Please, Pray for your Pastor. Or Don't.

So, I got one of those messages on Social Media the other day… they come around from time to time:  Pray for Your Pastor.

And then it goes on to list some terrible statistics (without attribution).

97% of pastors have been betrayed, falsely accused or hurt by their friends

70% of pastors battle depression

7,000 churches close each year

1,500 pastors quit each month

10% will retire a pastor

80% of pastors feel discouraged

94% of pastor’s families feel the pressure of  ministry

78%  of pastor’s have no close friends

90% of pastors report working 55-75 hours per week.

And so apparently, we need your prayers.

Let me begin by commenting on how much I am bothered by statistics without attribution.  Was this survey done in 2014 or 1345? How large was the sample?  Was it across Denominations or were only the leaders of the Latvian Orthodox Church included?  But enough of that... let's assume that the numbers reflect a reality for many pastors/leaders in the mainline churches of North America

Let me also say that there are pastors, ministers, priest and other clergy who have been badly treated by systems that often seem un-caring, congregations that are fickle, and some generally rotten people out there in the world.   

But to claim a special burden because we are pastors only serves to exacerbate the problem of clergy isolation as it encourages us to believe that the world is out to get us.

Look at the numbers closely and wonder how many of  those same numbers might also apply to teachers… betrayed, depressed, under pressure, working 55 hours a week or more… given a degree but no job, made redundant every year because cut backs don’t allow more hiring, shown little respect by the public and targets of the hostility of many a parent who just doesn't understand  that their kid is nasty and not that bright.

Let’s wonder about accountants who get called at home by clients who need answers, audits and forms done right now!!  Never mind dealing with an uncaring CRA that changes rules and regulations at whim.

Nurses who face cuts backs, depression, long hours and unsympathetic work places.

Retail workers whose place of employment folds without warning.  

I have friends with PhDs who can’t get full time appropriately remunerated work – I’ll bet that  leads to discouragement, depression, pressure on the family and makes it hard to keep close friends.

Let’s take almost any profession… and  recognize that there is very little job security in 2015.  Very few people will retire in the job that they started in their thirties; very few people will avoid “betrayal” in life or work; everybody feels discouraged from time to time and the families of nearly all working adults feel the pressure of the work/career of the parent or spouse.

No close friends?  Is that really the churches fault?  Maybe the problem is that you’re working 75 hours a week… Don’t!

You see many of us, in a desire to be everything to everybody; to feel valued and loved ,will bend over backwards to please everybody in our ministry… and that is a formula for burn-out and self-destruction, whether you are in ministry or shoe sales; a cleric or an office worker.  At least pastors get to talk about setting boundaries, even if they don't or find it difficult to apply them. 

Let me suggest a few other things peculiar to pastors that others might wish they could include in their work/call/vocation/contract

1.       People line up every week to tell you what a good job you did – even if you didn’t.

2.      When someone dies, you know what to do… you actually have a role to play while others are stuck in their grief with nothing to do

3.      You get invited to a lot of wedding receptions: Free Food and Bar!

4.      You are invited into fascinating conversations on a regular basis and don’t have continually comment on the performance of the Blue Jays or new season of House of Cards

5.      You can take a break to play the piano during the work day and people respect  that you are being creative.

6.      During the work week you get to help the homeless, visit the sick, support young people and engage in Social Justice… while everybody else has to do those things in whatever time they can spare away from work and family obligations.

7.      People think that you work about 75 hours a week so usually leave you alone the weeks before and after Easter and Christmas (that’s almost a whole month).

8.      You get 7 weeks away from work every year and your employer pays for it.

9.      The church pays your phone bill.

10.   As you remind others, you are reminded daily that God is with you and that you are not in any of this alone.

11.  Every week your efforts are made real in music, word and art.  For me, that sure beats selling cars.

12.  Pension.  Yeah… we may complain about it – but we get one… I know millions who wish that they did, too.

For me, all in all, being a pastor is a pretty good deal.   It is hard at times and I suspect that most people couldn't do what I do on a full time basis – but I knew that when I responded to my sense of call.  I knew that my weekends would be forever ruined, I would not often get to go away to the cottage spontaneously; I knew that I would often see people at their worst and not be protected from pettiness and power mongering; I knew that strangers would occasionally blame me for God and all of the church’s failings; I knew that I would spend a great deal of time with people who are dying and/or grieving;  and I knew that I would change jobs half a dozen times before I got my pension  (apparently the generation just entering the work force now can expect to have no fewer than 15 jobs before they retire… in keeping with the inspiration for this post, I will offer NO attribution.)

