavering allegiance.  Greatness isn’t found in blindness to the needs of others.  Greatness isn’t found in being able to beat other into submission.

Greatness comes in a different way.

Jesus had a definition of greatness.  In Mark 10:43, Jesus states, “Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.”

Greatness comes in being a servant and in participating in the unfolding of the kingdom of God.  It goes far beyond human made national boundaries and weapons.  It goes beyond wealth, records, and political parties and slogans.

Greatness comes in living out our faith, not in subjugating faith to ideology.  When ideology is our foundation in life, we have built a life and a nation on a weak foundation that will crumble and eventually fall.

God has a different standard for what is great.  And it is a great standard that Jesus modeled and calls on us to follow.  Be great.

Leadership

04 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by in Church, Politics, Society

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At the end of last week I started reading Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times by Peter Steinke.  It was published in 2006 but really could have been published in the last year or two because everything I’m reading applies today in so many places.

Here’s a segment from Part 2:

After reviewing more than one hundred reports I had prepared for troubled congregations, five recurring issues emerged: 1. high anxiety; 2. systemic impasse (two parties polarized); 3. lack of a clear sense of mission (even if a mission statement was in place, it did not inform their action, and most people were unaware of it); 4. poor boundaries (including gossip, allowing hearsay to represent fact, intimidation of others, misuse of funds, voting irregularity, not confronting questionable behavior, indiscriminate firing of staff); 5. and avoidance of problems.  Whether congregations turned things around or addressed their situation depended on the response of the congregational leadership.

(page 47, Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times)

This paragraph is true not just for congregations, but all organizations.  And I would argue for nations as well.  Our current political leadership fails miserably in all five of these areas that Steinke has identified.  Instead of lowering anxiety, those in leadership positions seem hell-bent on increasing anxiety – as if leadership were only about drawing attention to oneself and the best way to do that is to do and say controversial things.  That’s not leadership, it’s rather narcissistic instead.

Unfortunately, there are many churches that live the same way.  I recently heard a story of a pastor who felt like the congregation walked on egg shells any time a controversial topic was brought up.  That’s a real shame.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Leadership means addressing the problem that no one wants to talk about and doing it in a way that is honest and lowers anxiety.  It doesn’t mean the leader has all the answers.  It means that the leader will walk with people together as they address the problem at hand.  They will not abandon the people.  This takes some courage.

Leadership isn’t about drawing attention to oneself.  It’s about moving the organization forward in its purpose and mission.  It’s about walking with people and encouraging people along the way.  It’s about being a non-anxious presence so that safe place is established in order to take risks.  It’s about truly caring about the people you are entrusted to lead.  It’s about creating an environment where people are empowered to move the organization forward.  Leadership is about all of this and more.  But it certainly isn’t about raising anxiety level.  We have enough anxiety in our world.  We don’t need so-called leaders to add more anxiety.  Those leaders should get out-of-the-way so they don’t cause more harm.

Blind faith

25 Wednesday Oct 2017

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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Blind faith is not a good thing.  This is true when it comes to religion, politics, and just about anything else.

Blind faith is unhealthy.  It’s essentially the idea that there is complete trust without any questioning about that faith.  Blind faith is all about closing one’s ears and eyes to anything that might have a variance.

In religion, we see this kind of blind faith in the more fundamentalist types of Christianity.  It’s the type of Christianity that doesn’t welcome any questions or doubts.  You have to know all the answers, or else.

In politics blind faith shows up in partisan loyalties.  Regardless of the year and who is in office, there is a segment of the population that will show blind faith in whoever holds the office of President and regardless of what they do.

I have seen different presidents do the exact same things.  Yet, only their loyal followers will be happy with the situation.  Ironically, they were upset when a previous president they did not like did the same thing.  Ultimately, it’s not about what was actually done or said, but who did it.

