The Internet Monk Saturday Brunch (1/14/17)

THE INTERNET MONK SATURDAY BRUNCH

”It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

Yes folks, it’s Inauguration Week (aka “The Impending CRISIS”). Next Saturday when you arrive here to join us at our weekly soirée, Mr. Donald J. Trump will be the 45th President of the United States of America.

If ever I wished I still believed in the Rapture, it is now.

Ah well, eat drink and be merry and all that. Tomorrow, who knows?

Come to the table! The grand buffet of weekly stories, comments, and observations is served…

WHO WILL LEAD US IN PRAYER AT THE INAUGURATION?

  • Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries in Detroit. He once said of the President-elect: “Donald Trump is an example of someone who has been blessed by God. Look at his homes, businesses, his wife and his jet. You don’t get those things unless you have the favor of God.”
  • Paula White,  leader of New Destiny Christian Center near Orlando, Florida. As an example of the divine wisdom she has been given, she recently said, “”Far more than what divides us, this election has revealed what unites us. I have never seen such solidarity between evangelicals and Catholics, Pentecostals, charismatics and Baptists. We were brought together with a mutual love for our country and through a mutual faith in God. The election started the conversation, but what will come from these new and renewed relationships will have far more impact than anything that could be realized through the election of any politician. We aren’t ending this season so much as entering a new one, ready to love the world together to a degree greater than we ever could alone.”
  • Franklin Graham, evangelist and president of Samaritan’s Purse, who is placing his hope in Trump to protect Christians from the threats of this non-Christian world: “So when we see Christianity being attacked worldwide, not just by militant Muslims but by secularism, it’s refreshing to have a leader who is willing to defend the Christian faith.”
  • Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founding president of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and Ivanka Trump’s rabbi. As the head of an organization that exists “to confront all forms of prejudice and discrimination in our world today,” Rabbi Hier has drawn a lot of criticism from fellow Jews for appearing for Trump, whose candidacy, they believe encouraged discrimination and gave courage to white supremacy groups.
  • Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and senior pastor at New Season Christian Worship Center, an Assemblies of God congregation in Sacramento, Calif. Rodriguez was not a Trump supporter, and has had misgivings about Trump’s positions on immigration. But after prayerful deliberation and discussion, he felt praying for the country on the inaugural platform was an opportunity he shouldn’t pass up. Rodriguez recently told NPR that he has heard a “change of tone” from Trump in the past few weeks, and now has high hopes for better relations between Hispanics and the Trump administration.
  • Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. Dolan has had a long relationship with Trump in NYC, and has expressed mixed feelings about the President-elect, hoping that he will take action on pro-life issues, but speaking out clearly against Trump’s views on immigration.

Read “With His Choice Of Inauguration Prayer Leaders, Trump Shows His Values” at NPR

THE GREAT PORT-A-POTTY COVER UP

It seems that the company that is the Washington area’s top provider of portable toilet rentals and long-time provider for important D.C. events ran into the possibility of a little stink this year.

The company’s name is Don’s Johns.

This was evidently unacceptable to Inaugural organizers, so the name has been taped over. Wouldn’t want to offend a certain prominent individual at the Inauguration, apparently. Only those toilets that might come into camera range for TV were covered up. Robert Weghorst, the company’s CEO, said he didn’t know of the matter until the AP reported on it.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the Presidential Inaugural Committee had no immediate comment.

QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

In what countries is it hardest to be Christian, and for what reasons?

Can Mennonites be funny? (Answer: yes, very)

You heard it here first — What will John Hagee’s next prophetic book be about?

How does President Obama talk about his faith?

Should Christians praise Scorcese’s new film, “Silence”?

Will the Cubs use a 6-man pitching rotation in 2017?

Mr. Ryan, do you think I should be deported?

Why do our recorded voices sound weird to us?

Will the Chargers find a welcome in L.A.?

Will a Tennessee Southern Baptist hunter get the world’s record for a whitetail deer?

CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT EXCORIATED

It is certainly not the whole problem, but according to a new Justice Dept. report, Chicago’s police department is certainly part of the problem that has made the city notorious for its gun violence and murder rate.

From the Chicago Tribune:

In perhaps the most damning, sweeping critique ever of the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded Friday that the city’s police officers are poorly trained in the use of force, resort to lethal force far too often and target minorities too frequently.

The 164-page report, the product of more than a year of investigation, paints the picture of a department flawed from top to bottom, although many of the problems it cites have, for decades, been the subject of complaints from citizens, lawsuits by attorneys and investigations by news organizations.

…At a news conference, Lynch said the department’s pattern of excessive force “is in no small part the result of severely deficient training procedures and accountability systems.”

“CPD does not give its officers the training they need to do their jobs safely, effectively and lawfully,” Lynch said. “It fails to properly collect and analyze data, including data on misconduct complaints and training deficiencies, and it does not adequately review use-of-force incidents to determine whether force was appropriate or lawful or whether the use of force could’ve been avoided altogether.”

All of these issues, she said, have led to “low officer morale and erosion of officer accountability.”

Read “Justice Report Rips Chicago Police for Excessive Force, Lax Discipline, Bad Training” at the Chicago Tribune

FIVE-YEAR PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

Shane Claiborne, Doug Pagitt, and other Christian leaders are inviting people to participate in a protest against the death penalty held once each five years at the Supreme Court.

The protest is put on by The Abolitionist Action Committee, and will be held this upcoming Monday and Tuesday.

Every 5 years we risk arrest in nonviolent civil disobedience on the Supreme Court steps in Washington, DC. As planned, we will once again gather at the U.S. Supreme Court to protest for an end to executions, in what is expected to be the largest act of civil disobedience against the death penalty in recent U.S. history. There will also be a legal, family-friendly vigil component, so all people are welcome – even if not willing to risk arrest.

Pagitt outlines the events taking place:

On January 16-17, dozens of groups — including families of the murdered and families of the executed, along with wrongfully-convicted death row survivors — will converge at the Supreme Court to call for an end to executions. January 17 marks 40 years since the first modern-era execution, after a decade-long moratorium. In the years since January 17,1977, there have been 1441 executions.

Monday, January 16, there will be a two-hour program (6-8pm) featuring “Voices of Experience” who have been directly affected by the death penalty (families of the murdered, families of the executed, exonerees who were wrong-fully convicted and sentenced to die).

…Tuesday morning, January 17, there will be a powerful vigil and public protest at the Supreme Court, beginning at 9am. We will unveil 40 posters with the names of the 1442 people executed over the past 40 years. Faith leaders and other activists will carry roses for the victims of both murder and execution and declare together: “Violence is the disease, not the cure.” This action will be nonviolent and family friendly, ending with a peaceful, prayerful action on the steps where we anticipate over 30 faith leaders and activists being arrested – the largest direct action against the death penalty in the past 40 years since executions resumed.

Read more at The Abolition Action Committee

SONG OF THE WEEK

Tomorrow is the birthday of Gene Krupa, famous jazz drummer, born January 15, 1909 in Chicago, IL. Read his biography here.

Rolling Stone voted him the #7 best drummer of all time. In their blurb, they quote Neil Young, who called Krupa “the first rock drummer, in very many ways. He was the first drummer to command the spotlight and the first drummer to be celebrated for his solos… He did fundamentally easy things, but always made them look spectacular.”

Krupa started working in a music store at age 11 and chose the drums because they were the cheapest item in the store’s catalog of instruments. His parents groomed him for the priesthood, but his love for drumming kept him from taking vows.

Gene Krupa is often credited with inventing the modern drum solo. He is also considered the father of the modern drum set because of his work with Slingerland drums and Zildjian cymbals, where he helped develop tunable tom-toms and the modern hi-hat cymbal. He came to prominence playing with Benny Goodman, and as one of the BG Trio, Krupa was part of the first jazz act to play in Carnegie Hall.

Here is Krupa playing with other jazz greats Benny Goodman (clarinet) and Harry James (trumpet) with Goodman’s band. They are playing “Sing, Sing, Sing,” which features Krupa’s manic drumming prominently.