I’m not saying that pastors don’t have a right to complain, many of them do, but insecurity, difficulty and struggle are not unique features to the pastors role… they are the realities for many (even most) people.  

So, please, pray for you pastor…

and your  Check Out Clerk

Store Manager

Assistant Manager

Officer Worker

Restaurant server

Teacher

Principal

Mechanic

Nurse

Paramedic

Police officer

Firefighter

Accountant

Retailer

Small business owner

IBM Project Manager

Musician

Actor

GM Worker

Social worker

Politician

Aesthetician

Butter and Egg man  (there’s a profession that’s disappearing)

You get the picture:  Pray for us all. 

Acting in the AFFIRMative

So, a little more than a week ago, Jubilee United Church became an Affirming Ministry.  

What that means is that we are intentionally welcoming and inclusive of all people, with an expressed welcome to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) people.  It turns out that we are the first church in North York to be officially “Affirming”.  I was a little surprised by that  (thought there would be more).  Since that day, I've been contacted by four other churches wondering how we did it and  if it was worthwhile.

Let me explain why we did it…

How we did it…

And why it took so long for us to do it…

First: Why.

Because it’s exactly what Jesus would have done.   Jesus regularly reached out beyond the centre, past where the majority sit in comfort, into the margins where people wondered if they actually were noticed by God.  He reached out to women in a culture that gave them no name and only shame in public.  He reached out to those who were grieving, when the rest of the world had nothing to say.  He reach out to Samaritans when proper first century Jews gave them disdain and a wide berth.  He spent time with despised tax collectors and disenfranchised widows; foreigners and prostitutes were his companions.    In the western world today, LGBT people are often found in the margins… left out of the centre… and a lot of young men and women, upon recognizing their own sexuality and discovering that their feelings and nature have left them out of the majority, wonder if God has left them out as well.  Just as Jesus did, we need to reach out and assure our brothers and sisters that they are loved, included, valued and needed. 

Some wondered if we weren't beyond being Affirming. After all, we have openly gay celebrities, self-identified LGBT people living in our communities, running businesses, George Takei is on Facebook and Twitter… we have an openly Lesbian Premier in Ontario and an openly Gay Moderator of the United Church.  Surely, there is no longer any need for us to make such a statement.

Did I mention that we are the first church in North York to become Affirming?
That means that no other church has made the explicit statement that we have made, even though the United Church of Canada declared that Sexuality was no barrier to being Ordained over 25 years ago… even though we have had same sex marriage in Ontario for a decade.  It is still politically beneficially for a Mayor of Toronto to be reluctant in supporting Pride Week.  Bullying and violence against LGBT teens is on the rise in 2013, not a thing of the past.    When the Defense of Marriage Act  was defeated in the U.S. last week (this act would have stopped individual States from recognizing same sex marriages), “Christian” commentators were invited on most networks to give the "Christian" perspective and it was almost unanimously AGAINST equal marriage rights for all people.    As I look around, I realize that our society is not BEYOND Affirming at all.  Children are being beat up… people in love are being refused their rights, even when it costs the rest of society nothing.   We need a few more rainbows around (rainbows being the symbol for Affirming and including, celebrating and welcoming the LGBT community).

So, how did we do it?

About two years ago, I asked about 20 people from the church to join me and talk about becoming an Affirming Ministry.   I invited some LGBT people in our congregation (please note: they are not a club, they are not a single entity… many of them disagree with each other, like each other, don’t like each other and have entirely different agendas from each other – just like everybody else!)  I invited some straight people (whatever term you choose… majority, people of privilege, breeders, neighbour, “I don’t know, maybe you”), some folks that I knew would be supportive, some folks that I suspected might find this challenging and some folks about whom I had on inside info or preconception.    We talked about the idea of Jubilee becoming Affirming.   We began to talk to others outside of the group (we met two or three times).  We wrote about becoming Affirming in the church bulletins, newsletters… we invited discussion and provided resources and reading material.  We let the word spread naturally.

Not a whole lot of formal “programming”.  It didn't seem like a campaign - nobody was "selling" anything. 

As word got around, I found myself visiting people’s homes and sitting down and talking. Actually, more than talking, I found myself listening.  I listened to concerns that we might become too much a “one note” church, only reaching out to the LGBT community and shunning others… I heard of fears that we would be over-run by new people who would change the way we do things…  I heard concerns that others might leave our church if we became Affirming (nobody suggested that they might leave, but they feared that others might)  I heard from only person that it was against God’s will that we accept LGBT people as they are, without condemning their “life style”.    

