live earth...all day today!

"The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.
Throughout the country that you hold as a possession,
you must provide for the redemption of the land."
~Lev. 25:23-24.

Today is 7/7/7. This day does not only mark the anniversary of the attacks on the London Underground two years ago; it also is a celebration of and a call to action for saving our planet. Today is Live Earth!

For twenty-four hours, the world will celebrate the wonders of our planet and call humankind to responsibility for caring for it. PSA's, performances, and broadcasts will be sent out from all seven continents throughout the day, with the main broadcasts originating in New York, London, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Sydney, Hamburg, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. You can watch all day.

Live Earth is brought to us by a wide selection of partners, but it is the brainchild of Al Gore and his organization The Climate Group and Emmy Award Winner and Live Earth Founder Kevin Wall.

Live Earth asks people to commit to making changes at home, at work, while getting around, while shopping, in their communities and to urge changes by their governments. Through its “Answer the Call” campaign, people can make their commitments and find solutions against the climate crisis at liveearth.org, LiveEarth.MSN.com, or by sending a free text message of “SOS” to 82004.

This is Live Earth’s 7-point pledge on the climate crisis and you are asked to sign it at Live Earth's website:

• To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;

• To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become “carbon neutral;”

• To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;

• To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;

• To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;

• To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,

• To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.

The names of people making commitments and signing the pledge through their computers or cell phones on July 7th will be shown on the Live Earth web site, on the screens at the concerts, and on the global TV broadcasts.

Watch, participate, and save the planet!

need examples of healthy small churches

The church that I serve has begun Bill Easum's The Complete Ministry Audit. I hold some strong reservations about a number of his assumptions; in general I find much of the church growth movement's focus on marketing to lose the central issue of faithfulness. However, I believe there is worth in hearing his analysis of the church's ministries. As an outside voice, he can bring a new eye to our communal life and and a fresh ear to our struggles for direction. The reason I'm writing about this? The audit is only part of a larger process of discernment and dreaming for our little church and I need some help.

As part of this process, I'm looking for examples of healthy small churches, particularly urban ones. Do you know of churches that fit the bill? Churches for whom faithfulness leads them deeply into spiritual practices, into meaningful and transformative worship, into a missional understanding of themselves that radically reconstructs communal life and individual lives? Do you know of a church for whom faithfulness is so very central that its people will wade into the despair of the human condition and live in the alternate reality of Easter? Do you know of churches that understand mission as something beyond a committee in the church and instead as an indicator of identity for the whole congregation? Do you know churches that celebrate life where members enjoy the company of one another? I'm looking for examples, people! And while I'm open to all kinds of examples, primarily I'm interested in neighborhood churches.

Additionally, I'm looking for resources related to such churches: website design, technology integration ideas, organizational structure, new member "assimilation" (sounds like the Borg!), adult and children's curricula, outdoor signage, financial structure, mission statements (blech), core values, and other important things.

Thanks....

grieving during transition

Here is an edited copy of my July newsletter article on the power and importance of grieving during times of transition. I know that all of us face times of grieving; we just often don't allow ourselves the sacred space necessary to mourn in healthy ways. This is just my reflection drawn from personal experience.

This July marks the third anniversary of my father's death. Right after I was appointed to Woodland Park in 2004, I received the call that my father's health, which had been deteriorating for a number of years due to congestive heart failure, had finally reached a point where medical and surgical intervention would no longer help him. I flew home and took a couple of weeks to spend with my family as my father passed from this world to the next joining the communion of saints. This was by far the most difficult transition of my life. It brought an experience of loss for which I was unable to prepare myself. It was also a holy time for my family and for me. After years away from the small town that I consider my family home, I returned and walked the graveyards where my ancestors are buried, the farmland that my uncle farmed, and laughed and reclined in the heat of the Delta sun. It was both a homecoming and a home-losing. I lost the sense of home that was tied to my father 's life, but I was able to recall how home roots me in a rich past that goes back generation after generation. It was an important time.

Perhaps I am more nostalgic this year because I have bought my first house, something about which my dad would have provided counsel, caution, and care. I'm thrilled about this new transition in my life, but I'm a bit sad that my dad didn't see me make this big step into adulthood. My excitement is a bit tempered by a dull ache. Life is like that, though. We can't out-plan or out-maneuver it. It just comes at us, and we have to find our way through. And, if we would look up and look around, we might discover all kinds of lessons pouring down on us clamoring to be learned.

As I pack my belongings and prepare to leave the parsoange, I do so with some ambivalence. I'll miss living next door the church. The parsonage is a wonderful home (much larger than the one I bought), and Phinney Ridge is a warm and neighborly community. I already am mourning the loss of calling this my home even though I'll still work at the church and spend plenty of time in the neighborhood. I also am expectant about the joys and challenges of being a home owner. The little things like cleaning the crawl space, improving the yard, and planning for the eventuality of replacing the plumbing are adventures that lie ahead. I know that for all who are home owners these are routine chores. For this first time home owner they are marks of the labor that it takes to be a good steward of this little piece of God's world that is now mine to care for. I hope that I will be able to acknowledge how I miss my dad not being here for this part of my life and still maintain excitement for this new adventure. It's important to allow time to mourn losses, whether they be big or not so big, whether they are marked by life changing transitions or little ones.