Gene Krupa died in 1973.

Now in God’s Care: Dr. John Sailhamer

Note from CM: Sorry for the delay in posting today. I worked late last night.

Today I found out that one of my great heroes is now in God’s care. Dr. John Sailhamer, my OT prof at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, died earlier this week. No one influenced me more in my study of the Bible. John was the one who began to open the book of Genesis to me in particular, and I’m finding it hard to express my gratitude and sense of loss this morning.

• • •

Sailhamer, John Herbert
1946-2017

Dr. John Herbert Sailhamer, lion of the Word and faithful follower of Jesus, is safely Home. He passed away January 9, 2017, after a long battle with Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia. Loved by his family and revered by his students, John was an evangelical Old Testament scholar and theologian. His work was characterized by a consistent focus on the canonical text of the Hebrew Bible and the compositional strategies of the biblical authors. The author of over 15 books, various articles and essays, John’s writing has centered on reading the Bible, the Pentateuch in particular, as a unified, coherent whole.

Born in Moline, IL on October 17, 1946, John graduated from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, CA and continued on to receive a BA from California State University, Long Beach; ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary; MA and PhD from the University of California at Los Angeles. Over his 36 year career in the classroom, John taught at Biola University, Bethel Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Western Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He served his country in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970.

John was married to Patty Sailhamer (nee Engdahl) on June 12, 1971. He is survived by his wife Patty; his children David Sailhamer, Dr. Elizabeth Sailhamer Soukup (Jason), John Christian Sailhamer (Kelly), Peter Sailhamer (Angela); grandchildren Joshua Sailhamer, Sadie Soukup, Allyn Sailhamer, Samuel Soukup, John David Sailhamer, Troy Sailhamer, Simeon Soukup and Evangeline Sailhamer; brother Paul Sailhamer and sister Claudette Miller. John is preceded in death by his parents Claude and Belva Sailhamer.

A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held Friday, January 13 at 4:00 PM, First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, north campus, at 2904 N. Brea Blvd. in Fullerton. Rev Todd Chapman of Richfield Community Church will deliver a short message. A private burial will take place near John’s birthplace of Moline, IL at Kingsbury Country Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to First Evangelical Free Church (FEFC): Compassion Fund or Disability Family Fund.

Published in Orange County Register on Jan. 12, 2017

• • •

The Pentateuch may be compared to a Rembrandt painting of real persons or events. We do not understand a Rembrandt painting by taking a photograph of the “thing” that Rembrandt painted and comparing it with the painting itself. That may help us understand the “thing” that Rembrandt painted, his subject matter, but it will not help us understand the painting itself. To understand Rembrandt’s painting, we must look at it and see its colors, shapes and textures. In the same way, to understand the Pentateuch, one must look at its colors, contours and textures.

• The Meaning of the Pentateuch

Key Books by Dr. John Sailhamer

“Genesis” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with New International Version: Genesis, Exodus, Levitcus, Numbers Volume 2

NIV Compact Bible Commentary

The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary

Introduction to Old Testament Theology: A Canonical Approach

The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation

Genesis Unbound: A Provocative New Look at the Creation Account

Mike the Geologist: On the Grand Canyon and the Flood (9)

Grand Canyon National Park 2015 New Years Storm. NPS photo by Michael Quinn

Previous posts in the series:

• • •

The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth: Can Noah’s Flood Explain the Grand Canyon?
By Gregg Davidson, Joel Duff, David Elliott, Tim Helble, Carol Hill, Stephen Moshier, Wayne Ranney, Ralph Stearley, Bryan Tapp, Roger Wiens, and Ken Wolgemuth.

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Chapter 19- River to Rim: Putting All the Pieces Together is a trip up the South Kaibab Trail; a very popular trail that is easy to access by a free shuttle service from Grand Canyon Village.  The Grand Canyon is the single best spot in the world to observe such a broad span of Earth’s history and the trail is one of the best places in the canyon to see its spectacular geology.  The trail is only 7 miles in length but you climb from the river level at elevation 2,400 feet to top of the rim at elevation 7,200 feet; a climb of 4,800 feet!  We start from the suspension bridge over the Colorado River (mile 0).

Standing at the bridge, you are surrounded by the Vishnu Schist, a rock riddled with pink bands of the Zoroaster Granite.

The schist contains altered minerals that form under high temperatures and pressures found only at great depths of 10 miles or more below the surface.  The rocks are also folded and contorted.  Rapid folding shatters rock, but the schist show little evidence of shattering; indicating it deformed very gradually. The crisscrossing granite contains large crystals which indicate slow rate of cooling.  Samples of the granite have been radiometrically dated to about 1.7 billion years old.  Flood geologists claim all the intrusion and folding took place between creation week and the flood; about 1,650 years.  From lab experiments, we know it takes a tremendous amount of time for large masses of heated and deeply buried rocks to cool.  If you quench molten rock in seawater; which is occurring right now at Mount Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaii, you get fine grained pillow basalts, not large crystalline granites.

The rocks along the next stretch of the South Kaibab Trail are the tilted rocks of the Grand Canyon Supergroup.  However, you can look up or down the river and see the Vishnu Schist terminating directly against the Tapeats Sandstone; the Supergroup layers are entirely absent.  The combined total of the Supergroup thickness is in excess of 12,000 feet.  The rest of the Grand Canyon strata have a combined thickness of 15,000 feet and were supposedly laid down in Noah’s Flood.  So all those sediments of the Supergroup would have to have been laid down, hardened into rock, faulted and tilted, and eroded away between creation week and the Flood in only 1,650 years without a cataclysmic event according to flood geologists.

According to flood geologists, death began after creation week and Genesis 1 states all major categories of modern organisms were present prior to the flood.  Therefore all major categories of life should be present in the fossils of the Supergroup rocks.  But there are only colonial algae and plankton; not a single fish, clam, snail, coral, tooth, or bone; so how did all but single-celled organisms escape preservation- over the entire planet?

Just before the trail emerges from the inner gorge the Great Unconformity is represented by contact between the Shinumo Quartzite and the Tapeats Sandstone.  However the contact here isn’t horizontal, it is nearly vertical.  There are angular blocks of the quartzite incorporated into the Tapeats Sandstone forming a conglomerate at its base.  These observations testify to a time when the Tapeats sea was encroaching onto land and eroding into the cliff face of the Shinumo Quartzite.  Blocks of quartzite periodically fell into the water and lodged in the soft sand.  The angular shape of the quartzite blocks means they were hard when they fell and we can see evidence of disrupted sand beneath some of the fallen blocks.  Eventually, the sea level rose high enough that the sand was deposited over the entire quartzite cliff.  Try and explain a vertical contact by some sort of single flood episode; of course you can’t.

At the top of the Tapeats Sandstone the slope suddenly becomes more gradual.  Coming up the trail, we pass the Tipoff and step onto the Tonto Platform- a broad ledge formed by the more easily eroded Bright Angel Shale, with the harder Muav Limestone forming the next set of cliffs.  This order; from sandstone to shale to limestone is a transition from shallow to deep water that we would expect from a gradually subsiding coastline.  Fossils found in these layers are typical of the Cambrian period found around the world.  Forty seven species of trilobites have been identified in the Tonto Group alone, but NONE of these species are found in any layer above or below the Tonto Group.

Trilobite in Bright Angel Shale

The fact that organisms such as trilobites appear and disappear  from the Grand Canyon fossil record in the same order as they do in strata around the world tells us that each layer represents a distinct time period in Earth’s history.  As ocean dwelling creatures, how did every variety of trilobite, large and small, stubby and elongated, get sorted into the same group of layers in the same sequence around the world, without a single case of mixing with a jawed fish.  And why don’t any trilobite occur elsewhere in the Canyon if all the layers were laid down in a single flood?  And why would lime mud and clay mud be segregated in a raging flood when they are both the same size particles?