What I found is that many people were simply afraid of change.  

What I discovered is that many folk were so happy with the way things were at Jubilee, they didn’t want to risk any change.  

What I heard were a great many people who wanted to wonder about loud about the issue, but were afraid of being labeled “homophobic” or “backward”.  

In the meeting and talking, I found that most fears were relieved… without my having to do or prove a thing.  People got it… and embraced what we were trying to do, they just needed the chance to come to it themselves.

It was announced in advance that, at our Annual Meeting, we would vote on engaging with Affirm United to be designated an Affirming Ministry.  I presented the question with three options:  

YES, being the Process.  

WAIT, we need more time.  

NO, do not proceed with becoming an Affirming Ministry.  

Before the vote, a member of the congregation, who is lesbian, spoke of a woman who became accepting toward the end of her life and her only regret was the time that was lost before she has understood.  Our friend then invited the congregation to vote with their hearts and to not vote out of fear. “If you vote to not proceed… don’t worry, we won’t storm out… we won’t leave you”.

Best. Words. Ever!

The congregation voted 91% to engage.  The other 9% voted to wait a little longer. Nobody voted “No”.

I cried all the way home.

I didn't cry because I’m gay and found it a victory.  I’m not… and it wasn't a victory.  A victory means that there are vanquished:  Someone is defeated.  Nobody lost with this decision.  What I found so gratifying is that the community that I help to lead and love so dearly, chose welcome and risk over comfort and complacency.   We were happy and satisfied just the way we were… we have just come off of our first balanced budget… we were showing growth.  Whenever you decide to begin a new ministry or clarify/specify your identity you risk upsetting the status quo.   We decided to risk upsetting the status quo… just like Jesus.  We decided that welcoming others was more important that our comfort and satisfaction.  That’s why I cried..  For the moment of the vote, at least, we got it.

   (by the way, we continue to get it...)

So, why did it take SO long?  

Two years is a long time to do what it right.   We could have met the requirements and followed the guidelines presented by Affirm United in a few short months. 

I have friends who feel that the United Church of Canada should simply legislate “Affirming Ministries” and make our churches comply, after all it is a matter of Justice and the right thing to do. 

I sympathize.
However, I also recognize that it is challenging for many people in the majority community.  And we bear some responsibility for that… and to them.  For centuries (even millennia) we have spoken with authority and told people that homosexuality is offensive to God.  We have endorsed a heterosexual culture as the only one acceptable to God, without any regard for those who are homosexual, bisexual, asexual  or transsexual.   We have endorsed a literal prescriptive reading of the Bible that has not encouraged engagement with the text, challenging of ideas or faithful struggling with context and interpretation.  We have often provided, or left unchallenged, a very lazy faith that sees the Bible as a dictionary that provides simple definitions of right, wrong; in and out.

That wasn't some other church doing that… that was our church.  The one that has existed for 2000 years and continues to struggle in its witness to God’s Love and the Ministry of Jesus Christ.   We shared in the abuses as well as the fruits of that church and we can't just turn our backs and say "Not Us".  

We have failed to stand up when others were marginalized or when privilege was protected instead of challenged in our faith communities.   And so, when members of our community are baffled by these “new” insights, we owe them some patience, time and compassion as they discover for themselves, the grace and love that we have found.

I’m not saying that Justice should be delayed… but as the church moves toward justice, it need to give people ample opportunity to catch up and share in the ministry.

And that’s why we took 2 years. 

That, and that fact that I misread a couple of the requirements set forth by Affirm United, but we can talk about that another day. 

For now, allow us to celebrate the moment… and help us to imagine how we are going to live out this ministry in our community as the future unfolds.

In closing allow me to share with you this picture of a great many of our congregation - dressed as a rainbow - on the day that we become officially Affirming. 

And, allow me to recommend the wonderful people, and resources at Affirm United

http://www.affirmunited.ca/

God, Authority, Leadership, Church, the Future.... simple thoughts

My mind wanders as I listen to the News... let's face it, sometimes it has to protect itself.

    (fear not, I'm not about to start singing "My Inner Ninja"... although you probably are, now)

In Toronto right now, we apparently have a Mayor who is a Crack Head, a Gun Runner, a Bully, an Imbecile, a Liar, OR a Victim of nasty politics and media, a Diabetic, a Man in over his head and the Unluckiest son of a gun in the world. 

