property and the ABC and PSW

It is my understanding that everyone involved in the separation of the PSW from the ABCUSA is trying to work in good faith when it comes to property issues. That is a good thing as the region holds title to many church properties and it could turn into an ugly mess. From what I understand, they are working hard to honor the individual congregations. That is wonderful.

The questions I have, have to do with the property that was owned by the PSW. Much of it was given or paid for with money given with the understanding that the resources would belong to an ABC related organization. That includes millions of dollars worth of property in the camps and other assets. Why should it be assumed that these assets go with the new Transformation Ministries? The argument would be that they hold the titles and they are the successor organization to the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest. I would think that an argument could be made that because they are no longer related to the ABCUSA, they are an entirely new organization and that the American Baptists of the Pacific Southwest or whatever organization of American Baptist related churches in the Pacific Southwest is the true successor and that all of the assets should go to them.

The very fact that churches deeded their properties to the PSW is a testament to this. Most churches who deeded their property to the PSW did so to keep the property from leaving the ABC family. Look at the scenario. A church owns its property. An outside group wants to have a church in the area but cannot afford property. They all join the ABC church, outnumber its members, vote to withdraw from ABC and then own the property. To prevent this from happening, churches put their titles in the hands of the region. This is an analog of what has happened. For whatever reason (and the reason doesn't matter), a majority in the PSW has voted to withdraw from ABC and take the properties with them.

Now I am in no way implying that their was malice involved in the PSW's actions. The vast majority of the folk I know in PSW are people of integrity and deep commitment to following Jesus. Indeed, they would argue that they are following the true intent of the donors by continuing their mission. It is here that the discussion needs to take place. Perhaps they are. On the other hand, perhaps these generous folk of earlier generations really did have a commitment to the ABC. We are talking about serious resources here that will impact the way ministry is done and the potential impact of those ministries.

The analogy of divorce has been used more than once by leaders in PSW. Well, in a divorce, nobody walks away with all of the assets. These assets should all be on the table.

I am ashamed

I have never been particularly patriotic. Being formed during the 60's no doubt contributed as did my understanding that as a follower of Jesus that my ultimate citizenship is not in any nation/state, but in the kindom of God. Still, I have always been especially proud of the values upon which this nation was founded. Certainly, we have not always lived up to them but we never (or at least seldom) outright rejected them. And always, someone would hold them up and call us to move towards our better selves.

A few years ago, Alexis was in the Balkans and was warned not to tell anyone she was an American. My first reaction was resignation but there was also a hint of surprise... "Don't they know what we stand for?"

Well, today I am ashamed. Yesterday the House voted for legislation that outright rejects everything that I thought we stood for as Americans. And immediately afterwards, the Republicans accused the Democrats who voted against the bill as being pro-terrorist. All of this following the release of the April intelligence estimate that concluded that everything we are doing in Iraq is making terrorism worse. Well, today I am ashamed to be an American. If this bill becomes law, I will truly be ashamed that we no longer stand up for human dignity or the rule of law.

a smile...

this came from an aquaintence who got it from a friend who got it from a friend... and so the original author is long lost. It may indeed be that most famous and prolific writer - Anonymous

I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, start
out dead and get it out of the way. Then you wake up in a nursing home, feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You drink alcohol, you party, you're generally promiscuous and you get ready for High School. You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a baby, then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa room service on tap, larger quarters everyday, and finally you finish off as an orgasm.

Raises some interesting questions about the meaning and purpose of life doesn't it?

torture

These days it feels like deja vu... "it depends on what is is..." only now the stakes are much higher. So when is torture not torture? When does it become "coercive interrogation?" It seems as if this administration is arguing that as long as we aren't applying electrodes to genitals, breaking bones, raping, or murdering, it is OK. That leaves water-boarding, hanging upside down, sexual humiliation, and all sorts of other things that seem to me to fit any reasonable definition of torture.

