As I watch the continuing furor over the Ground-Zero Mosque in New York City, I am amazed at how many people in America have a problem with people having an opinion. Let me be clear up front: Muslims have a Constitutional right to build a mosque wherever they want. I defend their right to do so and if anyone were truly trying to keep them from building the mosque near Ground Zero through legal means, I would oppose that action. However, I don't have a problem with people thinking that it is a bad idea and that it is insensitive. I also don't have a problem with people defending the Muslims who want to build the mosque. The level of debate in America is at a serious low when we are attacking people for having opinions on things. This is not a post about whether or not Muslims should build the mosque near Ground Zero. Rather, this is a post about how it really is okay to have a discussion about it without losing our minds.
Let me get my cards out on the table here. I am not pro-Muslim. Why would I be? I am pro-Christian. Of course, Muslims have the right to practice their religion in America and I defend that right. But, I am not an advocate of their religion. I disagree with it. I think that it is absolutely wrong because I believe in absolute truth and the exclusivity of Christ. But, I defend their right to practice their religion and I am not offended that they think that I am an infidel. Do you see the difference? You can disagree with someone and their religion and actually believe that it is completely wrong while simultaneously defending their right to practice it and valuing them as a person. This is a subtlety lost on most in America today. Liberals are scared to death that if anyone disagrees with anything that they are going to somehow take away the rights of those they disagree with. Conservatives are scared to death that some non-traditional group is going to take over America any moment now. I think that both are wrong. Perhaps it really is possible to disagree with someone or with a belief system vehemently while not desiring to destroy the person or strip them of their rights.
Today, I preached a message about the Gospel and the Biblical Story related to the universal questions that all people ask. Even though we disagree on the answers to these questions, the truth is, we all ask them all the time. And, when we ask these questions, we are actually engaging in spiritual conversations. We just don't realize it because we have been conditioned to think that we are to separate our spiritual lives from our public or secular lives. In reality, everything either points us to God or to the abyss that exists between us and Him. This blog is dedicated to chronicling the fact that everything in life is either bringing us closer to God or pushing us away from Him and that He is at work all the time in the world around us. So, I thought that I'd be a lot more active here trying to point out the spiritual nature of the public conversations that we are having in the world. Over the past several months, I have been more active on Twitter (see right column of the blog) than I have been in actually writing for the blog. I thought that I'd expand my Twittering over here and give more commentary of the issues of the day so that I can demonstrate how we are actually having spiritual conversations when we are discussing politics, social issues, war and peace, the economy, and how we are to best live life on the this planet.
But, I digress. Here are the four questions (tell me if you disagree):
1. Who/What is God or Ultimate Reality?
2. Who/What is Man? What is our purpose?
3. What has gone wrong with the world?
4. How do we fix it?
I looked at questions #1 and #2 today and will explore questions #3 and #4 next week. My premise is that everyone agrees on these four questions, but we radically disagree on the answers to them. If you have a conversation on any of these four questions, you are actually having a spiritual conversation, because these are the things that relate to the spirit of man and the purpose of the universe. So, a discussion on health care or education is not just a political or social policy discussion. It is ultimately a spiritual discussion and what you believe about ultimate reality, man's origin and purpose, what is wrong with the world, and how you fix it, will tell you how you engage in these discussions. This is why the rhetoric is so high and why people argue so passionately. We are not arguing about trivial things. Our very existence in on the line (or so we think).
What if we looked at the events of the day from this perspective? Could we cut through the bombastic yelling and arguments and actually see that we are working from completely different worldviews? Just because you are a Christian does not mean that you are working from a Christian/Biblical framework. The world's perspective is pervasive and has seeped into everything, even theology and the church. But, what if we could peel the layers back and look at the issues of the day with discernment and see more clearly where each side was coming from?
I don't pretend to be able to tell everyone what to think on every issue, but I do think that the Bible has something to say about most everything. We might disagree on exactly what that is, but at least we can give it a shot. More to come this week . . .
One of the most groundbreaking books that I have read in some time has been Bill Bishop's The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart. As someone involved in church leadership and community development approaches, this book is very enlightening. The main premise of this book, is that primarily since 1965, and especially since 1990, Americans have become increasingly mobile and have been sorting themselves geographically according to their personal preferences and lifestyle choices - not just because of economic necessity. The book is full of statistics to back it up and I have no intention of reprinting them all here. But, what I would like to do is to think through the implications of Bishop's thesis on the Christian life and church leadership over the next several posts.
While this is not a religious book, Bishop devotes chapter 7 (Religion: The Missionary and the Megachurch) to the emergence of the Homogenous Unit Principle in the rise of the megachurch. The idea presented in this book is that affluence has allowed Americans to do what they want, and what they want to do is to be with people like themselves - even in church. The more that people are educated and the more resources that they have, the more that they segregate themselves according to their personal preferences. So, you have the rise of cities like San Francisco that has become full of cultural creatives. In 1976, 44 percent of San Franciscans voted for the Republican candidate for president, Gerald Ford. In 2004, only 15 percent voted for George W. Bush. As time has gone by, liberal creatives have pushed out conservative value-oriented voters and those groups have moved to areas where they are able to live with people more like themselves. These groupings have happened all over the country. People have done this in every walk of life, even in churches, as megachurches have arisen to cater to the desires of people who have similar socio-economic and value orientations. Just like the denziens of San Francisco move their because of the cultural values, people choose churches based not on theological or denominational distinctives, but because of cultural values.
The more that people gather together with people like themselves in larger groups, the more safety that they can secure, or so the thought goes. A reviewer on Amazon was nice enough to relay Bishop's interview with Republican strategist Matthew Dowd, who explained the thinking behind the 2004 re-election strategy of George W. Bush:
Dowd understood that "American communities were 'becoming very homogeneous'. He believed that to a large degree, this clustering was defensive, the general reaction to a society, a country, and a world that were largely beyond an individual's control or understanding. For generations, people had used their clubs, their trust in a national government, and long-established religious denominations to make sense of the world. But those old institutions no longer provided a safe harbor. 'What I think has happened,' Dowd told me (Bishop) early in 2005, 'is the general anxiety the country feels is building. We're no longer anchored'." Bishop decodes this further, saying "Unsurpassed prosperity had enriched Americans---and it had loosened long established social moorings. Americans were scrambling to find a secure place, to make a secure place...Most Americans have done that by seeking out(or perhaps gravitating toward) those who share their lifeworlds---made up of old, fundamental differences such as race, class, gender, and age, but also, now more than ever, personal tastes, beliefs, styles, opinions, and values."
So, we are no longer necessarily experiencing "White Flight." Rather, we are experiencing "Middle-Class flight," "Liberal Flight," "Conservative Flight," "Religious Flight," "Educated Flight," etc., etc. People want to be with people like themselves. So, they are moving en masse to communities where they can share the same lifestyle as their neighbors. As Bishop says, "Americans joined communities, churches, and political parties in a manner that was almost tribal."
What are the implications of this for the church? Is this thesis even true? As Bishop states in Chapter 7, many used this to appeal to people on the basis of their preferences or lifestyles when it came to the discipline of church growth. The church itself is becoming more tribal as churches form around personal preferences and the place that congregants are in their life. So, you have "niche" churches based on lifestyle choices begin to emerge. Is this a good thing? Personally, I don't think so. The Body of Christ is not to be divided based on economics, interests, race, or personal preference. We are to be one in Christ, not in our hobbies or political persuasions. But, this clustering is happening faster now than ever. Smaller, community based churches are giving way to larger churches based on the preferences of people.
