What has happened to the America I love"

“What happened to the America I loved?”

Quite frankly we no longer live in the America of the 1950s, known as the high water mark for white Protestant America or “Eisenhower’s America.”

Author Robert P. Jones describes that America that is now a shell of its former self:

“June Cleaver was its mother, Andy Griffith was its sheriff, Norman Rockwell was its artist, and Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale its ministers.” 

In his excellent book, The End of White Christian America, Jones tells the compelling story of the rise and fall of Dr. Robert Schuller’s very successful evangelical empire. Located in very affluent, very conservative, and very white Orange County in Southern California, Schuller’s ministry was built and sustained on this once stable demographic (I lived in Orange County for four years from 1995-1999).

But something quite unexpected occurred that ultimately led to the downfall of Schuller’s evangelical ministry. In the 1970s and 1980s there was an increasing shift in the regional demographic (profile) of Orange County. 

Immigrants from Central America and South Asia began migrating to Orange County, creating a demand for “Catholic parishes, Buddhist temples, and Islamic mosques.” According to Jones Orange County today hosts the “third largest concentration of Asian Americans” and in the period between 2000 and 2009 the Asian population in Orange County increased 41 percent.

The bottom line to this influx of immigrants (in a once dominantly controlled white county) was the loss of white majority status, thus setting the stage for the decline and ultimate sale of Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral and death of the popular “Hour of Power” television ministry.

In 2012 having filed for bankruptcy, Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County for $57.5 million dollars.

The sad truth for Schuller’s congregation, made up of predominantly white evangelicals, was that they became unwilling victims of a significant demographic shift that necessitated a much different approach to religious ministry in that area. 

White America in Orange County was forced to unwillingly take a back seat in what was once an affluent county of white Americans.

Now there is no point in casting blame or scapegoating Schuller’s children who attempted to keep the ministry afloat following their father's death. They too became victims of demographic changes and forces over which they had no control other than perhaps adapting to the changes and shifting their ministry approaches that had once been geared toward a 1950s demographic. 

This unfortunately they did not do.

So what has this story have to do with the vanishing of the 1950s Rockwell America so many long for today? 

I am suggesting that the demographic shift that took place in Orange County California represents in microcosm what is currently taking place across America today. America has become a much more culturally and demographically diverse country than it was in the 1950s. 

With the inclusion of ethnic minorities and women into the structures of America once dominated by white males tour nation is literally getting a new facelift of sorts. We are no longer a nation whose dominant voice is from white males. In other words, if one aspires to be a leader of this great nation today then one must consider and adapt to this increasingly expanding American profile of cultural, gender, and demographic diversity. 

The days of white males running the show are over. 

The days of white Americans being the controlling voice of America’s continuing narrative no longer exist. 

This isn’t to say that white men no longer matter. We do! We continue to share the responsibility of working together with Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Indians (Bharatiya), Native Americans, and females in moving our great nation into a hopeful future. 

I am of the opinion that this changing American profile may in fact be partly responsible for the current divide among Americans today. Part of the reason for the troubling conflict that exists in this current presidential election cycle may very well reflect the profile changes of America  today.

When I hear people say that they don’t like the direction our country is headed could this be what they fear? Are they even aware that such a shift is taking place among us? 

I am very hopeful for America’s future. I am cautiously optimistic that the great American dream of being the land of liberty and justice for everyone will become a living reality in our own lifetime. We must learn to work together for a better future for our children and grandchildren.

I believe in this ideal with all my heart. I also believe America is the greatest hope for all people of this world, that we can actually become that city on hill illuminating the rest of the world with liberty and justice for everyone.

So what happened to the America I love?

Quite frankly she is growing up, she is maturing, she is coming of Age!

She refuses to be anything less than gloriously diverse!

Living in a New

In my last post I addressed the issue of the tenuous relationship between religion and politics. 

What complicates that relationship for Christians is the belief that we are subjects of a kingdom not of this world. This kingdom, often expressed in the New Testament as the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” (per Mathew’s Gospel) operates according to a much different set of rules and values from that of any earthly kingdom. 

Yet whenever I have talked about this kingdom folks seem to get a glazed over look that says: “What in the world are you talking about?” Have you ever seen that look?

Well perhaps it’s because the word “kingdom” trips them up.

That word really has little meaning to those of us living in a Democratic Republic such as America. So what if I shifted the metaphor a bit? What if I said something like, “social reality” instead of “kingdom”? 

Would that help you think?

For this is exactly what Jesus came to do: Create a new never-before-seen social reality in which his followers would live out their lives. Is it possible when Jesus said “follow me” he was encouraging folks to follow him into this new so-called “social reality”?

Now here’s the deal: This new social reality with its different rules and values does not match up with the normal social reality in which we all were born. Surprisingly the rules of the road for this new social reality (or way of life if you prefer) are very clear:

“Love the Lord God with everything you’ve got and love your neighbor as much as yourself” (paraphrased from Matthew’s Gospel).

Now to be clear, we do not need an attorney or a professional politician to explain these rules to us, do we? We do not need a Constitution or reams of law books to guide the way we live according to this clear law of the kingdom. The rule of law for each and every Christian who resides within this new social reality is simple: 

The rule of Agape (love). 

You may be asking yourself at this point: “Okay this all sounds good but what does this look like in real life?” 

That’s a great question and I would suggest you read Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5-7, particularly the first part called the “beatitudes.” It will become clearly obvious that anyone who chooses to follow Jesus into this new social reality has a mandate to live in a radically new and different way. 

So we Christians live in a radically new social reality defined in the New Testament as the “Kingdom of God.” It is not a kingdom of this world. It is not merely a spiritual reality but a real life boots on the ground social reality designed to reflect the image and will of God to the world.

Its operating system is powered by agape or love resulting in a whole new way to live and relate to the old social reality in which we all were born.

