I'll begin trying to catch up on blogging by putting up some of the columns I've written for my church's newsletter. Here's one with more to come!The Dialogue is the newsletter of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in St. Joseph, MO. Oftentimes, I'll post here on the blog my columns for the weekly newsletter. I mention it just so that folks who read the snail-mail version can skip this post if they've already read it.
2007: A Look Back
I just finished reading a list of the top ten religious news stories of 2007 as voted by the Religious Newswriters Association, and it's pretty depressing, although it's not surprising. This list included the role of the Religious Right in the 2008 presidential election, the split of the Episcopal Church over homosexuality, disputes over global warming and immigration, and the high-dollar settlements in clergy sexual abuse cases. The only story that painted religious people in a good light was about the Buddhist monks in Myanmar who put their lives on the line to promote democracy in that totalitarian nation. It's not surprising that the stories with the most controversy make the biggest impact, but it is also depressing to consider the fact that followers of Jesus Christ could fail to capture the attention of the world at large in a positive way.
The failure of Christ's church to do anything significant enough to merit mention on an end of the year list—other than to bring disgrace on Christ-- has many causes. The American media, suited as it is towards entertainment and talking head yell-fests, is rarely capable of understanding the nuances of something as multi-faceted as religion. Even so, I believe that if American Christians really were interested in following Jesus' teachings about materialism, violence and serving others, their efforts would make a tremendous impact upon not only our culture but our world. It is also true that the Kingdom of Heaven often does not move in large dramatic ways but rather in small yet unstoppable steps. That's why Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven as like a mustard seed; it's easy to overlook. The selfless actions of millions of believers on an individual basis don't register in and of themselves in a big way. Even so, I believe that the problems that face our own culture and the world beyond it are of such a systemic nature (war, disease, poverty, etc.) that the church needs to respond in a big way. Our times call for big dreams and big risks; yet it's rare to find Christians who will do either. The biggest reason of all, I believe, for Christians failing to make any ripples in the world beyond controversy and scandal is that the average Christian has bought into a culture that believes self-gratification is the ultimate ideal and violence is acceptable just as long as it happens to someone else.
It's easy to cast aspersions on Christianity as a whole, but looking at yourself and your own church with a critical eye is a different story. As we consider the life of First Christian Church of St. Joseph, MO, we should ask if we did anything that registers in the mind of our community? On the one hand, we did some wonderful things that made some eternal differences, such as another great Royal Family Kids Camp and another exciting mission trip to Jamaica, not to mention our on-going work with the Open Door Food Kitchen. We even got noticed in our local media for co-sponsoring a screening of the documentary The Lost Boys of Sudan to make St. Joseph aware of the Sudanese refugees now living here, as well as for having a World AIDS Day service in November. These events and more like them are reasons for us to feel proud as a church. On the other hand, however, the fact remains that a huge number of people in St. Joseph don't even know First Christian exists, much less consider First Christian to be a community of believers seeking to bring positive change in our community.
If someone compiled a list of the top ten religion stories in St. Joseph in 2007, what would that list contain and would First Christian be on it for reasons that authentically represent the compassion of Jesus Christ? I'm not sure we would. We need to do some more dreaming, take some big risks and search our souls for ways we can more fully follow Christ's humble love if we wish to be known in 2008 for transforming our community into a more loving and compassionate place.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
I just finished reading a list of the top ten religious news stories of 2007 as voted by the Religious Newswriters Association, and it's pretty depressing, although it's not surprising. This list included the role of the Religious Right in the 2008 presidential election, the split of the Episcopal Church over homosexuality, disputes over global warming and immigration, and the high-dollar settlements in clergy sexual abuse cases. The only story that painted religious people in a good light was about the Buddhist monks in Myanmar who put their lives on the line to promote democracy in that totalitarian nation. It's not surprising that the stories with the most controversy make the biggest impact, but it is also depressing to consider the fact that followers of Jesus Christ could fail to capture the attention of the world at large in a positive way.
The failure of Christ's church to do anything significant enough to merit mention on an end of the year list—other than to bring disgrace on Christ-- has many causes. The American media, suited as it is towards entertainment and talking head yell-fests, is rarely capable of understanding the nuances of something as multi-faceted as religion. Even so, I believe that if American Christians really were interested in following Jesus' teachings about materialism, violence and serving others, their efforts would make a tremendous impact upon not only our culture but our world. It is also true that the Kingdom of Heaven often does not move in large dramatic ways but rather in small yet unstoppable steps. That's why Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven as like a mustard seed; it's easy to overlook. The selfless actions of millions of believers on an individual basis don't register in and of themselves in a big way. Even so, I believe that the problems that face our own culture and the world beyond it are of such a systemic nature (war, disease, poverty, etc.) that the church needs to respond in a big way. Our times call for big dreams and big risks; yet it's rare to find Christians who will do either. The biggest reason of all, I believe, for Christians failing to make any ripples in the world beyond controversy and scandal is that the average Christian has bought into a culture that believes self-gratification is the ultimate ideal and violence is acceptable just as long as it happens to someone else.
It's easy to cast aspersions on Christianity as a whole, but looking at yourself and your own church with a critical eye is a different story. As we consider the life of First Christian Church of St. Joseph, MO, we should ask if we did anything that registers in the mind of our community? On the one hand, we did some wonderful things that made some eternal differences, such as another great Royal Family Kids Camp and another exciting mission trip to Jamaica, not to mention our on-going work with the Open Door Food Kitchen. We even got noticed in our local media for co-sponsoring a screening of the documentary The Lost Boys of Sudan to make St. Joseph aware of the Sudanese refugees now living here, as well as for having a World AIDS Day service in November. These events and more like them are reasons for us to feel proud as a church. On the other hand, however, the fact remains that a huge number of people in St. Joseph don't even know First Christian exists, much less consider First Christian to be a community of believers seeking to bring positive change in our community.
If someone compiled a list of the top ten religion stories in St. Joseph in 2007, what would that list contain and would First Christian be on it for reasons that authentically represent the compassion of Jesus Christ? I'm not sure we would. We need to do some more dreaming, take some big risks and search our souls for ways we can more fully follow Christ's humble love if we wish to be known in 2008 for transforming our community into a more loving and compassionate place.
Grace and Peace,
Chase
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