Guest Post: A Woman in Ministry

MOD NOTE: Angie merely summarized her position on women in ministry in this post. If you want to see a full expression of my Biblical position on egalitarianism, read “Why I Am an Egalitarian,” which  I wrote in Sept. This will enable you to see the relevant Biblical texts without having to rehash them all here.

Note from CM: As readers know from previous posts, I am (for lack of a better term) an egalitarian when it comes to male/female issues. That includes the matter of ordained ministry. Since this is my view, I decided awhile ago that I should put up or shut up. So, I invited a woman pastor to contribute articles to Internet Monk.

Her name is Angie Gage, and she is currently Associate Pastor at Paragould United Methodist Church in Paragould, Arkansas. She has already contributed as one of our Liturgical Gangstas, and today we welcome her as a guest blogger. She will be posting occasionally and I look forward to having our audience welcome her and hear what she has to say. For starters, I asked Angie to give her perspective on the subject of women in ministry. We men often comment, favorably or unfavorably, on the ordination of women and their role in pastoral ministry. It’s time to listen to a woman who is actually doing it. Welcome, Angie!

By Rev. Angie Gage
Being a woman in ministry has been a great joy and a stress at the same time.  Too often I have come under fire as a woman in ministry simply because of my gender.   I have been called a variety of names by so-called “men of the cloth” because I am a woman in ministry.   I often am dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of men of other denominations who insist upon trying to “save my soul from eternal damnation” (yes, that is what I was told) by resorting to name calling, humiliation, and other methods.  What happened to Christ-like behaviors?  Are we not, as Christians, supposed to be striving to be more Christ-like?  Continue reading “Guest Post: A Woman in Ministry”

Circle Or Cross?

Note: This essay owes much to the thoughts of G. K. Chesterton from his classic work, Orthodoxy.

This is an interactive essay, one that requires your participation. You will need a piece of paper, a pencil or pen or crayon or some sort of marker, and a compass or something you can trace around to make a circle, such as a soup can. Go gather your materials. I’ll wait.

No, really. Go get your things. You need will need them in order to “get” what I will be talking about.

Got them? Good. Mmmm…Campbell’s Chunky Chicken and Noodle. Good choice.

Now, on your nice white piece of paper, I want you to draw a circle. If you have a compass (the kind you used in geometry, not the type you use in the woods when you want to find your way), you can spread it out to make it as big as the paper will allow. If you are tracing, well, your circle will only be as large as the can. Any size circle will do, actually. Are you done? Do you have a perfectly round circle? Good.

Continue reading “Circle Or Cross?”

The Passing of the Greatest Generation

By Chaplain Mike for Veterans Day, 2010

This piece was originally written in 2005 to share with my hospice team for Memorial Day. As we honor our veterans today, I thought it would be good to share it with you. Yesterday, I did another funeral for one of these fine men, a friend who served in the Navy in both WWII and Korea. As we stood in the brilliant sun of an Indian summer afternoon, heard the crack of the rifles, the plaintive melody of taps, watched old soldiers fold the flag and whisper their grateful words to a grieving family, it struck me afresh that we are witnessing a significant changing of the guard. These elders, who experienced nearly all the fantastic movements and changes of the 20th century are passing from us. I have read reports that as many as 1500 a day are passing on.

Who will take their place? Who will remember? Who will tell their stories? Who will celebrate their lives?

One of the most delightful and humbling things I have experienced as a hospice chaplain has been the privilege of visiting with a number of World War II veterans. I have met people who were actually present at places that have mythical status in our American memory: Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, and others. This generation will soon have passed on, and it may be that we shall not see their like again.Continue reading “The Passing of the Greatest Generation”

The Linchpin

By Chaplain Mike

I feel badly that I wasn’t able to follow yesterday’s discussion on our friend Garrett League’s post closely. Fascinating! I especially appreciate that we had some folks who joined us who are strongly convinced of and committed to scientific reasoning, even going so far as to claim that religion cannot give us any meaningful knowledge whatsoever.

Rather than enter into a long apologetic for the possibility of religious knowledge to speak truly about the existence of God, the nature of the universe, the meaning of life, and so on, I think it best to cut right to the chase. A comment by Kyle introduces what I have to say here well:

…Christianity isn’t taken in blind faith, but can be believed based on the historical evidence for its truth claims. Unlike some religions, Christianity claims to be about real people and events that are within the scope of the historical method to analyze and evaluate. Issues such as Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection can be studied and evaluated for their truth claims on the basis of the available evidence.