Might be any one of the above, a combination… or none of the above and it’s all been done with mirrors.  Ta-DA!!!  (Worst magic trick ever!)  

Regardless of what delights you put on your Rob Ford Buffet Plate… (ooh, a nice big helping of nasty media, a little bit of un-lucky…. And.... Hey, how did that crack get on the plate??)… most of us have lost faith in our Mayor.

Provincially, I hear a great many people opine that our Premier is a fantastic, intelligent leader with great integrity… but they also say quickly, that she’s burdened by a government with too many scandals, missteps and errors in judgment.  The alternatives for Premier are also suspect as we are invited to go forward to the 1700s or build our future homes in Cloud Cuckoo Land  (not necessarily what I’m saying, just what I’m hearing… and also a chance to once again use my vast Classical Studies background for an arcane Aristophanes allusion).   In short, we have lost faith in our Provincial leaders…

AND you do not want me to start on our Federal leaders.  Petty, small minded, corrupt, obfuscating, arrogant, entitled, dismissive and claiming to live in PEI.  (To be fair, most of the descriptors apply to most of our leaders… not all and all).  We have lost faith in our Federal leaders.

We have lost faith in our business leaders… as they reap profits while cutting jobs and imagining that a vibrant economy is one in which investors make money while workers become a fixed cost of doing business… not a part or partner in success.  

We don’t trust ‘em.

AND hardly any of us gather around the TV to listen to Coach’s Corner any more…

We don’t trust leaders.

We are suspect of authority….  Actually, we don’t recognize it any more.

Tough time to be a church. 
An institution that talks about authority all the time:  Authority of Scripture:  We read from a big book together on Sundays; Authority of professional leadership:  We sit (often quietly) while somebody in a big dress lectures us for 20 minutes (your experience may vary); Authority of values:  Thou SHALT not kill; and Authority of God:  We are not alone, we live in God’s world...

Some would say that Authority is a tough sell today that it might be best for us to stop talking about authority.  After all, we are in a time of the democratization of everything.  No longer does the Encyclopedia have pride of place in the house as an Authority for everything from Argentinian Agriculture to the Zambian Zither... Now, we have Wikipedia, an an authority that changes constantly and can be edited and altered by the user (if enough of us think that the Dodo bird is no longer extinct, we can make it so on Wikipedia).  Hard to sell a Wikipedia used an old set of Encyclopedia Britannica (partly because they are no longer published); even harder to sell them a Bible that they cannot edit and a God who is Immortal, Invisible and Unchanging (see all sorts of hymns... esp. "Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise").

So, do we pack it in?

Accept that we are selling a stock in which nobody has faith?  (wanna trade for some Enron?)

OR

   … might we imagine that in this time when we have lost faith in our leaders and have come to question the very nature of authority, that it might be time to show what real leadership and authority can look like?

What if we are not fed up with, but actually hungry for leadership and authority… and have only rejected the existing supply because they are not deserving of our respect and engagement?  Look how many people are anxious to respond when Justin Beiber recommends a video on YouTube or Fashionistas tell us that Orange is the new Black, 50 the new 40 and Foolishness the new Wisdom?

What if we talked about God, not as Celestial Concierge; Divine Doge or Eternal Evaluator, but rather as that which has Authority in our lives…. That which creates and continues to create within our lives, that which gives us identity, that which partners with us in our struggles and hopes, that which inspires us to be whole… you know, like leaders use to do. 

What if we, as church leaders, imagined that our authority came from the people we serve and the God who calls us… that we didn’t imagine that it endowed us with privilege and power, but invited us into relationship?   What if we spoke with integrity, admitted when we made mistakes without trying to win sympathy or be excused because our dogs were mean to us when we were younger?  What if we confidently, yet fearfully, went forward engaging with people, daring to be weak AND strong… not hiding our gifts, but also not imagining them to be the only gifts at the party?  You know, like leaders are supposed to do.

 

I don’t really think that people are done with leaders or authority – I think that they are just fed up with the current stock and are hungry for something better.  Perhaps it is time for the church to set itself apart and show ‘em something else… 

         If not now, when?

Big Screen - Small Return

The Festival of Homilects was held in Nashville last month.  About 2,000 preachers – and nothing says “Festival” like Homiletics!!  (Homiletics is a world of Latin origin, essentially meaning “Preaching”… and by Latin, I mean the language of the Popes, not the music of Ricky Martin)

I attended.  