Bishop's research is also showing that people are not being shaped by their beliefs as much as they are being shaped by their geography, at least eventually. The more that like-minded people cluster together, the more that their beliefs harden and keep them from interacting with others who are different from them. People are finding their safety and security in an ever-changing world by grouping together with people that they share common lifestyles with and America is becoming ever more polarized.
But, what if there was a community where people different in many ways could come together and exhibit a unity that would be shocking to a world that was breaking apart? Could it be that Jesus' command for His followers to love one another in a way that the world would know that they were His (John 13:34-35) - could it be that this is exactly what America needs right now? I think so, and I am going to be exploring this thought more throughout the week.
How would you feel if you went to your church one Sunday night for a special gathering to talk about issues happening in your community, to sing songs of worship to God, to pray, and to hear preaching, and a mob of over 2,000 people surrounded your church throwing rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails through the windows and then turned a car over and set it on fire? How would you feel if you did not have any protection from the police or city or state officials? What if the mob began to beat on the doors yelling that they were going to kill you and as they threw objects through second story windows, broken glass was showering down on the women and children huddled together for protection inside the sanctuary?
Does this make you think of recent events in Orissa, India? Or maybe something that you would hear about in the Middle East or China or Russia during the days of Communism?
Unfortunately, this event happened in America. It happened in the Deep South, the Bible Belt - Alabama to be specific. It happened in the city where I now live and work and make my home, Montgomery, Alabama. It happened before we took prayer out of schools, before the Kennedy Assassination, before the Beatles came to America, before the sexual revolution and the gay rights and Hippie movements, and before Roe Vs. Wade. It happenened in 1961 when life was supposedly wonderful in America and we were full of family values. It happened in a state where 2/3's of adult whites were Southern Baptists. It was because of racism and ignorance and evil. To my knowledge, it is the only time in the history of America that a church full of worshipers was ever under siege and it happened during the time that religion in the South was at its height.
This event took place when the Freedom Riders who were trying to integrate the interstate busing system in compliance with Federal Law, rolled into Montgomery, Alabama on the weekend of May 20-21, 1961. They were met at the Greyhound Bus Station downtown by a mob of white men, women, and children and were beaten mercilessly. The mob was instigated by the Ku Klux Klan, but it was supported by the police. Blood flowed that day and several of the Freedom Riders were beaten unconscious or hospitalized. The next day, May 21st, they gathered at First Baptist Church on Ripley Street for a mass meeting of encouragement, worship, prayer, and support before the group tried to make their way to Jackson, Mississippi. The Freedom Riders had already been firebombed in Anniston, Alabama and beaten severely by a mob in Birmingham. Their reception in Montgomery was similar, but the fact that their gathering at a church, normally considered a sanctuary of protection, insighted violence from the hateful crowd - well, that was a new twist to the violence surrounding the Civil Rights Movement.
This event is important for me because it illustrates the division in the church in America on the basis of racial, cultural, and economic lines. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:11-22 that Jesus tears down dividing walls between ethnic groups - that he himself is our peace. Racial Reconciliation is not a social issue - it is a gospel imperative and those who deny it and divide on the basis of race, are actually denying the gospel itself. That seems harsh, but it is true. Jesus died for all and there is no difference - all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Racial differences are human constructions and are not important when it comes to approaching the throne of grace. Since we are one in Christ, that oneness must be manifested here on earth so that Jesus is proclaimed through our actions and our love and not just our words. That did not happen in the South and in many ways, it still is not happening in our churches.
So, on May 21st, 2010, a few of us will be gathering outside the old First Baptist Church on Ripley Street at 6pm. We will be surrounding that old building with prayers and songs of repentance instead of curses of anger. We will be praying that God continue His reconciling work in our hearts and that justice would flow down like mighty rivers and that the Holy Spirit would flow like streams of living water. We will be praying Pentecost Prayers that the body of Christ would be one and that we would have a unified witness to the reconciling nature of Christ in our lives and our city. The church was under siege 49 years ago tomorrow. It is time for the year of jubilee to break forth and for the Kingdom to come. A few of us will be praying that way. If you are in Montgomery, we'd love for you to join us.
Things are definitely changing. We celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday today in an America that is moving beyond its racist past. Sure, racism and prejudice still exists, sometimes disgustingly so. But, it is obvious that things are changing. I am primarily talking about the Church. I don't know exactly where America is headed in regard to racial prejudice. I have a suspicion that things will always be difficult in that area and perhaps increasingly so as America becomes more diverse. But, in the Church, I am seeing real progress, and for that I am very glad.
In the church that I pastor in Montgomery, AL, we continue to see blacks, whites, and people from other countries worship together. The racial diversity in our church is growing. I praise God for that. Dr. Martin Luther King asked us to imagine a day when people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. That is happening in our church, as it should, and I am grateful. The Church of Jesus Christ is the only place where we have a real chance of seeing racism end, in my opinion, because it is the only place where grace can truly be experienced and proclaimed. We are all sinners and we have nothing within us to merit the merit of Christ. How can any real church separate on the basis of race, skin tones, culture, economics, or class? How can there be elitism of any kind in the church? How can we ever think that we are better than anyone else on any basis? We are all alike in desperate need of the grace of God. If not for Christ, we would all be lost. How can we separate from others?
Dr. King was a prophet and a great leader who pointed to a better way of living that was based on the equality that can be found in the midst of the beloved community. Neither he nor his theology were perfect, as has been documented by his adversaries repeatedly over the years. Still, he had the courage and vision to call us to a way of life that was very biblical when it came to racial justice and equality. The gospel does not allow there to be divisions based on race or people groups. Christ died for all. Ephesians 2:11-22 tells us that Christ Himself is our peace. The Civil Rights Movement in America was a movement that was born in the church and was victorious because it was on the right side of history and on the right side of God's will. Dr. Russell Moore from Southern Seminary eloquently made a case for the righteousness of the Civil Rights movement and why it ultimately prevailed over white racism today. I urge you to read it.
I have become quite a student of the role of both the white and the black church in segregation and the Civil Rights movement. I am convinced that there are valuable lessons for us today that we must learn or we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past in different forms. Here are some of the questions that haunt me:
Why was the white evangelical church so blind to the evil of its racism?
Why was the true gospel subverted under a false gospel that caused people to look down on and separate from others because of the color of their skin?
What would have happened if the Evangelical Church would have righted itself and led the Civil Rights Movement against a Southern culture that was steeped in deplorable practices?
How would America have been different from the 1960's onward if the Southern church would have led the way on the issue of racial equality?
In what area are we now being affected by a blindspot prophetically? What are we missing today that could affect future generations?
How can we be more aware prophetically so that we can throw off the trappings of cultural Christianity, not subvert the gospel to false concepts, and boldly proclaim the biblical Jesus?
I have been trying to answer these questions for some time now and I believe that they are very important in developing a missiology for the American South and for America as a whole. People like Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, Fannie Lou Hamer, Phule in India, and others have had the vision to see what was wrong and what needed to happen to make things right. God has been working through people like this since the time of John the Baptist and earlier in the lives of the prophets of Israel. How can we recover their voice and apply it to our own times? What would that look like?