So why should we not do any of these things? First off, it doesn't work. When these "coercive techniques" are being used, someone will say anything to get them to stop. How often do you think they'll tell the truth? If the torture stops with a lie, we've reinforced lying. If it doesn't stop with the truth, then we taught them that the torture won't stop anyway so why tell the truth? It doesn't work and experience has shown that the information that came using these "techniques" has been unreliable at best.

Second, it destroys any moral authority we have. Yes, some of the terrible people out there will torture American soldiers, journalists, and even civilians anyway but when we use torture, we have no argument before the world that we are any different than the terrorists. And there will be those who will follow our example and more American soldiers, journalists, and even civilians will find themselves being tortured around the world.

Third, and this is the most important reason, torture is wrong. There is no justification under any circumstances for using torture.

I'm reminded of the story of the holy man who was meditating near a river that was rising rapidly. He looked over and saw a scorpion sitting on a high spot that had turned to a tiny island, soon to be engulfed by the flood. He walked over and reached down to save the scorpion and the insect tried to sting him. This happened a number of times until a passerby remarked, "You know, you will get stung if you keep doing that. It is in the nature of the scorpion to sting." The holy man replied, "Yes, it is in the scorpion's nature to sting. It is in my nature to do what is good and right. Why should I allow the scorpion to make me change my nature?"

As a people we are allowing the "scorpions" to cause us to abandon our most beautiful values and deeply held convictions. We must hold true to who we claim we are and stand against the forces that are calling us to compromise what we know is right and true. We must not torture.

paradise

just a short note here... we just got back from a wonderful week of rest and relaxation on Oahu and I'm trying to catch up with everything.

We stayed at Eden-by-the-Sea, a little guest house for two run by Jeff and Lynda Mueller as a ministry to professional church staff. They really have a gift of hospitality and have provided a beautiful spot to refresh and relax. They didn't miss a detail in making everything easy and enjoyable for us. I highly recommend their ministry to any of you for whom it fits.

The Heretics Guide part 2

I finished my second read through A Heretic's Guide to Eternity the other day and need to say a bit more about it...

I first discovered that I was a heretic back in 1975 when I went through my ordination council with the Philadelphia Baptist Association. They voted me down, called me back for more questions, voted me down again, tried to get a local pastor to tutor me in the "right path," and when they couldn't called me back for more questions... actually just one - "Is there any chance your views will change?" When I replied "yes, I'm sure they will" that gave them the out they needed and they voted to allow the congregation I was already serving to proceed with ordination. Many times since then, I have been branded with the same title. Well, after reading the book, I am a little happier with the title than I was before. In fact, maybe I'll even own it! I'm reminded of an adult Sunday School class about 2 years ago at Cambridge Drive Church where three groups were charged with writing a good old fashioned confession of faith. The one that I liked the best began with the statement, "All Confessions of Faith must be written in pencil." I like that alot

So to the book... as I said before a primary theme is the juxtaposition of spirituality defined by grace vs. "religion" by which Spencer means all of the institutional stuff - rules, confessions, dogma, etc. etc. I find myself agreeing with many of his conclusions. I believe in the primacy of grace and free floaties. I believe that God is bigger than any of our systems of thought, or doctrine, or even of experience. I believe that we can find "truth" in just about every religion out there while still owning that they are not the same. I like unversalism as a starting point. I even believe that our understanding of God is growing as a culture and we are moving beyond where we were and it is a good thing. But... and it is a big but... there are two places where I feel like Spencer has dropped the ball.

1. He talks about "religion" as being culturally bound and shaped while "spirituality" (which is where he says we're headed) is universal. I think he is falling into the same trap that our ancestors in the faith lived in - the idea that we have gotten to the end of revelation and our views are eternal while everyone else's are flawed. Again, I agree with his conclusions that the Church as we have known it is quickly dying and will be gone in a relatively short time, but the forms that will replace it are still culturally bound, just bound to a new culture. This is a very important critique because it changes the whole nature of the argument. If his new schema is eternal and universal, then it becomes static and cannot be questioned. If it too is written in pencil, then the journey continues.