I drank American Beer (I think... it's kinda hard to tell that it's beer)

I went to the Johnny Cash Museum; the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I went to Hooters for the first time.  (but, all the other ministers were going...)

I went to Church. A lot.  (probably trying to make up for Hooters.)

I was overwhelmed by some remarkable preachers and speakers… but I was also overwhelmed by irritation.  I’m not talking about a rash (my rashes are none of your business) – but by the use of the Big Screen in worship.

So, consider this a rant:  I’m not partial to Big Screens in church!!!

Or, a more Canadian rant:  

   I’m sorry, but I’m not partial to Big Screens in Church… if you don’t mind, eh?

Please understand that I’m not anti-technology.  I have a digital thermometer and a Netflix account!   Actually, I do use Powerpoint and (the vastly better) Prezi for lectures and events; I have never stopped anyone from tweeting during a service – I have set up Hashtags and encouraged tweeting at funerals for young people – I’m not afraid of tech and make an effort to engage where I can. 

BUT you are not likely to find me the church of Big Screen, and I feel the need to tell you why.

(can we let the Hooters thing go now?)

The first reason is that we often do it badly.

I have been witness as the preacher projected a joke on the overhead screen that was funny and had nothing to do with his actual sermon  - I was so taken by the joke that I completely lost track of his words.  At the Festival of Homiletics, I was witness to an expert in the field project yellow words to a hymn on an orange background… none of us could read the words, there wasn't enough contrast.  I have also been witness  to song lyrics projected without any sense of poetry, presentation or ease of understanding.  For example:

Don’t be afraid,

my love is stronger

My love is stronger than your fear.

Don’t be afraid,

my love is stronger

and I have promised,

promised to be always near.

Is preferable to

Don’t be afraid, my love

Is stronger than your

fear

Don’t be afraid, my love

Is stronger and I have

Promised, promised

To be always near.

You kind of think that I’m joking… but you also know that I’m not… my bad experiences number in the hundreds.  We've all see it and it’s terribly distracting.   So are images/slides out of order.

When you think about it, most Big Screen presentations done in church a little more than the Slide Shows of 1970s or the Flannel Graphs of the 1950s.  (oooooohhhhhh.... a slide carousel!!)

Okay, so enough of my being bitchy about it. 

Even when it is done well… I still am not a big fan. 

People’s lives are inundated with screens today.  In elevators, on transit, in cars and vans, on smartphones and tablets.  Maybe, every now and again, it would be nice to have a time and space free of the ubiquitous projection of ideas and content.  One could argue that our contemporary language is one of video screens… and if I had something important to tell people who spoke Gaelic as a first language, I would learn Gaelic  (An bhfuil Gaeilge agat?)   However, I also think the we call our worship room a “Sanctuary” for a variety of reasons… one of which should be a place where we get a break from the world and tyranny and onslaught of images being pushed into our brains).  Seriously, most of what I choose to look at in the real world, are not aglow with inner light, but the more calming reflected light.  (with the exception of pregnant women and the Dalai Lama... who do seem to glow with inner light).  Give my eyes and brain a rest!

Projected images are also at least one step removed from reality.  I would rather have live music than recorded music; I would rather have a potter throw a pot in a service, than see a picture of a potter… images on the screen tend to make me lazy as a preacher/liturgist and not ask a potter to come and share her art with us, because I can get a picture or Youtube video; it tends to encourage me to play pop music instead of supporting and honouring musicians within my community.  Granted my laziness maybe to blame, but I'm not alone..

 

Further,  and it might be just me… but television makes me drowsy and encourages me to turn my mind off.  The opposite of my worship goals.  Somebody’s images projected up on a screen to not tend to spark my imagination or tweak my sense of wonder and awe.  A good story does…  

I come home at night, get comfy and fall asleep in front of the TV.  Do we really want a congregation filled with people, hand in their pants, nodding off…? 

Television is passive and images projected on a screen tend to put me in passive mindset.  (but that might be just me… show me a picture and you might be able to talk me out of it)

Finally – and perhaps most importantly.  Projected images are in control of the worship master.  When I lead worship, I usually provide a bulletin with poems, prayers and images.  It’s in your hand and it’s your property.  You can refer to it during worship as you choose and you can take it away with you when the service is over.  You might read a prayer or consider a picture that I've included in the service… you might share some words or images with another person.  Whatever you decide to do, you have the power.  A prayer projected on a screen doesn't leave with you… it doesn't invite later contemplation. If you want

to share it with another person, you need to go and ask somebody to make you a copy.  It’s not yours – you need someone’s permission to look at it later or share it.  I don’t think that the power dynamic is particularly helpful – but instead is a turn back to a time when the leader/priest/minister/teacher had all the knowledge and would dole it out as he/she felt was appropriate.