If we are to truly celebrate the birth of Dr. King, let us praise God for the progress made in the area of race while also asking Him to show us how we can continue to proclaim truth from the rooftops in a world groping in darkness. I am looking forward to the day when the Church leads the way in restoring the world to God's intentions. I think that I am seeing that beginning to happen and for that I am very glad.
The Velvet Revolutions of 1989 are commonly associated with the uprising of secular liberal dissents against atheist Communist regimes. But the extraordinary events that brought down the Iron Curtain are perhaps best described in terms of the victory of religious resistance which foreshadowed the emergence of a post-secular Europe. As such, the resurgence of religion has more to do with 9/11/89 than 9/11/01.
Without Christianity the cold war would not have ended peacefully. Across the East, churches and religious organisations brought together workers, students and intellectuals. Under totalitarian rule, church services and religious festivals often provided the last bastion of freedom and resistance.
In Poland, the opposition frequently gathered during Catholic liturgies and celebrations. They were inspired by Pope John Paul II's rallying cry to all Christians in the Soviet bloc at Gniezo on 3 June 1979 – exactly 10 years and one day before Solidarnosc won semi-democratic elections that ended Communist rule in Warsaw.
Similarly, the famous Monday demonstrations (Montagsdemonstrationen) in the former GDR took place after prayers for peace at the Nikolai Church in Leipzig. Both dissidents and ordinary citizens enjoyed the crucial support of both Protestant and Catholic churches which, according to Markus Meckel, the GDR's foreign minister in 1990, were "the only free space for free communication and thinking".
Even in the Soviet Union, the Orthodox church – benefitting from Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika – constituted a core pole of resistance against the official state ideology of "scientific atheism". In 1988, the millennial anniversary of Russia's Christianisation saw an upsurge in popular celebrations of Christian traditions and the re-opening of ancient churches and monasteries. In turn, Patriarch Alexy II and the church were decisive in defeating the attempted putsch in August 1991 by KGB hardliners against Gorbachev.
Crucially, 1989 saw the triumph of civil society over totalitarian states. And behind civil society stood the churches and religious organisations which defended and promoted workers' associations, professional guilds, intermediary associations, educational establishments and communal welfare. As such, 1989 marked an unprecedented opportunity to overcome the bipolar order of the communist east and the capitalist west, building a genuine "third way" beyond centralised bureaucratic statism and unbridled free market capitalism.
Add to this the peaceful Christmas resistance led by Christians in Romania in 1989 in defense of the pastor Laszlo Tokes in Timisoara and you can make a strong case for the essential role that Christianity played in bringing freedom to millions of oppressed people throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc. Prayer, dependence upon God, a heartfelt desire for peace, freedom, and justice, and a righteous stand for the freedom of the gospel were the sparks that ignited the populace to revolt against the oppressive Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. The fact that these movements were ignited by men like Christian Fuhrer and Laszlo Tokes is not an historical accident, but rather indicative of the hand of God in their personal lives and in the shaping of nations. We give too little credance to the power of prayer and peaceful, non-violent resistance to the powers and principalities that have set themselves up against the knowledge of God.
Pabst goes on to say,
However, the post-1989 secular consensus is already unravelling. The ongoing economic crisis once again highlights that the primacy of individual freedom over communal justice is undesirable and unsustainable. Similarly, value-pluralism alone can neither secure the integration of religious minorities nor solve ethical questions like assisted suicide because it negates universal principles such as cultural cohesion around religion or the sanctity of life.
We are entering a time of post-secularism because the secular ideals of individualism and unending prosperity and advancement continue to unravel on every front with the economic collapse of 2008-09 being the latest example. The stories of the Fall of 1989 and the role of Christians in remaking Europe should be told again and again. While the influence of cultural Christianity in America wanes, similar movements of change can begin by handfuls of Christians living out their faith in the midst of opposition from a culture that is steeped in opposing values.
Pabst concludes by saying,
Twenty years after the collapse of atheist communism, 2009 has seen the failure of secular capitalism. There is now a unique opportunity to enact a new socio-economic settlement centred on human relationships, families and communities rather than the binary, secular logic of the individual and the collective. Together with other faiths, Christianity in Europe will be a formidable intellectual, cultural and social force in arguing for alternatives to the post-1989 secular consensus.
Is Christianity capable of the same "intellectual, cultural, and social force" in defining the future of a multicultural America? Most definitely. But, we will only take part in this when we stop trying to reclaim an America that has passed, if it ever actually existed in the first place, and start working to create an America that is not yet, but could one day be.
On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall separating East from West fell, as East Germany allowed its citizens to travel to West Germany unfettered. A great deal of unrest had preceded this decision. I was 15 at the time and followed the story closely, but I had no idea about what led up to the dramatic events surrounding the sudden collapse of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War that had paralyzed the world for 40 years.
Starting September 20, 1982, East German pastor Christian Fuhrer began "Peace Prayers" that were held every Monday in the Nikolai Church in Leipzig. The prayers focused against the Cold War. This went on for seven years and was seen as sedition by the East German government, while the Lutheran Church approved. By 1989, more and more people were joining the "Peace Prayers" and peaceful, candlelight marches began to flow out of the church in September. These prayer meetings turned to peaceful marchers were called the Monday Demonstrations and the world was forever changed. Alan Nothnagle explains what happened:
Why Leipzig?
Before the Revolution of 1989, Leipzig was best known as the city of Bach and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. But in 1982, Pastor Christian Führer of Leipzig’s historic St. Nicholas' Church had begun conducting “Monday prayers for peace” at five p.m. in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. He conceived this event as a non-violent protest against the nuclear rearmament programs of both the Warsaw Pact and NATO, which had been planning for decades to unleash full-scale thermonuclear war on German territory if the status quo in Central Europe were disturbed. Non-church members (along with a generous sprinkling of Stasi informants) also used to take part in this peaceful protest, where concerned citizens met to discuss matters of current interest. After all, the church was the only remaining institution that was largely free of direct government supervision and interference.
Führer had scheduled his prayer service carefully. By five o'clock, most ordinary people were already off work and could thus spend their leisure time as they wished. Monday evening was ideal, since nearly all communist party members were busy attending their weekly meetings at the factoryor office. Moreover, downtown shops were still open, which meant that groups of people congregating in the streets outside the church did not stand out to the police and the Stasi. This would later prove to be a convenient time for West German TV journalists to smuggle footage of the demonstrations across the border and broadcast it on their evening news programs.
"We are the people!"
On September 4, 1989, the traditional Monday prayers for peace swelled into a demonstration by several hundred participants for freedom of travel and political reform. Two other Leipzig churches joined in, and the authorities did nothing to stop them. 10,000 assembled on October 2.2 Then, on October 9, following the debacle in Prague and the departure of the first "Freedom Trains" to West Germany, the event exploded into a demonstration by 70,000 citizens in this city of half a million. And these demonstrators were armed, too, but not with knives or guns. No, these counterrevolutionaries (as Honecker called them) came equipped with the most dangerous weapon of all: a brilliant slogan.
“Wir sind das Volk!” (“We are the people!”3), the demonstrators chanted. They passed out lighted candles and began parading through the streets. They sang protest songs, including the communists' own Internationale, and marched right past Stasi headquarters itself shouting “No violence!” These “enemies” certainly didn't look very violent. As Pastor Führer pointed out in an interview for Deutsche Welle earlier this year, when you carry a candle, you need two hands – one to hold it, and one to protect the flame from the wind. You have no hand left in which to carry a weapon.