Often, Americans will say the pledge of allegiance to the flag, but I wonder if it’s accurate.  More often, it appears that it is more a pledge of loyalty to a party or politician or elected official.  And worse – it is the equating of the flag (and what it stands for) to a pledge of loyalty to a person.  Are we loyal to a person or to the ideals that go beyond any person?  Are we loyal to something that is temporary or to something that is long-lasting, possibly eternal?

Blind faith isn’t what we need and it isn’t healthy.  But when we live in times that are chaotic, humanity will often turn to those that cause the chaos because they appear to be in charge.

Blind faith isn’t what we need.  It’s just blindness.  It’s empty and weak.  It doesn’t use the mind that God gave us.  It doesn’t open our eyes to seeing when we have made a bad investment in a person.  It doesn’t lead to good government or religion.  It just means we have been in the dark.

Being predictable

19 Tuesday Sep 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Society

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I may be in the minority on this.  I may be wrong – way wrong.  I’m open to those possibilities.  But you have to concede some level in truth in what I’m about to pose.

A great deal of life/society/politics/theology/culture/etc. is predictable.  “But, but…what about Trump?”  “But what about technological advances?” “But what about theological thoughts?” “But what about changes in society and culture?”

Predictable.  All of it.

Let me be clear though.  I’m not arguing that we know exactly what is going to happen and when or by who.  I’m not arguing for a future that is set in stone and every detail is planned out. That’s something different.

Maybe a definition would be helpful.  Here’s one I like – predictable is behaving or occurring in a way that is expected.

A good bit of life is predictable.  Since tomorrow is Tuesday, I’m willing to say that you’ll most likely do your regular Tuesday routine.  I’m not predicting every moment of the day, just the general nature of what will happen for you.  It’s really not a radical concept.

Let’s take on a few more of the predictable things that someone might list.  Trump – very predictable.  He’s going to say or do something that will be controversial and draw attention to himself in the end of next week if not before.  I don’t have any idea what it is and it really doesn’t matter what it is.  But I’m willing to bet he’ll do it – he’s predictable.

How about economics.  There’s going to be some ups and some downs.  There will be people who time the market wrong and lose a lot.  There are people who know the right people and will do well.

How about religion.  There will be a continuing focus from many people about the decline in organized religion while missing the stories from congregations and missions that showcase how God is alive and active in the world.

How about culture.  New pop stars will emerge, others will disappear.  Stars will be embroiled in bad relationships.  Fashion will change each year.

These aren’t wild predictions – they are more like observations on life.  They are things that are to be expected based on past experience.

Being predictable isn’t a good or bad thing.  It just is.  It’s what we do with it that matters.  predictability allows us to get a sense of what is coming so we can prepare for it.  It allows to respond, not react.  That’s a good thing.  Reacting is usually not that great.

How do you see things as predictable?  Remove yourself from the outcome.  Look at the situation as an outsider would – someone who is a disinterested party who doesn’t care what the outcome is.  Then look at the situation – what’s happened up to this point, what direction are things going, who’s involved, what’s the leadership like, what’s the culture and environment like, etc.  When you look at those things, you start to see patterns and those patterns become predictable.

I challenge you today to try this.  Try it with a subject you really don’t care about.  Then get dangerous and try it with something you really do care about deeply.  I’m willing to predict that you’ll be surprised by this practice.  It will open your eyes to this subject in a way you haven’t seen before.  And it will allow you to go deeper in that subject, to consider alternatives than what you thought, and to be open to new options and people.

Explaining Christianity

29 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Theology

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How would you explain Christianity to someone who has no familiarity with Christianity, or God, or religion?

It’s a question I pondered yesterday.  It’s a question I was asked about last evening.

I’ve never actually come across someone who didn’t have some kind of concept of God – even if they didn’t believe in God.  Even Atheists have some kind of belief about God – albeit what I think is a wrong view.

But I wonder how the conversation would go with someone who has no concept of God.  Is it even possible to have no concept whatsoever of God?  I suppose it is.

We’re more likely to have interactions with people who are atheist or agnostic than we are to have interactions with people who have no concept of God at all.