Author Eugene Peterson aptly describes what this new social reality looks like based on a passage from Paul’s letter to the congregation at Galatia:

“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”

If I may stretch this social reality metaphor a little bit further: Not only is this new way of life for those who follow Jesus powered by a God’s love, it also stands in opposition to the dominant power and political structures of this world. This new social realty (Kingdom of God) was not created by God to be compromised by human political systems or power structures. 

The new social reality created for Christians is quite frankly incompatible with the social structures of the world. It hosts its own politics. It is powered by its own operating system (love). Its vision is based on hope. Its social philosophy (if I may call it that) is egalitarian and inclusiveness, both tilted towards justice. 

So let’s come full circle: Do religion and politics mix? They can but there is price to pay when followers of Jesus compromise the social reality into which they have been grafted with the political and power structures of this world.

There is no denying that we must live in the tension between these two opposing social realities. As followers of Jesus we are called to live responsibly in the world as image bearers of the God who created us. We are also expected to be responsible citizens of this world. Therein lies the tension in which we find ourselves.

We mustn’t stick our heads in the sand as if the world does not exist. Yet we are explicitly called to offer our full allegiance to the new social reality in which we are now full-fledged citizens. 

So the big question is this: 

How do we as citizens of God’s kingdom live faithfully in the kingdom of this world? 

What do you think?

Praying all the Right Things!

Last night a South Carolina pastor named Mark Burns (pictured above) offered a prayer at the Republican Convention. I must say I found the prayer appalling. It defied everything I have ever been taught about praying in a public gathering. It defied all sense of graciousness that ought to reflect the generousity God's grace.

Even more appalling were the pastor’s opening remarks. In those remarks pastor Burns refers to both Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party as the “enemy.” Perhaps "opponents" would have been a wiser choice of words given his profession.

Needless to say I was embarrassed for my profession. I am also embarrassed to be associated with anyone who has the arrogant audacity to know which political party is on God’s side and which one is not.

Well, I must confess that I have been in the place Pastor Burns is now walking. Let me tell you a brief story about that:

The year was 1983 and I was attending the Navy’s Chaplain Corps basic course in Newport, Rhode Island. I was an ordained minister of the Southern Baptist Church and ecclesiastically endorsed by the same.

Well did I ever get a baptism by fire right out of the box. I was assigned a Rabbi as my roommate. My primary instructor was also a Rabbi. My tight little Baptist world seemed to be collapsing. 

“Was God mad at me for joining the Navy” I thought?

I mean I had been taught that God didn't even hear the prayers of Jews (a belief I later abandoned).

One of the very first things we were taught was how to pray at public events such as changes of command or retirement ceremonies.

So on the first day of class our instructor Rabbi Jim Apple (a wonderful man whom I came to admire) said: 

“Ladies and gentlemen, when you pray in public events use inclusive language.” 

That meant that we Christian chaplains were not to end our prayers with the words: "In Jesus’s name.” To do so we were told would exclude any and all who were not of the Christian tradition.

Needless to say I was flabbergasted. You mean I had to give up praying in “Jesus’s name” so as not to offend anyone? Yes!

So I later met with Rabbi Apple and shared with him my angst over this new revelation of how to pray. He graciously allowed me to vent, to give him all the reasons why I couldn’t pray without saying “In Jesus’s Name” at the end of my prayers.

He rocked back in his desk chair, putting his hands behind his head and asked me: 

“Chaplain Hulsey, do you believe in the sovereignty of God?”

I said that I did and he then said to me: 

“Then don’t you think God knows in whose name you are praying without having to say it!”

In later conversations with the good Rabbi he taught me the importance of our prayers reflecting the inclusiveness of God’s grace and love, especially in public settings in which more than one faith tradition was present. It was an eye-opening and mind-opening experience for me to say the least.

So I began the long journey of growing beyond my own particular faith tradition, a personal quest to understand God beyond the narrow parochial ways of my inherited tradition. 

I tell you this story because I believe such a narrow-minded parochial prayer as one offered last night is both inappropriate and disappointing. I do not question the legitimacy of the pastor’s faith. 

Yet I am not convinced that he possesses any sense of common grace that ought to characterize our relationship with God, especially as clergy. I am not convinced that he has ever grasped the idea that God does not favor one political party or candidate over another.

My hope is that this South Carolina pastor will realize this morning that he could have prayed better. I hope he will learn from this experience. I hope we all learn from it.

Perhaps he got caught up in the largeness of the moment. Maybe his remarks were off the cuff. Maybe (one can only hope) that he fully intended just to pray. Who knows? Only he and God do.

Wisdom does not come easy nor is it bottled for easy consumptive use. Wisdom may only come through humility, the humility of not knowing for certain the things we think we know . . . the wisdom of knowing how to speak on God’s behalf.

I find such wisdom in the prayer of Francis of Assisi, one of my heroes. I would kindly suggest that a prayer such as this is what is needed at all political conventions. May we all aspire to be so humble    . . .  and so wise:

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. 

O Divine Master,
 Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 
Amen.”

Amen!

We Are Hope!

This morning I poured myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and opened my iPad to look at the news and my Facebook feeds. 

Immediately I saw a post from a friend I’ve known all my life. It wasn’t one of those political or hateful memes that I ignore.

No, this particular post was a musical video that was made in 1985 as a charity event for Africa. I’ve seen it before but this morning I really needed to see it again.

Really, we all need to be reminded that there is hope for our world.

We just need to see it.

Watching this video was a great way to start my day.

A plethora of musical performers were collectively singing (some short solos were included as well) a song entitled: “We are the World.” Some of the performers included Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Ritchie, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Tina Turner and several more recognizable stars—both black and white.

The optics alone gave me hope. 

You may find this video on Youtube under: "USA for Africa--We are the World"

The video my friend posted had its intended effect on me. It reminded me that the world is indeed full of hope. There is hope enough for us all.