The next Monday, 120,000 demonstrators met in Leipzig. The next Monday? Over 300,000. The peaceful demonstrators put so much pressure on the East German government that by November 9, the Berlin Wall came down and Communism was effectively dead in Eastern Europe. It all happened without the firing of a shot. After the West spent billions of dollars on armament and military defense, the Iron Curtain came down as a result of the rising tide of peaceful demonstrations of people who met under the threat of violence and death. It all began with a prayer meeting to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
This story is rarely told. Today, on the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, it needs to be told again and again. It all began with prayer. Who would have thought it? Who would think it now?
This is a spiritual conversation that everyone is having without the Church.
Death panels. Town hall meetings. Grandma dying because she can't get the hip replacement. Socialized medicine. Communism. Nancy Pelosi's swastika meltdown. Chuck Grassley's whatever that was. So-called mobs protesting the whole thing and wanting to keep their privatized insurance. The public option now being removed. Obama's presidency sinking. Life, death, choice, autonomy, personal freedom, and the role of government all rolled into one big yelling match. Taxes, deficits, the slumping economy, and fear for the future. The media going nuts over all of it.
For the first time in 15 years since the question has been asked, 51 percent of Americans say that they are pro-life. This is according to a recent Gallup Poll.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30771408//deck/
Before we claim victory in the battle for hearts and minds on the battle over abortion, I would like to see this statistic repeated over time. But, nevertheless, it is a positive sign. Some are attributing the shift to a reaction against Obama's election and his extreme pro-abortion platform. That is plausible. While not overtly religious, I do see an emergence of the valuing of human life in younger generations - and older for that matter. Last year's Academy Award nominated Juno is an example of a new approach to this that might be breaking through.
I hope so.
At any rate, the only way for this battle, or the battle over gay marriage, or the battle over any other social issue to be won is through a changing of the hearts and minds of the people. Legislation and politics will reflect the will of the people, not the other way around.
Keep praying. Keep being salt and light. Keep affirming the sanctity of human life. I am not saying that anything will change from this, but it certainly affects the debate a little, and that will cause people to stop a think a little harder.
Last night, I couldn't get to sleep. My mind was racing. Finally, I drifted off, but not before I ran through a dozen different subjects. I've been told by friends that I have adult ADD. Maybe so. It would explain a lot. Normally, I write essays for this blog because it is really rewarding for me to lock in on one topic and explore it and I use it as a teaching platform for my church. Today, I'll take you on a random tour of what I'm thinking about in classic, stream-of-consciousness form. Each of these thoughts could be a blogpost all their own and they have been building up in my head. So, I think I'll clean out my brain a little so that I can think more clearly and start over.
I'm going back to India at the end of next month. Around midnight last night, I called Thom Wolf in India and talked with him for awhile. It was almost noon there. He was my professor and intellectual mentor in school back when I lived in San Francisco and he lives in New Delhi. We will go north to the Himalayas and do our normal thing with the ministries there, and then possibly travel with him for a couple of days to the south of India to meet some people doing very interesting things.
I am working through Paul's letter to the Philippians right now in my Bible study and my preaching. I am also writing essays to go along with each topic. Philippians is a great letter to address the "God as a means to an end" syndrome that plagues contemporary Christianity. I am thinking of releasing the essays after I am through with this. It has been really interesting. Today, I am working on one called "Chains" about how Paul volunteered to put himself in less than ideal situations so that the gospel would be spread to others through his life and suffering. Check out Philippians 1:7-14. Am I willing to do the same?
"According to some estimates, Christians in developed Western countries now represent only 37 percent of believers worldwide. As I travel and also read chruch history, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God 'moving' geographically from place to place: from the Middle East to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where He's wanted." ~ Philip Yancey, Finding God in Unexpected Places.
I ran across a fascinating article today on urban development in post-Katrina New Orleans on Newgeography.com by Andres Duany. Duany, of Cuban descent, says that "New Orleans is not among the most haphazard, poorest or misgoverned American cities, but rather the most organized, wealthiest, cleanest, and competently governed of the Caribbean cities." He says that New Orleans is not really an American city at all. Rather, it is a Caribbean city. Jimmy Buffett, after Katrina hit, said that the northern Gulf of Mexico is actually the northern part of the Caribbean, not the Southern part of the U.S. I agree. Being from there, it is different that the rest of the country, and I love it. Totally different way of thinking, worldview, and lifestyle. Maybe this is why Baptists have had so much trouble reaching the Gulf Coast? Hmmm.
My two favorite songs on my ipod right now are "Rocket Man" by Angie Aparo and "A Change is Gonna Come" by Ben Sollee. They are both cover songs, but the music and vocals are really intriguing. If you haven't heard either of these guys, check them out. Here's a live version of "Rocket Man." I think about this when I am travelling too much.
And, Ben Sollee on the cello. Yes, the cello. This is amazing.
This week marks the 3 year anniversary of us finding a lump on Caelan's chest that was a cancerous tumor. It has been a hard three years, but I praise God everyday for His faithfulness. Last night, Erika told me that the little 3 year old girl that my family has been praying for since we saw her at Caelan's last scans died last week. Her name was Cassie. My heart was broken over that. Maybe that is why I keep singing "A Change is Gonna Come." Ben Sollee, covering Sam Cooke, says he doesn't know what's beyond the sky. I do, and more and more each day I pray that God's Kingdom come.
"As heretical as it sounds today, it is probably worth telling Americans that you don't need Jesus to have better families, finances, health, or even morality. Coming to the cross means repentance - not adding Jesus as a supporting character for an otherwise decent script but throwing away the script in order to be written into God's drama. It is death and resurrection, not coaching and makovers." Michael Horton, Christless Christianity.
Baseball season is about to start. I really don't like baseball. Too slow for my taste. During the dead of summer, it is almost like there are no sports going on. I'm just waiting for football. Although, our church has formed THREE softball teams with about 50 players and they'll be playing mostly on Monday nights, so I am glad for the fact that a lot of people from our church will be hanging out together and building relationships. Being blind in my right eye caused me to never play baseball because I have no depth perception, so maybe that is why I don't like it. I do plan to play summer league basketball, though.
The groundbreaking for our church's new building is April 5, right before we have a huge neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. We've been reaching a lot of teenagers in our community lately, and God really moved in their lives at a youth retreat that we had this past weekend. Several came to Christ and many more opened their hearts to Jesus. We have also started tutoring, GED classes, and are helping with job placement. God is doing some amazing things. The building is just a tool to help us with this, and it should be finished by October. I'll be very happy.
I keep watching Jon & Kate plus Eight. I don't know why. Erika keeps asking why I stop there when we are watching TV and I have the remote and I told her that I really can't believe how mean Kate is to Jon and I can't fathom how they manage eight kids like that. Wow. It's like a car wreck. I have four kids of my own. Do I really need to watch someone else's stress? Strangely, I'm drawn to it. That, and Clean House, which is about people who live in an unfathomable mess. I guess that it is cathartic to see other people's stress and mess instead of my own. Normally, these shows come on right after we put the kids to bed. Hmmm.
I turned in my taxes yesterday and I'm trying to get some insurance stuff taken care of. It's a pain and seems to be taking forever. Car tags have to be paid on Monday and I'm doing a TV interview tomorrow for a local religious broadcasting station about our work in India. I lump all of that together because it all feels about the same to me - stuff I have to do that I don't like doing. I'm not just trying to be humble about the TV thing either. I HATE stuff like that. Communication should be two-way and interactive with feedback, not captured on a television for people to pick over and misinterpret as they wish. Maybe I'm just insecure.