How would you begin to talk about faith, or God?  It’s not an easy question to deal with, but it’s one that I think is worth talking about.  The importance of this is that it forces us to move from the theoretical to the practical.  How do you talk about God with someone who has never heard about God?  Where would you start?

I think I’d start by asking such a person some questions to get an understanding of their worldview and beliefs.  I’d want to know a bit about their history and personality.  Once I got to know them, then I could speak in their language – or closer to their language.  I might be able to relate theological ideas to something they were familiar with.

The biggest thing would be to treat the person like a person – to show respect for them and to listen.  And not to try to sell God to the person.  I would want to see if there was an interest that existed.  You can’t force people into a conversation about something they don’t want to talk about.  But you can go far in a conversation with someone who is open to talking.  That comes through trust and an attitude of openness and respect.

If all I care about is being right, then I’m pretty sure I can win an argument but lose the relationship.  And I’m also pretty sure that if the relationship is lost, that person will not be open to hearing anything I have to say.  And then what was the point?  One can be right, but if you are right and alone, does it matter?

So how would you/do you talk about God with someone who has no concept of God?

Freedom

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Politics, Theology

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Today is July 4th.  Here in the US we celebrate our Independence Day.  A day devoted to the idea of freedom.

But there seems to be a problem.

We, in the US are having a problem with a common understanding of what freedom is.  How do we define it, as a nation?  Depending on who you talk with, you’ll get a different definition.  Without a common understanding of some fundamental things that our country was founded on, we shouldn’t be surprised that we have some troubles in our nation.

It is disconcerting that there are different understandings of the idea of freedom.  Does this bother anyone else?  How is a nation supposed move forward and function properly and serve its people when we have two major political parties, and groups within those parties, who all have different understandings of what freedom means.  And that’s not counting those unaffiliated with either political party who see the parties as an obstruction to freedom with their very existence and who they promote for leadership.

So what is freedom?  On July 4th we think about political freedom.  But there are other freedoms – freedoms that have nothing to do with politics.  That’s because politics isn’t the end-all, be-all of life.

In religion we talk about freedom too.  It’s freedom from sin and death.  Martin Luther wrote about the freedom of a Christian – free to serve our neighbors.

Today we celebrate freedom, but what kind of freedom are we celebrating?

Hey, let’s talk past each other

21 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Humanity, Politics, Society, Theology

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Have you ever been in a “conversation” where the other person just talks past you?  You know what I’m talking about – they say something, then wait for you to say something and while you are speaking, they are thinking of what they will say next.  They are concerned with either making a point, or shooting down your idea or argument, or having the last word.

This happens more often than we like to admit.  I’m not sure why though.

I wonder if social media has anything to do with this, or if it just a symptom of it.  I don’t know.  Maybe it has nothing to do with it.

When it comes to politics and religion, this happens a great deal.  We talk past each other on important and unimportant issues.  We talk past each other on immigration and health care and a whole host of topics.  Why though?  Are our beliefs about these things so shallow and weak that we can’t handle some questions and criticisms?  Do we believe that we must have all the answers and that our beliefs must be air tight?  Do we believe that if our opponent finds a weakness somewhere in our argument that the whole thing will fall apart like a house of cards?

This happens in religion and theology too.  We talk past each other when it comes to abortion, the existence of God, and high church vs. low church.  Why?  What do we have to gain by talking past the other person?

Talking past someone is a completely defensive posture.  In a sense, there is a belief that we have nothing to gain from the other person – nothing to learn.  We are afraid of losing something.  Here’s the real deal though – if this is your posture, you’ve already lost.  It’s just a matter of time until it all comes tumbling down.  You can’t survive by contracting and becoming smaller.  You thrive by expanding and growing.  Not necessarily in terms of literal numbers, but rather in terms of growing relationships, knowledge, wisdom, experience, being open and vulnerable.

So, what do you do if someone is talking past you?  Change things up.  Stop and ask questions.  Be honest about what is going on and confront the other person too.  Is there a willingness to change the conversation so it is really a conversation?  If not, you’re wasting your time.  If they are and you are, then you’ve just entered something great.