Most transitions in life are not as dramatic as the death of a parent, spouse, or child, but all transitions bring with them loss and learning. Too often we don't allow ourselves the time and the emotional space to recognize and mourn the losses that come with change and transition. It is important to do so...just to let ourselves experience the fullness of life, including the hard and grieving times. As a people who follow the God of the outcast, we can be assured that we are not alone while we grieve, but that doesn't make the grieving go away - at least it doesn't for me.

31 atheist/agnostic writers take to churches across seattle

In "The Stranger", Seattle's waaaaayyy Seattle-liberal, hyper-sexualized, sarcastic, ironic, and anything-that-pisses-others-off-must-be-art newspaper, 31 (mostly atheist) writers took to worship on the same day to see what all the buzz about religion is about. While you can tell that "The Stranger" isn't my favorite paper (I'm over their too predictable, too caustic, too self-involved writing), the article has some interesting reflections on what folks who don't go to church/synagogue/mosque experience the first time they attend.

What struck me most is that this group of hyper-hip writers found emerging worship insipid and high church worship just fine, although it still didn't do anything for them spiritually. They wanted to maintain their anonymity, wanted the church to be unapologetically church, and wanted the message to be hopeful. Read on...

pnwumc annual conference reflections

This year's Annual Conference was a welcome surprise to me. After ten difficult annual conferences in the Pacific Northwest, including my ordination years, this year was different and surprising.

Annual Conference for the Pacific Northwest ended on Saturday after five days of holy conferencing. While I rarely, if ever, have referred to my experience of Annual Conference in this way, this year the mood of the conference felt like the way "church" should feel. There were no major conflicts on the floor of plenary, although some committees did experience acrimonious debate. The Discipleship Committee, on which I served as Vice-Chair, felt conciliatory in every way. Even when those "issues" which tend to divide were raised, our differences were aired with civility.

The most interesting time at the conference for me did not transpire during legislative committee or during debate on the floor. Rather, the moments that we spent as a conference in worship, celebrating our ministries, and looking to our future were much, much more meaningful. Worship this year was rich. As a pastor, I don't typically get to worship in the way that best nurtures my soul. Annual Conference offers many opportunities to receive the Word and Sacrament - very humbling. We had wonderful worship experiences last week, each one drawing us to the table of the Lord. The bishop's awards were given to an impressive group of people who have performed incredible ministry for Jesus Christ. The Ruth Award, given by clergywomen to a woman in ministry - lay or clergy each year - was a delight. The Nothing But Nets basketball game between the "Bishop's Bunch" and the "Youthful Yellows" was not only entertaining but spiritual. We raised over $5,000 (and only broke two bones on the old people's team!). Other offerings were no less important. For hurricane relief, we raised over $75,000! We collected old cell phones, used books, and change for Hope for the Children of Africa. We shared experiences of our mission trips and welcomed visiting speakers in our midst. And, of course, we commissioned and ordained those who have decided to offer their lives to the service of Jesus through the church. The bishop ordained and we welcomed into full membership six elders and two deacons. Additionally, we accepted one elder into full membership from another denomination, and three people were commissioned in preparation for Order of Elder. We celebrated the whole church. And this year like all years, I really enjoyed time spent with friends I don't get to see the rest of the year.

Of all of the things that happened, though, the election of our delegation to General Conference and Jurisdictional Conference was the most interesting and surprising. Our lay representation includes three young adults...awesome! Our clergy elected a surprising slate...also awesome. The first lay person elected was Amory Peck, with overwhelming support. She is a perfect witness for this annual conference in the general church. She was followed by Gail Grossman, Ryan Russell (young adult),
Peter Masundire, Mary Simpson-Stanton (young adult), and Barbara Dadd Shaffer. Lay reserves are Micah Coleman Campbell (young adult), Katherine Cosner, and Darren Wertz. The first clergy elected was Jin Ming Ma. What a wonderful surprise!! As is the case in many conferences, we tend to elect people who work in the conference office - people who have been around for ages and ages. Jin Ming Ma fits neither of those bills. She will be a wonderful voice for us at General Conference. She was followed by David Valera, Elaine Stanovsky, Craig Parrish, Bruce Smith (under forty years old), and Sharon Moe. Clergy reserves are Bonnie Chandler-Warren, Daniel Foster, and Crystal Sygeel (under forty years old). Our delegation is diverse in age and in gender as well as theologically, ethnically, and experientially. In a conference that sends only three voting members to GC, we have a difficult task to let the Holy Spirit move us into inclusivity, but this year we did it.

For the first time I had an unequivocally great time at Annual Conference. I hope the spirit that was alive in Tacoma last week will manifest in Texas next year, bringing the excitement and openness to new things that we experienced to the whole church.

For more details on what happened last week, go here.

best children's book goes video!

I've been a fan of the book "Becoming Me: A Story of Creation" for years. Now the author, Martin Boroson, has animated his book, using music by Bobby McFerrin and the stunning artwork by Christopher Gilvan-Cartwright. You can download a hi-res version for a small fee of $1.99 for ipod/mp3 or $2.99 for projection. This is one of my favorite books of all time, so check it out! For more on the author, head on over to his website.

sopranos: nothing's neat with art

Last night's finale of "The Sopranos" will disappoint many, confuse more, and delight the few. I began as one of the "more" and have been transformed into one of the "few." Refusing to buy in to mob fans' cries for blood, sentimentalists' pleas for a happy ending, and our national desire to have things wrapped in neat bows and tucked neatly away, David Chase, the show's creator who both wrote and directed the finale, cut to black in the midst of a scene filled with the mundane and dripping with tension. Wonderful!