Books I'm reading right now (they happen to all be "Christian" books, which is not good - I need to vary things up a bit and learn from some other disciplines):
Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey - picked it up in the airport last week. Yancey writes essays about where he sees God working in the world. Excellent.
Christless Christianity by Michael Horton - states that the American church has given itself over to an alternative gospel that he calls, therapuetic moralistic deism.
No Place for Truth - Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology by David Wells. This came out about 15 years ago, but it was recommended to me by a friend of mine. It is pretty dense, but a good read. Makes some of the same claims as Horton, but from a historical perspective.
My church is always heavy on my mind and my heart. I graduated from seminary over 9 years ago. I've been the lead pastor of our church for 3 1/2 years. I'm realizing more and more each day that I am not smart enough, talented enough, entertaining enough, or gifted enough to do what needs to be done, no matter how many books I read. God has to work through me. I need Him. I carry the weight of people's struggles pretty intensely. I greatly desire for people to walk with the Lord and to glorify Him and I want our church to hunger after Christ with their whole lives and to reach people who do not know Jesus. But, I am really having to pray about this and release it to the Lord. I can't make anyone do anything. I am completely powerless to make anything happen. God has to do it. I have always known that intellectually. I am learning that emotionally and spiritually and it isn't easy, believe it or not.
Ashtyn has started soccer.
I have great kids and an amazing wife who listens to me go on and on about everything that I am thinking about. She is really patient and she always gives me great feedback. I do not deserve her, and I'm not just saying that because it is what I am expected to say. She's really something. She texted me two days ago and said that we should go on the mission trip with the youth group this summer. I told her that I agreed. Not many mother's of four kids would do that.
My city, Montgomery, just elected a new mayor in a special election a couple of weeks ago. In his election night interview, he said that he hoped that he would "rule" well. Rule #1 in American politics: Never tell the people that you plan to "rule" them. It doesn't sit well in a democracy. Then, he said that he was pushing the inauguration back a week because he was taking his family to the beach. Rule #2: When we are in a severe recession, don't tell the people that just elected you that you would begin to rule, er, serve them, but first, you have to go to the beach. Go to the beach in a few months AFTER you have worked for them for a little while. Wow.
Look, a BUTTERFLY!!!! Sorry, had to get that out. Does anyone ever feel that way? Random as can be.
I've lost 10 pounds in the past two weeks and I don't know how. I guess that I haven't been eating as much. Duh. Stress? Busyness? I don't know, but I'll take it. I could stand to lose a lot more.
Well, that's about it. Not really, but I figure that no one is still reading at this point, so I might as well stop. Believe it or not, engaging in an exercise in complete randomness actually made me feel better. So, I leave you with a picture of my kids that I really love.
God is good, by the way. And, He's always working in every thing. Big, little, important, mundane. God is always at work.
God has a purpose for His Church in all of this if we would but open our eyes and be salt and light. I believe that He has a purpose for the local church that I pastor in our community as people begin to struggle. Isaiah 58 is a guiding passage for me in all of this. Unless my hope is in the Lord, I will not be able to offer hope to others. Unless I am looking to Christ, I will not be able to point others to Christ. We need to be aware of what is happening in our nation and help people trust in Christ instead of what is fading away.
I'm thinking that this stimulus package should be called the "stinkulus" package. This looks like an almost $800 billion disaster. Welcome to socialism, America. We are embracing it wholeheartedly. On news of the stimulus package, the markets tanked. What does that tell you? I am now hearing that the government wants to tackled universal health care. How much money can we possibly spend?
This leads me to the question: Did Republicans just win the 2010 mid-term elections? They voted almost unanimously against this thing. Now that they are a party in exile, it appears that they are finally getting some discipline. I am not a Republican. I used to be, but the party abandoned me. I am a conservative, however, on most issues (social and economic issues, especially, although I am much less pro-war than most Republicans, am not as pro-big business, and don't mind protecting the environment, but don't mind drilling for oil everywhere - yes, I'm conflicted and a man without a party). Still, just watching all this, it seems that if Republicans can come up with a coherent message, the nation will happily turn back to them in 2 years. And, they could retake the White House in 4 years if Democrats keep throwing money at our problems and missing badly.
I know that Bush did the same thing. Basically, Bush behaved like a liberal on many issues and was bad for America on a lot of things, though not all. I disagreed with him constantly. That is not my point. I am wondering if Republicans can now find a voice and begin to oppose this with an alternative.
What do you think? Are we seeing the issue that will reinvigorate the Republican Party? Or, are they a lost cause?
I just wrote a letter to my congressman, Bobby Bright (D) from Alabama's 2nd District. I've never written a congressman before, but I know Bobby and thought that it would be good for him to hear from me. He was the Mayor of Montgomery and I've met him and talked with him on several occasions. At any rate, I did it because I thought it was important for my voice to be heard on this issue. I also called his office and the lady who answered let me know that Rep. Bright was pro-life and would not be changing his views. That was good to hear.
The Freedom of Choice Act is a bill that basically overturns the restrictions that have been placed upon abortion over the past several years. Here is the description from Wikipedia of what FOCA would do:
FOCA would "repeal the Bush-backed Federal Abortion Ban," referring to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, "and other federal restrictions". Similarly, opponents of the bill assert that it would, if passed, invalidate every restriction on an abortion before the stage of viability, in every state, even those previously found consistent with Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court, such as parental notification laws, waiting periods, and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Opponents further assert that it would challenge the right of religiously-based hospitals or clinics to refuse to perform abortions, and that it would force the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts the use of Federal funding for abortions. Conservative legal scholar Douglas Kmiec disagrees with the latter assertion, noting that the Hyde Amendment is renewed annually by Congress and argues that this legislation would not supersede it.
President Barack Obama was co-sponsor of the Senate version of the bill in 2007 and told Planned Parenthood on July 17, 2007 that "The first thing I'd do, as president, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." That is a bad idea, Mr. President.
I would encourage you to contact your Congressman or Senator to let them know how you feel about this atrocious piece of legislation. As Christians, we should be prophetic instead of political, and making our views known on issues like this is a great way to do that. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, you can express your dissent against this bill.
I hope that you will take a moment to support Rep. Bright in his decision to remain true to his Pro-Life promise during his recent election and break with his party in opposing the Freedom of Choice Act.
Washington has now racked up a $5 TRILLION tab trying to rescue us out of our financial struggles. It seems that no amount is too high to ensure our continued prosperity.
Meanwhile, I recently learned that for only $10 Billion, every man, woman, and child on the planet could have clean drinking water. Polluted drinking water is the leading cause of death in undeveloped countries. 4500 children per day die of diseases linked to polluted drinking water. That's over 1.6 million per year, which is more than the number of children that are murdered from abortion each year in our country.
The price of our prosperity is too high. Children all over the world die while we do little. Yet, we spend trillions to ensure the prosperity of our own economy so that we can consume more. On average, Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas every year. Only $10 billion would give clean drinking water to the whole world. I'm normally really wordy, but I'll let you wrestle with the implications of what we are doing as a nation. I just want to cry.
By the way, consider giving water for Christmas. Find out how HERE. You can also help our organization, Community Development Initiatives (CDI) provide clean drinking water in Northern India through our Himalayan Clean Water Project (HCWP). Leave a comment or send me an email if you are interested.