So, that’s my rant…

That’s why we don’t have screens at my church.

It might change tomorrow… it might not.

But whatever happens next, it won’t simply be because it’s available… 

                                                                                              (it’ll be because it’s cheap).

Hard to Belieb

I was about to post this when the bombs at the Boston Marathon went off… It seemed to flip to publish that day.  However, it is still rattling around in my brain and on my hard-drive, so here it is:

It’s everywhere…

   I posted it on Facebook (so you know that it must be news)…

      Justin Bieber said something really stupid.

Shocking, I know.

Stephen Harper was secretive

Thomas Mulcair was confrontational

Justin Trudeau was really pretty

(more things that you just didn’t see coming…)*

So, the young Mr. Bieber visited the Anne Frank Museum for a private tour.  At the end of the tour he was invited to write in the guest book and wrote the following:  “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber."

Really?

Now, you might defend the statement by thinking that it was great that Justin was able to recognize Anne Frank as a little girl; a child who had dolls and toys and should have grown up to giggle about love and go on a date.  Justin’s ability to see her as “girl” and not just as a tragic icon reminds of the horrific loss to all of humanity: millions upon millions of little boys, girls, men and woman who were exactly like you and me lost to mass murder.

But, it still came off as flippant -  as if our Pop Star believed that if not for the genocide, she would have been so into his crazy dance beats.  How unlucky for them both.

It bothers many of us, that in face of the atrocities of the Nazi regime, Justin is still thinking about his music; his celebrity: Himself.

But should we be surprised?

No doubt, he is surrounded by all manner of “handlers” and assistants… people to fetch his water, make his breakfast, plan his day, fix his hair, keeps annoying strangers away, tell him how wonderful he is, keep his secrets and basically cater to his whims… For all intents and purposes, the world that Justin Beiber lives in IS all about him.

AND he’s not alone.

The M.S. St. Louis with 937 Jewish Refugees was not allowed to land in Canada in 1939… We didn't want them.

After two months and 1600 kms, a group of Cree youth were not greeted by our Prime Minister, because he was having his picture taken with Pandas in Toronto (a much better photo-op).

My cat comes calling at 6am each morning, and if I pretend to be asleep, she will wake my wife -  who can then get up and feed the cat, leaving me to luxuriate in my own bed.

To varying degrees, it always seems “to be about me”.  (or us… or him…  them… you know what I mean)

Our society certainly supports and promotes this attitude, as advertisements arrived through the mail, television and social media telling me that “I’m the one”… “I deserve this”…  “My future is important.”…   Facebook even tailors ads directly to me based on my history of “Liking” and commenting.  (still not sure why I’m getting so many ads for Lipitor and Cialis… what did I say? And to whom??)  In a Facebook and Twitter world it is all about me.

However, before I lay it all on the shoulders of Social Media and Coercive Capitalism, I think that religion deserves a poke, too.  I will speak only for my faith tradition, but feel free to adapt to be critical of your own.  In Christianity we have put quite a premium on and have a long history of emphasizing personal salvation.

Have YOU been saved?

Are YOU born again?

Is Jesus in YOUR heart?  

             (and he walks with me and he talks with me... and he tells me I am his own...)

Why weren't YOU in church last week?

I enjoy the looked of confusion when people apologize to me for not having been in church for the past few weeks and I reply, “I’m not really one to judge, after all, I’m paid to be here… “  But they have a serious sense of obligation; that somehow it is their job to get their bodies into a place of worship every week.

I can do whatever I pleases,

‘cause I’ve got my plastic Jesus,

on the dashboard of my car…           

  (here ends the sing-a-long portion of this blog)

It really is all about us.

I was asked recently by a very intelligent, committed individual as to the purpose of church.  She said, “If we’re all love by God – and I do believe that – than what’s the point in going?  To be reminded that we are loved?”

I offered that hearing and being assured that we are loved is important… we wouldn't let our children grow up without being told frequently how much we love them.  I added, however we can further mine this parent/child God/humanity metaphor when we consider the way that we love our children.  We want what’s best for them, we want them to make good choices, we want to offer our insight and experience as they decide… we hurt for them, we get upset with them and we sometimes hold their hands through hard times… so on-going church experience can mirror that.  The give and take of relationship… the sharing of love, more than just a statement of fact or condition: YOU ARE LOVED.