2. While Spencer clearly says that faith must be communal for it to be all that it can be, he doesn't give any way to build that community of faith once he has discarded the institutions of the past. Indeed, his few short descriptions of his community of faith left me feeling very sad. I really want to hear him tell what this new community of faith might look like without any institutional trappings. Base communities that struggle together over praxis... house churches that study and hold one another accountable... intentional communities that live faith as an alternative lifestyle... we need something more than what feels to me as too easy an escape from the joys and difficulties of community.

I also wanted a bit more about the way we follow Jesus in this murky water of religious pluralism... how does that play itself out in the free-wheeling, market driven world of spirituality where each person spins their own, often out of their own juices and often out of what feels easy and convenient rather than what challenges us to grow and change and serve.

To the degree that this book reflects some of the thought in at least one wing of the "emerging" church, it will provide a convenient target for some on the conservative side of things who are already condemning this movement as being soft on doctrine and anything but orthodox. He obviously pushes the envelope more than many of the other writers dealing with similar subject matter. I'm sure that the title "heretic" will be thrown at him more than once in the coming days.

All in all, I think it is an important book that will help frame some great discussions about the next steps for a Church that must leave behind its antiquated forms and find new ways of being followers of Jesus in a radically new world. Pick it up and read it and then wrestle with the ideas with a group of friends. Who knows, you may begin to answer the question I was left with... OK now what? How do we do this new thing together?

Obscenity

Yesterday was Labor Day. I grew up in a blue color family in a rust belt city so Labor Day has always brought up some strong feelings for me. I have a deeply held belief that working folk deserve the fruits of their labor and ought to share in the fruits of this society. Sadly, this is becoming less and less possible.

Yesterday there was an article that my local paper carried from the Miami Herald with some frightening statistics... Productivity is up but standard of living is going down for working folk. Wages are the lowest on record as a percentage of the national income while corporate profits are at a 56 year high. In 2005, CEO's earned 262 times the average worker's pay (up from 24 times in 1965).

I think we need a maximum wage law... or at least incredibly high taxes - 90% or more - on incomes above a certain level. Or maybe some of the executives could learn from a good example. There are CEO's who are doing it right.

Jim Sinegal, CEO and founder of Costco, makes about $350K which is approximately 12 times what the average worker on the floor of a Costco makes. If he was at the typical multiplier of most CEO's he'd be making nearly 8 million! Costco also pays above the market rate and provides higher benefits for those folk on the floor. Wall Street doesn't like him. Companies like Walmart hate him. Seems to me, he's doing things right.

33 & counting

Yesterday was the 33rd anniversary of the wedding of Roy & Cheryl Donkin. Hard to believe!

Through the easy times and the not so easy ones, I love you Cheryl!

the truth isn't sexy

the truth isn't sexy

This music video - Constance - reminds us that human trafficing is not a pretty thing. Watching this video and contrasting it to the scripture I'm preaching on this Sunday from the Song of Solomon really shows God's intention for the way we interact vs. the way that people can be objectified and abused.

only in California

A beetle with a jet engine that is street legal! How else can you add 1350 hp to your car?

Katrina, 1 Year Later

Every Sunday we ask for prayer requests during our worship service and every week, one of our 8 year olds asks us to remember the folk who are still suffering from the effects of that storm. This morning, the president said that he takes "full responsibility" for the federal response (or lack thereof). On the one hand, he should take responsibility. After all, he is the president. On the other hand, it is an easy political gesture that allows the rest of the government to escape their responsibility. After all, we have a Republican House and a Republican Senate. They congress has acted, in large degree, as a rubber stamp for the current administration. They must also bear responsibility for what has happened as they have shaped the policies and supported the philosophy that allowed the Gulf coast to languish while we destroy Iraq, allowed real anti-terrorism programs to suffer, and gave tax cuts to the rich. In two months we should vote them all out.