At 3 miles into the hike the trail reaches a spot where normally the Muav Limestone and the Redwall Limestone are in contact.  Here, however, we encounter a purplish rock that occupies a channel carved into the top of the Muav Limestone.  The Temple Butte Formation is not found everywhere in the canyon.  It carries a unique assemblage of fossils characteristic of the Devonian period; placoderm fish and various corals.  This tells us that at some time after the Muav was formed and other sediments deposited on it; that erosion occurred that removed the other sediments and scoured channels in the solid rock of the Muav.  Flood geologists try to say the channels were carved into soft sediment and refilled within a few days.  But why would a unique set of organisms (all Devonian), including both bottom dwelling corals and free swimming placoderm fish, settle out exclusively into these channels and nowhere else?

The trail gets steep as we ascend the switchbacks in the Redwall Limestone.  A close look at the Redwall reveals it is made up of crinoids- marine animals that resemble flowers with tentacles and segmented stalks.  Since crinoids exist today we know that an expansive layer of crinoid remains, with virtually no intermixed sand or clay, indicates a vast, shallow, warm sea with submarine colonies of crinoids blanketing the sea floor.  The fanciful explanation of flood geologists that hundreds of feet of crinoid remains were transported across continents with pure upwelling hot calcite fluids (from the “fountains of the deep”) cementing them together with no admixture of silt or clay (no muddy water in a raging flood) is so ridiculous it would be funny if it were not put forth with all zeal as being “what the Bible says”.

Although not exposed on the trail, the Surprise Canyon formation often fills low spots on top of the Redwall.  The bottom layers of the Surprise Canyon often contain broken pieces of the Redwall limestone incorporated in the Surprise Canyon sediments as breccia.  You cannot form the breccia fragments from soft sediment; it has to be solid rock.  The other thing about the Surprise Canyon formation is that it contains all terrestrial fossils including trees.  Why no admixture of marine fossils if it is all being deposited in a raging flood?  YECs don’t like to talk about the Surprise Canyon formation, or if they mention it, leave out the abundant terrestrial fossils.

The trail then climbs up the Supai Group and the Hermit Formation.  The significance of these rocks are that they are alternating sandstone, shale, limestone, and conglomerates.  The myriad alternating layers are consistent with many cycles of rising and falling sea levels, interspersed with periods of deposition and erosion.  Some rock horizons in the Hermit Formation contain terrestrial fossils such as dragonfly wings and ferns.  The fact that terrestrial and marine fossils are not found intermingled within the same layers is clear evidence of distinct intervals of time when the region was sometime above sea level and sometime below it.

As we come up the trail to the Coconino Sandstone a sharp break is noted from the red beds below give way to the white Coconino above. We have already discussed the factors that geologists use to conclude the Coconino is a desert dune sand.  Obviously, flood geologists are going to dispute that as it completely invalidates their model.  To quote the book on page 203:

Does a dash of marine sediment make the whole deposit marine?  Some isolated zones of dolomite (limestone with lots of magnesium- typically a marine deposit), have been found in the Coconino Sandstone.  Flood geologists insist that the presence of dolomite means the whole system is marine.  Given the proximity of the Coconino dunes to an ancient sea, it would not be surprising for some the dune sands near the coastline to become cemented with dolomite.  However, to say the entire Coconino is marine because of a pocket of dolomite is like finding a Swede living in Tokyo and declaring that all Japanese must be of Nordic stock!

We now climb through the alternating limestone, shale, sandstone, and evaporites of the Toroweap and Kaibab Formations.  Again quoting from the book, page 203:

For flood geologists, the uppermost layers of the canyon bring us only through the first half of the flood.  Though the flood is said to have been extraordinarily violent, sediment layers repeatedly formed with little mixing of different types or sizes of particles.  Evaporites mysteriously formed under-water, and entire classes and orders of organisms waited until the second half of the flood to all be buried together.

Arriving at the rim at mile 7, must be a feeling of accomplishment.  Flood geology arguments often have a ring of plausibility to them when they are applied to one layer or one feature in isolation.  But they cannot piece all these individual arguments into one coherent whole with violating the natural processes they themselves say God used.  They have to reach for never-before-seen and mutually exclusive mechanisms.  I’ll give the book the last word, page 205:

All explanations by flood geologists are said to be based on the Bible.  So where in Scripture do we find references to Noah’s flood linked with earthquakes, shifting continents, rising mountains, tsunamis, and mineral-rich ocean vents?  The number of verses is much like the number of bird or dinosaur fossils found in the canyon.  The answer is zero.  Exactly how, then, is flood geology a biblical model?

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NPS photo by Michael Quinn on Flickr. Creative Commons License

Gray Church: Another Ecclesiastical Dream

bethlehem-snow

Note from CM: I was going to write a post today expressing another dream I have for the church: that in our youth-focused American culture our churches might find ways to help people in the second-half of life understand what spiritual formation and a Jesus-shaped life mean for them.

I think the traditional churches do a better job of this, but then again, many of them that I have known are composed of a majority of people who are older. Many evangelical churches, on the other hand, build on youth and the seasons of life when people are raising families. That’s why so many of them appear to me as “activity centers.” They are busy, busy, busy trying to compete for the time and energy of kids and their families.

There is also, I’ve observed, a theological/tradition problem in many of these congregations. Seeing themselves as “missions” first, they are trying to reach out and win individuals for Christ. They then move converts into “discipleship” programs that focus on helping people (1) learn content and (2) get busy serving in the church’s programs. There is not a strong tradition of spiritual formation stretching over the course of one’s life. And when the pastors and staff are mostly in the 20-40 range, there is a deficit of experience and learned wisdom to provide that kind of guidance. I’ve met a number of pastors who rarely do funerals, make few visits to the hospital, and have likely never darkened the door of an extended care facility. It’s not on their strategic, visionary radar.

Older adults are pretty much expected to just keep doing the same things over and over again — read their Bibles, pray, attend worship, find places to serve. That’s the program, with very little adjustment for what people actually go through and the spiritual twists and turns different seasons of life throw at them. The “senior saints” may have their own age-related Sunday School classes, activity groups, and so on, but overall they are just expected to roll up their sleeves and join the rest of the congregation in reaching the lost and serving the young.

As I was preparing to write about this subject, I came across the following article on the always excellent Calvin Institute of Christian Worship site. It is from their Resource Library, which contains materials that are meant to be read and distributed to help congregations deal with various issues. So, I will simply present this piece to you today, and hopefully this issue of a “graying” church and my perceived notion that many churches have little clue how to provide spiritual sustenance and guidance to experienced pilgrims will receive some good consideration and discussion today.

God, We Spend a Lifetime Growing

God, we spend a lifetime growing, learning of your love and care,
Planting seeds you give for sowing, working for the fruit they’ll bear.
Now we honor faithful servants who, with joy, look back and see
Years of growing in your presence, lives of fruitful ministry.

Thank you, Lord, for ones who teach us what has brought them to this place!
May their faith-filled witness reach us; may we glimpse in them your grace.
Strong in you, their strength uplifts us from our birth until life’s end;
Spirit-filled, they give us gifts, as prophet, mentor, guide and friend.

Christ our Lord, you walk beside us, giving daily work to do;
Years go by and still you guide us as we seek to follow you.
If our sight fails, weak hands tremble, minds forget the things we’ve known,
Lord, we trust that you remember, hold us close, and see us home.

Hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
Copyright © 2001 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
HYMN TO JOY 8.7.8.7 D (“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”)

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Aging Together in Grace
Churches can offer a countercultural message about the gifts of older adults and walking with them through the challenges of aging.

By Joan Huyser-Honig, August 02, 2016
Creative Commons License

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The average American’s life expectancy at birth was 70 when The Beatles sang “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” Back then, people aged 65 or older made up less than 10 percent of the population.

Now more people are getting old, and older people are living longer. “The group of people 85 and older in our country is growing faster than the number we are gaining in infants and young children,” says Susan H. McFadden, a gerontology expert who wrote Aging Together: Dementia, Friendship, and Flourishing Communities with her husband, John T. McFadden. He is a retired United Church of Christ minister and now serves as a memory care chaplain in Appleton, Wisc.