We just need to see it! 

Why don’t we see it? Why do we seem to be blinded to the wonderful hope that is available to us all—to every living person on earth? What is preventing any of us from embracing that elusive hope that brightens our day and gives us reason to get up in the morning?

Hope even makes my coffee taste better.

It has been said that one can survive for about 3 minutes without oxygen. In a harsh snowy environment you have 3 hours to survive without shelter. You can make it 3 weeks without food. You have about 3 days without water but only 1 second without hope.

As I write this post this morning and reflect on the need for hope the news doesn’t appear very hopeful at all. Another three police officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge adding to the senseless violence of the past couple of weeks.

It makes me wonder when all this senseless violence is going to end. Yes it makes me angry as well it should. But is violence the answer?

Violence does not have to define us or our way of life. It does not have the last word because violence is never the solution to the problems we humans create for ourselves. Violence kills hope. It creates an endless cycle of death and destruction. There is no redemption in acts of violence.

But if we are going to be a hopeful people we must begin living like hope is a real possibility. We must do more than just pay lip service to hope. We must allow hope to energize the way we live.

I do have hope for us all. In spite of the season in which we all are now living I believe it will be hope that carries us through these difficult times.

Living with hope will help me avoid scapegoating, casting blame, thinking in binary ways of black and white, and digging in my heels in self-protective ways.

Yes hope is dangerous. It is risky. But it is our only hope for the future. 

We will get beyond these difficult days. I believe we will because I believe we Americans are a hopeful people. Our hope is not in one person, or one idea, or one ideological way to live, or even in one religion.

You may find hope in your particular faith tradition. Great! Now share it with all of us. You may find hope in your particular ideology. Awesome! Now share that hope with those around you. You may find hope in your preferred political party. Good. Now share that hope with everyone.

Live hopefully. Live as if hope is already an abiding reality for you and for all of us.

Our hope is in each other. Each of us brings to the table reason for hope.

 But it must be shared hope. 

Together we can carve out a more hopeful life for us all, a more hopeful way to co-exist as God’s children.

Hope is our only hope!

I do hope we all see this!

Do Religion & Politics Mix?

Author Tony Campolo is fond of saying: "Mixing religion and politics is like mixing ice cream and manure. It doesn't do much to the manure but it sure does ruin the ice cream"

Campolo’s wisdom is worth pondering during an election year. Yes indeed, during such times we often hear cries for a national revival and a collective turning back to God in order to procure divine blessings on America!

That’s code for making Christianity the dominant faith in America.

From a purely Christian perspective the practice of mixing religion and politics is fraught with dangers and this is the point of Campolo’s observation. What we are facing here is the existence of two diametrically opposed kingdoms with each supporting two very different narratives (if I may call American politics a “kingdom”).

Each of these two kingdoms has a head of State as it were, each has its own a modus operandi that governs its actions and it’s goals, and each has it’s own raison d'être or reason for being. Attempting to mix all this into some kind of hybrid quasi-religious kingdom or State is too often a recipe for disaster.

Now in every election year, at least during my lifetime, there are attempts by religiously minded people to hijack the political platform of one or the other of the major parties. By hijacking I mean that there is a certain religious group in America that passionately believes this country is Christian and therefore it is their God sanctioned responsibility to directly impact the political process in Godly ways.

This is also code for making everybody believe as we do.

In other words this rather large voting block uses their influence (or what influence they believe they have) to motivate their preferred candidate to support legislature that coheres with their theological view of the world. The issue of abortion is a good example. In more recent times same sex marriage is another example.

So what would be an acceptable relationship between religion and politics? 

Should there be no relationship at all as some have recommended? Should religion play any part in the political process, especially during an election year? 

Perhaps we should ask: “Does God really favor one candidate over another?” If so how do we know which candidate that might be—for sure that is? 

So if God does indeed favor a single candidate does that make God a member of that candidate’s party? That’s a silly question but it reflects the silliness of believing God is so involved in our affairs that he really does have a favorite candidate in any given race.

So once again we might ask ourselves: To what extent should we Christians get involved in the political process of our nation? Well the Amish, the Mennonites, and other Anabaptist traditions answer that question by their non-involvement, a position I am becoming more and more attracted to as I grow older. It’s not a position that is unconcerned with the welfare of the nation but rather it reflects a healthy understanding of the nature of the two kingdoms in which we find ourselves.

For example, one of Paul’s earliest letters was to a congregation located in the Greek city of Thessalonica. It appears that the Christians in that community were being black balled for their lack of participation in the social affairs of their city. This rejection weighed heavily on their hearts, as we might imagine how we would feel if all our friends and neighbors no longer had anything to do with us because of our faith. That would hurt, wouldn’t it?

So Paul reminded these Christians to whom they really belonged:

"But friends, you’re not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You’re sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand. So let’s not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let’s keep our eyes open and be smart. People sleep at night and get drunk at night. But not us! Since we’re creatures of Day, let’s act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation."

In other words Paul reminded this congregation that they were members of God’s kingdom and not the kingdom of this world (which was Rome back then). Paul reminded these frustrated followers of Jesus who were feeling marginalized that the head of their kingdom was none other than Jesus himself.

Paul further reminded them that their primary responsibility was to live quietly and peacefully among those who ruled over them and lived beside them. Paul encouraged them to practice neighborly love and be instruments of grace among those who did not share their religious views. I encourage you to read this first letter to the Thessalonians for yourself. It is a blueprint for how to live in the midst of the two kingdoms of this world: God’s kingdom and Caesar’s kingdom.

Look, I would not presume to know what your deepest convictions might be regarding the issue of religion and politics. You may very well believe that your active participation in the American political process is necessary or you may be one who believes just voting is enough for you. The level of participation in the process is up to you and you must be comfortable in whatever level you choose to engage.