This morning there was an interesting editorial in our paper written by former FEMA head, James Witt and Max Stier. In the editorial they chose to focus on the positive lessons we should learn from the disaster. Basically it is an argument for good government, with good staff, adequate funding, and a long term perspective (all of which were and are lacking under an administration that argues against "big government.") We don't need less government. We need more. It just needs to be efficient and competent.

The Lord of War

Last night I watched The Lord of War a second time... this time in preparation for my sermon this morning (I used a clip in the sermon from 1:51:32-1:55:30). It is a profoundly disturbing film on many, many levels and is based on the true story of Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer. The bits that hang with me and make my stomach churn are the statement that our president (whoever he is at the time) is the world's largest arms dealer, selling more in a day that Yuri does in a year, and the liner note that the five largest arms dealers the world are the US, the UK, Russia, France, and China - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. I watch Yuri with loathing and then realize that he is us as we sell arms through our government and spread the same violence that he does only on an even wider level.

The arms trade is immoral on every level. There must be... there must be a movement to stop the international trade of arms on all levels if we are ever to see peace. Shouldn't those of us who claim to follow the Prince of Peace and who preach the gospel of peace be the first to propose this idea and to work for it?

grace?!?

I received a proof of Spencer Burke & Barry Taylor's book The Heretic's Guide to Eternity and was asked to read it and blog about it. I want to read the entire book before I say much but...

Spencer's primary theme is one of grace... grace unconditional and untamed. Around this theme he says that Christianity must change not only it's face but also its guts. Forms are not enough, the theology underneath must change as well. Adding new media or music doesn't go far enough. It is an argument that I've been making for a while.

This week, I had an experience that underscored this for me. I heard a speaker, tauted as "the stuff" for YA's. And to be truthful, there was a vocal bunch of followers there. But as I listened to the words, I wondered how others would hear the message. He spoke of abortion in a very judgmental way and promised that God would make a way financially for women who chose to follow the pregnancy to term regardless of their situation. He talked about the substitutionary atonement as Jesus died in our place at the hands of a judgmental god.

I left thinking that if that is the theology of the Church, it deserves to disappear. My heart resonates with a God who loves us without strings, of a grace that truly is amazing, of a savior who understands and identifies with our struggles rather than making easy and quick judgements.

I think Spencer and Barry are right on target when they talk about the shifts that must take place. I am not finished with the book yet so I'll say more in a few days. I do wonder as they dismiss the institutional church where they will find community and communal expressions for their faith. I worry about what seems to be a furthering of the individualization of faith... but as I said, I'm not finished with the book and I'm hopful that they'll say more about these issues. Check back later for more.

Whoo Whoo

Three days short of two years on the wait list, today I received notice that I've come to the top of the list to purchase an Analogman King of Tone two channel overdrive box for my pedal board... one step closer to completion.

Whooo Whoo!

Soliton August '06

This past weekend was Soliton. It was my second year to be part of the gathering and I have to tell you that I was really looking forward to it. As things worked out, I missed the first day as my wife was having torn cartilage repaired in her knee, but I got there for Friday & Saturday.

The theme was "hospitality." The concept was stretched in the pragmatic realm as there were more participants this year and because the hosting community - The Bridge of Ventura - lost their space some months ago. The results were that the various sessions were hosted in the Presbyterian Church, member's homes, a park, etc. More importantly though the concept was stretched with questions pushing us to consider the implications of hospitality for peacemaking, evangelism, institutional and personal change...

There will be a lot for me to chew on (as there was in the previous year). The question of what is clean and unclean and how the Trickster transforms the unclean and brings about redemption will be on the burner a lot for the coming days.

Probably the most important part of the event for me is connecting with folk that I met there and may only see there. It is wonderful to know that our ties go across geography, theology, age, and culture.

