What does a "moment of decency" look like in your life?

I listen regularly to the podcast "The Gist" put out by Slate and hosted by Mike Pesca.  With the news this week about Sen. John McCain having brain cancer, Pesca took a moment during his regular monologue about current events to note that McCain was a "decent man."  As proof, he cited one particular instance from the 2008 presidential campaign when at a town hall meeting a questioner describes her fear of an Obama presidency because in her words, "He's an Arab." Instead of capitalizing on that "birther" fear among some in his base, McCain took a moment to refute the woman and to state that Obama was a good person, a good family man and a good American with whom he disagrees quite a bit.  Especially in light of President Trump riding into the White House in a campaign that began with calls for Obama to reveal his "true" birth certificate, McCain's honesty--what Pesca calls "a moment of decency" is notable.

(Now before I get e-mails from all the liberals in our church, I am well aware that McCain went on in that campaign to make Sarah Palin his running mate, and she is in many ways one of the people responsible for our current political situation where fiction is wantonly paraded around as fact, let me assure you that I haven't forgotten about Palin.   I have also not forgotten about the many ways I disagree with John McCain on oh so many issues.  Yet, at the same time, I am able to hold all of that in tension with McCain's heroism as a P.O.W., his strong stance against the Bush administration's use of torture, and his moments of decency going against his own party.)

Mike Pesca goes on in the podcast to share about other "moments of decency" in politics where someone chose to move against their own self-interest.  He cites Bernie Sanders saying "I'm tired of hearing about your damn e-mails." to Hilary Clinton in a debate, as well as when the Gore campaign received leaked Bush campaign debate prep materials and then turned them over to the FBI.  (He does pause to ponder the fact that all the examples he cites were from losing campaigns.)  Pesca goes on to contrast President Trump's statement that "anybody would have taken that meeting" in which his son was offered dirt on Hilary Clinton by the Russian government.  Really, would "anybody" have taken that meeting?

It's all well and good to keep at arm's length the question of what a person does when they have an opportunity for a "moment of decency"--when they can choose to do the right thing even if it goes against their self-interest.  Talking about presidential candidates is a nice parlor game.  Yet, this got me thinking about the ways each of us--who are likely never going to run for president--act when we are put in the posisition to make a moment into a "moment of decency" or a moment of self-interest put over and above decency.

It matters what choice we make when we have the chance through commission or omission to score points on someone we do not like or feel threatened by.  Do we stand by and let that rumor get passed along about a coworker whom nobody in the office likes?  What about when the rumor is about someone who is up for the same promotion as we are?  What about that unfair statement said at a family get-together regarding that sibling or cousin whom you don't like?  Do you remain silent and let it pass?  What about that person at work, school, in your family or among your friends whom just bugs you?  Are you willing to let something happen to him or her that is unfair or ignore statements about that person which you know aren't true?

If you're like me, there is a not so insignificant part of you which feels a little bit superior when someone you don't like gets run down.  In fact, it feels so good that I'm tempted to pile on and twist the knife another turn as it passes by.  

In many ways that matter, our culture rewards people who do not buck a herd mentality.  We love to scapegoat others, because that means we aren't the one getting scapegoated.  In so many ways, our "adult" interactions seem to have evolved little beyond the middle school cafeteria.  We jostle for position in a hierarchy that ultimately does not matter.

Despite the age in which we live where each person gets to declare their own brand of truth (what Stephen Colbert used to call "truthiness"), it appears truthfulness, integrity and yes, decency, matter just as much as they always have.  Despite the cacophony of Christian celebrity preachers who peddle their own form of "truthiness", the Bible is full of admonitions regarding how to act when your potential "moment of decency" occurs.

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."--Exodus 20:16 (one of the Big 10!)

"So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another."--Ephesians 4:25

"If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless."--James 1:26

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
    but those who act faithfully are his delight."--Proverbs 12:22

"Those who desire life
    and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
    and their lips from speaking deceit"--1 Peter 3:10

"Truthful lips endure forever,
    but a lying tongue lasts only a moment."--Proverbs 12:19

and of course

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."--Luke 6:31

Oh, and about a bazillion more.