But history has taught me that Campolo was right. Whenever religion and politics are mixed together it is not religion that comes out tasting or smelling like ice cream but rather like manure—just something for us all to ponder during these challenging times of 2016.

Your thoughts?

Stephen Hulsey: Confession of a Recovering Racist!

Stephen Hulsey: Confession of a Recovering Racist!: Can you imagine growing up on a piece of real estate measuring seven miles in length and two and a half miles in width? Well I did! ...

Confession of a Recovering Racist!

Can you imagine growing up on a piece of real estate measuring seven miles in length and two and a half miles in width?

Well I did! At least for the first nineteen years of my life. Mostly white blue-collar people, except for one black family, inhabited the island. 

The only three Democrats I knew growing up were my grandmother, my pastor, and one other gentleman. I’m sure there were more but I didn’t know them.

Folks on the island were conservative in both their politics and in their religion. 

There were no 24-hour cable news networks back in the day. There was only one TV channel and it went off the air late at night and a test pattern appeared on the screen.

I was taught from an early age that Jesus was my Savior and that America was the greatest country on earth. I would have never doubted either one of these eternal truths.

It was ingrained in me that the police were always to be respected and their authority was never to be questioned.

 I was taught that serving in the military was as noble as it gets and that my unquestioned support of the Vietnam War was my patriotic duty. 

In fact both my parents and my teachers taught me that America’s wars were all for the purpose of defending our freedoms. Growing up I never questioned that claim.

I was taught that when an adult asked me a question I had better respond to them with a “yes sir” or “no ma’am.” That was just common respect I was told. 

Okay most of what I was taught as a young boy helped shape me into the young adult I grew up to become. My parents, my relatives, my teachers, my Sunday school teachers, my pastor, and the island culture in general were all great tutors on life and morality for me.

The island was an awesome place to grow up. By the way no one ever locked the doors of their houses that I remember.

I also grew up in a home in which racism was an implicit assumption. Now we didn’t explicitly talk about racism like we might talk about it today. In fact I never knew what racism meant until much later in life.

I really can’t remember my parents treating “colored folks” in unkind ways. The only African Americans I came into contact with worked as crab meat pickers for my grandfather’s seafood business. When work was finished they went back to the mainland where they lived amongst themselves.

Blacks were not allowed to eat in our restaurants, use our public restrooms, or drink from the only public water fountain in town. They didn’t attend our schools. They attended their own school. 

We referred to them as “colored folks” or as “niggers” and thought nothing of it. The prevailing assumption back then was simply that black people were in some way inferior to us whites. We may not have said it publicly but we all accepted this unspoken assumption as a fact of life.

Most of us never questioned our inherited views on race such as they were. In fact I don’t ever recall hearing the words “racist” or “racism” growing up. We simply didn’t have a word to describe the attitudes we harbored towards black people. Our attitudes towards blacks were just an accepted unspoken given. It was systemic. "It's the way it has always been" we told ourselves.

One might say that racism was just part of the “spirit of the age” during the time in which I was growing into adulthood.

But at some point in my life I began to question some of those inherited assumptions and beliefs. I allowed my own self-awareness to shed a disturbing light on my inherited views on race, war, economics, homosexuality, and yes the place of African Americans in the warp and woof of American society.

Now granted the theology I came to embrace certainly played a huge role in the shifts I have made throughout my life regarding some of these inherited issues. I’m still shifting, still growing, still challenging the things I learned as a boy all because God created me with self-awareness.

I still believe that younger people should show respect towards older adults. 

I still believe that America is a wonderfully great nation even though I no loner believe that she is the greatest nation on earth.

I still believe that America’s wars should be fought in defense of our nation but not as an extension of corrupt and flawed politics that is often driven by greed and an addiction to power.

I still believe that our nation’s policemen and policewomen are to be respected and held in high esteem. I make it a point to tell law enforcement officers I come into personal contact with that I appreciate them and thank them for the difficult job they are doing. 

But I also know that there are times when individual police officers fall off the rails. They're human like anyone else.

I still believe that serving in the military is a noble thing for any American to do. 

But I do not believe one should serve with blind patriotism and unquestioned commitment to a political agenda that doesn’t trend towards the Common Good. 

The world is not just that black and white. It is far more complex and nuanced.

Honest self-awareness, education, exposure to broader life experiences, a well developed spirituality, and an open mind can lead to the necessary adjustments and modifications we can make regarding our inherited beliefs. 

Regarding my inherited views on race I came to reject the implicit racism that was so common in my hometown. I came to see the evil and the injustice it represented.

But I did not cease being a racist! 

Yes that’s right, I didn’t stop being a racist anymore than I stopped being a sinner. Both are intrinsically a part of who I am today. 

But I hope I’m no longer a racist who believes black people are inferiorly different from me. I try really hard to understand what it might be like to be black in America today but I realize that from my white middle class frame of reference that is almost impossible to do. I admit this.

To borrow from twelve-step language I am a recovering racist who works really hard to overcome my inherited attitudes towards people different from me. 

I don’t hate black people. I don’t lump all black people into one overly generalized category. Some black people are really bad people just like some white people are really bad people. Most are good people. I am not superior to black people.

So here’s my point: I cannot deny that I’m a racist anymore than I can deny I am sinner. I am not going to judge anyone on this issue. You know what’s in your own heart. I can only speak for myself. 

I confess to being a recovering racist but one who believes we all can live together in less violent and hopeful ways. 

I will not deny that racism exists. In my heart I know it still does in this country.

So I take full ownership of who I have become as an adult pushing seventy years old. 

This is the best I can do. It’s all I can do. It may not be enough but I sure as hell pray that it may help heal the racism I know exists still today in America. I know because I am part of the problem that needs healing.

Why we should't be afraid to use the "D" word!