By 2030, more than 20 percent of U.S. residents are projected to be age 65 or older. This trend is magnified in churches. The average age of United Methodist Church members, for example, is around 60, and the UMC has about twice as many members over 65 as the general population, according to William Randolph, the UMC’s director of aging and older adult ministries.

What’s more, Susan McFadden notes, growing old can be hard on the brain. By age 72, one in three persons experiences cognitive decline. At age 85, up to half of all persons will have some form of dementia.

Some churches see these trends and worry about attracting younger people. At the same time, some aging people fear that dementia will render them alone and useless. But both Randolph and the McFaddens see the growing cohort of older adults as a gift to congregations and as ahuge opportunity for churches to counter the isolating stigma of dementia with a promise to journey together with all affected by it.

Congregations can make this countercultural shift by doing three things: exploring universal design, staying connected in worship, and focusing on reciprocal sharing.

Universal design welcomes all
Universal design for churches means making buildings and worship services flexible enough so that each person can receive and respond as God has gifted them.

Like many congregations, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Montrose, Penn., is already adapting its space for people with physical needs. “Eighty percent of people in our church are 60 or older. We don’t have anyone with dementia or stroke damage, but some people use canes or walkers,” says Lynne Graham, who served five years as senior warden of the vestry.

St. Paul’s installed a ramp out front, added handicapped rails in bathrooms, and secured rugs to the floor. Large-print prayer books are available, and the priest brings the communion elements down the altar steps to people who find it hard to leave the pews. Even those who can’t get to the church building are included.

“We recently started livestreaming our worship services through our church website, and services are archived on YouTube,” Graham says. “Usage statistics show that a fairly large group does look at our services. Some are members who can’t get out to church easily or who winter in Florida. We make sure they have the equipment and skill to access our online worship services.”

Universal design in worship services may require more creativity than putting in a hearing loop system or cutting out pew sections so people in wheelchairs can sit with their families.

The late Eileen Shamy, a Methodist pastor, pioneered ministry to those with dementia in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She noticed that pastors who found ways to lead worship for severely memory-impaired people usually come from sacrament-centered traditions. They value “silence, solitude, order, ‘being,’ symbol, ritual, and the priestly tasks,” she wrote in A Guide to the Spiritual Dimension of Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia.

She said adapting worship is more difficult for traditions “whose strength (and weakness) may be attributed to the primacy of the word—the read word of Scripture, the preached word of the sermon, the reasoning word in discussion and careful consensus making.”

Worship memories that remain and enliven those with dementia usually flow from:

  • Things congregations voice together in worship: Singing or reciting the Gloria Patri, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostle’s Creed, or the Lord’s Supper memorial acclamation (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again)
  • Ways worshipers move their bodies: Kneeling, passing the peace, receiving communion, making the sign of the cross, moving to music, bringing offerings forward to the altar or platform, or minister’s and congregation’s gestures during the benediction
  • Sensory cues: Pre-service music, the sound of water pouring into a baptismal font, incense, candles, processionals with the cross and Bible, vestments, communion sets, or banners

Stay connected in worship
Like many congregations, St. Paul’s Episcopal also wanted to connect with and bring younger people into worship. “A few years ago,” Graham says, “we tried doing afterschool programming for youth. We started with five kids and ended with one. We realized that the Baptist church in our small town is already taking care of local youth. I suggested we target older adults.” Members began to see their older average age as a gift, not a liability, for ministry.

Intentionally including older adults in ministry helps congregations keep the promises made at baptism: To do all in their power to love, support and encourage the person being adopted into God’s family—regardless of age.

Many churches already mark life and faith formation milestones such as birth, baptism, confirmation and marriage. Why not build on this in worship by using songs, sermons, testimonies and prayers to highlight wisdom, growth and service opportunities in life’s second half? As Presbyterian pastor Carolyn Gillette puts it in her hymn “God, We Spend a Lifetime Growing”: “Strong in you, their strength uplifts us from our birth until life’s end; Spirit-filled, they give us gifts, as prophet, mentor, guide and friend.”

Church of the Resurrection United Methodist Church in Leawood, Kan.,designed CrossRoads Ministry “to help those 50+ navigate the second half of their lives with significance and joy.” The ministry offers Sunday morning groups, Bible study, pre-retirement workshops and mission opportunities.

Growing life expectancy has made the “older adults” category multigenerational. These age groups are variously described as “boomers, builders and elders” or “young old, middle old and oldest old.” As people move through these stages, worshiping together can strengthen them by modeling how to let go, deal with grief, and grow spiritually. Congregational lament, openly talking about dementia, praying for care partners, and creating rituals to mark transitioning from one’s own home to a care facility can all help map the journey worshipers take on their way home to live with God.

Christians willing to visit continuing-care campuses find tremendous ministry opportunities.

Graham, for example, recently joined two friends who’ve been offering weekly Episcopal morning prayer at two places, drawing up to 20 people at one site.

Meanwhile, at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., Stephen Martin’s music and worship students designed worship with seniors in mind. They received song requests before leading worship in private homes. At a residence for retired religious and charitable professionals, students presented historical background on hymns that residents and students sang together. Martin says they’ve seen how carefully chosen songs can “wake up the mind.”

And Nancy Gordon, director of the California Lutheran Homes Center for Spirituality and Aging, adapted a children’s worship program to create Sensing the Sacred, a creative liturgy for people with memory loss.

Reciprocal sharing
People often say of a person with a dementia, “He’s just an empty shell now. It’s too sad to visit, because he doesn’t remember me anyway.” This view flows from the idea that someone’s identity is based on what they remember.

But, John T. McFadden says in his pamphlet “Aging, Dementia, and the Faith Community: Continuing the Journey of Friendship”, “Christians have a different story to tell about what gives our lives worth, value and meaning. Personhood is not defined solely by our corporal bodies or our cognitive abilities, but rather by our relationships with others. And we are creatures created in the divine image not because we physically or intellectually resemble the Almighty One, but because God remains in faithful relationship with us in all circumstances and conditions.

“If we should forget God,” McFadden continues, “God will not forget us. And if we forget God, our community of faith can remember us to God and bring God’s presence into our lives through means that do not require us to grasp that presence cognitively.”

McFadden suggests weaving webs of relationships that “soften categories that differentiate and divide.” Congregations can do this by valuing intergenerational partnerships and recognizing that people with memory loss still want to—and can—serve others.

Raymond Village Community Church (UCC) in Raymond, Maine, designed a “Wisdom of Our Elders” worship service at an assisted living residence thatsoftened the line between “ministering” and “being ministered to.”

“We had a familiar order of worship,” Pastor Nancy Foran says, “but in place of a homily we broke into small groups to gather wisdom from residents. They appreciated being asked meaningful questions about what they’re most thankful for and how they got through times of darkness.

“I gathered their responses into a final corporate prayer. Then we all sang ‘Amazing Grace,’ I gave the benediction, and our church’s Very Occasional Men’s Choir sang ‘Bless This House,’ which is a favorite of a church member who lives there,” Foran says.

Other churches have found creative ways for multiple generations to share knowledge and wisdom with each other. At Grace United Methodist Church in Frisco, Texas, people from ages 6 to 60 play in the Ukulele Choir. First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore, Texas, used teams of three young teens and a deacon to make monthly visits to older adults and nursing homes. Some churches offer monthly intergenerational church school or an intergenerational vacation Bible school. Others might ask their youth groups to conduct accessibility surveys of their church property or offer classes in using smartphones or tablets.

Older adults with limited mobility still have gifts to share. They appreciate not only being prayed for but also being asked to pray regularly for specific reasons. “A lady in her 90s is our ‘sunshine person,’” Graham says. “She sends out all the birthday and sympathy cards for St. Paul’s.” Many churches and retirement communities gather plastic bags to weave into waterproof mats for homeless people. Those with less ability can separate and flatten bags for others to weave.

People in early stages of dementia are often still able to read stories to children or read the Scripture lessons during worship. John McFadden says these opportunities for full engagement in service and leading worship are more important than whether the person remembers an hour later what he or she read.