Chase is known for saying that art should pose questions and defy expectations. He did both last night. Despite the gore, the violence, the naked women, the gratuitous sex, the language, and the morally pernicious behavior of its anti-hero, the Sopranos had me hooked. My loyalty only slightly waned in the over-long hiatus periods and haggles over contracts. What drew me and kept me hooked? This was art...undeniably. Its hyperbolic imagery laid to bare the American soul, albeit in exaggerated style. The show revealed the ironic relationship that many have between unethical public behavior and devotion to one's nuclear family, the disparities between what we feel (at least say we feel) and our unscrupulous acts, and our resistance to change despite our hearts longing for deep transformation. Thank God everyone isn't a sociopath like Tony Soprano, but we are quite often like Carmella, willing to deny the reality that is right before us because life's payoff is too seductive. It's Chase's genius that he could create characters so unlike us and yet so like us.

The show's art was evident in the last scene. As the tension mounted, we expected any one of several characters to kill Tony. The alternating tight shots and wide scenes kept us on the edge of our seat. Meadow's terrible parking drove my blood pressure up. And, just after a suspicious character heads to the bathroom and presumably Meadow's entrance into the diner jingles the bell, the scene cuts to black. I couldn't believe my eyes..."Where's the remote?!?" I was left, as was everyone, asking...Did the Soprano family have a mundane dinner discussing mundane things? Did we experience as Tony did his head being blown off from behind by bathroom guy? Did we just get a taste of how Tony feels every time he goes out in public, anxiety ridden and on edge? We aren't given answers. We are invited into the experience...and that's art, despite the naysayers all over the Internet crying foul who wanted this tied up in a bow. No bows with David Chase.

But why am I writing about this on my religion blog? Could anything have been less soulful than "The Sopranos"? I think the internal journeys of each character and the arc of the show as a whole contain great soul. I also think that this show has shown us the hypocrisy that exists in our culture. Just watch AJ's "concern" for the world as his dad dumps asbestos into wetlands, Meadow's concern for Italian-Americans because her dad's been hauled off by the FBI, Carmella's "moral high ground" while benefiting from Tony's lifestyle. And in the midst of it all, there are real and intimate struggles for wholeness by people who just can't see their way out of the life in which they live. "The Sopranos" was a great show, but more than that it was great art, inviting us into the lives of the North New Jersey mob, the home of Tony and Carmella Soprano, and into the moral quagmire of the soul.

"altarnately" in the world

In her latest article in the Christian Century, Barbara Brown Taylor responds to the many letters that she has received since publishing her book "Leaving Church." She says that as far as her life of faith is concerned, the world has offered her a place to experience life in wonderful and trying ways; it is where her "transformation has taken place." She also says that the church is what has given her the eyes to see and the words to speak. Through the church she is able to mediate her experiences in the world. It seems that more and more I hear people talking about their desire to live fully in the world. There is a deep thirst that many people have to live in the present, alive to the hurts and pains and engrossed in the wonder of this world. And yet they also desire to experience this world in an alternate way, not restricted by the normatives that have been created by society and tradition. There are people seeking a holy existence, an "altarnate" life.

The renewed emphasis on the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are also reaching out to quench the thirst for holy encounters. People my age (30s) and younger are coming to the font and to the cup hopeful of a direct encounter with God and God's kin-dom. I, and people like me, want to put on Christ and walk in the world with God's eyes and with God's heart. Our sacraments offer us objects to reach out and touch and taste that invite us into this life.

We can see this most exemplified in the rise of "new monasticism." New monasticism invites committed individuals to live in intentional Christian community. While most of us aren't cut out to wade into the depths of such intentional life, there is a seriousness involved in our baptism that calls us all to live intentionally in the world as witnesses of God's love and grace, upholding one another in holy community, and striving to live in the midst of God's kin-dom while walking through the kingdoms of our making. One of the things that I would love for all who darken the doors of the church I serve to learn is that all of us are ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, invited into the full embrace of God and commissioned to share God's love wastefully in the world. This is the call of intentional Christian life.

One of the complaints that I hear from congregants is that the church isn't providing a serious forum for exploring what it might be to live alternately in the world - or altarnately, as I am interpreting it. The church, in its self-consuming focus on itself (numbers, finances, attendance, programs, mediating conflict) often loses sight of being the means to an end, a way to intentional living, a place for nurture, questions, and challenge. I'm glad that Barbara Brown Taylor has found church meaningful in her quest to live altarnately in the world, but too many people are finding it insufficient. However, I hope that instead of abandoning our churches that we challenge them to live into their purpose to offer us God's kin-dom. Church should be a place that nurtures us along our way, a community of support and challenge for spiritual pilgrims, the one place where altarnate life is held before us constantly.

taking down a post...an act of repentance

The last post that I put on this blog concerned the IRD ( the Institute on Religion and Democracy) and what I consider its less than straight forward agenda regarding the United Methodist Church. I can't tell you how many people read that post...almost eight times the number of folks who read other posts on this blog. Clearly people hold very strong opinions and beliefs about the soul and character of The United Methodist Church as well as the work of the IRD. I have taken that post down because I believe that the comments to it distract from the overall tenor of this blog.