“Pastor, we want you to conduct a celebration of life service. We don’t want a funeral service that focuses on daddy’s passing. We want a happy atmosphere!”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard this request from family members whose love one just died and they were in my office planning the funeral of that loved one.

To be quite honest I was never comfortable being put in this position. Not as a Christian pastor I wasn’t.

 Let me explain.

There seems to be a universal resistance to the reality of death in our society and how we talk about death.

Just listen to the ways we talk about the death of a loved one: 

“Daddy went to heaven.” 

“Mother passed." 

“My grandmother went to be with the Lord.” 

“God called my grandfather home.”

“My wife or husband passed away.”

While all these death euphemisms may be true and necessary in the early stages of grief they do nothing but keep us in a perpetual state of denial, or at least in partial denial.

What is so awful with just saying: “Mother died?” That’s what she did isn’t it? 

Now before you accuse me of being too insensitive or cold hearted hear me out.

When a grieving family requests of me to conduct a funeral as a “celebration of life” I hear that as code for: 

“Please don’t talk about death at the funeral pastor. We don't want Mama's funeral to be a sad service."

Now as a Christian pastor conducting a funeral without talking about the person’s death is like skipping or ignoring Good Friday in order to get right to Easter. 

Think about it.

How can we celebrate the wonderful resurrection of Jesus without also confronting the harsh realty of his death? 

We can’t. We shouldn’t.

Jesus’ death is as much a part of his life as his resurrection is.

 Easter makes absolutely no sense without Good Friday.

Truth is Jesus died. Period!

There is no easy way to say it.

In fact the Apostle Paul referred to Jesus’s death in the following manner:

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified”

Before Paul could talk about Jesus’s resurrection he had to discuss his death.

But here’s the Good News: God raised Jesus from the dead! 

God raised him from the dead! He didn’t raise himself rather God did it. A point too often missed among Christians.

Now what’s this mean for us today?

We should not be afraid or reluctant to talk about death in realistic ways. When my mother died in 1983 that was a harsh reality I had to come to terms with and I had to learn to talk about it for what it really was: 

She died!

Yes it took me a while before I was able to say the “D” word but once I did I discovered a healing process beginning to take place in my grief. 

But here’s the thing: For a Christian death is not the final word and this is why we should never be afraid or reluctant to talk about it in straightforward ways.

The "D" word is not so bad after all.

Maybe not at first but sooner rather than later is so important.

In fact, it is generally accepted among grief counselors that folks tend to work through their grief in healthier ways when they can talk about their loved one’s death without the use of soft euphemisms.

Refusing to use the “D” word only postpones resolution in the grief process. It prevents us from learning how to accept the harsh reality of death.

It’s just not healthy.

So when families requested that I do a celebration of life service only I would tell them very kindly and gently that yes we would celebrate their loved one’s life, but we had to talk about their dying before we could talk about their resurrection. 

I then talked with them about the connection between Good Friday to Easter Sunday.

I never got one push back.

Yes! God Does Love Everybody!

New Testament Scholar John Dominic Crossan once told me that whenever you take Scripture out of context you set yourself up for pretext.

Simply put when we read the Bible without any consideration of its original context we can make some really bad assumptions about what we are reading.

When I was an active pastor I used to encourage my congregation that when reading the Bible they should ask the important question: “What did those who first read this text understand it to mean from their perspective?”

Just this morning historian Karen Armstrong opened my eyes to a new way of understanding the resurrection by reading that story in light of Jewish ritual tradition (context).  

In her little book, St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate, Armstrong reminds us that one of the Jewish beliefs during the time of Jesus and Paul was that God could not allow himself to be contaminated by a dead corpse.

It was believed by observant Jews that not even God was to have anything to do with a decaying polluted corpse. The parable of the Good Samaritan reflects this Jewish belief and explains perhaps why the Levite and the Priest passed by the beaten man whom they must have thought was dead (Luke 10).

Scholar Ken Bailey tells us that had they stopped and touched the corpse they would have been defiled and unable to perform their liturgical duties.

So when God raised Jesus from the grave the conventional belief that God would have nothing to do with the dead was blown completely out of the water. 

Then a few years later the Apostle Paul claims to have seen Jesus sitting on the right hand of God. A raised dead man, resurrected no less, and sitting in close proximity to God.

Now this was scandalous. For a Jew of Paul’s time this was bad juju. The idea or the claim that God raised Jesus from the grave and had him sitting at his right side was unthinkable for any practicing Jew of that time.

Writes Karen Armstrong: 

“But when Paul saw that God had embraced Jesus’s filthy, degraded body and raised it to the highest place in Heaven, he realized that in fact God had an entirely different set of values.”

So what does this mean for us today?

Have you ever heard the old saying: “Rules are meant to be broken.”

Well in this case rules were broken. God suspended an ancient written rule in order to make himself available and open to all people. 

The Apostle Paul came to understand this as his life mission from that moment on, taking his newfound faith in Jesus to the rest of the non-Jewish world. 

Paul became convinced that God is for everyone. He shows no favoritism: to individuals, or certain people groups, or to any one nation, or even to one particular religion.

This morning Franciscan Richard Rohr reminded me in his daily meditation that the notion of private salvation has done way more harm than good in the history of Christianity. 

Once folks get their ticket punched for heaven (saved) they can continue to live in and even support toxic situations. They believe their eternal destination is secured so they can ignore the systemic and institutional corruption that surrounds them. They fall into the inevitable trap of seeing the world as the world sees itself.”

When we live as if our own private salvation is all that matters in the world then we are reducing God’s love down to an exclusionary gift reserved for a chosen few (those who look like me?). 

Look, here’s the Good News in spades: God loves the whole world. He loves the defiled, the smelly homeless person, the wino who smells like stale urine, the adulterous husband or wife, the alcoholic or drug addict, the arrogant know-it-all, the worse of the worse God loves.