I would highly recommend that you all put this event on your calendar for next year.

something completely different

For a few months I've been slowly putting together my pedalboard. For an electric guitarist, a pedalboard is the equivalent of a painter's palette. It allows the player to mix sounds and create new colors by manipulating the guitar's tones electronically. Currently I have two or three more pedals to add and the board will be done. For any who care, the board currently includes (in order of signal chain) a boss tuner, a modded dynacomp, an HBE power screamer overdrive, a modded phase 90, a boss chorus, a chatmods deeelaaayyy, a highly modded wah wah pedal, and a Duncan booster. I have a Build Your Own Clone envelope filter in process and, after a two year wait, am nearing the top of the list for an Analogman king of tone overdrive. I'd like to add a BYOC envelope volume pedal and maybe an octave box as well. I'm also slowly replacing all of the cables with Lava Cables ELC cable. It is great cable and very reasonably priced for the quality but the price still adds up when you have that many pedals. On the other hand, having the low quality cable that I had before in that many places really degrades your sound. So as I can, I'll be buying the ELC and taking the blanket off my tone.

My daughter Alexis did part of her college years at Bard college in their art department. I asked her to paint a few pedal boxes for me and she enjoyed it a lot and so is offering her services. Drop me a note if you're interested in having one painted.

First is the second one she painted - the modded Phase 90 which is already on the board. She used reds and oranges because the original pedal was orange so she already had her background color.

The first box she painted was the BYOC envelope filter. BYOC is a company that produces very high quality kits for people to build their own pedals. The boxes come unfinished. A friend of Alexis' is putting the electronics together and she did the box.

These photos were taken before the clear coat was added and unfortunately the clear coal wasn't completely clear. It darkened and dulled the colors a tiny bit. On the next box we'll use something different.<

61st Anniversary

Yesterday was the 61st anniversary of the dropping of a nuclear device on Hiroshima. It was an attack that killed 140,000 people - mostly civilians. Three days later a second device was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 80,000 more. These were sinful acts with absolutely no justification.
In a speech marking that anniversary, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima called for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. It is long past the time that that must be done. What we need now are some courageous leaders of nations with nuclear weapons to join in that call.

the myth of redemptive violence

I participate in a discussion group of Christian musicians where someone asked whether Israel had gone too far. I was amazed at the vocal folk who believe that violence is necessary, at times good, and doesn't conflict at all with one's faith as a Christian. The argument goes that there are some ends that cannot be achieved by any means other than violent ones. There is something cleansing about violence and "right." Indeed, a thread branched off from that one about "moral" violence.

I've shared before that part of my formation was in the historic peaces churches so this idea is repugnant to me. My faith is in a God of love and I seek to follow the Prince of Peace.

It seems to me that Jesus was pretty clear that violence was not an acceptable option. He said, "Love your enemies..." and in Matthew's version, "do good to those who persecute you." In Luke, "do good to those who hate you." As the bumper sticker says, "Loving your enemies probably begins with not killing them." When Peter drew a sword to protect him from the Roman soldiers, Jesus stopped him, "all who take the sword will die by the sword." When violence was committed on him, Jesus received it, asked for forgiveness for the perpetrators, and God used his non-violent act to change the world.

Paul reminds us to feed a hungry enemy and to overcome evil with good.

The earliest Christians refused to take up arms in the face of terrible persecution and the Church grew in the blood of the martyrs.

And what does this myth say about God? We claim to believe in a God of love who went so far as to send Jesus to the cross as a demonstration of that love, yet who would turn around and call for a war that results in human blood flowing to the horses' bridles? We claim to worship a God who counts the hairs of our heads and who knows every sparrow that falls but who doesn't mourn when 14 children trying to flee a war zone are hit with a missile? We claim to worship a God whose love overcomes even the power of death but who cannot come up with a better way to solve the world's problems than through a bloodbath? It doesn't make sense to me. Indeed, that is not the God I worship.