President Obama. I'm still trying to get used to saying those words. I didn't support him, but now that he is president, I will give him my respect and prayers as he engages the very difficult task of leading our nation. I had an interesting talk with my kids as I took them to school this morning. They asked me why Obama's election was so historic. I was able to explain to them that just a few years ago, it would have been impossible for a black man to be elected president. They didn't understand, so I told them about the evils of racism and how white people behaved in ways that were not pleasing to God. That is changing, and for that I am glad. In many ways, America is a better place today because we are putting aside race as a determining factor in how we treat people. I still believe that the Church can lead the way on this, but I am glad to see America moving on from past sins. In a strange way, America engaged in national repentance last night for over 300 years of wrong. If our eyes are closed, we will miss what is happening. UPDATE: My friend Andrew sent me a link to a really interesting CNN article talking about the racial healing that is taking place in America with Obama's victory. Some of the interviews take place in my city of Montgomery, Alabama. Check it out.
As I said in my previous post, I am not worried about a liberal Democrat becoming president. I do not agree with many of Obama's policies, but I trust that God is in control. I choose to look to Him. As I watched the news coverage last night, I heard news anchors who were almost in tears because of their joy. I saw people dancing in the streets and I DID see many people in tears. A lot of people in America now have a great deal of hope that things are going to be better. I understood the emotion from African Americans, and to an extent, I understood why Obama supporters were so happy. Even though I understand, I am struck with the folly of putting our faith in men. I hope that Obama is a good president, but no matter how well he governs, he is just a man. Men fail and disappoint us. It seems that we struggle to learn that lesson.
Along those same lines, I hope that evangelical Christians have learned that the Republican Party is not our hope. It is now fractured, inept, and very sad. They lost their way and we didn't even have enough moral strength to affect the party that we had lashed our hopes to, must lest affect the nation. Something in me says that evangelicals have lost their way as well. Most younger evangelicals that I know have long given up on the Republican Party, seeing it for what it is. The issue of abortion has kept us in the fold up till now, but after years of Republican presidents, a majority in Congress, and 7 out of 9 Supreme Court justices being appointed by Republicans, many understand that if Republicans were going to do something about abortion, they would have done so. We have to get back to changing hearts and minds and that only happens when people have an encounter with God. Unfortunately, our close ties with Republicans have caused many to see evangelicals in a political way, instead of as people overcome by the power of the gospel. We should be involved in politics, but we should do so in a prophetic, transformative way.
A.W. Tozer said, "It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound . . . while our idea of God is erroneous and inadequate."
Rick Warren has said, "What you believe about God determines your happiness, your direction . . . and ever facet of your life."
It appears that our view of God has diminished a great deal and we are bearing the fruit of that. We see God in a consumeristic way, as though He is there primarily to meet our needs. Salvation becomes all about us. Our spiritual life becomes all about us. Church participation becomes all about us. God becomes a means to our own personal happiness. It is not surprising that we view politics, government, the economy, our relationships, our jobs, and our marriages the same way. So, how will things change? We must be salt and light and value God and His glory above everything else. If we will live from that point and lash our hope to Him, then we are free to change and engage the world prophetically. There are a lot of positives that could come from an Obama presidency. Let's make sure that we, as the people of God, act as a blessing to this nation we say we love during this incredibly pivotal time. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice because for many, this election signals a new America - one that they have spent their lives praying for. If we fail to understand that we will not be able to communicate with people from other perspectives. The gospel remains the issue. Let's not diminish a hearing for the gospel over politics.
At the end of Life Group last night, the guy leading the gathering reminded us to pray for the election and to see God's hand at work in it no matter what happens. I completely agree. Romans 13:1-2 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." No matter who wins tomorrow, there will be some disappointed people. We have to remember to pray for whoever becomes president and to give honor due the office.
In the 1990's, many conservative, Evangelical Christians acted shamefully, in my opinion, when it came to Bill Clinton. There were constant snide remarks, jokes, and insults. Many acted hatefully no matter what he did, it was wrong. At the same time, many of those same people have given George W. Bush a free pass on everything, whether his actions were right or wrong. Bush was their guy and Clinton was not. But, this perspective causes us to miss the truth and be easily deceived. We have to quit playing "team" politics and learn to side with Truth instead of our perspective on things.
When I awake Wednesday morning, I will be full of joy no matter who wins. I will not be in despair, heartbroken, or angry. I will not fear. I will be full of joy because I know that God is on His throne and He is not surprised. His will will be done no matter who is in the White House. He will use the next president to accomplish His purposes. Maybe great things will happen? Maybe we will receive judgment from the Lord and be turned over to our sins? Who knows? But, I do know that I will be looking to God instead of Washington - in Him will my hope rest.
At the end of the day, I praise God for America and I love my country deeply. I want to see her be all that she can be and to fulfill the promise of her founding. But, I am a citizen of God's Kingdom first of all and it matters far more how I conduct myself as His ambassador in this alien land, than it does who is in the White House. Do I weep over the murder of the unborn? Absolutely. This election motivates me to be more active in doing something about it and not just trust politicians to pass laws. That is the easy way out and requires little on my part. We must BE Christians, even in the midst of a hostile environment, instead of trusting government to make life easy for us. If that awareness arises out of this election, then may God be praised and may His Kingdom come!
I am taking a huge political step this election season and am deciding to break with my lifelong allegiance to the Republican Party. I am voting for neither McCain nor Obama. Since I was a child, I have been a staunch Republican. Reagan was elected when I was six years old and I vividly remember his "Evil Empire" speech regarding the Soviet Union. Even though I was 6 or 7, I remember his charts with the number of ICBM's that Russia had compared to the number that we had. I was a big Reagan fan and still am. George H.W. Bush seemed to fumble Reagan's legacy a bit and Bob Dole was not a good candidate. Still, I voted for the Republicans in 1992 (my first election at the age of 18) and in 1996. I even worked on a campaign for a local Republican candidate when I was in high school. He lost, but I remember the excitement that I had the night of the election at the campaign headquarters. In 2000 and 2004, I voted for George W. Bush and have been severely disappointed. I remain a staunch social and economic conservative, but I can no longer say that the Republican Party represents the future that I want for America. Their vision is gone and after years of bowing to big business, deregulating almost everything, and waging unending war at the behest of the neo-conservatives, they have run far afield from the Republican Party of my youth.
So, where do I go? The Democratic Party is NOT the answer for me. Their views on big government, abortion, and other social issues run counter to my beliefs. But, I am tired of party politics altogether. I find that both parties care more about power and the special interests that give them money than they do about representing the American people and doing what is best for our country. We have major challenges facing us economically, militarily, socially, and in regard to our foreign policy. The immigration issue has been forgotten about, Social Security reform will not happen until all the money is gone, our national debt now tops $10 trillion with over $1 trillion expected next year, and both parties have shown that they have no desire to cut spending and balance our budget. Education is getting worse instead of better, health care for middle class families remains a huge issue, and America continues to play at empire all around the world, but our commitments far outweigh our ability to meet them. I have not seen anything in any party that tells me that they have the courage or desire to actually address the problems that face us. If these issues are not addressed, the nation that we grew up in will not exist for our children and our decline will be a fait accompli.