I'm preparing my sermon for Sunday on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-42 which is Jesus' parable of "the wheat and the tares" or "the wheat and the weeds."  A man's enemy sows weeds in a man's wheat field.  When the weeds are discovered, the man declares that at harvest time, it all will be cut down and the wheat will be harvested and the weeds will be burned in the fire.  Jesus goes on to explain that the wheat are the "children of the kingdom" and the weeds are the "children of the enemy."  The latter will be thrown into the "furnace of fire" at the end of the age by God's angels.  It sounds very neat and tidy, but if I'm honest despite my habit of reducing complex human beings I don't like or ones I disagree with to flat caricatures, none of them is a wholly evil person.  For that matter, as much as I want to think well of myself I have to admit I'm a mixture of good and bad choices, selflessness and selfishness.  I'm more than a little scared to look at a tally sheet of moments when I chose my self interest over doing the right thing vs. "moments of decency."  At my better moments, I'm wheat, but at my worst moment I'm a weed.  Stay tuned Sunday to see if i can make any sense of this story.

In the meantime, like John mcCain we may inevitably make mistakes of judgment and even compromise our own self-proclaimed principles, but hopefully alongside those stains on our character we can hold up moments of decency too.

Grace and Peace,

Chase

Recommended Reading 7-14-17 edition

Regularly, if somewhat spasmodically, I share a list of things I'm reading, watching and listening to with my congregation.  If I remember to do so, I also post it here on my blog:

United Church of Christ 

• "Religious leaders arrested in act of civil disobedience against Senate's 'immoral' health care bill"--including Rev. Traci Blackmon, Executive Minister for Justice Witness Ministries in the United Church of Christ
• "UCC pastors stand with young woman from Africa as she's granted asylum in U.S."

The Religious Right

• "Rev. Barber: An open letter to clergy who prayed with Donald Trump"--This is posted on a blatantly liberal site, but I would offer that Rev. Barber offers a stridently conservative position. He calls the clergy praying with Trump out for encouraging the President in his wrongdoing rather than calling him to account. He notes that these clergy who declare themselves Pro-Life do not care for the millions of lives affected by the elimination of the Affordable Care Act and the thousands of people who will die because of proposed cuts to Medicaid. In so many ways, Barber takes the Word of God which speaks through scripture much more seriously and faithfully than the clergy who abet Trump. 
• "Revisiting Ayn Rand's anti-religious philosophy"--Much about conservative Christians and politics baffles me, but what perhaps baffles me the most are Christians of any stripe who espouse the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Rand's ideology and worldview--as she herself proclaimed--are not only adamantly anti-religious but especially anti-Christian. Eminent church historian Martin Marty adds his two cents here on the subject.

Racism

• "Why I'm Leaving the Southern Baptist Convention"--a Baptist African American minister decides he's had enough of the racism in the nation's largest Protestant denomination

LGBTQ

• "A Beloved Former Pastor Retracted His Support of Same-Sex Marriage. It Will Harm LGBTQ People More Than He May Know"--This week Eugene Peterson, a retired Presbyterian minister and a popular writer--including his bestselling paraphrase of the Bible The Message--said in an interview he would perform a same sex marriage.  After critical reactions from evangelical fans and threats to stop selling his books by Christian retailers Peterson issued a statement that he opposed same sex marriage and supported a "biblical view of marriage.  Here's a response by an advocate for LGBTQ equality in the church.

You can find more stuff that I think is worth reading, watching and listening to by following me on Facebook and Twitter.

What I'm Learning From Glennon Doyle About Pain

My sermon last Sunday was about feeling inadequate, especially in a culture where we are bombarded by messages telling us we are inadequate unless we buy the right car, clothing or diet plan.    I told a story from Glennon Doyle (formerly Glennon Doyle Melton), author of the bestseller Love Warrior and creator of the blog "Momastery."  The story "Quit Pointing Your Avocado at Me" is worth reading in Doyle's own words.  I was moved deeply hearing Doyle speak at the United Church of Christ General Synod, especially what she had to say about pain.