When I first began this little project, it was with the intention of creating a place for people who are progressive and Christian as well as for people who are searching for spiritual nurture but unsure about church. I hoped to carve out a safe place for people (primarily those who attend the church that I serve) to explore spirituality and the core of progressive Christianity and the possibilities of progressive church. By and large I have stuck to that goal. Every now and then, however, I have found that I felt called to respond to an event or an article that took me away from my primary goal. The post about the IRD was one such post. I stand by my opinion that the IRD is not an organization concerned with the health and vitality of the UMC. However, I have taken down the post so that one post doesn't become the sum of all of the other posts.

For more information about the IRD, check out its website.

For more outside understandings of the IRD, check out the book United Methodism at Risk: A Wake Up Call.

For more information from a conservative United Methodist opposed to the work of the IRD, see "Renewal or Ruin? The Institute on Religion and Democracy's Attack on United Methodism".

The United Methodist Church is a wonderful denomination that is diverse in theological understanding and liturgical practice. It is my family's church and the church of my ancestors. It has shaped me and made me what I am. In this church, I see a great possibility for God's vision to be made real on earth. I realize that as a progressive Christian that I am a minority voice in this church. I also claim nothing short of being progressive; I do indeed want change in the church - change that I believe brings us closer to God's kin-dom, a belief born from reason, tradition, experience, and scripture. I also know that many look at me not only as heterodox but apostate. All I can say to them is that I read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and I have come to a different place in understanding a great many things.

And now we can return to the real intent of this blog...to create a safe space for those questioning and searching for a progressive Christianity that nurtures their souls and speaks to their minds. I apologize to my regular readers who felt that the post was a departure from what I had promised to write and who thought that many of the responses diminished the "safe" nature of this blog. I will add, though, that authentic Christianity takes us into debates, conversations, and struggles that are unsafe because the gospel itself is risky and dangerous. It calls us to be present in the midst of the world that wants to deny the change it demands. It calls us to witness regardless of risk. And it calls us into solidarity with those who are the most ridiculed and defiled. Sometimes who we are will bring us into difficult places. In many ways that is the invitation of the gospel. So, while I've taken down the post in order to restore a certain sensibility, I also want to note that we as a people must be willing to step into the hard places to witness and proclaim the gospel that shapes us even in the face of risk and hardship.

recovering the radicality of christianity

This year marks the tenth anniversary of my ordination. It has taken all this time for me to finally come to a few pretty basic conclusions about ministry in the local church.

1. There is usually a very big difference between what a pastor is saying or thinks she is saying and what the congregation hears.

2. Perception is more important than reality.

3. Congregations tend to filter the radical message of the gospel. They don't hear the radicality; they hear the gospel as supporting evidence for already held beliefs. The message is manipulated by our ears and our brains to conform to our expectations.

4. When people hear a pastor say the gospel is political, they hear the pastor say, "The gospel belongs to my partisan political viewpoint." We need to be much clearer in communicating that "politics" and "partisan politics" are very different concepts. And, that the gospel in 100% political in nature.

5. People are hungry for the gospel. We just have to find a better way to make it real.

I come to these conclusions after years of teaching courses on the politics of Jesus (which are kingdom of God politics) only to watch congregation members get mired in conflict over whether Jesus was a liberal or a conservative. I have watched my congregations reflect back to me their experience of a sermon, a stewardship drive, or a teaching that is markedly different, even antithetical, to what was intended. I also sit in holy conversation with members, constituents, and visitors and listen to them tell me about their deep hunger for meaning and for a sense of power in an overwhelming world.

There is a disconnect happening in our churches that I believe begins with a fundamental misunderstanding of what church is and what the gospel message is. Church is a community that enters into both the belief and the practice of God's kin-dom. We do so even while this world exists and tries to deny our foolish endeavor. Church is a community that practices an alternate way of life even while living in the cities, neighborhoods, and even families that are based on a different set of principles and values. The gospel is an invitation into this life. It is an invitation to believe in love and grace in a world of hate and vengeance. It is an invitation into the economics of abundance and the politics of radical hospitality.

As followers of Christ, we are asked to step outside of the preconceived notions of our world and to live in an alternate world, in an alternate way. In this alternate way of life the resurrection is not a superstition, it is a radical invitation to life in the midst of death. Birth narratives are not fairy tales, they are stories of meaning saying to us that life is pulled from barren places as well as from virginal places. Miracles show us that God's power stands outside of the power of the state which proscribes and prescribes.

We need to recover the radicality of the gospel and re-infuse Christianity with it. Until our perceptions of the church change, our understanding of politics is transformed, and we become ready to be changed by the gospel rather than changing it to meet our needs, we will continue to struggle in a futile battle to domesticate the wild and radical message of God. And the hungry will not be fed.

I wonder what the next ten years will bring.

abc has lost its freakin' mind! kirk cameron, really???

A peeve of mine is that mainstream media refuse to cover religion in a meaningful and informed way. My prejudice against mainstream media grows when things like ABC's recent Nightline sinks the conversation to yet a new low. Nightline squared two atheists up against Kirk Cameron (yes, Left Behind - Growing Pains - Kirk Cameron) and Ray Comfort. This show did nothing more than give exposure to a particular kind of conservatism and belittle Christianity as a whole.