“Worship, fellowship, Bible study and prayer groups, mission and service: members with dementia can share in, and contribute to, many dimensions of church life,” McFadden says. “As they do, they will offer profound gifts to those of us not (yet) on the road to cognitive loss, not the least of which is to teach us to reject the stigmatization of dementia and to overcome our own fear of it.”

• • •

Links

LEARN MORE

Read Aging Together: Dementia, Friendship, and Flourishing Communities by Susan H. McFadden and John T. McFadden. View their “Age On” (81 minutes) presentation. Download “Aging, Dementia, and the Faith Community: Continuing the Journey of Friendship.”

Glean pastoral care and worship ideas from A Guide to the Spiritual Dimension of Care for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: More than Body, Brain and Breath by Eileen Shamy. Read Dorothy Linthicum’s insights on faith formation in older adults (pp. 45-58).

Network with older adults who are making a difference: Community of Hope International,CrossRoads Ministry and older adult ministries in Episcopal and United Methodistchurches.

Fill out this profile and survey from Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network to assess age groups and existing resources in your church and community. Consider connecting with or creating programs such as memory cafe´s, a film and discussion group on spirituality and aging  or Opening Doors to Memory and Imagination: Creating a Museum Program for People with Memory Loss, compiled by Jane Tygesson.

Gather older Christians’ wisdom in a letterwriting project like Ozark Church of Christ did 20 years ago in Nixa, Mo.

Start a group to crochet or weave plastic bags into waterproof mats for homeless people(scroll down to CareMATS section under “Blanketed With Prayer”).

START A DISCUSSION

Feel free to print and distribute these stories at your staff, board, worship or social justice team meeting. These questions will help people start talking about aging in your church and community:

  • What universal design changes might you make in your building and worship service so that older people can keep participating? Which of these changes might also make your church more hospitable for children, youth, people with disabilities or people learning your language?
  • How might you join with another congregation to “adopt” residents and staff at a senior care facility?
  • In what ways does your congregation seek, tap and recognize older adults’ gifts of talents, time or wisdom?  In what ways or at what life stages do older adults seem invisible or detached from your life together?

What If? – A Few Dreams for Today’s Church

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What if?

What if churches and Christian organizations had a vision to be “countercultural” in truly meaningful ways?

What if we woke up and realized that all our talk about “changing the culture” is empty because we are just as culture-bound as anyone?

What if we realized that ideas don’t matter as much as we think they do, and that practices mean a whole lot more?

What if we understood that the power of God’s Word doesn’t depend on us talking all the time, that expressing our opinions and judgments is not the same thing as letting God’s Word loose in the world?

What if we stood against the busyness, noisiness, activism, do-gooderism, media-saturated, virtual reality style of our contemporary world and instead offered churches as places of true sanctuary, true humanity, quiet, and peace?

What if our consistent invitation was: “Come to a quiet place and find rest”? What if we saw it as a primary contribution to our world to provide sacred times and spaces where weary, exhausted people could find true solace and retreat?

What if our church campuses were no longer dominated by functional buildings designed to be busy beehives of activity and pep rally enthusiasm? What if, instead, we cultivated gardens and glades, created walking paths and forest trails, developed lakeside amphitheaters for regular outdoor worship gatherings and church buildings that were essentially glass houses designed for contemplation of God’s works?

What if we, as congregations, refused to have any church programs other than providing opportunities for retreat and holding regular worship gatherings?

What if we sent people out at the end of worship with the simple admonition, “Go in peace. Be Christians!” and then just let everyone go live their lives?

What if pastors and “leaders” in the church saw their duty in terms of presiding over worship, and then spending the rest of the week out there in the midst of daily life with people, listening and encouraging, apprenticing them in the life of Christ, and caring for the poor and sick?

What if, as the monks understand, we taught each Christian that his/her whole duty was “Ora et Labora” — prayer and work — in the love of God, to bless the world?

What if we told believers that they shouldn’t wait for “the church” to develop “ministries” to help their neighbors, but that they are free to work with others in the community to formulate ideas, strategies, and programs for the common good?

What if we prioritized slowness, quietness, listening, contemplation, prayer, minding our own business yet being sensitive and available to those in need around us, a devotion to serious study and thoughtfulness, a charitable spirit, respect for all people and a willingness to engage all people in love and service?

What if?

Sermon: Epiphany I – The Season of Making Jesus Known

Winter Creek. Photo by Barbara Friedman
Winter Creek. Photo by Barbara Friedman

Sermon: Epiphany I
The Season of Making Jesus Known

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
    he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
    or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
    and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
    he will faithfully bring forth justice.

• Isaiah 42:1-3

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

• Matthew 3:13-17

• • •

On the Christian calendar, we have emerged from the Christmas season and are now in a season called Epiphany and the time after Epiphany.

The word Epiphany means “a revelation,” a bright, surprising pulling back of the curtain to reveal something new and wonderful. Epiphany in the Christian sense refers to how God revealed his love for the world through his son Jesus Christ.

The stories in this season emphasize how God made himself known through Jesus.

  • Friday was Epiphany day itself and the Gospel was the story about how God guided the magi through the star of Bethlehem to worship the newborn King.
  • Today we read the account of Jesus’ baptism, when the heavens opened, the Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus, and God’s voice was heard from heaven, saying “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” In that event, Jesus was revealed to Israel and his ministry among them began.
  • Next Sunday we will hear another text from the story of Jesus’ baptism from John’s Gospel, which describes how some of Jesus’ first disciples began to follow him when he was revealed to them through the testimony of John the Baptist.
  • Then, for the rest of this year’s Epiphany season, we will be focusing on how Jesus was revealed through his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.
  • This season ends with Transfiguration Sunday, when Jesus revealed his glory to his disciples on the mountain.

The point in all of these stories and throughout this season is that God has revealed his grace, truth, mercy, and love to the world through Jesus. Another point is that God is still doing that today, and that he wants to reveal Jesus to the world through people like you and me. Epiphany is the time for making Jesus known, for telling his stories, for passing on his teachings, and most of all, for laying down our lives to bless others the way Jesus did.

Epiphany is one of the most missional seasons of the church, a time when we look to shine the light of Jesus out beyond ourselves to others. Not in patronizing ways. Not in moralistic and preachy ways. Not in ways that suggest we are better than others or are part of some insider club that people have to learn a secret handshake and password to enter. Rather, as ordinary human beings, as humble people who realize we don’t have all the answers or solutions to every problem, as common people who in many ways are just as messed up as anyone else, we extend ourselves to serve our neighbors with the same consideration and kindness by which God served us in Jesus.

Today’s readings contain some of these themes.

For example, in our OT reading the prophet Isaiah introduces us to God’s servant Israel, called to be a light to the nations. Here is how the text describes this servant:

He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth…

Isaiah describes a servant who is quiet, humble, gentle, and yet persistent in seeking justice for others. He goes to say this:

I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

This is a servant who is called and secure in a relationship with God, who is especially sensitive and active in bringing help and healing to those who find themselves in places of great need.

Israel never fulfilled her calling, but Jesus the Messiah did what Israel failed to do. Jesus is the ultimate Servant described by Isaiah here. He is the one we see in today’s Gospel being baptized by John, being affirmed as God’s beloved Son, arising out of the water to begin his ministry of setting the captives free.

Jesus was faithful to the end in his ministry of bringing salvation and hope to Israel and the world. Now, as those who are in Jesus, we have been given this same servant ministry to those around us.

This past week I did a funeral service for a woman named Judy. About five years ago we had buried her husband Carl. They and the people around them made a great impression upon me. They showed me the power of love and neighborliness, of serving one another and blessing each other. It all came back to me as I conversed with Judy’s family.

Back when I did Carl’s service, as I stood in front of his casket and greeted the mourners as they filed by, I noticed a flower arrangement behind me with an interesting note on it: “From your friends at XYZ Campground.” It was striking to me that owners of a campground would send such a lush bouquet and that it would be displayed so prominently, close to the casket.