Treating people with respect

01 Wednesday Feb 2017

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I thought we learned how to treat people with respect in kindergarten.  Maybe I was wrong.  Either that or some people have selectively forgotten this life lesson.  How else to explain how some people interact with others.  There is a general lack of respect when it comes to many people concerning politics, religion, and pretty much any important issue we face these days.  I’m not sure if people fight like their lives depend on being right because they are insecure in their beliefs or what the deal is.

I know this much, if we continue down this road, the harsh language, judgement, condemnation, and dehumanizing of opponents will shift from verbal assaults to physical violence.  There really isn’t any other option when we head in that direction.  We’ve already seen previews of this during the 2016 presidential campaign.  I don’t see this getting better after the election unfortunately.  We can debate the reason why, but that’s not the point.  Blaming people, sides, and parties isn’t going to help the situation, just make it worse.

If we want to stop this then we have to start thinking and acting differently.  We can’t wait for someone else to start because that will never happen.

And this change needs to be more than just our individual interactions with each other – although that’s a good place to start.

I’m talking about changes in our culture.  I recognize that cultural change doesn’t happen over night.

One area that should change is our criminal justice system.  There are many opportunities for change here.  One way to do this is to see what works else where.  I recently read a story about a Norwegian prison where the inmates live in cottages, farm, and do other productive things.  The focus of the prison is on treating people with respect.  Not surprisingly, there is a 20% recidivism rate in Norway for prisoners who have gone through this prison versus a recidivism well above 50% in US prisons.

Now, I’m not interested in taking this and plucking it down somewhere in the US.  I would guess it would be a failure here because it would stand out by itself and not be supported by the larger system or the culture.  Norway is a different culture and history.  They have a different relationship between authorities and those governed, and with interactions between people.  Those things matter.

However, we can look at the foundation of why this system works in Norway.  We can look at why it wouldn’t here by itself.  The gap is where we have an opportunity to make changes in a positive direction.  But this requires leadership and an openness from people to build respect and to change the culture.  That won’t happen on its own.  However, the church has an opportunity to lead where our leaders seem to be failing.  And we don’t have to start from scratch either.  Remember all those bible stories you learned as a kid – they can make an impact on the culture.  Talking about universal human values in practical terms would help.  Not in condescending ways, but rather as addressing the needs that people have.  There is a great level of anxiety in the air, uncertainty, anger, and fear.  Our government officials don’t seem to want to lower those levels.  The church has an opportunities to be what it is really good at being – a place of refuge in a stormy sea of anxiety and uncertainty.  And we can start with respect for one another and build from there.  Not only is this good for society, but it’s part of who we are called to be as Christians.

 

Sermon on the Beatitudes

30 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by in Church, Seminary, Society, Uncategorized

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(This is an edited version of what I preached yesterday – close, but not exact.  I’ve added in some things after some reflection).

Matthew 5:1-12 – The Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This past week and a half, I’ve been taking a January term class at the seminary on science and religion.  It’s been fascinating.  We’ve covered every major scientific topic you can think of.  The professor is very engaging – he’s a theologian who has been in conversation with scientists for over 30 years and he know both science and theology very well.

An important point he made during the class was that there are different models for how science and religion interact with each other – some are based on a warfare model seeing that the two are at odds with each other.  Other models start with an assumption that science and religion are not at war with each other.

Also during the course we talked about digging down to actual science.  Often the debate that occurs is not even about science, but rather, other things.  Take evolution for example.  There’s the science evolution, and then there is a whole lot of other things that claim evolution as a foundation that have nothing to do with science.  A good example would be Social Darwinism.  The difference is that science deals with what is.  Ideology, philosophy, and even theology deal with what ought to be.  Social Darwinism is not dealing with what is, but rather what ought to be by its proponents.