It's clear that Kirk Cameron has found some kind of meaning and purpose in his life since his conversion as a teenager. It was his conversion to evangelical Christianity that was a major part in the dissolution of his television show. However, the media continue to turn to voices like his as representative ones for the entire Christian community, leaving out the millions upon millions of voices of people of faith who can hold science and religion together, faith and reason together. Why don't media turn to the bishops of our great Protestant faiths or the pastors and the laity of congregations that have been engaged in ministry for hundreds of years to represent Christian ideals? Where is Bishop Janice Huie of my denomination when national media want a religious comment on a situation, theological concept, or crisis? Why don't the media invite Walter Brueggemann onto their television shows? Where are the great professors of our theological institutions? Where are the voices of preachers like Barbara Brown Taylor or James Forbes?

Mainline denominations in general and progressive Christians in particular are silenced by the media who turn to the most salacious voices in our communities for the exploitation of ratings. I've been heartened of late with the Human Resource Coalition's addition of faith-based resources on their website along with Step It Up's inclusion of faith communities in its work. Additionally, Jim Wallis has given some attention to progressive voices in his efforts as well. Even so, there is a lot of work that we need to do to make our voices heard.

There are many mainline and progressive churches and individuals of faith who are touched by the Holy Spirit. We believe earnestly in a God of love and justice. We worship this God with our whole hearts and with the entirety of our lives. We offer God all that we have and all that we are. But we have become too quiet and too passive. The gospel of the Christ we know and follow is worth sharing. It is worth us getting upset over the hi-jacking of our faith and the media that promote this theft.

ABC has lost its freakin' mind with this latest step into "religious conversation." I hope it finds sanity someday and invites the leaders and voices from mainline and progressive Churches. What a great day that would be!

Update: Just FYI, the articles on the ABC website that round out this issue for them include: "Searching for a Manly Jesus," "Rick Warren: Purpose Driven Strife," "Speaking in Tongues: Word of the Lord," "The Porn Pastors: XXXChurch.com," "I Don't Want My MTv," "Joel Osteen: Pastor of Prosperity," "Jerry Falwell: Fire and Brimstone" and much more. Gross.

update on spidey and forgiveness

It seems that searches for information about Spidey and forgiveness are quite the rage these days. I am having more hits than usual on this blog from people interested in exploring the theme and the movie. Sam Raimi is no stranger to exploring spiritual themes in his movies. It shouldn't be a surprise that he does it this time. What is interesting, though, is that he doesn't succumb to the temptation in Hollyobvious by hitting us over the head with overblown metaphors and imagery. Instead, the characters' need to seek and offer forgiveness is integrated throughout the storyline. Peter is Everyman, unlike Superman who is a Christ figure. Peter is just like you and me - flawed, timid, and searching. His path is neither straight nor fated. What happens in his life results from the choices that he makes - just like you and me. And the choices that he makes have repercussions for those around him. The same is true for the other characters in Spiderman 3. The formation of "Sandman" is the result of bad circumstances and worse choices. Marko Flint, driven by a need to take care of his child, commits a crime that culminates in the death of Peter's beloved uncle. Escaped from prison, he makes a series of even poorer choices that lead him into a situation in which he is transformed into the supervillain Sandman. Eddie Brock, driven by his ambition, chooses himself over others time and again until the same alien goo that turns Spidey black infects him, making Venom. Peter, Marko, and Eddie need forgiveness for the things that they have done and for the decisions that they have made. Peter's good friend Harry turned Goblin Jr. is driven by his need to avenge his father's death, which he attributes to Spiderman. And last, there is Mary Jane. She is hurt by the blackness growing inside of Peter and wounded by the hate growing inside of Harry. The betrayal that she experiences reminds her of her years growing up with an alcoholic father. Sam Raimi could have overdone any of these situations, but he doesn't. Instead, the superhero and his supervillains are humanized. They are wounded characters seeking a way back to wholeness. Some find this path and others don't. I'm excited to see so many people searching for information about the theme of forgiveness in this movie. Perhpas it has touched a nerve in people reminding us that we all need to extend a little forgiveness and we might even need to ask for it as well.

forgiveness looms large in spiderman 3

I saw Spiderman 3 today and was struck by importance of the theme of forgiveness. Throughout the movie, revenge and brokenness are challenged by the possibility of forgiveness.

Peter Parker's story picks up with life going very well for him and Mary Jane. New York loves Spidey. Peter Parker is doing well in school. And Mary Jane has a new play on Broadway. Of course this utopia can't hold together. Beginning with Peter's growing hubris, a string of events leads Peter into an inner struggle with revenge and ego. Mary Jane slides into a place of deep pain, recalling the feelings of loneliness she experienced in her childhood home and finding them lived out in her relationship with Peter. And Harry has to reach into the depth of grief while undergoing a difficult process to learn who he really is and what he's made of. Other characters also struggle with their limitations, from JJ Jameson's heart problems to the villains' (Marko Flint/Sandman and Eddie Brock/Venom) ambition and feelings of powerlessness. All of the characters in Spiderman 3 are seeking paths to forgiveness - for themselves and for others. And, we are shown just how difficult it can be to ask for it and to offer it. In a moment of great anger, Peter Parker tells Eddie Brock (soon to become Venom), "If you're looking for forgiveness, get religion" (or something close to that). Both Eddie and Peter run to a church in the moments of the deepest anguish. Not knowing what else to do, they go to the symbolic place of forgiveness.