He even loves those who lie and those who pretend they don’t. He loves the arrogant and the flamboyant. He even loves the ignorant and the sophisticated. He loves all those whom we think might defile us if they were to come too close to us.

Seeing Jesus sitting next to God was compelling evidence enough for Paul to realize that if God can break this ancient prohibition of steering clear of a rotten corpse and raise that corpse to new life then what does this say about the true heart and nature of God.

Perhaps John says most succinctly: “God is love!” 

He sure is, through and through. 

Remember that when you attack another person or practice character assassination on another human being. We’ve all done it. I have and I am regretful for doing as such.

But here’s the Good News: God loves me even when I am at my stinking worse! 

God loves me even when I am dead in my own sin.

 He loves me even when I  am a living corpse.

This is the Good News we’ve all been waiting to hear!

Let's Think Big Picture!

What do you believe is the most common human response to change?

I believe it is fear. 

Simply put we humans are fearful of change—period!

Change makes us uncomfortable. It destabilizes our center of gravity. It moves us outside our personal comfort zone. It pushes us away from the familiar.

The unknown that change often creates exasperates our fear.

There have been two monumental changes that have occurred in our lifetimes that may have gone unnoticed by the multitudes but nonetheless have created incredible undeniable consequences.

First, the America we now live in is not your grandparent’s America! 

For some of us it isn’t even our parent’s America.

I am an early born Baby Boomer (1947) and quite frankly I no longer recognize the America of my youth.

In many respects the America I grew up in no longer exists. I am not sure when it all began to morph into the America of today but I suspect it was shortly after the boring and placid 1950s gave way to the turbulent 1960s.

There are so many things that are different now from when I was a youngster, too many things in fact to cite in this brief post. I am sure you can recall many things that are now different about our country from when you were young.

But from where I sit now one major paradigm shift has taken place that has created so much angst and fear among people like myself. A paradigm shift is “a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.”

So what is that first major paradigm shift that is creating so much fear: Well privileged white people are no longer writing the great American story, or at least we are not the sole authors of the great American narrative.

We once were. We no longer are.

No doubt this is what lies behind much of the fear and angst of so many white people today. We are losing our grip on the power hold we have had or believed we had over our nation for the past 240 years.

We may no longer be the dominant voice in America today.

But this is just my sense of what lies behind the divisiveness and turmoil that seems to characterize the American scene today. America is changing demographically in ways that are upsetting the power structures that have been in place for over two hundred years.

Could it be that this is what is behind much of the anger so many white people are feeling?

Secondly there is a huge religious paradigm shift taking place in the way we Americans understand God. 

In the Christian world of our parents and grandparents God was viewed as being “up there in heaven.” He was what Diana Butler Bass calls the “Sky God.” He was in control from afar. He interfered every now and again but for the most part remained distant. He lived in heaven.

Christianity was an “elevator religion” in which people were hoping to ascend into heaven when they die, leaving the earth to its own devices.

Simply put, God was in heaven up there and we  earth creatures lived down here hoping to get to where God is: In heaven!

About fifty or so years ago this conventional view of God began to give way to a view in which God was here among us, that heaven was coming to earth in the final renewal of all things.

The earth and its care has now begun to matter to people of faith because they no longer accept the narrative that God is going to destroy the earth and transport some to heaven and consign many to eternal damnation.

Yet many postmodern pilgrims are discovering a spirituality that is not tied to an institutional church or its understanding of a theistic God who lives far away. It is a form of spirituality that has been cut loose from its conventional understanding of a God that no longer works for so many—including myself.

Two major paradigm shifts have occurred that have created untold amounts of angst and fear among us. One is secular and the other is religious. They are not the same but somehow they are related.

These two major paradigm shifts taken together are affecting us all.

I believe there is hope beyond all this change and fear we are experiencing today. It doesn’t seem like it for sure but I believe that this time will pass once we adjust ourselves to these new changing realities. We can fight all this change but to no avail. We can’t reinvent the good old days. The 1950s are gone forever.

There will of course be continued kicking and screaming, scapegoating, fear mongering and posturing to bring back the good old days. This is a natural response though not the preferred one I am afraid!

Yet America will continue to evolve. What we become is still unknown. But one things is certain:

Change will always be a big part of our lives.

Am I off target here?

Am I missing something?

What do you think?

The way we think about our world really matters!

Franciscan Richard Rohr has written extensively about unitive thinking. In fact it is through his writings that I was introduced to this concept of how to think about my world. 

According to Rohr we humans cannot rise (his term is paradoxically “fall”) to the level of unitive thinking without having experienced a spiritual transformation. Unitive thinking is the mode of thought that produces unity as opposed to dichotomous thinking, which creates divisiveness (I recommend his great book: Falling Upward). Unitive thinking is a higher form of thinking. A more mature way.

Dichotomous thinking is dualistic thinking. We were taught at a very early age to think in dualistic categories. This is not all bad. We had to start somewhere in the ways we think as humans and this just seems to be our most elementary mode of thinking. 

For example, the 2016 Presidential election demonstrates just how dualistic we Americans are in the way we view our world, not to mention in the ways we think about resolving our most difficult problems. I'm not suggesting that this is all bad, it is just the way it is.

Our country seems to be split right down the middle as to which party is best suited to govern America. Half of America thinks the Democrats are better suited while the other half think it is the Republicans (give or take a few percentage points).

On a smaller but no less significant scale we observe dualistic thinking over issues such as climate change, abortion, unions, economics, welfare, Social Security, and so on. As a society we seem to be spilt right down the middle over the ways we ought to think about these issues.

Dualistic thinking also impacts us religiously as well. American Christianity is divided between so-called Liberal and Conservative traditions. There are actually signs that we are maturing towards a more unitive way of understanding our faith but there is yet so much to do before it becomes the norm--if it ever will.

Because we think in dualistic categories we have thus created an either/or world in which we appear to be indelibly divided. 