I discovered that Carl and Judy had spent twenty summers at that campground with their family and friends. It was as much their community as the neighborhood in which they lived. Most of the pictures pinned on the display boards around the funeral home showed them enjoying activities there.

Just then, a man and woman passed by me, extending their hands. “Hi, we’re Joe and Marie from XYZ Campground. Thanks so much for the service today. Carl and Judy have been good friends for many years.”

“I knew they enjoyed camping,” said the chaplain, “but I never knew how much until today. And you came! I’m sure it means the world to them.”

I was astounded that they would come all that way to honor someone who had come to their campground.

A few moments, later, another man shook his hand and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m the restaurant on Washington Street you talked about today.”

Carl and Judy had gone to lunch there several times a week, even when it became difficult for him to get out. The folks at the restaurant were like their extended family. They raved about how the owner and staff treated them. I told him that.

The man wiped a tear from his eye and tried to say something, but the words didn’t come. “Thanks for coming,” I said. “I know they appreciate it.”

Let me give a little background. Carl’s first wife had died of cancer as a young woman. Then he met Judy, a divorcee, and they hit it off. He worked in one of the auto plants, she cleaned houses, and they blended their families together the best they could. Soon they were all spending time together each summer at the campground. It was like an extended family reunion down there.

And Carl was obviously one of the leaders. All the children wanted to be around Uncle Carl. He would take them fishing, give them an endless supply of quarters for the game room, hand out candy all day long, join them in various games at the campsite, and make sure they got their marshmallows and S’mores at night. When the young ones were snug in their sleeping bags, he and the other adults would sit around the campfire, which he tended, until the wee hours, telling stories. It was his habit to bring a large piece of wood — almost a stump — and throw it on the fire the first night they arrived so it would keep burning for days and days. Like that never-ending campfire, Carls heart glowed with joy at the campground. He was in his element.

He thought about retiring early so they could spend more time there. But then the bad news came: Carl, who had been feeling strangely weak at times, learned he had ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. He quit work, however, it wasn’t on his terms as he had hoped. Even worse was the fact that the terrible disease would take his life, probably within a couple of years. Soon he was confined to a wheelchair, but to his credit, Carl never stopped trying to stay active, never diminished in his desire to be around family and friends, and never lost his sense of humor.

That’s when the restaurant became even more important as a place of fellowship and encouragement. He and Judy would go every day for lunch, until that became too hard, and then it was maybe two or three times a week. One of their nephews who was tall and strong moved into help them, and whenever Carl gave the word, he would load the power chair into the trunk and accompany Uncle Carl and Aunt Judy to the restaurant.

The owner and staff learned to watch for them coming. Since they came around the same time each day, one of the servers would keep an eye out to spot their car pulling into the parking lot. She’d give the signal, and they’d get a table set up for them that Carl could get to easily. They’d put out Carl’s salad and drink and make sure the cracker basket had the kinds in it that he liked. Someone would go hold the door for them, welcome them, and usher them to their table. Sometimes they stayed for two hours, catching up with the regulars and staff, laughing together through lots of stories and jokes and teasing conversations. They were able to go one last time the week Carl died.

After the funeral, the whole family, many neighbors, and friends from church were invited to the house for food and fellowship. It was an unusually warm day for the time of year, bright and dry. The gathering spilled out of the little house onto the small front porch and into the backyard. Then some cars pulled up. The restaurant owner had one of his servers deliver several boxes of food and drink for the gathering. If he had been there, Carl would have loved it and would have taken over as the life of the party. It seemed so funny not to hear his voice, they said. The children didn’t know who to ask for candy.

As time stretched on toward evening. Judy heard a commotion out in the backyard and went out to see what was happening. She saw a large circle of people huddled together, a plume of smoke rising from the midst of them. The next door neighbor had brought over his fire pit and started a blazing fire. Someone produced some sticks and marshmallows. Another was handing out graham crackers and chocolate from a grocery bag. The younger kids squealed with delight and the older ones steadied their hands and showed them how to hold a stick over the fire. The adults were waiting for a pot of camp coffee on the fire to start steaming. Conversation and laughter filled the air. It was about as fitting a tribute to Carl and to the power of neighborly love as I’ve ever witnessed.

Soon after Carl died, Judy developed Alzheimer’s disease and has been living with her daughter for the past few years. This past week she joined Carl in the care of God. We shared those memories at her funeral this week, and I was reminded of the power of simple, down-to-earth love shared among family, friends, and neighbors.

Our scriptures today lead us into Epiphany by reminding us of a Savior who was beloved by God and who loved others, who was humble, gentle, quiet, and yet persistent in living to bless us.

May he grant us the faith, hope, and love to do the same, in this season and in every season to come. Amen.

• • •

Photo by Barbara Friedman at Flickr. Creative Commons License

Epiphany I: Pic & Cantata of the Week

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Hopewell Church, Snowy Day (2015)

(Click on picture to see larger image)

• • •

EPIPHANY I

Bach Cantata BWV 154, “My Dearest Jesus Is Lost”

In Bach’s day, the Gospel reading for the first Sunday in Epiphany was Luke’s story of the boy Jesus in the Temple. The Epistle was from Romans 12, which admonishes believers to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God.

Bach’s cantatas, therefore, take up themes of “losing Jesus,” as his parents lost track of him, and of the longing to be, and remain, close and wholly devoted to our Savior.

Here is the exuberant duet “Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden,” which expresses the joy when Jesus, who has been absent, reveals himself to the soul once more.

Wohl mir, Jesus ist gefunden,
Nun bin ich nicht mehr betrübt.
Der, den meine Seele liebt,
Zeigt sich mir zur frohen Stunden.
Ich will dich, mein Jesu, nun nimmermehr lassen,
Ich will dich im Glauben beständig umfassen.

How happy I am, Jesus is found,
now I am troubled no more.
He whom my soul loves,
reveals himself to me in hours of joy.
I want never again to abandon you, my Jesus,
I want to embrace you constantly in faith.

Cantata Text by Richard Stokes

The Internet Monk Saturday Brunch (1/7/17)

lead-nurture1

NEW! AND IMPROVED! FOR 2017 —

Internet Monk’s Saturday Ramblings will henceforth be known as Saturday Brunch.

Consider this your weekly invitation.

The following article from The Smithsonian tells where this meal (traditionally a Sunday feast) came from:

900e6a0dfdf181e09ec73e81b73d1d19As is the case with many culinary traditions, the origins are a bit hazy. Some food historians think that the meal has its roots in England’s hunt breakfasts—lavish multi-course meals that featured a smorgasbord of goodies such as chicken livers, eggs, meats, bacon, fresh fruit and sweets.  Others posit that Sunday brunch derives from the practice of Catholics fasting before mass and then sitting down for a large midday meal. And then there are those who  look to New York’s abundance of dining spots when it comes to tracing the origins of classic brunch dishes from eggs Benedict to bagels and lox.

What does seem certain is that the word “brunch”—that playful blend of “breakfast” and “lunch”— first appeared in print in an 1895 Hunter’s Weekly article. In “Brunch: A Plea,” British author Guy Beringer suggested an alternative to the heavy, post-church Sunday meals in favor of lighter fare served late in the morning. ”Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting,” Beringer says. ”It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

• “The Birth of Brunch”

And it is that last sentence, my fellow brunch-ers, that describes what the Internet Monk Saturday Brunch is all about —

”It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

This, my friends, is our aim on Saturdays here at IM.

So, whether you arise early on Saturdays, or follow your Chaplain’s example and sleep until noon whenever possible, there will be food, drink, merriment, and conversation for all. We offer this continuous feast and invite any and all to partake.

• • •

notescanstock11109130AN OLD FRIEND HANGS IT UP

One of Michael Spencer’s friends, a conversation (and sparring) partner, critic, and fellow-blogger Frank Turk has decided to hang up his keyboard and blog no more.