What a gift it would be if our churches really were places of forgiveness, where people wounded by their pursuit of it (whether to give or receive it) could come and find something freeing for their souls. We live in a world that could benefit in exploring and rediscovering the power of forgiveness.

From a cinematic perspective, Spidey 3 is big. It is an epic. The effects are amazing. From a narrative perspective, it is a bit too long and convoluted. The story has too many characters and feels a bit choppy at times. But from a theological perspective, it hits the mark.

jon stewart with bill moyers

Here is the interview between Bill Moyers and Jon Stewart. Excellent!

church and the common experience

Once upon a time when Christendom ruled America, a pastor could stand in the pulpit and assume all kinds of things about his (and I mean "his") congregation. More likely than not they had been born into the parish (at least into a parish somewhere), understood basic concepts of Christianity and congregational life, and lived in or near the neighborhood. That is not the case anymore. This is one of the biggest challenges of ministry for me.

I read articles and books written by "emerging church" leaders and I realize how their approach to ministry and what they do in ministry just will not work in the church that I serve. When I look at websites that "appeal" to people my age and younger I see graphics and pop culture references that would fall short of hitting any mark in a group of people diverse in age and life experience. Even my own life experiences are far afield from the people I serve. I love LOST; no one in my church seems to watch it. I love movies; no one in my church is going to see Hot Fuzz (I can pretty much guarantee it!). And it's not just an age thing, either. The "younger" adults in church have made life choices that take them far away from the plugged-in and hyped-up world of many others their age. They have chosen to cut the cable, lose the high speed internet, have children, and go hiking. Most folks in worship have no clue what's happening liturgically, have no personal experience in Bible study, and don't know what church life can be. They don't know an ambo from a pulpit, and they don't care. In a church like this, where is the common denominator? Where is the common experience?

This question about common experience came up in Bible study the other night, actually. And it was great to listen to a discussion about it. It reminded me that the early church also struggled with a similar issue. As the church expanded to include non-Jews, the common experience of tribe, nation, culture, and tradition was lost. The early church found/created a new common experience through breaking bread and the sacrament of baptism. They created common experience by pooling their wealth. The created common experience in worship and in life shared together. It had to be an intentional act. I wonder what we'd have to do to get our churches to take the quest for common experience in Christ seriously. Every time we break bread in Holy Communion, we enter an alternate universe, one where God's kin-dom has already come. When we make promises in the baptism covenant, we promise to share our lives with one another. These are radical acts that call us to step beyond the confines of our individual experiences and into something more - much more.

Christianity is a gateway - not into "common" experience but into a shared "uncommon" experience. It seems that if we could take this seriously then things like pop culture references, vernacular, and personal likes and dislikes would fall by the wayside. Or, are these things so important that they will indelibly mark how we enter into God's kin-dom? I don't know. What I do know is that a church that includes diversity in culture, age, economics, and background has a hard way to go in even finding common language to explore the Divine as a community.

"making disciples of jesus christ..."

By and large I don't like the United Methodist mission statement to "make disciples of Jesus Christ." I don't know how to "make" a disciple. As a pastor, I might nurture a disciple, encourage a disciple, or witness for discipleship in my own life, but I don't know how to "make" one. It seems coercive. However, it is the mission statement that we have and I preached on it today (omitting my qualms with the lingo). I don't typically post my sermons. Preaching is a relational experience; reading them does them a disservice. (Perhaps I'll write on that another time.) But, for some reason, I thought that I would post today's sermon on mission...

Our Mission is...
Acts 9:36-43
April 29, 2007, Easter 4C

The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, which orders the lives of United Methodists and our institutions, says that our mission is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” It goes on to say, “Local churches provide the most significant arena through which disciple-making can occur.” Yet local congregations spend inordinate amounts of time talking about and trying to discern their purpose. Our denomination takes its purpose from the Great Commission in Matthew where Jesus sends the apostles on their disciple-making mission. And local churches share in that ancient mission. At the very core of our existence is the growing of disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. That is our purpose pure and simple.

The mission of the emerging church had already begun when Peter travels to Joppa to find Dorcas. In this story we find the mission of the church exemplified in the individuals Peter and Dorcas. Dorcas, probably a deaconess in an early Christian community, embodies good works and mercy. She has focused her life’s work on caring for widows, one of the most vulnerable populations of her day. After an illness, she tragically dies leaving those in her care in an extremely vulnerable position. There they are, gathered around her, weeping and showing the fabrics that Dorcas had made for and with them. Dorcas is the work of the church alive in world, transforming people’s lives in real and tangible ways. Her very name tells us about her love of life, the vitality of her spirit – Dorcas means “gazelle.” In this deaconess, there is a gazelle, bounding through life spreading God’s love concretely in life transforming ways. Peter comes to her; Peter the “rock,” Peter the head of the emerging church. He is fast becoming the leader of the emerging church in all locations. Dorcas is the leader and life of the church in her one location. Peter is becoming the head of the church universal. Together they are making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

This resurrection story exists in a line of narratives that tell us something about God’s power to transform our world. Acts uses imagery and words reminiscent of the raising of Jairus’ twelve year old daughter in Mark 5. Jesus is summoned to Jairus’ house. He takes Peter, James and John with him. And in the midst of the grief that fills the room, Jesus takes the dead girl by the hand and says, “Little girl, get up.” The work done through Peter in the book of Acts strongly recalls God’s work through Jesus. Peter is Jesus’ heir. And such stories of God’s action of bringing life from the dead don’t originate in the New Testatment. In 1 Kings, Elijah raises the son of the widow, beseeching God to let life return to the child. In the midst of the sorrow that fills not only the room but also Elijah’s heart, he stretches himself over the child and lays upon him and life returns (1 Kings 17:17-24). Later in 2 Kings, Elijah’s protégé Elisha faces the same situation. Called to a house where a little boys has died, Elisha goes it, “shut(s) the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes” (2 Kings 4:42-47). God’s power is not containable by anything, not even death, and our mission as the church is to be heirs of this tradition by letting this power loose on the world through our touch, our breath, our presence so that life may return to those dead places of our world.