And the linchpin event for the Christian claim is Jesus’ resurrection. Continue reading “The Linchpin”

Statue Update! Big Jesus—Polish-style

By Chaplain Mike

“This is the culmination of my life’s work as a priest. I felt inspired to fulfill Jesus’ will, and today I give thanks to him for allowing me to fulfill his will,” said Father Sylvester Zawadzki, known as the “builder priest” by the people of Swiebodzin in western Poland. He was speaking of the new statue of Jesus that is one of the tallest monuments to the Savior in the world. The priest commented that his first vocation was to be a priest, his second to build a statue of Jesus.

The statue itself stands 33 meters high (one for each year of Jesus’ life according to Father Zawadski). That’s 108 feet. When you add the gold crown that sits atop Jesus’ head, it brings the height to 118 feet. If the mound on which it stands is taken into account, this giant statue is measured at 167 feet, which makes it the world’s tallest Jesus statue.

Other tall depictions of the Savior include the 133-foot Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and the 130-foot Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The figure of Jesus in both of these monuments is likewise 33 meters to symbolize his years on earth. The Brazilian statue, which has become an icon for Rio and Brazil, is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931, though it was first suggested in the mid-1850’s. The designers of Bolivia’s landmark modeled their work after Christ the Redeemer. It is made of steel and concrete, and its construction was completed in 1994.

These statues dwarf the former 62-foot King of Kings statue (aka “Big Butter Jesus”) in Monroe, Ohio that was destroyed in a lightning strike earlier this year. The church plans to build a new statue to take its place which will be about the same height. When asked about rebuilding, the church’s pastor said, “The first Jesus was resurrected in three days. It’s going to take us a little longer than three days but he will be back. He’s like the Terminator. He’s coming back.”

The new statue in Poland has divided public opinion among Poles, with detractors calling it tacky. But many residents in Swiebodzin believe it will put their town of 22,000 on the map for tourists and that it will transform their community into a popular site for religious pilgrims. The statue will be dedicated on November 21.

Here’s a video showing the completion of the statue. Heywood Banks has not yet been heard from.

What Would That Say about God?

From Within Creation, Arrieta

By Chaplain Mike

If an evolutionary model should turn out to best explain the way the universe works from a scientific perspective, what would that tell us about God? How would our view of God change? What would we have to adjust in our thinking about who he is and how he works?

These are huge questions, and important ones. RJS is doing a series giving people an opportunity to contemplate and discuss them on her blog and at Jesus Creed, responding to a book called, Theology after Darwin. I encourage you to read her ongoing posts as a resource for your own study

The following video from BioLogos, featuring their Program Director Kathryn Applegate, gives another brief take on these questions. I present it here today to follow up on Garrett League’s fine post, so that our thinking and discussion about how Christians come to grips with science and faith issues may continue.

As for Applegate’s own perspective, it is summarized in what she answered in response to a commenter who posted after viewing the video. She wrote:

I don’t see evolution as mindless and purposeless at all – rather God is intimately involved in the process by His providential upholding of creation, just as He is in our lives.  I believe the Spirit of Christ is with me daily, though I don’t see burning bushes or hear voices.  A thoroughly God-centered view of evolution is elegant, beautiful, and intellectually satisfying.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Guest Post — Science and Faith Issues: A Personal Testimony and a Plea for Perspective

Sun, Moon, & Stars, Wilner

Update: Sorry, while I was away today, we received some spam that appeared in the comments. I have deleted these and related comments. CM.

Note from CM: Earlier this year, I was involved in a discussion about Genesis and creation issues on a site where my views were most certainly not welcome. I kept noticing comments from one participant, Garrett League. He also disputed the interpretations and the way of thinking that was being promoted. He did so with such sound thinking and grace that I was deeply impressed. We began corresponding and he became a regular participant here at IM. Recently, I wrote Garrett and asked if he would write an essay describing his own personal journey and how he has come to think about faith and science issues. Thankfully, he agreed. After enjoying this post, you can check out more of his writing at his blog, The Face of the Deep. Welcome, Garrett!


By Garrett League

When Christians talk evolution, the age of the earth, or the early chapters of Genesis things tend to get ugly fast. There are few exceptions to this rule (at least I assume there are since, in all honesty, I haven’t come across any of them myself).

I am the first to admit guilt in this area. There are comments sections online at this moment that will make my face turn bright red when Jesus points them out to me on the last day. As a failure speaking to other failures, I want to briefly give you a sketch of where I’m coming from on these issues, after which I will make three observations that I have found helpful in thinking on matters of science and faith.