Over at Pyromaniacs, a site your Chaplain used to frequent quite regularly and one which Michael repeatedly referred to as one of the “watchblogs” back in the day, Turk wrote a rather self-flagellating goodbye and expressed a lot of disillusionment about the state of Christian “internet ministry” and blogging in particular. In his words…

Way far north of 95% of Christian blogging is really just exhibitionism, either exposing one’s own poor judgment and thinking or exposing others faults (usually both) for the sake of gaining attention for one’s self.  I think unintentionally, I have done this.  I repent of ever doing that, and I repudiate everyone who is blogging for the sake of exposing himself or herself to gain an audience.  If you think that’s only people with modest-sized blogs, or people on the fringes, you aren’t reading the big blogs with any kind of wisdom or insight, or tracking how many people in Christian circles are getting famous from blogging rather than from having actual accomplishments or a decent faith and a world-tilting local church.

I repent of ever, at any time, causing anyone else to fall into that trap.  If my example caused you to blog, you are doing it wrong.  You are responsible for you, but I am responsible for doing something which caused you to do wrong.  I repudiate it, and I ask you to do the same.

He goes on to repent of his own “exhibitionism” and to criticize those who look at their “internet ministry” for imagining they have a much greater level of influence than they actually do. “I would argue that you are actually reaching fewer people and ministering to fewer people by never actually being anywhere long enough to do something “like ministry” than you would be if you belonged to a local IBF church with 25 members who meet in a wooden shack with no modern amenities,” he scolds.

Frank Turk is a good writer and he will be missed, despite the fact that I have moved far, far away from feeling any sense of kinship with what is written by TeamPyro. I must say, though, that I have had many of his same misgivings about what it actually means to “relate” and “serve” via blogging. It is one of my constant motivations in trying to make Internet Monk different, a place of genuine conversation and reflection.

He will be archiving his articles at teampyro.blogspot.com, and has several pieces you can search for at firstthings.com‘s Evangel. Turk also has his own personal blog which you can find at iturk.com.

READ “THE END” BY FRANK TURK

canstock11109130burdenTHE ANTI-SEMITIC ACTION FIGURE

It’s a burden Luther earned for himself by his own astonishingly brutal words against the Jewish people in his 1543 treatise, “On the Jews and Their Lies.”

However, isn’t this current complaint a little silly?

RNS reports that Playmobil, one of Germany’s leading toy manufacturers, produced a 3-inch plastic figure of Luther back in 2015 to promote this year’s 500th anniversary of the Reformation. So far, about 500,000 have been sold around the world.

Then Micha Brumlik, a retired Frankfurt University education professor, wrote that the popular toy was “anti-Jewish, if not even anti-Semitic.”

What problem did he have with the toy? The figure shows Luther holding a Bible. On one page it says, “The Books of the Old Testament,” with the word “ENDE” underneath them. On the opposite page it says, ““The New Testament, translated by Doctor Martin Luther.” Brumlik contends the word “ENDE” signifies that Luther was saying the Old Testament and its validity are now ended and superseded by the NT. This to him is the theological insult at the root of the history of anti-semitism.

Playmobil’s toy figure of Martin Luther, in its trademark style aimed at children up to 12 years old. The word “Ende” (End) at the bottom of the left page of the Bible raised objections that the toy could be anti-Semitic. Photo taken December 31, 2016. RNS photo by Tom Heneghan

To an extent, I agree. I am not a “supercessionist.” The NT does not denigrate the OT as outdated and overtaken by the New. The Jews are not “replaced” by the Church, and God did not reject them. It is appalling that many bearing the name Christian have used such arguments, but I find them utterly unconvincing and offensive as a Christian myself. In my view, all it takes is a simple reading of Romans 9-11 to get that.

One of the article’s weaknesses is that it doesn’t explore why that word “ENDE” appears on the figure. Luther’s statue in Wittenberg contains the same inscription. It took one of the commentators on the article to explain the simple reason for the word:

I do not have a copy of the Luther Bible on hand but I seem to recall seeing this word “Ende” printed on the dividing pages of the Old Testament and New Testament simply as a way of indicating that the Old Testament ends there, hence this is where the New Testament picks up. We still do this type of thing. When I listen to audio books sometimes at the end of a disk the reader will actually say, “End of disk 1.” I certainly don’t take that as having any theological implications even if I am reading a theology book (or the Bible for that matter.) 

So a simple line indicating “The End” after the OT is now getting blown up into a controversy about anti-semitism. Yeah, this is what we need today.

After discussions among its sponsors, the Nuremberg tourist bureau announced that the word “ENDE” would be removed from all future copies of the toy, beginning in March.

Sigh…

READ “HOW A TOY FIGURE OF MARTIN LUTHER SPARKED ACCUSATIONS OF ANTI-SEMITISM” BY TOM HENEGHAN

canstock11109130kicked_outNORWAY BEGINS BREAKING UP WITH THE CHURCH

Again, from RNS…

On Jan. 1, [Norway] cut some ties with its Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Norway, rewording the national constitution to change the denomination from “the state’s public religion” to “Norway’s national church.”

The change means the nation of just over 5 million people — about 82 percent of them Evangelical-Lutherans — will still fund the church but will no longer appoint its clergy, who will still be considered civil servants.

And like most divorces, this one could be messy. Norway is one of the least theistic nations in Europe, with 39 percent of Norwegians saying they are atheist or agnostic, according to a poll conducted by a Norwegian newspaper earlier this year.

But Norway also has its own “Bible belt,” along its southwest coast, where much of the base of the country’s two Christian democratic parties is based.

“Such a policy change might inadvertently trigger a culture war,” Jacques Berlinerblau, a Georgetown University professor who studies secularism, told RNS. “Certain anti-secular elements in Europe could point to Norway as an example of the ongoing collapse of Christian culture and Western civilization at the hands of diabolical secularists.”

Some groups favor a further separation and suggest that this step only further muddies the relationship between church and country. At the National Secular Society, it is noted that the King is still constitutionally required to profess the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, and though there may have been some organizational realignment, the government will still support the church and give it privileges no other religions will receive.

Keith Porteus Woods writes:

I hope that the good people of Norway will consider this latest constitutional and organisational change as a preliminary further step in the disentanglement of the Church and State. There is much further to go before Norway can regard itself as a modern secular state, not least removing the elements in the Constitution highlighted above, and a move towards withdrawing this illicit subsidy – even if it is phased out over several years.

According to the article, only about 2% of Norway’s citizens attend services regularly at congregations of the national church.

READ “NORWAY AND ITS NATIONAL CHURCH PART WAYS” BY KIMBERLY WINSTON

READ “NORWAY’S SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: A WORK IN PROGRESS” BY K.P. WOODS

canstock11109130questionsQUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

Do Christians want leaders or lemmings?

Do women fighters undermine the Bible’s understanding of gender?

What does it take to settle refugees?

What are some of the most innovative products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show?

How far along is N. Korea in developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, and can anyone do anything about it?

So, tell me again, who’s going to pay for this damn wall?

• • •

canstock11109130fighterCARRIE UNDERWOOD UNDER ATTACK

Rolling Stone magazine reports that popular singer Carrie Underwood made a surprise appearance this past week at the evangelical Passion Conference in Atlanta, singing with David Crowder.

That prompted an open letter from American Family Association outreach director Wesley Weldon to Pastor Louie Giglio, the founder and organizer of the event. What do you think it might have been about? Really, you can’t guess?

Here’s what he said:

“I was very frustrated that you would allow her to help lead thousands of people in worship. My frustration quickly turned to disappointment and then to sadness. Carrie Underwood encourages and supports homosexual marriage which the Word of God does not,” Wildmon said in the letter published January 4th by the AFA publication Engage Magazine. “The Word of God is not a preference, but principles God has spoken. God is right about marriage and Carrie Underwood is wrong.”

Another silly salvo from the AFA. And it’s not only silly. It reveals their absolute lack of balls. Why would the AFA publish an “open letter” rather than go privately and humbly to Pastor Giglio and express their concerns?

But no, that’s not what the AFA is about. The AFA is about the AFA and promoting a culture war agenda and raising more funds and getting more publicity for a Righteous Cause™.