Doyle's had a lot of pain in her life.  In her memoir Love Warrior, she tells about becoming an alcoholic and a bulimic in middle school.  She only understood being worthy of love in terms of earning it by being thin, pretty and vicious towards other girls.  Her relationships from high school forward were ones where she hid her true self out of fear of being rejected.  The memoir tells the story of how she began the hard work of recovery and sobriety--work made even harder when her husband and the father of her children admitted to cheating on her throughout their marriage.  I haven't finished the book yet; I'm still in the part where she shares about her pain and haven't gotten to what comes after.  I know there is an after, because Doyle said as much when I heard her speak.  

Doyle has been through a lot of pain, but she has come to see pain as a gift.  Her attempts to hide from her own pain only brought deeper pain.  Only when she faced her pain could she move through it to learn what that pain was trying to teacher her.  She said that we shouldn't fear pain, but rather we should fear the "easy buttons" our culture offers to cover up our pain.  You know the "easy button?"  It's from the Staples commercial where when things get complicated in business you hit the "easy button" and Staples shows up to take care of your complicated problem.  Doyle says there are no "easy buttons" to take away the real pains that come in life.

She described pain as the world's greatest professor which knocks on our door and says, "If you will let me in and sit with me for a while, I will teach you amazing things."  She stated that the only way we can find transformation is to sit with the "hot loneliness" of our pain.  She said, "When we transport ourselves out of the pain, we reject the invitation to our transformation."  She also said, "If we changed our ideas about pain, we would transform our lives, and our relationships, and our church."

Not only did I take Doyle's words to heart regarding the struggles in my own life, but I thought about her words in terms of our church.  Our church does a lot of things well; for instance, I believe we excel at welcoming people.  Visitors often tell me how much they feel welcomed at our church.  

Doyle is a member of a UCC church in Naples, Florida.  She shared how she found it.  She was going through a difficult time and took her kids to church--not something she had a history of doing.  She knew God loved everyone and thought church would be a place where people were truly themselves.  Instead at that church she found people dressed up, looking their best and acting as if they had no problems.  She felt that she was a mess and so were her kids.  

So, as I shared in last Sunday's sermon, as soon as the service was over, she bolted.  A woman followed her out and caught her before she made it to the safety of her minivan.  The woman said, "I don't normally do this, but I feel God wants me to tell you something."  Doyle thought, "Oh no, here we go!"  The woman said, "I think you are meant to be at the church down the street, the United Church of Christ congregation."  So Doyle gave it a try the next Sunday.  There she says she found authenticity.

I hope people would say that about our church, yet I wonder if at times we act too much like the church which has it all together.

Doyle credits her success to being vulnerable about her pain.  She told us,  "People don't need perfect; they don't even need good. They just want real."  

As minister, I never know how much is too much when it comes to what I share about my own journey.  I never want my work as a minister to be self-indulgent or all about me.  Yet, I suspect I am not vulnerable enough and I feel pretty sure we aren't vulnerable enough about the pain so many of us carry.

I don't have an answer for the question of what do we do differently?  I do know that Doyle has connected with thousands upon thousands of people who are attracted to her vulnerability--which somehow allows them to be vulnerable too.  I suspect there are people looking for a church where they can be vulnerable--some of them might already be members of our church.

After all, we Christians supposedly follow a guy who became vulnerable to the point of death.  Doyle said that Jesus offers us the truth that resurrections cannot happen until after the pain is faced head on.  

Grace and Peace,

Chase

Recommended Reading and Listening 7-14-17 edition

Regularly, if somewhat spasmodically, I share a list of things I'm reading, watching and listening to with my congregation.  If I remember to do so, I also post it here on my blog:

Recommended Reading and Listening

United Church of Christ  "Faith leaders arrested on Capital Hill for protesting GOP health care bill"--Traci Blackmon, UCC Executive Minister for Justice Witness Ministries, was among those who spoke and was arrested Recommended Podcasts "'Building A Bridge' Between The Catholic Church And LGBT Community"--the wonderful Father James Martin faces Catholic homophobia "Upper Middle Class Privilege"--Richard Reeves has a book called "Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class Is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That Is a Problem, and What to Do about It"--his thoughts are fascinating and disturbing in what they say about class in the US LGBTQ Example of integrity: J. Philip Wogeman, retired United Methodist Minister who was the pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington D.C. and Dean of Wesley Theological Seminary, turned in his clergy credentials in protest of a lesbian not being ordained by the United Methodist Church Example of lack of integrity:"Actually, Eugene Peterson Does Not Support Same-Sex Marriage"--First Eugene Peterson, author of the popular Bible paraphrase "The Message" and many other books, stated to a reporter he did support same sex marriage.  Then after he received backlash from many opponents to marriage equality took it all back. Racism "Building the Troost Wall: Structural Racism in Kansas City"--I was sent this video by a church member and by a friend in NC. It explains briefly the history of the "Country Club District" and the East/West of Troost divide that still tears at the very fabric of KC. If you are wondering why "Country Club" is in our church name (along with Country Club DOC and Country Club UMC) here's a nice introduction--fair warning, it is not a pretty history: Sexual Abuse by Clergy "The Silence of the Lambs: Are Protestants concealing a Catholic-size sexual abuse scandal?"--Protestant churches--especially evangelical and fundamentalist churches that promote sexism and submission to male authority--are certainly as bad as the Roman Catholic Church when it comes to covering up sexual abuse of children. Here's one story to illustrate the problem. You can find more stuff that I think is worth reading, watching and listening to by following me on Facebook and Twitter.

Recommended Reading and Listening (7-7-17 edition)

Regularly, if somewhat spasmodically, I share a list of things I'm reading, watching and listening to with my congregation.  If I remember to do so, I also post it here on my blog:

United Church of Christ 

• If you haven't subscribed to the UCC Daily Devotional, I highly recommend you do so.  I got something out of this one called "Never Give Up" by UCC minister Anthony Robinson.  You can get daily thoughts like this in your e-mail inbox.

Recommended Podcasts

• Wow! Stop what you're doing and listen to this podcast ("Four Bullets" by the Kind World Podcast).. What a powerful story of grace!!! A man shoots up a mosque and is forgiven and befriended by the Muslims who worship there. (It might be mind-blowing if you do not know a Muslim personally.) 
• Holy crap! This episode of Malcolm Gladwell's podcast "Revisionist History" is a mind-blowing discussion of Brown v. Board of Ed. Supreme Court decision. I've never heard anything but good things about it, and had no idea how condescending and racist its language was towards black people. De-segregation may have integrated students but it destroyed black teachers and administrators--exposing black kids to generations of overt and even unconscious racism at school.

Minimum Wage

• "A Higher Minimum Wage is Not Doing What Its Critics Said It Would Do"--recent studies from Seattle, which raised its minimum wage, show higher wages are not resulting in fewer jobs

Racism

• Steve Kraske has a second editorial about changing the name of the J.C. Nichols fountain on the Plaza due to Nichols' racism and the damage that the segregation he fostered has caused Kansas City.  In this editorial, he responds to critics.

Other Stuff I Think is Cool

• "How Do We Avoid Becoming Numb in the Face of Online Tragedy and Violence?"--A good list of suggestions for "digital self-care" is at the end of this article.
   

You can find more stuff that I think is worth reading, watching and listening to by following me on Facebook and Twitter.

Why Should You Care What Happened at the General Synod of the United Church of Christ?

If you'd rather just skip all my wordiness, click here to watch this video.

I just returned from the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, our church's denomination.  (BTW--"synod" means church council or assembly.  I had to look it up too.)  At this national meeting of our church which takes place every other year, they always urge us to share about what happened during this meeting with the people back in the pews.  That sounds easy, but sitting down to write about it, however, is a bit daunting.  Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome experience.  Especially this year where I just feel bombarded by negative news of greed, intolerance, racism xenophobia and incivility, it was refreshing to sit with my tribe of Christians.  It was inspiring to be with so many Christians who believe following Jesus means working for God's peace and justice.  Yet, I won't lie--you kind of had to be there to understand how great it was.  

Every year I've served as minister in every church I've served, the board inevitably does not have enough money to do everything it wants to do--salaries of staff, building repairs, ministries and programs, etc.  Also inevitably, when it comes time to write a church budget I feel the need to justify what we give to our denomination when I already feel we aren't giving enough.  I realize that lay leaders do not do this church thing for a living.  For lay folks, who struggle to make time for their local congregation in the midst of their busy lives, making head space for the denomination is a lot to ask.  Also, we are in a time of decreasing institutional loyalty; we are consumers and will go where we find the best product regardless of brand..  We certainly feel that at the local church level--people want to attend and consume but not join and give.  The same is doubly true for denominations.  