But, more than that, I added… we also go to church to be reminded that it’s not all about us.  We aren't just in this world to be personally comforted and saved.  We are in this world to be free… free for the other.  We are in this world to announce, promote and be the Kingdom of God: A way of being that is not coercive or violent, but just and loving.  Justice and Love are abstract notions until they are enacted; lived out by people.  People like us… and church equips us to be loving and just.  It challenges us to make a difference in the world.  It picks us up when we fall, encourages us when we doubt… it opens our hearts and minds, so that we can love one another, fully and completely.   Church exists to celebrate that it is NOT all about us…  And if we could really embrace that, truly live such an attitude and perspective, we might soon discover that hunger is not impossible to eradicate,

Violence need not be prevalent

Justice can be real

Passion and commitment can be honoured

Photo Ops can wait.

Refugees can be welcomed and embraced.

I can get up and feed the blessed cat

And Justin Beiber can visit the Anne Frank Museum and be left speechless.

At least that's what I believe (of course, it's not all about me)

*With apologies for foolish exaggerations and caricatures … I know that Prime minister Harper is not just secretive, Mr. Mulcair can be more then confrontation… Mr. Trudeau is not THAT pretty.

Habemus Communicationis Defection est!

Habemus Papam?

Habemus communicationis defection est!

(my Latin is a little rusty… but what I hope that I said was something to the effect of “We have a failure to communicate!”)

If I may, allow me to rant and respond to statements that you probably haven’t made, but somebody did!(Hey, it’s my blog)

He’s been Pope for less than 24 hours.  Don’t be stunned that he hasn't swept through the Curia or cleaned up the Vatican Bank.  That may take weeks. 

I know that Francis is a name that speaks of humility and reform, but reform takes time and rarely looks like reform to those of us occupying or marching on the left.  This Pope is apparently not swayed by Liberation Theology – it’s not the only theology available – but he has shown a devotion to the poor, even if not always in the right circles.  We were never going to get a Pope Che.

Don’t worry about the name Francis.  Nobody remembers the Donald O’Connor and Francis the Talking Mule movies.   Really.  Almost nobody….

Matthew Fox thinks that the Dalai Lama would have been a better choice as Pope.  And he wonders why he was silenced by the Roman Catholic Church when he was a Priest and ultimately ex-communicated?  Might have been his belief that Buddhists should the successors of the Apostle Peter (just sayin’).   And, Rev. Fox, I have enjoyed and been influenced by many of your books, but your insistence that the Spanish Inquisition is alive and well is getting tiresome.  Yes, the office continues (now called the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith) and Pope Benedict was the head of it when he was a Cardinal, but they didn’t torture you; they made you get another publisher for your books.  Not the same thing.

And Media… where do I begin? 

The election of a Pope is not a reality show.  It’s NOT Survivor, the Bachelor or Toddlers and Tiaras.  It’s not a human endeavor; or a process of elimination in which the strongest, smartest, best looking or obnoxious survives.  It is meant to be Divinely Influenced process:  A gathering of individuals who strive to be open to the influence of God; the moving of the Holy Spirit.  It’s not supposed to be about campaigning or strategizing – it’s about hearing the call of God. Not about plotting the growth of the company or re-visioning of the brand.  And that confuses us…. This idea that it might not be all about us is hard to imagine.  Even now, you’re thinking “yeah, but the Cardinals all had their favourites; the Pope stacked the deck with conservatives so that things would keep going his way….”  I know that you’re thinking that, because I think the same thing.  And then I remember how hard I tried to let go of my preconceptions when I was a Commissioner to United Church of Canada General Council and we elected a new Moderator.  (kind of the same thing as a Pope, only without the authority, the great view of Rome and the red shoes… only Dorothy gets red shoes!).  When it came time for us to elect a new Moderator, I prayed… I let go of my preconceptions…  I didn’t vote my friends or my region… my gender or my sexual orientation or cultural background.  And if I can do that, I am sure that a bunch of Cardinals can, too.  I’m not that amazing.   (well….  Maybe somewhat amazing).

I like the election of the Pope. It’s a reminder to me that there are people who take seriously that idea that God is active in the world… not just floating around in the sky endorsing and affirming our decisions; but actually gently calling and persuading us into a better future.   Is that what happened with the election of Pope Francis?  I don’t know… some folks think so.  I hope so.