As a Christian and a pastor, I do believe that we should be involved in politics. Politics are only the means by which humans organize their societies, their tribes, and their countries. Christians SHOULD be involved in that so that we can be salt and light in a broken world. I believe that God has given us answers as to how we should live that apply to all people, whether they are Christian or not. "Love your neighbor" is a concept that applies to all people. Caring for the poor, honesty, integrity, hard work, morality, personal responsibility, and the sanctity of human life and the inherent worth and dignity of all people are all concepts that come from the Bible. The principles, along with many others, apply to all people and can be represented in our government. What if Christians stepped away from party politics? It seems that evangelical Christians have sided with Republicans because of a few issues and mainline Christians have sided with the Democrats. What if we tried to advocate a biblical view on issues and called BOTH parties to righteous action on the issues that confront us? What if the Church was neutral when it came to political parties and we affirmed righteousness no matter which party presented it? What if we opposed unrighteousness when it was presented by either party? It seems that we cheer for our team and we refuse to hold them accountable when they do not do right because we are afraid that we will lose access to power. In doing this, we show that we are bound by the kingdoms of this world and we have lost our prophetic voice. We do not belong to this world - our citizenship is in a heavenly Kingdom and we are called to be ambassadors of Christ. Isn't it time that we started living like it?
What type of affect would this have on the political process? What if millions of Christians refused to be led along by party allegiance and instead forced BOTH parties to do what is right starting with just the values that were commonly accepted like the ones listed above? People would see a clearer picture of what the Church is actually supposed to be and we would be free to be Christians first and Americans second, rather than dividing over party allegiances. Political parties primarily exist as an apparatus to gain power. What if we forsook worldly power and embraced and held up truth, no matter the cost? How would we affect things locally, in our states, and in national politics? I think that we would be shocked as to what affect this would have. It is completely different from the world system and it is the only real chance that we have for transformation of the political process.
So, this year I declare my political independence so that I can express my whole dependence upon Jesus Christ. I am done playing the power games. Instead of feeling that I am throwing away my vote, I actually value it more now than ever. As an American, our vote is the most fundamental thing that we have to speak out on how we feel our country should be run. I actually feel that I am saying something this year instead of just falling for the same old song and dance that gets run out every four years so people can gain power to do what they want. Our nation is in trouble and until the American people begin to recognize that what we are doing is not working, things will only get worse. I think that Christians have a role to play in that and I am happy to begin playing that role this year.
In case you are wondering, I don't know who I am voting for yet. I am still looking at third party candidates and I might write someone in - someone that I think would be a great leader but they are not in the process - yet. Winning is not the point. Being prophetic is and when I stand before God, I hope to have represented Him with everything that I have rather than just have been on the winning side here on earth. I might just enjoy this. Let's see where political independence takes me!
The Church remains largely silent about the economic problems of our day. Why is that? Alan Greenspan in his report to Congress yesterday admitted the fallacy of deregulation and expressed shock that banks took on risky loans and did not protect their shareholders. It seems that CEO's with $20 million salaries and golden parachutes weren't really concerned about their shareholders. I'm shocked. The truth is, some regulation is good. It is the role of government to constrain the wickedness that comes from our sinful natures. Romans 13:1-5 tells us that God has put government in place to direct the affairs of men. Not all government is good, and too much government regulation and taxation does affect our freedom and prosperity. But, the absence of regulation also shows us that the human heart, unrestrained, will engage in more and more evil. In this case, greed is destroying us.
Of course, this greed does not just take place in the financial sector. Consumers also want more and more. I believe that this is one of the greatest spiritual problems of our day. We are desperately trying to fill a void within us and we have bought into the lie that bigger is better and that the more we have, the happier we are. The truth is, only God satisfies, but we seem to have forgotten that. I am not saying that we cannot ever have big houses or nice things. Those things are not inherently wrong necessarily. But, so many of us are living beyond our means to chase after an illusion. Contentment escapes us.
Let's look at house sizes for an example. The American Dream involves home ownership, among other things. Well, we have taken home ownership to a new level. Apparently, as families have gotten smaller in America houses have gotten bigger. New homes are 239% larger now than they were in the 1950's. 239%. Families have dropped from 3.1 people per family to 2.6 since 1974, the year I was born. Why do we need all of this house? A very interesting article from 2006 told us that people thought that it was their right, they NEEDED this much space, they were looking for privacy, and they wanted to have their own private space. Was all of this good? With the collapse of the housing market, what will happen to all of these huge homes?
Owning a home is a wonderful thing - or, it can be. My point is that we never seem to be satisfied. We want bigger and more all the time. Our appetites are unrestrained. America is 4% of the population and consume 25% of the world's resources. Our prosperity is built upon our appetites. If all of this prosperity had led us to become more generous, then it would be put to good use. But, that is not the case either. Recent reports are telling us that Christians are giving less and less each year to their churches. Maybe that is because churches spend the money on themselves as well (it has been said that over 90% of all the money given by Christians is spent on themselves).
Americans spent nearly twice as much on first-day sales of the video game “Grand Theft Auto IV” as the Southern Baptist Convention and its International Mission Board would need to share the gospel with all the world’s unreached people groups by 2010, according to a new report on church giving.
The total portion of per capita income given to churches in 2006 was lower (in 2006) than in the worst year of the Great Depression (this was a year of great prosperity).
it would cost each U.S. church member just 8 cents a day to help reach the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goal of cutting infant mortality by two-thirds by 2015
The financial crisis that we are in reflects a major moral crisis in our nation. We have put money and things ahead of God and people and. But, the Church says nothing because we have bought into the same lifestyle that is producing the problems that we see. We have even altered the gospel of Jesus Christ into the "prosperity gospel" so that we can go to church to learn how to become rich and keep feeding our insatiable desires.
Something tells me that this is what judgment looks like. We need to repent. But, if the Church does not call people to repentance, then what hope do we have?
I am writing about this because I believe that we as Christians need to be equipped to have the proper persective on an economic crisis that affects us all. Bloomberg is reporting that bank-to-bank lending has basically ceased as the money markets have seized up. Why does this matter? Because if banks are not loaning money to one another, they surely won't be loaning money to us. It has basically become impossible to get a loan.
"This is unheard of, the money markets should be the engine driving the financial system but they have broken down,'' said Kornelius Purps, a fixed-income strategist in Munich for UniCredit Markets and Investment Banking, a unit of Italy's largest lender. ``Any institution that hasn't completed its 2008 funding needs by now is going to be in very serious trouble. More banks are going to need to be bailed out."
``The money markets have completely broken down, with no trading taking place at all,'' said Christoph Rieger, a fixed- income strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort in Frankfurt. ``There is no market any more. Central banks are the only providers of cash to the market, no-one else is lending.''
Here is what the world is saying about what is happening:
Glenn Beck from CNN.com has some very sobering thoughts about the economic disaster that we are currently facing. He actually predicted it earlier in the year:
In the weeks following that DEFCONOMY column, I moved from thinking this meltdown scenario was a frightening possibility to realizing it was a near inevitability.
While it took the people in power far too long to recognize it, they are now understanding the same sad truth. This bailout plan is not a good idea -- it's an absolutely terrible idea. It's just the only idea we have left.
Our financial system is like a 747 flying around with all four of our engines on fire. The bailout effort will not stop us from landing hard, but without it, we may simply drop out of the sky. iReport.com: Will a bailout save us?
What Congress is attempting is a last-second search for an open field to land this plane with as little damage as possible. With that in mind, I think some kind of action may be a necessary evil, but we must be very, very careful.