In Dorcas we find the hard work of being Christ’s presence and witness to a particular community day in and day out. Her service over a long period of time made life altering transformation for the women she tended. In Peter we find the challenge of bringing God’s power to many people in many different places. Peter had become a leader of leaders, moving from place to place. He, as the “rock”, became Jesus’ heir, as we see in his participation of raising Dorcas from the dead. In them, in their touch, we find the life of the early church. The church was not and is not only an institution. Rather, the church, when it is faithful in its mission, transforms people’s lives. First, the lives of those gathered in wonder and worship reach out and touch the Holy. Once our hearts have been touched by the power of the living God, then we extend ourselves as vessels of God to the world.

This week The United Methodist Church received a gift that could help us bring transformation into this world. American Idol (a show that I just can’t bring myself to watch) raised over $60 million this past week in a fundraiser for eight different organizations benefiting both The US and Africa. They raised over $60 million. A United Methodist mission was one of the eight. Nothing But Nets is a joint effort of our denomination, the United Nations Foundation, the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated mag and Major League Soccer’s MLS W.O.R.K.S. Nothing But Nets sends insecticide-treated nets for African children to sleep under. It’s that simple. Its goal is to eliminate the effects of malaria in Africa. The goal is simple, concrete, and attainable. We are being both Peter and Dorcas when we tap into God’s creative imagination to come up with a ministry like this one. We are making real and significant changes in people’s lives over the long run, like Dorcas. And we are being leaders on the world stage, bringing life from places of death, like Peter.

Woodland Park has a world transforming ministry in it. As the local church, it is our holy and sacred mission to transform the Phinney Ridge and Greenwood neighborhoods. As the assembled, hoping to touch the Holy in our own lives, we, like Dorcas, need to reach out to God’s hand extended to us in the form of others when we are floundering, lost, barren, and alone. In our times of death, God is there commanding us to rise as a powerful and faithful witness for others. And, as the church, Dorcas offers us a powerful witness to what being the midst of others can do. We can make real and significant changes in our local neighborhood. It’s true that local congregations can’t do everything; it’s not our mission to do so. It is our mission to persistently and faithfully witness to God’s astounding and life-changing love, day in and day out, for one another and for our world. Our mission is no less than that of the church “to make disciples for the transformation of the world.” Amen.

get rid of earth day

It's time to get rid of Earth Day. The time has come and gone for us to set aside one day a year for environmental awareness. Our planet is now ill enough that we need to make immediate and significant changes in the ways in which we live our lives if we are going to revive our planet.

While it has become chic for entertainers and others to promote Earth Day and the environment, I have grown increasingly concerned that we are turning Earth Day into another commercialized event steeped in consumerism. Just this week, Oprah Winfrey hosted an Earth awareness program on her television show. Ten - even five - years ago, this would have excited me, but this year I watched concerned that the crux of the message is that we can live essentially the same way that we do now if only we would purchase more eco-friendly products. It is certainly true that each of us could make simple and easy changes that would positively affect our planet, but the environmental crisis has reached a tipping point that switching from toxic cleaning materials to something like 7th Generation just won't get it. It's time for us to adopt systemic changes that will go to the heart of how we live in the world. Some of these changes may be very difficult for many of us, but nothing is more important that reviving the health of this living miracle on which we live.

Even though it will take radical action from our government in regulating power companies and larger corporations to exact the effects that we really need, individual action is important as well. Here are some of the basic things every person should do in order to make first steps into caring for the environment:
*Change from using incandescent light bulbs. Energy Star's Change a Light Campaign can tell you what you need to know.
*Buy Energy Star certified products. These save energy.
*Jettison phantom power! Every outlet with something in it is putting out some power. If you have lamps or other items plugged in but you don't use them, unplug them. Power down your computers and don't leave your screens running. It might be a minuscule amount of power, but every little bit adds up.
*Don't buy bleached products. Most of us have bleached paper towels, typing paper, and other items in the house. Buy non-bleached paper. It's better and safer.
*Adequately insulate your home, but beware...much insulation is not eco-friendly. Look for "green" insulation.
*Turn down straws, plastic bags, and other unnecessary plastic items. They don't biodegrade.
*Don't buy bottled water. The energy used in creating the bottles even though they are recyclable isn't worth it. Use filters at home and take along your own bottles.
*Purchase renewable energy from your power company. In Seattle, you can purchase "green" energy from Seattle City Light. Municipalities around the nation offer similar options. Learn more about renewable energy from Interfaith Power and Light.
*Buy food that is locally grown and organically produced. In Washington state we have the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network.
*Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. That's basic. Compost what you can.
*Buy a hybrid car, an electric car (Chevy's Volt is an example if they would just build it), or use biodiesel. See "Who Killed the Electric Car?" If you live in Seattle, biodiesel is very easy to purchase. Even better, walk to work or take mass transit.
*Go solar! You can get off the grid so do it.
*When upgrading your home, buy carpets, paint, wood (bamboo), tiles, and other products that are eco-friendly. Online and local stores can help you out. Check out Eco By Design, The Environmental Home Center.