So why is it that people of faith who claim to follow the Prince of Peace cannot see beyond the violence? I think it is a lack of imagination, a lack of faith, a lack of love, and maybe even bloodlust. Lack of imagination because they cannot envision something better... Lack of faith because they do not trust God to work things out, they must do it and the only option they see (lack of imagination) is a violent one... Lack of love because they cannot allow themselves to love their enemies, many of whom may have done horrendous things... Bloodlust because there is something thrilling about violence and we have all known times when the desire for revenge welled up in our guts (I have identified more than I like with Bruce Cockburn's song - If I Had a Rocket Launcher) I know how I would want to react if I was an Israeli and saw Hezbollah's missiles raining down on my home, or a Lebanese watching my children shredded by US made, Israeli dropped cluster bombs.

Violence is not redemptive, it is something to be redeemed from. Those who take the sword, die by the sword. I believe that we have not risked believing Jesus yet. We have not submitted to the command of Jesus to love our enemies. When we do, if we do, we will see the love of God break forth in ways we have not imagined.

why I like post-conservatism and post-liberalism

A while back, Relevant Magazine had an interview with Tony Jones, the national coordinator of Emergent.

here is a question and answer that Ryan, a friend of mine, quoted on his blog a few weeks ago.

RM: You mentioned earlier that you have lesbian pastors and conservative absolutists. It seems that it would create a tension point when it comes to endorsing that person’s view or platform.

TJ: If you believe that Christianity is—at its very heart—a tension-filled, dialectical endeavor, you have less problems with these tension-filled relationships with believers. Christianity is paradoxical. Life comes out of death. Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We haven’t yet found that there’s anything that justifies us breaking fellowship with somebody else who loves and is trying to follow Jesus. Why would you break fellowship with someone because you have a different understanding of the atonement than they do? Or a different understanding of human sexuality than they do? It seems nonsensical that we’d give each other tests and try to hang it over someone else’s head and say, “Hey, dude. I’m going to break fellowship with you if we can’t come to agreement on this particular issue.” It just doesn’t seem to be the nature of human life. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it will get to a breaking point. People have left. Some people have been very forthright about why they’ve left. I certainly don’t think that the issue of absolute truth is a good reason to break fellowship with someone who’s trying to follow Jesus.

I like it a lot. It is worth reading the entire interview at the link in the first paragraph.

bad taste? perhaps

A few folk have called me to task for calling W an idiot in an earlier post... Perhaps it was a cheap shot, particularly when I didn't address the issue he raised. During his first ever veto, the pres equated using embryonic stem cells for research with murder. Actually, he was stronger than that. He said it is murder. And this, while claiming the higher ground and refusing to use taxpayer funds to kill children.

Let's look at the implication of his statement. If using an embryo for stem cell research is murder, what is throwing 10's of thousands of them into the trash? Should all fertility clinics that use in vitro fertilization be closed? After all, each procedure produces a number of embryos that will be discarded. If destroying an embryo is murder, then that is a multiple homicide. And should the couple be charged as accessories? After all, they provided the eggs and sperm to produce the embryos, knowing full well that many would be destroyed. And what about the laws regarding the disposal of deceased persons' bodies... do they apply to embryos (it is murder)? And if using embryonic stem cells is murder, why is it that private research companies can continue to do it as the law only referred to government funding, not private?

Finally, the president said that never before have government funds been used to murder children. What about the thousands of Iraqi children who have died by American bombs (paid for with tax payer money)? To say that collateral damage in war is not the same as murder would be a fine distinction that I think the mothers of those children would have difficulty seeing.

It all seems obvious that using the word "murder" was a deliberate attempt to inflame the passions of those who equate the procedure with abortion. Clearly he doesn't really believe what he said or he would be pushing to outlaw those fertility clinics, arrest the workers in the clinics and the prospective parents, and establish legal standing for the embryos.

Finally, I did not argue for embryonic stem cell research, although I think it may hold some promise. What I should have said is that the president's logic is seriously flawed... actually I should have said it was idiotic.