I am convinced that life is too short and Jesus is coming back too soon to waste our time on what often amount to nothing more than “foolish, ignorant controversies,” which “breed quarrels” rather than godliness (2 Tim 2:23). If we are to make these discussions profitable, we have to repent, get some perspective, and put these issues in their rightful place by viewing Jesus in his rightful place, namely, front and center.

First, here’s where I’m coming from.

Continue reading “Guest Post — Science and Faith Issues: A Personal Testimony and a Plea for Perspective”

Examine Yourself?

Girl Before a Mirror, Picasso

By Chaplain Mike

A man named Andrew contributed a short story on theopenend.com about hypochondria. In it, he wrote:

Today I have lymphoma. Yesterday was bowel cancer. I curiously palpate my underarms, searching for that slippery lump, stealthily hiding from my grasp. I check again, and again. I then move up to my neck, again massaging for lumps. My temperature is high. The low-reading thermometer is lying. It is frustratingly difficult to explain to someone the affliction that is hypochondria and the terror one experiences with this condition. It is not an obsession, it is the solid, unwavering belief of illness which is not abated, soothed or remedied by reason. Logic is irrelevant and I often describe the illness as an “inhibition of reason”, whereby the sufferer is capable of seeing and understanding reason but is unable to truly believe said reason. Bouts of hypochondria last for days, weeks or months, sporadically disappearing and resurfacing. Sometimes I beg for the uncertainty to be removed, sometimes I yearn for the very condition I fear to take its place inside me, to wreak its ungodly havoc on me.

There are theological teachings and pastoral approaches that encourage spiritual hypochondria. Always admonishing believers to “examine themselves,” Christian leaders who teach this way are in danger of creating congregations filled with people who live under an unrelenting spirit of fear and insecurity, constantly checking their pulses, taking their temperatures, and gazing into the mirror, interpreting every irregularity as the sign of a serious, perhaps fatal disease.

I don’t believe the Bible calls us to examine ourselves like this. It calls us to keep our eyes on Christ.

Continue reading “Examine Yourself?”

God’s Way of Blessing the World

St. Francis Giving His Cloak to a Poor Man, Giotto

By Chaplain Mike

Gospel for All Saints’ Day
• Luke 6:20-31

“All Saints Day is a witness to God’s way of blessing the world…” (David Thiede)

Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? (James 2:5)

Imagine a school playgound. A group of children gathers to play some game, let’s say kickball. Two are elected captains, and now it’s time for them to choose up teams.

Everyone knows who the best players are. They are the boys and girls with strong bodies and exceptional coordination for their age. They are smart enough to know where to kick the ball to get the most for their effort. They can run fast around the bases. In the field, they are the ones most likely to position themselves well and catch the ball. If you need a strong throw, one of them can be counted on to make it.

There are other children who dread this time of dividing up teams. They know they are not gifted athletes. Perhaps they haven’t had their growth spurt yet, and they are smaller and weaker than the other children. Maybe they just prefer other kinds of activities—reading, music, or indoor pastimes. Some are shy. Some lack confidence. Some have made mistakes in previous games and were laughed at by their mates, and they are not eager to be embarrassed again. They wait and wait while the captains make their choices. They know they are at the bottom of the heap, and some of them will only be taken when there are no other players left.

You are one of the captains. Who will you take for your team?Continue reading “God’s Way of Blessing the World”

iMonk Classic: Signs I’m Weary of Weird Christians

Classic iMonk Post
by Michael Spencer
Undated

NOTE FROM CM: Here is Michael at his best—forthright, incisive, passionate, hilarious, and clear. I love what he says about the “NORMAL” Christian life.

So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?” (John 6:30)

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:18-19)

And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” (Mark 8:12)

I’m tired of weird Christians.
I am tired of hearing people I work with say that God is talking to them like He talked to Moses at the burning bush or like He talked to Abraham. I’m weary of people saying God speaks directly to them about mundane matters of reasonable human choice, so that their choices of toothpaste and wallpaper are actually God’s choices, and therefore I need to just shut up and keep all my opinions to myself until I can appreciate spiritual things. I’m tired of people acting as if the normal Christian life is hearing a voice in your head telling you things other people can’t possible know, thus allowing you a decided advantage.

I mean, if all this were really happening, wouldn’t these people be picking better stocks?

Continue reading “iMonk Classic: Signs I’m Weary of Weird Christians”