According to Rohr there isn’t much hope for the population at large to ever mature enough to practice unitive thinking as a society. This isn’t an elitist judgment on society at large, it is just the reality in which we all live.

So is it possible to move in the direction of unitive thinking? Perhaps. As individuals we can grow and mature in the ways we think about our world. It’s not easy. In fact it is very hard to move in the direction of unitive thinking simply because we have to give up our old ways of thinking. 

Quite frankly most of us do not aspire to changing the way we think. We are indeed creatures of habit and the way we think about our world is one of those things that is highly addictive. The dualistic way of thinking is a comfortable place to be for us. 

As difficult as it may be to admit our individual identity is too often shaped by dualistic thinking: I am conservative and not like that liberal down the street or a liberal and not like my conservative neighbor next door. I am a Christian and not a Muslim or a Buddhist. I am an American and not a Mexican or a Canadian.

Once again dualistic thinking helps define us.

I personally believe that the Apostle Paul had matured to such a level that unitive thinking shaped his view of the world, especially in the ways he thought about those unlike himself. It took time but he seemed to have matured in the way he thought about his world.

The following is an example of just how much of a unitive thinker Paul had become:

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

I am not hopeful that society at large will ever progress to the level of unitive thinking. But I do have hopes that people of faith, regardless of what brand your faith is, can and should move in the direction of a more unitive way of thinking about our world and our place in it.

I sincerely believe that it was immature dualistic thinking that has helped create a divided America. It is the form of thinking that actually keeps us a divided nation. 

It will require a more mature and unitive way of thinking that will help us solve the bigger issues of our day and bring some degree of unity to our nation. This will minimally require us to admit that we may have been wrong in our thinking and move towards a more unitive approach to resolving our problems. 

Can we do it?

Yes!

Will we do it?

That remains to be seen.

Forgive me if I’m cautiously optimistic. 

 What do you think?

We Have No Borders . . .

I’m sure you have heard of the organization Doctors Without Borders. It’s also a fitting metaphor for us Christians as well:

Christians Without Borders!

This is fundamentally who we are and reflects the larger context of our place in the world today. 

Unfortunately we too often forget this huge global context in which we have been called to be image bearers of God. We are enticed into believing that God sees America alone as his special pet project and tempting us to shrink our Christian vision.

Israel of the Old Testament made this mistake. She forget that God placed Abraham on the much larger world stage in order to bless all people rather than be confined to a narrow strip of land that became known as Israel.

Perhaps this is why the Jews of Jesus’ day needed to be told: “For God so loved the world . . .” 

Perhaps we need to re-hear it as well!

Today Christians across the United States will celebrate the independence of our nation. The 4th of July always provides an opportunity for our patriotism to be put on public display.

Of course this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I have small American flags decorating my front yard in fact. But for Christians there are hidden dangers in excessive patriotism and unfettered nationalism. Activist and author Shane Claiborne reminds us of such dangers: 

“Patriotism can be a dangerous thing if it leads to amnesia about the dark patches of our nation’s history. And it can leave us shortsighted if our nationalism prevents us from seeing pain or hope beyond our borders. As an American, and especially as a Christian, I am convinced that a love for our own people is not a bad thing, but love doesn’t stop at borders. Love is infinitely boundless and all about holy trespassing and offensive friendships.”

Blogger and pastor John Pavlovitz reminds us of a much larger story in which we Christians find ourselves:

“God’s agenda is not America’s prosperity or dominance or success, and God’s reach is not confined within our borders either. To say that God blesses America, is to claim that we have the market cornered on reflecting the image of the Divine and that all of our citizens would even care to make such a claim for themselves.”

It is a noble thing to honor the country of one’s birth or adoption. 

But the Christian story is not the American story. 

They are based on two very different origins and two very different narratives. 

Unfortunately too many Christians get sucked into the vortex of unfettered patriotism and become myopic in their Christian vision.

The Apostle Paul was a pastor and a Roman citizen. Yet Paul came to believe that as a Christian the whole world became the primary context of his existence. In fact he wrote words to this effect to an up and coming congregation in Colossae:

“Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Later  he wrote the treasonous words, "Jesus is Lord"which may very well have helped contribute to his demise.

Christians Without Borders! 

What an idea! 

Paul would have been mortified at the suggestion of building a wall around our nation. This may be something politicians with aspirations of being elected may suggest but it is certainly nothing any Christian should ever happy about or support. 

Israel became myopic (short and narrow sighted) and ceased to exist. Biblical Israel gave way to a truncated vision of who she was in the larger context of God’s purpose for her.

Israel lost sight of her global mission and built walled cities and drew hard borders to keep her safe. Well it didn’t work. It never does. She ceased to exist in CE 70. 

It is my prayer that we American Christians rediscover our global context. Yes the world is a very dangerous place—it always has been. That pastor named Paul mentioned above, well he was executed by his own nation for being a Christian without borders.

My prayer is that all American Christians will discover the courage to reach beyond our well-defined borders with the Good News of our Christian story: 

“God so loves the world . . .”

Perhaps the next time we hear the empty meaningless words; “God bless the United States of America” we will instead hear:

“God bless the whole world.”

Yes my friends, we are Christians without borders.

A 4th of July Jesus

Since tomorrow is our actual National birthday churches all across America this morning will celebrate the fourth in worship services especially designed to reinforce the idea that America is first and foremost a Christian Nation.

Some churches will go all out by hanging bunting and placing several American flags throughout the sanctuary. The choir will sing “God Bless America” or “Faith of Our Fathers” while the congregation sings patriotic hymns chosen especially for the occasion and listen to prayers laced with patriotic allusions.

The pastor will more than likely preach a very patriotic themed sermon that espouses the Divine virtues of Democracy and Freedom, proof texting several Biblical texts to make his or her point.