There are plenty of things having to do with denominations that probably should die.  They were organizations built largely for the 19th and 20th centuries with bureaucracies that often forget that they were meant to serve local congregations rather than local congregations serving them.  In a day when technology can enable a church member to connect with someone on the other side of the world and connect with people of all different faiths, a denomination doesn't hold the same lock on information, doctrine and mission.  So why should we care?  For that matter, why should we care about what a bunch of church folks did in a convention center last week when most of us are just trying to get through the day?

The following is my best effort to answer those questions for you.

If you're like me, you take in the news most of the day through radio in the car, push notifications on my phone, TV in the evening and articles shared on social media.  A whole lot of that news is bad--craven politicians giving breaks to the rich while taking away healthcare for the poor, violence and war around the world including threats of terrorism everywhere, the never ending plagues of racism, prejudice against LGBTQ people, violence against women, neglect of children--the list goes on and on.  

Routinely one of the most galling components of every news cycle is some person or group doing something abominable in the name of religion, whether that horrific act is a terrorist act or justifying cuts to government aid for the least in our society.  This category of news--the religious violence and religious justification for oppression--is what gets me most.  Isn't it bad enough that people are greedy and violent, must they (we?) bring God into their (our?) dastardly deeds?  The God I believe in abhors such actions, so why isn't anyone offering a different view of religion, Christianity in particular?

Well it turns out, one church, the United Church of Christ, is living out a vision of God's justice and peace,  If you believe caring for the earth is a Christian value and Christians should be advocating for our government to fight climate change, guess what?  The UCC is doing that.  (Read in The Boston Globe about the UCC resolution passed at General Synod in response to the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.   Also, during General Synod, the UCC honored members of the Sioux tribe who have fought against the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Also, environmental activist Aaron Mair spoke about the correlation between environmental damage and race.)

If you think Jesus' teaching about caring for those whom society calls "the least of these" means providing access to healthcare for people who can't afford it, the UCC is speaking out for that.  (Read about the protest in Washington D.C. just before General Synod that UCC leaders participated in to demand healthcare for all.)  

If you think the church should be a place where people who do not have power in society should have not only a voice but space to use their God-given abilities and talents, then look no further than the UCC which is intentionally putting women, people of color and LGBYQ people in positions of leadership.  (Read about the UCC electing Traci Blackmon as Executive Minister for Justice and Witness Ministries.  Blackmon was the pastor of Christ the King UCC in Florissant, MO and led many of the powerful responses to the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.)

If you think the teachings of Jesus and the Hebrew prophets in scripture stand as a critique of income inequality like what exists in our country, then know the UCC does too.  (Read about how the General Synod endorsed $15 minimum wage.)

If you think Jesus' teachings and actions on non-violence are relevant for our culture being awash in guns and the mass shootings that happen weekly, then you need to know that the UCC does too. (Read about how youth delegates at General Synod led the way in advocating for gun violence to be studied as a major health crisis--current laws do not allow federal funds to go towards the study of gun violence.  Make sure you watch the video the youth made.)

If you think our immigration system is broken and the scapegoating of immigrants is wrong, then you should know that the UCC does too.  (Read about how General Synod approved the UCC to be "an immigrant welcoming church."  Read about how at General Synod delegates marched to protest the deportation of a local artist.)

Maybe you see all the actions on social justice but wonder about the spirituality being promoted by our national church?  If so, then you need to know that at UCC General Synod we heard Glennon Doyle, bestselling author and frequent speaker on Oprah's SuperSoul Sunday. She is a member of the UCC church in Naples, FL and recently married Abby Wambaugh--gold medal winning
soccer superstar. Her words were awesome.  Read the UCC article about her appearance at General Synod)

Unlike so much news about Christians that makes me want to puke--I'm talking about you Franklin Graham--when I read about what the UCC is doing, I am almost guaranteed to feel proud to stand with this group of Christians.  IN a time when people, politicians--and especially Christians--are drawing the lines between people in permanent ink, I'm so grateful to be a part of a Christian body that is doing all it can to erase those lines.  

If my words aren't convincing enough, then click here to watch this video.  

Grace and Peace,

Chase