It’s not about actually caring for Ms. Underwood or any other real, flesh and blood person. Especially if they are LGBTQ or have ever said anything kind about our LGBTQ neighbors. That’s the Christian spirit!

The more things change…

READ “CARRIE UNDERWOOD FACES EVANGELICAL BACKLASH” BY STEPHEN L. BETTS

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STATISTICS OF THE WEEK

This week’s interesting statistics come from a headline article at Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, January 6, 2017:

The new 115th US Congress was sworn in this week, and it’s is almost as Christian today as it was in the early 1960s, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center. Ninety-one percent of the members of Congress describe themselves as Christians, including all but two of the 293 Republicans. There is more diversity among Democrats. Twenty-eight are Jews, three are Buddhists, three are Hindus, two are Muslims, and there is at least one Unitarian Universalist. Although 23 percent of the general public is religiously unaffiliated, only one member of Congress described herself that way, and although overwhelmingly Christian, Congress has become less Protestant over time. Thirty-one percent of Congress today is Catholic, up from 19 percent in 1961.

 

canstock11109130the_king_v2_einzeln_1SONG OF THE WEEK

Tomorrow is Elvis Presley’s birthday. That’s right, the king was born on January 8, 1935.

Just before his 22nd birthday, on January 6, 1957, Presley made his third and final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. He performed seven songs in three segments, including “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Heartbreak Hotel.” The screen only showed the singer from the waist up, leaving viewers to speculate as to what the passionate screams in the audience were about.

An interesting fact about this performance — Elvis dedicated his last song, “Peace in the Valley,” to the people of Hungary who were in the wake of the October 1956 anti-Soviet revolution.  Elvis and his manager Colonel Tom Parker decided the singer should lend his support to the country’s fight against communism. Ed Sullivan backed Elvis in this, and asked the TV audience to donate to Hungarian relief efforts.

Happy birthday, Elvis Presley.

Fridays with Michael Spencer: Jan 6, 2017

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Spring Mill House Side (2016)

To Do the Best with What We Have
from January 2008

* * *

Note: The following incident is fictionalized from real experience.

I look at my watch. It’s time for a counseling appointment. I clear my desk, bring in the extra chairs and wait.

My appointment arrives and the conversation begins. This is a first time conversation, with someone I don’t know. I spend a lot of time listening. Then questions. More listening. I try to put what I’m hearing into some kind of order; to make some kind of helpful response.
I’m not a quick thinker. My feelings are always way out in front of my thoughts. So I have to be cautious in counseling to be sure I’m doing what’s needed and helpful.

My counselee says the conversation has been helpful. He leaves. It’s been an hour and fifteen minutes. Longer than I like, but not unusual for a first conversation.

What did I hear? I heard what it means to do the best with what you have, as God brings all things into himself through Jesus Christ.
I hear about a broken marriage. Silence. Distance. Public pretense. I hear about broken children. The fear of what’s next and the impact of what has already been. I hear about ministry; a ministry that goes on under stress that’s unimaginable to me.

I hear about faith and its stumbling steps to do what is right. I hear of guilt, the certain knowledge that one has fallen short. I hear the cry for restoration of broken relationships; the longing for Christian community and the church to be what family and friends have failed to be.

I hear about secrets and the reluctance to speak of them. I hear of the learned response of looking away; the habit of staying busy; of attending to “real life” and never looking at the inner world. I hear of the pain of sin’s lingering work, its blindness creating deception and its deep roots that drive us away from God, others and even ourselves.
I hear of persistent belief in God, prayer, the Bible, the work of the Spirit. I hear the ache for a pronouncement of forgiveness.

I hear the mystery of God’s call to be a servant and a minister when life is broken. I hear the mystery of God’s presence in the midst of brokenness that is not healed and darkness that does not lift. Yet, I hear of love for others and a simple, loyal, persistent love for Jesus and for the people Jesus loved.

I hear about doing the best you can with what you have, even when what you have is broken, wounded and bleeding from our human frailties and cruelties.

The world loves to point out hypocrisy among Christians. I want to point out the inexplicable, amazing absurdity of people who continue on with Jesus when any rational, reasonable person would abandon all hope. Of course, love is not reasonable or rational. Love suffers long, all the while rejoicing in the truth.

If you are a person who believes that all ministers and their families are picture postcards, let me break this to you gently: many ministers and their families are living in hell, and you don’t know it. Perhaps right in front of you. For them, the ride to church to face you may have filled them with fear that somehow you might see past their facade and into the failure and hurt.

The tendency these days is to project the image of the minister as young, absurdly happy, socially perfect and free from care and hang-ups. In fact, many ministers are living lives of pain and facing situations that would make you wince, if not curse. The price of being the shepherd of Christ is often high; so high ordinary persons could seldom stand to see it.

Perhaps some Christians are masochists. Or truly warped from being around so much need and paying too little attention to their own lives. I cannot say what is motivating an individual person to carry burdens that would break others, and do to it for the sake of Christ, his gospel and his church.

Part of me wants to say “Go fix your marriage. Be 100% available to your kids. Let the ministry go for a while.” That’s probably very good advice.

But another part of me senses that brokenness is part of ministry, and it is not for me to say to God or another person what forms of brokenness should stop the show, and what others can be carried on and through.

I do know that my eyes are opened, again and again, to the immense pain that surrounds me in the Christian family. So many of God’s servants are hurting in their body, families, marriages and in ways I cannot label or identify.

Yet these are some of God’s best servants and most Christ-filled saints. Some of his most useful, loving people. The crucible does not need to be approved by me or you to be effective. God chooses his own instruments, preparing, sharpening and equipping them as He chooses. His agenda is Jesus. Mine would be comfort, wholeness, happiness and so forth, with Jesus as the end result. God is only interested in making us like Jesus.

So the cross, and the instruments of crucified glory, are his doing. I am a listener; an observer.

I bow my head and pray for what I’ve heard and seen. I will do so many times in the future as I realize I am watching, in the midst of pain, a kind of holiness that is only a rumor for me.

We do the best with what we have given to us, or what we have left over or with what still works after the latest wreck. And God forms Christ in us, brings Christ through us, glorifies Christ in us and all in all.

In such colors, the Spirit paints the Incarnation every day, and presents the painting to the Father. And each picture looks more and more like the Jesus we have never seen with our eyes.

Or have we?

Another Look: “To Go through Life Guessing Wrong”

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Snowpath, Photo by Dave Walker

Once, while reading Thomas Merton on the subject of vocation (No Man Is an Island), I came across this stunning passage:

Our vocation is not a sphinx’s riddle, which we must solve in one guess or else perish. Some people find, in the end, that they have made many wrong guesses and that their paradoxical vocation is to go through life guessing wrong. It takes them a long time to find out that they are happier that way.

What a generous and liberating thought!

Having spent so many years hearing teaching that warned Christians not to “miss God’s will” for our lives, usually accompanied by some vague but dire warning of the consequences, how I wish this grace-filled perspective had broken through to people bearing the heavy burden laid on them.

I never really bought into that theology and joined the frantic search for “God’s will.”

However, I have often mulled over my doubts in retrospect.

Why did I not listen to those who advised me about a different course of education?

Why did I not see the value of learning about different religious traditions when I was younger so that I might have been ordained to serve in a denomination early in my ministry?

Why did I not pursue chaplaincy earlier in life?

Etc.

We all have the opportunity to look back and see various roads not taken. We sometimes dwell on them and nurse regrets. This is foolish. We did not know then what we know now. We did not necessarily have the capacity to choose differently, given our maturity and circumstances at the time. Of course there were moments when we might have have gone in other directions. But it is likely that we see even those occasions more clearly now.

It is also foolish to spend our time rehearsing the ways we might have missed because it keeps us from tracing the strange, labyrinthine path we actually took and what that has meant for us and others.

In the end, perhaps it is better that we sat around the table with our friends working on the puzzle than that we were skilled enough to put it all together.

To go through life guessing wrong.

To be happier that way.

And to see it as a gift from God.

Thank you, Brother Merton.

• • •

Photo by Dave Walker at Flickr. Creative Commons License