“Amens” will abound! Folks will be comforted in knowing that America is God’s special nation on earth.

Now let’s be clear about something: There is absolutely nothing wrong with Christians offering tribute to the Nation they love. I posted an article earlier this week stating the five reasons America deserves a great big hellacious birthday party.

Yet I wrote that piece strictly as a citizen of this  country and not as a Christian pastor. 

 I did not intend for it to be a statement of faith.

As a pastor in the latter years of my professional career I became increasingly uncomfortable with the celebration of national holidays being integrated into Sunday morning (or evening) worship services. In fact, as much I as loved to celebrate the 4th by participating in neighborhood picnics or by going to the beach with my family; I became very uncomfortable with all this nationalistic fanfare incorporated into Christian worship.

Unfortunately many Christians today will not have a second thought over their worship service looking more like an American Legion celebration of America’s birthday than a service commemorating the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Something totally incredible is taking place with Christianity in America today. In the forty plus years that I have been actively engaged in Christian ministry I have never seen anything quite like it. Yet there will remain many Christians who will not notice what is happening. 

But sooner or later there will be a critical mass achieved and I believe there is going to be a new Christian Reformation in America and throughout the West that is going to redefine the meaning of Christianity.

Thousands of pastors, and I count myself among them, are discovering a more authentic and robust message of Jesus grounded in his teachings and example in the Gospels. 

I must warn you that this is not a Liberal thing or a Conservative thing. In fact those old worn out dichotomies (Liberal versus Conservative) are inadequate containers describing what the former Marcus Borg called the “Heart of Christianity.”

For those who insist on hunkering down in either one of these camps they are going to find themselves on the wrong side of Christian history and perhaps out of step with this emerging rediscovery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christianity in America is slowly being transformed. There is coming a time when Presidents saying “God Bless America” will seem inappropriately out of step with what will become the new mainstream Christianity in America. 

Change is never easy for any of us. But this is one change that I so passionately welcome. It has needed to happen for so long now. 

Church sanctuaries across America are now becoming places of worship rather than annexes of a secular Americanized form of Christianity. The Cross of Jesus has once again taken center stage as the one and only enduring symbol of our faith. 

All other national symbols are quietly disappearing from church sanctuaries. It's happening. Pastors and worship leaders are rediscovering a liturgy that focuses on the birth-life-death-and resurrection of Jesus as the underlying themes of the worship calendar.

Christians are rediscovering that the confession, “Jesus is Lord” means more than some formulaic mantra that will get them into heaven after they die. “Jesus is Lord” means “Cesar isn’t Lord.” “America isn’t our Lord.” 

"Jesus is Lord."

So if you are beginning to feel a wee bit uncomfortable with all the patriotic bluster of your church’s worship services on Sundays such as today then welcome to the club my friend. 

You just may be ready to join the new Reformation taking place right in front of your nose.

Happy Birthday America!

Let’s step back and take a deep breath folks: It’s America’s birthday! This weekend begins the celebration.

How about we set aside all the negativism of partisan election politics for one weekend and celebrate our country’s birthday together. 

How about we let our hair down (or whatever metaphor seems appropriate) and grill some burgers or hotdogs or barbeque some chicken; make a batch of sweet tea or lemonade or enjoy some adult beverages, and gather our neighbors together in order to throw one great big hellacious birthday party for our country. 

America deserves a party. She deserves a party for many reasons and here are my top five:

One, and this may seem a bit too obvious, but I call the United States of America home. Unlike my wife who willfully chose to become an American I inherited my native birthright. I was born an American through no choice of my own; this was the fate that I was handed and I am so blessed that she smiled on me in such a way. 

Yes we both are proud Americans! We don’t worship America but we both love her.

Two, America is a country that celebrates diversity. I once heard someone describe America as the world’s melting pot. I disagree! A melting pot distills everyone into a look-alike mold. It attempts to purge the impurities from within and create sameness.

We haven’t always dealt with diversity in good or healthy ways but I believe we are trending in that direction. This is the part of evolution that excites me. 

We are a nation that is becoming more today than we were yesterday.

Three, America is a nation of many faiths (or no faith) and no one faith has priority over all others. The freedom of religion allows each American to practice whatever faith or non-faith one chooses. The Founding Fathers objected, and rightly so, to religious tyranny. They opposed a State sanctioned religion or a State controlled Church. They would have been appalled over any attempt to make America a one brand religious nation.

I love this country because one is free to live according to one’s own religious conviction without fear of persecution or rejection. I love America because the Founding Fathers were wise enough not to establish a theocracy. I love America because its leaders do not have to pass a religious test in order to become our leaders and we don’t have to pass a religious test to be good citizens.

I cherish the freedom from religion as much as I cherish freedom of religion.

Four, America deserves a birthday party because she has always been great—from day one. Now being great does not imply America is perfect or beyond healthy critique. This great Democratic Republic has made some serious blunders along the way; she is misguided every now an again. But America is one of the most resilient and self-correcting nations on earth.

We admit our mistakes. We adjust. We make corrections. We right the wrongs of the past. We don’t always get it right but we keep trying. 

This is what makes America great in my opinion.

Five, America deserves a huge hellacious birthday party because it is her 240th birthday. 

We are still here! 

We aren’t going anywhere soon. 

We refuse to step back in time because we fear an uncertain future. America does not have the taste for antiquated or outdated thinking. We believe there is a hopeful future for our nation, a future that includes everyone. We believe that the great American story continues to be written.

We are a nation of incredible potential. We will not be driven by fear. We refuse to be guided by myopic or antiquated thinking. We will stand on our Democratic principles come hell or high water. We will continue to be a generous and welcoming nation. 

We will continue to be driven by the vision of 1776.

Our country was an awesome idea in 1776 and it still is!

Perhaps you may want to share your reason or reasons why you will celebrate America’s birthday this weekend!