In the end, I don’t know if it really matters all that much what I think,   I’m not a Roman Catholic.   I married one and raised three  - but the election of new Pope is not about me.  We don’t really talk the same language  - although clearly my Latin is fabulous (if you speak Latin, I just made a brilliant joke).  It’s kind of like Walmart to me…  I don’t like their labour policies or the power that they have over so many economies, so I don’t shop there.  I don't hate Walmart, I recognize that many reasonable people think that Walmart has a lot to offer... but I choose not to spend my money or time there.  But that's me... 

And now that I've finished ranting, I really should get back to work. 

Thoughts while watching "The Bible"

So, I watched the Bible last night 

   (actually, this morning – thank you PVR). 

As I watched, I had thoughts: some deep, some not so deep.  I kept calling Ms. Downey, "Roma Downey Jr.", then I would picture her as Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes and chuckle to myself....  (told you, some thoughts not so deep)

Two hours of TV (less with PVR and fast forward)

I was hoping to like it.  I’m a minister… kinda partial to the material.  I also love Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and now, Vikings.  The promise was that this show would be like that, only based on the Bible.  History Chanel, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey promised a powerful, visually engaging story to our home screens, which is great because most people have lost the over-arching narrative of the Bible.  Where we once knew the story as an epic tale; movie or miniseries, we now know the Bible as a series of FaceBook posts: Short, often out of order, and kinda manipulative.  (Wow! Look at that Jesus hates fig trees!  If you agree, share…)

So, I’m up for a narrative.

And I got one

    … except that a lot of it was missing.

God’s need to cleanse the world was all about humans making bad choices?  What about the giant babies that humans were producing after being raped by angels?  (Genesis 6) I thought that was one of reasons we needed a new start…?
Where was the image of Noah lying drunk on the ground after the Ark settled on dry land… naked and open to the ridicule of his sons?

Where was Abraham’s depression – the deep terrifying darkness that fell over him?

What was with the Ninja angel and the swords?

How come Lot didn’t offer the crowd his young un-wed daughters when they came knocking for the angel strangers?   Was Lot’s wife really so bad that she had to be turned to salt just for looking back at the city that she had called home?  And shouldn’t the daughters have been just a little older…. As much as the narrator said that Lot and his daughter disappeared into the mountains, never to be seen again, we Bible nerds know that the sisters got Dad drunk, and had sex with him in an effort to repopulate the world they assumed destroyed.   I get why we didn’t need to see that, but at least make the girls a little older.

And Moses… don’t get me started.  And keep me away from how “fair” the colour of our heroes and how wonderfully right they always were in the face of the foolish who would block the way, slow progress, or disbelieve God.   My Bible is full of “heroes” making mistakes, misunderstanding and screwing up!  I always loved Madeliene L’Engle’s assertion that the Bible is a collection of stories of people singularly un-qualified for the tasks assigned.  (or something like… pretty sure it was Madeliene… maybe Marty Ingels?)

But… I did actually like the crazy ninja angel.  And the Ark… that was cool (although I would have done more to control the giraffes – one of those  big tippy creatures falls over, the partner is going to pretty sad watching everybody else making out while he/she waits for extinction.)

And I know that you can’t fit it all in… not in 10 hours.

Maybe not it 100 hours.

The big problem is not what’s left out or kept it… For me,  the problem is that any kind of movie is going to be “literal”.  By virtue of the medium, we are stuck with a single layered event:  This happened and it caused that to happen; and then another thing happened and here we are.  That’s a movie.  Meant to be believed; followed to its conclusion.

It works great for Game of Thrones.  It looks like it’s going to work for Vikings… but the actual Bible is meant to be read with many layers.  As much as there is a grand narrative, it is also an ever-changing; always evolving metaphor and collections of metaphors.  We can argue about whether the metaphor is the creation of a human author or a divine creator.. but in the end, we not meant to read the Bible as an historical narrative.    The historical accuracy of Lot and his family  is not nearly as valuable to me as the inspiration to wonder what happens when we look back and not forward; not nearly as instructive to me as the consequences for women when men make decisions; the price we pay for hospitality; the foolishness of believing that you or your family are the only ones in the world…  so much to be taken from such a tawdry little tale.  Last night’s TV gave me none of that, instead it gave me a ninja angel and a moment of relief when Lot’s whiney wife finally got what was coming to her.   Good TV? Maybe… but not the Good Book.

I will keep watching.  I will likely go to see the Noah and Moses movies slated for release in the next year or so, but I suspect that I will enjoy them all a little bit more, if I lower my expectations and just let it be a media event instead of a motivating truth.