Action for the sake of action, much like change for the sake of change, doesn't solve problems. It usually inflames them. And what's worse is that it creates brand-new catastrophes we haven't even considered yet. Wall Street and Congress have been playing with fire, and now it's Main Street that's beginning to sweat.
In one fell swoop, the House of Representatives has applied a sledgehammer to the American economy. The staggering plunge in the value of publicly quoted stocks in the US last night - a $1.2 trillion fall - shows more clearly than anything else just how much it had been holding out for a financial bail-out.
Even so, the longer you stare at a screen of the Dow Jones or FTSE 100, the more abstract it seems. So this is what it means:
It means millions more Americans, and hundreds of thousands more Britons, will lose their jobs; it means the recession will be deeper and more protracted than previously feared; it means borrowing costs will increase on both sides of the Atlantic. Companies will cut back on investment. Pension funds will be depleted.
The Western world, in short, will become significantly less wealthy.
America has survived a feckless political class in the past, and it will again after this week. But Monday's crash and burn of the Paulson plan on Capitol Hill reveals a Washington elite that has earned every bit of the disdain that Americans have for it. This crowd can't even make sausage.
The 228-205 defeat reflects badly on all concerned, starting with the Democrats who run the House. The majority party is responsible for assembling a majority vote, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed in that fundamental task.
Her highly partisan speech on the floor -- blaming "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" for the financial distress -- is no excuse for Republicans to vote no. But it is indicative of the way she has governed for the past two years -- like Tom DeLay without the charm. The cynics are saying Ms. Pelosi deliberately tanked the bill by giving 95 Democrats a pass, knowing failure would hurt John McCain, and given her track record we can see why people would believe it.
"Government must save us!" cries the left, as ever. Yet, who got us into this mess if not the government -- the Fed with its easy money, Bush with his profligate spending, and Congress and the SEC by liberating Wall Street and failing to step in and stop the drunken orgy?
For years, we Americans have spent more than we earned. We save nothing. Credit card debt, consumer debt, auto debt, mortgage debt, corporate debt -- all are at record levels. And with pensions and savings being wiped out, much of that debt will never be repaid.
Our standard of living is inevitably going to fall. For foreigners will not forever buy our bonds or lend us more money if they rightly fear that they will be paid back, if at all, in cheaper dollars.
We are going to have to learn to live again without our means.
The party's over
So, what does all of this mean for us?
It appears that we are headed for very difficult times. Here is what I would suggest:
After talking with some folks who know, I would suggest that if you have money in the markets (401k, mutual funds, etc.), that you stick with it for now. If you sell now, you are just taking a loss. Things will likely rebound at some point and there is no point in just losing money, especially if you are young. The 4th Quarter of every presidential election year in modern history has seen the markets rebound. A bailout plan is forthcoming and markets will likely rebound accordingly.
Get out of debt. Credit Card debt could be the next bubble to burst and interest rates could rise a great deal. If possible, it is best to be flexible and not tied to bad debt.
Cash is the way to go. If you can have cash on hand in case of bank runs, that is a good idea.
Now is not the time to be buying a house or making any big purchases. You likely cannot get financng anyway.
For Churches
It would be a good idea to make sure that you don't have more than $100,000 in any one bank. You have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the tithes and offerings of your people as best you can by making sure that your deposits are protected by the FDIC limit of $100,000 per account.
Many churches are engaging in budget discussions for 2009. Now is the time for frugality. If we are facing a recession, that means that YOUR people will lose jobs, not get raises, and see their finances tighten. Unfortunately, that means that offerings will dip. How can you prepare your church to weather this storm? What can be cut? How can you continue to carry out the mission as cheaply and as efficiently as possible?
How can you minister to people who are struggling with fear as they see their financial situation deteriorate? How do you help them when they lose jobs and don't know what the future holds? We must connect people to their sure foundation, Jesus Christ. We must look to the Lord. This is great time for us to display confidence in God and to witness that confidence to others who are in fear.
This is also a great time to teach about a biblical view of finances and to call people away from the idols of materialism and consumerism. I would not do so in a condemning way because we all succumb to it just because we are American, but this might be a time when people are listening and are looking for another way to live. Let's show them the way that God has for us.
God is at work here. He is calling people to Himself. He is in control and the only that we can do is place our faith in Him and choose not to worry (Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6,7) We should pray instead of fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Our hope is in the Lord and He is the only One who can save us. As the gods of money and consumerism fail, our God never fails. It does not mean that we will not suffer, but it does mean that God saves. We cannot control what happens, but we can control how we respond to it. Pressure reveals what is inside of us and it reveals what we place our hope in. Let's proclaim the message that "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble" during these extremely difficult times and love America enough to point her to the God who can restore her and make all things new.
What a mess. Long term, I think that it is a good thing that the bailout bill failed. We were making a move to socialism and it would kill us in the long run. But, a lot of people are losing a lot of money in the meantime. It seems that we want to guarantee prosperity for the present, no matter what the cost to our future. The policies of the Clinton and Bush Administrations, in conjunction with the greed of Wall Street and the incompetence of Congress (both Republicans AND Democrats) have led us into economic disaster. I've been reading about this for a couple of weeks now, and it is still hard to make heads or tails of it, but basically it seems that the cost of our lavish American spending spree has come due and no one wants to pay it. We have built our financial house on sand and now that the winds and waves have come, it appears that we are not going to stand.
Instead of providing leadership, politicians and political pundits are pointing fingers and blaming one another. There is no leadership. Both Obama and McCain are hopeless and appear to be trying to make political points in the midst of all of this. Nancy Pelosi and House leadership is beyond comical and President Bush continues to flail around. At the end of the day, I am left with a complete lack of confidence in our politicians who appear to only care about their own power.
What does this mean for churches? Obviously, our trust is in the Lord, but it is foolish to think that a massive economic downturn is not going to affect churches and the ministries that we engage in. People only have so much money. It is not just non-Christians who are in debt up to their eyeballs and who bought houses that they cannot afford. Many believers have been affected as well. A great deal of older Americans who have their wealth tied up in their homes and their mutual funds are going to be hurting a great deal. It seems that now is the time for frugality and wise financial management amongst our institutional churches. The projections that I am reading concerning the future are almost apocalyptic.
We do know this: God is not surprised. Eventually, we know that everything that can be shaken will be shaken and only God's Kingdom, which cannot be shaken, will remain. Have we built our house on the rock of faith in Christ or on the sand of our own desires? Our hope is not in the markets, our home values, politics, the government (either Republicans or Democrats), or our military. Our hope must be in the Lord. Maybe these events will cause us to turn away from placing our hope in acquiring the American Dream. Maybe we will look to God and recognize that He is our Source of Life. Some have bought into the myths of our culture and have made a lot of financial mistakes. Once lessons have been learned, now is not the time to point fingers. But, it is the time for each one of us to make sure that our utter dependence is only upon God.
All of this might get worse instead of better. I don't know where it is headed, but I do know that we live in a country that is not prepared for suffering. A lot of people are having their foundations shaken. May we be a witness to Christ during this turbulent time.
UPDATE: My friend, Joe Kennedy, just left a comment on this post refering me to Bob Roberts' thoughts on the debacle that our nation is in: The Changeless Inner Core. I agree with him completely. We are in a mess and it will be a long time until we come out of it. "The American Dream is in foreclosure." I think that he is right.