Social Darwinism isn’t really talked about directly in our culture, but it’s been around for some time.  It’s an ideology that claims survival of the fittest as its mantra.  It believes that might makes right, that the unfit don’t deserve anything and we shouldn’t care for them.  I think you could even make an argument that the Prosperity Gospel message is related to Social Darwinism too.  The Prosperity Gospel is a message that says that we can see who God has blessed based on the amount of wealth they have.

This whole mindset proclaims a message of what the world blesses – wealth, power, strength, might, force, ruthlessness, conquerors.  Want evidence of this?  Look at who our statues and monuments are dedicated to – generals and politicians – the “leaders” of our world.  We pay the powerful and the mighty a lot of money because our culture tells us that worth and value is measured in monetary terms.  And so our VIP’s are worth more than other people.

That’s the world outside the doors of the church.  Yet we come inside and hear a counter cultural message today – the Beatitudes.  This is Jesus’ sermon to his disciples and those that overhear it on who God blesses.  Jesus’ sermon calls us to take this message with us when we leave, and to bless those the world finds unblessable, worthless, not valuable, unfit, and not deserving life.

Do you want to know who these people are that the world has deemed unfit?  You don’t have to go far.  Head over to one of the local food pantries – there are plenty of “unfit” people in the world’s eyes.  There is plenty of judging and condemnation to go around.  “why don’t they get a job, or work harder?”  “They have it so easy – they are given food.”  Let that sink in for a moment – do you really believe that being poor is easy?  Do you think anyone in that line really wants to be there?

If the food pantry isn’t your cup of tea, how about a visit to a hospital.  The world says that the terminal ill are unfit – they are only sucking up resources that could be used for healthy people.  They cost too much.

How about a children’s hospital?  I was working out at the Y the other day and the TV’s were on.  One station had politics – all the VIP’s making decisions.  Another station had sports – all the VIP sports figures making millions.  And the third TV has a commercial for a children’s hospital.  The children imaged were in wheel chairs, had disabilities, and were deformed.  You can bet a politician’s salary that these kids are considered a drain on society according to the world’s standards.

Too sappy for you – how about you head on down to the local nursing home.  There are plenty of people who are just sitting around waiting to die, are lost, forgotten.

Don’t like that – how about finding homeless people in any city large or small.  You might want to check some of the storage facilities – there are usually some homeless vets who survive in these.

How about the handicapped who can’t work?

The list can go on and on – I’m sure you can add to it if you think about it, especially in light of this past week’s events.

The problem with Social Darwinism, the prosperity gospel, and all of these ideologies that place human value in terms of financial resources or other immaterial things is this – at some point every single person becomes unfit, unblessable, and costing more than they are worth. Every person!  This includes those who adopt this ideology.  There are no exceptions because are all going to either get sick, get old, get injured, or something else that knocks us down from our prime.  That’s the reality of life for everyone.

Thankfully, this false message is not the only message we have.  Jesus presents an alternative message – one that is available right now, not sometime in the distance future.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit” – meaning the poor – those having nothing.  To be poor in spirit is to recognize that there is nothing we can do or have that will earn us God’s love or salvation.

“Blessed are those who mourn” – You mourn because you have lost something or someone dear to you.

“Blessed are the meek” – Another word for meek is gentle, or not using force.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” – or justice.

“Blessed are the merciful” – those that are compassionate to others.

“Blessed are the pure in heart” – or clean in heart.  This is a whole being thing, not just the organ in your chest.  It’s the idea that every part of who you are moves towards being pure, not just going through the motions.

“Blessed are the peacemakers” – Those making peace.  Again, this is a way of life, not a destination.

Jesus presents us with an alternative, a counter cultural message today, feeds us, and sends us out to bless those whom God blesses, to love those whom God loves and favors. To be a fool in the world – according to St. Paul.   Because the beatitudes are foolish if we listen to the world.

But if we listen to the world, we better be prepared to be declared “unfit” or a drain on resources at some point.

Jesus opens his arms to us, calls us in, and blesses us, regardless of our abilities or what the world thinks of us.  Because our value is not in what we have or even what we do.  Rather our value is in who we are – blessed Children of God.  Thank God for that. Amen.