These are just some things individuals can do. Mostly we need to use less and buy less. And when we do buy, we need to make sure the planet was treated ethically in order to produce, package, and transport our wares. But really it's time for large scale government action if we are going to make much difference in rising sea levels, species collapse, and devastating climate change. Local municipalities and the federal government need to offer tax incentives for businesses and corporations that take care of the environment, and they need to tax those that don't. We need to raise our mileage standards and create better mass transit systems inside our cities and among them. We need a nation wide train system that works and is affordable. We need more wilderness designated areas. We need to proactively go about the business of decreasing carbon emissions now...not by 2050 (even though I support Step It Up's campaign).

Some will say this post has nothing to do with progressive Christianity. I strongly disagree. The first story in our scriptures is the story of creation in which God commanded humankind to take care of the earth. At no time in our history could we have conceived of literally destroying our planet, but now we can and, in fact, we are destroying it. It is time that churches lead the way rather than obstruct it in creating social change related to this earth - God's precious creation which God loves and called "good". God has placed us here to be stewards; let us answer God's command faithfully.

unimaginable

When something unimaginable happens people often look to faith for answers. However, faith that provides depth of meaning doesn't offer simple or trite responses to life's difficult, cruel, and horrific moments. As someone who attended school in Virginia and who has very fond memories of that part of the world, my prayers lift the students, faculty, and members of Blacksburg tenderly to God. That is all that I can do.

step it up, seattle!

April 14 is the National Day for Climate Change and Step It Up is at the forefront of bringing attention to the need for sound public policy and personal action related to the environment. Calling for an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, Step It Up events will be happening all over the United States. Step It Up Seattle has a list of activities for the Emerald City. The big march of the day will begin in Occidental Park at 2 PM and will end in Myrtle Edwards Park. From 4-6 PM there will be a Solutions Fair at Myrtle Edwards Park.

Taking care of the environment was one of the first commandments given to humankind from God when God instructed Adam and Eve to care for the earth and all of its creatures. While Christianity has too often understood "subdue" as a coercive verb, the command is to use the power of humankind of tend creation, not to exploit it. At the heart of both Christianity and Judaism is the idea of Sabbath. Sabbath is not our time; it is God's time. One day a week the earth and all who work it should rest. Sabbath extends to every seven years and every fifty years. Christianity has an obligation to be leaders in the movement to cherish and hold holy this miraculous creation of God. I hope there are thousands of Christians on the streets of Seattle (and across the US) this Saturday demanding that our public officials take action on our behalf that will replenish this living, breathing miracle of planet Earth. What a wonderful thing to happen during Easter - a justice movement for bringing new life back to this planet.

For too long we have understood gains in society through the lens of growth - growth equals good. New housing builds is one of the main rules against which we measure the health of our society. Perhaps the time has come for us to develop a different ruler that measures other things in order to determine the health of our society. I mean, how healthy can it be when the very earth on which we live is struggle to catch its next breath? It's time for Christians to stand up - to step it up - personally and communally and demand deep, significant change. Let's Step It Up, Seattle!

easter's interruption is just beginning

Wow, I had a crazy Holy Week and a crazier start to the Easter festival season. In addition to the typical Holy Week frenzy of extra services and Easter Sunday preparation, I helped two folks get ready for and helped send them off on trips abroad, I welcomed my mom into town for a visit, and I signed some of the many papers required in buying my first house! As I went through this process, I kept thinking, "Easter Sunday will come and we'll celebrate the miracle of the risen Christ and then I can take a break!" What a thought! Easter isn't a moment or a day or even the great fifty days that we set aside for it in the church. Easter is the heart of our faith, and the great feast that reminds us of its centrality has just begun. Easter didn't come and go on Sunday; it just started.

However, this past week the craziness of preparing for Easter was supplanted only by an even greater craziness when Easter Sunday finally came. I hosted a church-wide Easter Egg Hunt at the parsonage, led services at church, came home, and my mother became ill and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She's spent most of this week hospitalized. (She's on the mend, no worries - I hope.) All of this interruption, though, in the routine that is my life has raised a number of questions about the interruption of Easter and what that interruption should be in our lives.

Easter isn't a crazy day of family, church, sugar, and holy music. It isn't even just the Great Fifty Days. It is an interruption in how we live life. It interrupts our routines, our expectations, and our assumptions. Some of the interruptions in my life this week have been welcomed and planned; others scary and chaotic, but they all remind me that Easter interrupts the fabric of this world and it intentionally unsettles all that I take for granted. I'm glad that Easter isn't just a day, even though I'm kinda glad that the craziness of Easter Sunday has passed. I wonder how we might be in the world if we participated in daily Holy Communion during Easter - living God's great interruption each time we place the bread and wine in our bodies. I wonder if the church might be more of an interruption in the world if we let ourselves live inside of God's great mystery each day this festival season. I'm glad that Easter's interruption is just beginning. Happy Easter.